Khristina Chess's Blog, page 4
February 2, 2019
Why YA Romance on Valentine’s Day Feels More Significant Than Adult Romantic Fiction
Can a YA romance on Valentine’s Day really compete with a lusty swashbuckly bodice ripper? Yes! Let me share this secret with the shrinking percentage of the adult population who have not yet discovered these great romantic reads.
(To see the post with pictures and related links, visit here: Why YA Romance on Valentine's Day Feels More Significant Than Adult Romantic Fiction.
Less Sex (Generally)
This might seem a strange way to lure you to my side, but hear me out.
Twilight was my introduction to YA as an adult reader, and I remember plowing through the novels at a breakneck pace. At one point I contacted my friend who’d recommended the series and asked, “When do they finally have sex?!” By this point I felt as frustrated about the situation as Bella.
“It’s young adult,” she said. “Remember?”
Oh. Yeah.
Sex isn’t prohibited in the genre. It happens. Some even think it happens too much or badly. And when it does, it’s often understated and quite different than what happens in adult romantic fiction.
For my money, the good YA authors focus on the kissing—and everything that leads up to the kissing. Because if you remember high school love at all (or are currently in high school), a lot can happen right there at the mouth area. In fact, great kissing can be a thousand times more intimate than having sex. Face to face, mouth to mouth, sharing the same breath—a kiss can be a moment of raw emotional vulnerability.
Do you see me? I see you.
There is so much that goes into the buildup for that first kiss. By the time the characters reach that point, you are humming inside with tension and screaming, Kiss her already!
What kind of kiss will it be?
Is he shy? Is it a closed-mouth, sweet, soft kiss that barely brushes against her lips?
Have they come to a moment of intensity where he sweeps her into his arms and plies her with deep, impassioned kisses that include tongue and hands roaming through her hair? Is she shaken to her core? Does she open herself and surrender to him, or does she still too vulnerable and holding things back?
Is it a moment of unbridled passion where he presses her against the car and devours her with his mouth? They can’t get enough of each other.
Do you remember your first kissing experiences in high school? I’m not talking about the awkward, figure-out-what-I’m-doing ones, but the great kissing. The kissing that you never wanted to end. The kissing where time and space disappeared. The kissing that went on and on and on… Do you remember how that felt? I know you do.
This brings me to my next point:
First Love is Visceral
Falling in love is a deeply human experience that takes trust, courage, and honesty. Everyone is wired to seek connections to other through relationship, and the first true love is a particularly poignant experience that leaves a visceral memories. You can probably think of your first love right now. You can immediately think of kissing that person, how you felt about that person, and a dozen other details. You can also remember the heartbreak and loss of that relationship.
YA romance on Valentine’s Day can evoke the sensations of first love because it taps into all those memories—perhaps bad ones as well as good depending on how your relationships went. When you read a story about a girl falling in love with the boy next door, perhaps you remember your own neighborhood boy.
When you read about awkward first telephone conversations like in Eleanor & Park, perhaps you remember your own, and it’s the sweetest memory because that person was once so dear to you.
An endorphin surge pulses through your veins at the thought of those long calls. And it’s been decades.
(At this point, your own teenager may give you one of those looks that suggest you put down their books and return to your own adult genre. Eleanor and Park may be set in the 80s, but that just means it’s retro.)
Not Just about Love
The young characters in YA romance are growing as people. They’re still trying to figure out who they are, so there is an added depth and complexity in the relationships that doesn’t exist in adult romantic fiction. In Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, Maddy is in the process of learning that everything she believed about herself was a lie; her romantic involvement with the boy next door is the vehicle that transports her into the world and the truth. In The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Hazel Grace is transformed as a result of love and loss. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is about grief and loss—and also love.
Sweet
YA romance has a tender element to it. Sure, sometimes the characters are “too perfect” to be true, but more often I’ve encountered the lovely, awkward young people who aren’t sure about themselves. They’re shy and tentative. They’re surprisingly honest and steal your heart in the nicest ways. Even in YA books that aren’t strictly romance but there is some type of romantic interest. In Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, the romantic interest isn’t the main thread of the story, but that sweet relationship gives everything another dimension.
As we approach this holiday, I am thinking about all the candy hearts and red carnations I did not receive because I never had an “official boyfriend” in high school. I confess: I was a nerd. In Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, I find a story about a character who received all the flowers but wishes she had a second chance to be kinder to those she overlooked. I find a story about unexpected love between flawed characters—and kissing. There’s definitely some excellent kissing.
I hope I’ve convinced you that you don’t need to be swept away by a rakish pirate to fall in love. It can happen with the boy next door, as in My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. Or someone you’re not expecting, as in To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han.
You might discover that YA romance on Valentine’s Day can feel much more significant than adult romantic fiction and evoke some old memories and new thrills.
Start today by exploring new authors of romantic and contemporary YA.
---
Khristina Chess is the author of several YA novels with a little romance and lots of kissing. You can find her on Goodreads and follow her on Twitter.
(To see the post with pictures and related links, visit here: Why YA Romance on Valentine's Day Feels More Significant Than Adult Romantic Fiction.
Less Sex (Generally)
This might seem a strange way to lure you to my side, but hear me out.
Twilight was my introduction to YA as an adult reader, and I remember plowing through the novels at a breakneck pace. At one point I contacted my friend who’d recommended the series and asked, “When do they finally have sex?!” By this point I felt as frustrated about the situation as Bella.
“It’s young adult,” she said. “Remember?”
Oh. Yeah.
Sex isn’t prohibited in the genre. It happens. Some even think it happens too much or badly. And when it does, it’s often understated and quite different than what happens in adult romantic fiction.
For my money, the good YA authors focus on the kissing—and everything that leads up to the kissing. Because if you remember high school love at all (or are currently in high school), a lot can happen right there at the mouth area. In fact, great kissing can be a thousand times more intimate than having sex. Face to face, mouth to mouth, sharing the same breath—a kiss can be a moment of raw emotional vulnerability.
Do you see me? I see you.
There is so much that goes into the buildup for that first kiss. By the time the characters reach that point, you are humming inside with tension and screaming, Kiss her already!
What kind of kiss will it be?
Is he shy? Is it a closed-mouth, sweet, soft kiss that barely brushes against her lips?
Have they come to a moment of intensity where he sweeps her into his arms and plies her with deep, impassioned kisses that include tongue and hands roaming through her hair? Is she shaken to her core? Does she open herself and surrender to him, or does she still too vulnerable and holding things back?
Is it a moment of unbridled passion where he presses her against the car and devours her with his mouth? They can’t get enough of each other.
Do you remember your first kissing experiences in high school? I’m not talking about the awkward, figure-out-what-I’m-doing ones, but the great kissing. The kissing that you never wanted to end. The kissing where time and space disappeared. The kissing that went on and on and on… Do you remember how that felt? I know you do.
This brings me to my next point:
First Love is Visceral
Falling in love is a deeply human experience that takes trust, courage, and honesty. Everyone is wired to seek connections to other through relationship, and the first true love is a particularly poignant experience that leaves a visceral memories. You can probably think of your first love right now. You can immediately think of kissing that person, how you felt about that person, and a dozen other details. You can also remember the heartbreak and loss of that relationship.
YA romance on Valentine’s Day can evoke the sensations of first love because it taps into all those memories—perhaps bad ones as well as good depending on how your relationships went. When you read a story about a girl falling in love with the boy next door, perhaps you remember your own neighborhood boy.
When you read about awkward first telephone conversations like in Eleanor & Park, perhaps you remember your own, and it’s the sweetest memory because that person was once so dear to you.
An endorphin surge pulses through your veins at the thought of those long calls. And it’s been decades.
(At this point, your own teenager may give you one of those looks that suggest you put down their books and return to your own adult genre. Eleanor and Park may be set in the 80s, but that just means it’s retro.)
Not Just about Love
The young characters in YA romance are growing as people. They’re still trying to figure out who they are, so there is an added depth and complexity in the relationships that doesn’t exist in adult romantic fiction. In Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, Maddy is in the process of learning that everything she believed about herself was a lie; her romantic involvement with the boy next door is the vehicle that transports her into the world and the truth. In The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Hazel Grace is transformed as a result of love and loss. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson is about grief and loss—and also love.
Sweet
YA romance has a tender element to it. Sure, sometimes the characters are “too perfect” to be true, but more often I’ve encountered the lovely, awkward young people who aren’t sure about themselves. They’re shy and tentative. They’re surprisingly honest and steal your heart in the nicest ways. Even in YA books that aren’t strictly romance but there is some type of romantic interest. In Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone, the romantic interest isn’t the main thread of the story, but that sweet relationship gives everything another dimension.
As we approach this holiday, I am thinking about all the candy hearts and red carnations I did not receive because I never had an “official boyfriend” in high school. I confess: I was a nerd. In Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, I find a story about a character who received all the flowers but wishes she had a second chance to be kinder to those she overlooked. I find a story about unexpected love between flawed characters—and kissing. There’s definitely some excellent kissing.
I hope I’ve convinced you that you don’t need to be swept away by a rakish pirate to fall in love. It can happen with the boy next door, as in My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. Or someone you’re not expecting, as in To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han.
You might discover that YA romance on Valentine’s Day can feel much more significant than adult romantic fiction and evoke some old memories and new thrills.
Start today by exploring new authors of romantic and contemporary YA.
---
Khristina Chess is the author of several YA novels with a little romance and lots of kissing. You can find her on Goodreads and follow her on Twitter.
January 9, 2019
CAT, CONSISTENCY, AND #5AMWRITERSCLUB: HOW YOU CAN WRITE A NOVEL IN ONE YEAR
How do you write a novel in one year?
J.R.R. Tolkien took more than 12 years to write The Lord of the Rings, while in one month NaNoWriMo writers churn out whole manuscripts. One of the top reasons would-be authors cited for failure to write is “too busy.” Okay, so maybe we can cut some slack for the following people:
* New parents
* People fighting illness or illness of a loved one
* People dealing with the IRS or similar circumstances
For everyone else, the following 3 tools are guaranteed to help you make significant progress on that book you’ve always wanted to write or finish.
(To see the blog post with pictures, visit my web site at How You Can Write a Novel in One Year)
1. GET A CAT
My cat Minnie ensures I never miss a writing session—not even on weekends. Sometimes she tail-swishes me awake at 1:30 AM instead of 3 AM because she’s so excited to get started. Other times she throws up beside the bed and in the hall to launch me out of bed. And if her bowl is empty, no one is sleeping in until the situation is corrected. With treats.
Maine Coons are the “gentle giants” of the cat world. She’s a big girl. She needs to eat... now! Just saying.
Once her belly’s full, she “helps” my writing sessions too by sitting on my editing notes and purring to cheer me on. She’s a huge fan of my work. She’s an even bigger fan of nose rubs and ear rubs.
Frankly, she’s a bit of a distraction when I’m on a roll, but when I’m blocked for words, she’s soft and passes the time until something comes to me.
A cat is necessary if you want to write a novel in one year.
2. CONSISTENCY
Writing a novel in one year also requires putting your butt in the chair every day. Stare at the screen and think about the work, even if the only thing that happens is a few tweaks. Sometimes that’s it. Sometimes there’s a deluge, and sometimes there’s a sprinkle. That’s the process. Fiddling counts as writing. Research also counts. Staring counts too. Deleting 5,000 words counts—even if it hurts and you need to grieve for a few days (or weeks) about it. Just show up and do something.
Feed the cat. Sit in the chair. Write.
Every single day.
Consistency is the drumbeat of the novelist’s heart.
I began researching for my latest novel on February 23, 2018, and I wrapped it up on December 10 with 60,000 words—including the round with my editor. If you review my Twitter feed over the past year, you’ll see a journey of highs and lows through the creative process:
I alternate between confidence and doubt. Yesterday’s paragraphs were fast and furious; today, I struggled to add half a page before backtracking. This is the #writerslife (May 21)
Writing novels is like working puzzles. I fit this piece here… and then that one goes over there… I’m still a long way from seeing the whole picture. (June 21)
Creativity versus the clock: this morning the clock won. I stared and stared and stared at the screen, but minutes dribbled away without words. (July 16)
Life in the middle:
Day X: Write Great scene. Feels good.
Day Y: This book is awful. What am I doing? Reread book from page 1.
Day Z: Okay, that’s not half bad. Continue.
Day A: Write the next scene. Feels good.
Day B: This book is awful. Repeat. (August 6)
My MC finally told me how to end the book, and it’s a surprise. I have to let go of the old idea, so I have to sit with that for a few days. I don’t like being bossed around by my characters. (August 29)
For an hour and a half, I struggled to write two lousy paragraphs. Then with five minutes of my time left, these guys finally start talking and give me a page of workable dialog. Sheesh! (September 11)
What you should notice most from the year’s entries is consistency. I post every day. I write every day. Sometimes I write well, and sometimes I don’t. But I write.
As my favorite author Stephen King said, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.”
I’ve published 4 YA novels on Amazon.
I also have 4 yet-unpublished YA novels and am working with the Jennifer de Chiara Literary Agency, who is seeking a traditional publisher for my work.
In fact, over a 20-year period I’ve written at least 14 novels. It's hard to identify an exact count because I've rewritten a few so drastically that you might "count" them as new novels. Many of these early books are so terrible they must never see the light of day.
Consistency does not always equal quality.
Side note: There have been 3 cats accompanying those 14 novels.
3. #5amwritersclub
The #5amwritersclub is an amazing support group on Twitter for writers. Like many indie authors, when I joined Twitter initially, I went mainly to post annoying ads and sell books.
But instead, to my great delight, I found my tribe on Twitter! The #5amwritersclub is a group of like-minded authors of every genre who are facing similar struggles and joys.
I’m inspired by the new mothers who manage to squeeze in a few moments for writing or the writers putting in 12-hour shifts and still finding time to write. We are a passionate bunch. And funny. And wise. There’s a lot of wisdom in this group.
Sometimes the #5amwritersclub is the motivation I need to write on the weekends because I know the regulars will be there and will say hello. There might even be a game of “favorites” and tagging.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Everyone is busy. We’re so busy we don’t even want to drive our own cars anymore because we need to text and call and send email while in transit to wherever we’re going. We don’t have time to shop so we have things auto-delivered to our house on a recurring schedule. (My current favorite service is chewy.com because in addition to that giant cat, there are dogs to feed.)
In all the hustle-and-bustle of modern life, it’s hard to carve out quiet time for the simple joy of writing, especially if we don’t believe in ourselves. What if we’re just not any good? What if we can’t do it? What if, what if?
That’s why #3 #5amwritersclub is essential if you want to write a novel in one year. Honestly, I cannot guarantee that #1 Get a Cat will provide fan support because cat temperament is too hit-or-miss. Even if you feed the cat, you may have a sarcastic critic who mainly stares at you every morning with a withering expression that says, “Who do you think you are, hack?”
If the thought of this worries you in any way, you might consider substituting #1 Get a Cat with #1 Get a Dog. On the whole, dogs are notoriously more reliable as supportive fans. My Akita Terra always thinks I’m amazing.
Are you ready to make a commitment to your book in the new year? Come on, join us at #5amwritersclub. I know you want to!
And if you do, you just may find yourself writing that brilliant novel that you’ve been talking about for years.
J.R.R. Tolkien took more than 12 years to write The Lord of the Rings, while in one month NaNoWriMo writers churn out whole manuscripts. One of the top reasons would-be authors cited for failure to write is “too busy.” Okay, so maybe we can cut some slack for the following people:
* New parents
* People fighting illness or illness of a loved one
* People dealing with the IRS or similar circumstances
For everyone else, the following 3 tools are guaranteed to help you make significant progress on that book you’ve always wanted to write or finish.
(To see the blog post with pictures, visit my web site at How You Can Write a Novel in One Year)
1. GET A CAT
My cat Minnie ensures I never miss a writing session—not even on weekends. Sometimes she tail-swishes me awake at 1:30 AM instead of 3 AM because she’s so excited to get started. Other times she throws up beside the bed and in the hall to launch me out of bed. And if her bowl is empty, no one is sleeping in until the situation is corrected. With treats.
Maine Coons are the “gentle giants” of the cat world. She’s a big girl. She needs to eat... now! Just saying.
Once her belly’s full, she “helps” my writing sessions too by sitting on my editing notes and purring to cheer me on. She’s a huge fan of my work. She’s an even bigger fan of nose rubs and ear rubs.
Frankly, she’s a bit of a distraction when I’m on a roll, but when I’m blocked for words, she’s soft and passes the time until something comes to me.
A cat is necessary if you want to write a novel in one year.
2. CONSISTENCY
Writing a novel in one year also requires putting your butt in the chair every day. Stare at the screen and think about the work, even if the only thing that happens is a few tweaks. Sometimes that’s it. Sometimes there’s a deluge, and sometimes there’s a sprinkle. That’s the process. Fiddling counts as writing. Research also counts. Staring counts too. Deleting 5,000 words counts—even if it hurts and you need to grieve for a few days (or weeks) about it. Just show up and do something.
Feed the cat. Sit in the chair. Write.
Every single day.
Consistency is the drumbeat of the novelist’s heart.
I began researching for my latest novel on February 23, 2018, and I wrapped it up on December 10 with 60,000 words—including the round with my editor. If you review my Twitter feed over the past year, you’ll see a journey of highs and lows through the creative process:
I alternate between confidence and doubt. Yesterday’s paragraphs were fast and furious; today, I struggled to add half a page before backtracking. This is the #writerslife (May 21)
Writing novels is like working puzzles. I fit this piece here… and then that one goes over there… I’m still a long way from seeing the whole picture. (June 21)
Creativity versus the clock: this morning the clock won. I stared and stared and stared at the screen, but minutes dribbled away without words. (July 16)
Life in the middle:
Day X: Write Great scene. Feels good.
Day Y: This book is awful. What am I doing? Reread book from page 1.
Day Z: Okay, that’s not half bad. Continue.
Day A: Write the next scene. Feels good.
Day B: This book is awful. Repeat. (August 6)
My MC finally told me how to end the book, and it’s a surprise. I have to let go of the old idea, so I have to sit with that for a few days. I don’t like being bossed around by my characters. (August 29)
For an hour and a half, I struggled to write two lousy paragraphs. Then with five minutes of my time left, these guys finally start talking and give me a page of workable dialog. Sheesh! (September 11)
What you should notice most from the year’s entries is consistency. I post every day. I write every day. Sometimes I write well, and sometimes I don’t. But I write.
As my favorite author Stephen King said, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.”
I’ve published 4 YA novels on Amazon.
I also have 4 yet-unpublished YA novels and am working with the Jennifer de Chiara Literary Agency, who is seeking a traditional publisher for my work.
In fact, over a 20-year period I’ve written at least 14 novels. It's hard to identify an exact count because I've rewritten a few so drastically that you might "count" them as new novels. Many of these early books are so terrible they must never see the light of day.
Consistency does not always equal quality.
Side note: There have been 3 cats accompanying those 14 novels.
3. #5amwritersclub
The #5amwritersclub is an amazing support group on Twitter for writers. Like many indie authors, when I joined Twitter initially, I went mainly to post annoying ads and sell books.
But instead, to my great delight, I found my tribe on Twitter! The #5amwritersclub is a group of like-minded authors of every genre who are facing similar struggles and joys.
I’m inspired by the new mothers who manage to squeeze in a few moments for writing or the writers putting in 12-hour shifts and still finding time to write. We are a passionate bunch. And funny. And wise. There’s a lot of wisdom in this group.
Sometimes the #5amwritersclub is the motivation I need to write on the weekends because I know the regulars will be there and will say hello. There might even be a game of “favorites” and tagging.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Everyone is busy. We’re so busy we don’t even want to drive our own cars anymore because we need to text and call and send email while in transit to wherever we’re going. We don’t have time to shop so we have things auto-delivered to our house on a recurring schedule. (My current favorite service is chewy.com because in addition to that giant cat, there are dogs to feed.)
In all the hustle-and-bustle of modern life, it’s hard to carve out quiet time for the simple joy of writing, especially if we don’t believe in ourselves. What if we’re just not any good? What if we can’t do it? What if, what if?
That’s why #3 #5amwritersclub is essential if you want to write a novel in one year. Honestly, I cannot guarantee that #1 Get a Cat will provide fan support because cat temperament is too hit-or-miss. Even if you feed the cat, you may have a sarcastic critic who mainly stares at you every morning with a withering expression that says, “Who do you think you are, hack?”
If the thought of this worries you in any way, you might consider substituting #1 Get a Cat with #1 Get a Dog. On the whole, dogs are notoriously more reliable as supportive fans. My Akita Terra always thinks I’m amazing.
Are you ready to make a commitment to your book in the new year? Come on, join us at #5amwritersclub. I know you want to!
And if you do, you just may find yourself writing that brilliant novel that you’ve been talking about for years.
December 27, 2018
HOW GOODREADS READING CHALLENGES KEEP ME ON TRACK
I upped my Goodreads Reading Challenge from 20 to 25 books and felt pressured the entire year to reach my goal.
“You’re 2 books behind schedule,” the progress indicator on the Goodreads Home page noted whenever I logged in—as if my life isn’t stressful enough already.
I might as well add that dismal statistic to the list:
* You’re 10 pounds above goal weight.
* Your department is over-budget.
* The average bounce rate for your website is above 70%, which is officialy classified as ‘disappointing’.
Good grief, who wouldn’t want to just turn on Netflix and binge for the next twenty years?
I have friends on Goodreads who are reading machines. They must be professionals or something. One woman had a Reading Challenge of 150 books, and she sailed past that with more than 200 before the year ended. She wasn’t alone with this kind of goal and outcome either. Compared to those readers, I felt like a total failure with my measley 25-book goal.
The thing is—I love reading. When I go on vacation, I take at least 4 novels and devour all of them, often while in transit. It’s not unusual to arrive at my destination with half of my books already consumed. Reading is a joy, not a chore. It’s a guilty pleasure. If anything, I put it off until all my other must-do activities are done for the day, so that by the time I finally sit down to read, I often fall asleep within 10 pages.
This could be part of the reason I’m falling behind.
So how does a Goodreads Reading Challenge help me stay on track?
1. COMPETITION
I’m a competitive person. If I set a goal, I’ll pour everything into achieving it. This hyper-drive competitive force is a recurring theme in the characters of my own YA novels. A girl decides she wants to be Valedictorian of her class, and nothing will stop her. A girl decides she’s going to lose weight for the prom, and nothing will stop her. A girl decides she has to attend MIT, and nothing will stop her—including an unplanned pregnacy.
If my Goodreads friends can meet their goals of reading 150 books in a year, I can meet my modest challenge of 25. Nothing will stop me. I will not sleep until the work is done. Please pass the caffeine.
2. VISUAL PROGRESS INDICATOR
I’ve made a habit to check Goodreads daily to update progress on my book, so the Reading Challenge progress indicator is right there for me to see. Either I’m “on track” or behind schedule. When I’m racing against a clock, there’s nothing like a stopwatch to kick me into high gear.
The Reading Challenge progress indicator lets me know every day whether I’m still on target to meet my goal—or I’m behind.
And by the way, the panel above also shames me with the books that I’ve started and failed to make any progress with for the past 6 months. They just sit there… waiting, mocking, daring me to finish them. The indicators point out that I could meet my Reading Challenge goal if I’d simply finish the two books I’ve already started. They make it seem so easy and achievable with their little graph and numbers in nice fonts.
Why am I still sitting here on the computer when I could be reading?
3. SUCCESS CELEBRATIONS
To motivate me further, when someone else meets their goal, Goodreads posts a banner in my feed so I can celebrate with them.
I celebrate with Jennifer and am simultaneously humiliated by my pittiful progress on 25 books—which I still have not yet completed.
Plus, Goodreads celebrates everyone. Dave isn’t even my friend.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy for Dave. Yeah Dave, congratulations! He’s amazing. But his celebration only serves to remind me that I’m still not at goal—and the clock is ticking down to the end of the year.
I need to pick up the pace.
If I wasn’t overwhelmed for being behind in my Reading Challenge before, when I start seeing other people complete Reading Challenges with 5 times more books, I definitely start feeling the heat to complete my own goal.
PARTING THOUGHTS...
While setting a reading goal and tracking progress on Goodreads is great, I also see how the Reading Challenge can distort something lovely into a thing of pain. Reading is meant to be a joy to be savored, not a checklist to be rushed and forgotten. Reading is that pleasure best enjoyed on a rainy afternoon with a warm cup of tea or on a beach lounge chair with a cool drink. A good book is as wonderful the second or third time time through as it was on the first.
I never want the challenge to create such anxiety that I dread reading; a 150 book challenge would do that to me. In fact, my challenge for next year will be fewer books.
I’m already excited about my reading list for next year. There are several titles I’m eager to pick up, and this means a trip to the bookstore to wander the shelves for an hour or so—another guilty pleasure of mine.
What about you? What are your goals for next year’s Reading Challenge? Are you going to cover the classics or explore some new authors?
---
Khristina Chess is the author of several award-winning YA novels about troubled teens turning corners.
www.khristinachess.com
“You’re 2 books behind schedule,” the progress indicator on the Goodreads Home page noted whenever I logged in—as if my life isn’t stressful enough already.
I might as well add that dismal statistic to the list:
* You’re 10 pounds above goal weight.
* Your department is over-budget.
* The average bounce rate for your website is above 70%, which is officialy classified as ‘disappointing’.
Good grief, who wouldn’t want to just turn on Netflix and binge for the next twenty years?
I have friends on Goodreads who are reading machines. They must be professionals or something. One woman had a Reading Challenge of 150 books, and she sailed past that with more than 200 before the year ended. She wasn’t alone with this kind of goal and outcome either. Compared to those readers, I felt like a total failure with my measley 25-book goal.
The thing is—I love reading. When I go on vacation, I take at least 4 novels and devour all of them, often while in transit. It’s not unusual to arrive at my destination with half of my books already consumed. Reading is a joy, not a chore. It’s a guilty pleasure. If anything, I put it off until all my other must-do activities are done for the day, so that by the time I finally sit down to read, I often fall asleep within 10 pages.
This could be part of the reason I’m falling behind.
So how does a Goodreads Reading Challenge help me stay on track?
1. COMPETITION
I’m a competitive person. If I set a goal, I’ll pour everything into achieving it. This hyper-drive competitive force is a recurring theme in the characters of my own YA novels. A girl decides she wants to be Valedictorian of her class, and nothing will stop her. A girl decides she’s going to lose weight for the prom, and nothing will stop her. A girl decides she has to attend MIT, and nothing will stop her—including an unplanned pregnacy.
If my Goodreads friends can meet their goals of reading 150 books in a year, I can meet my modest challenge of 25. Nothing will stop me. I will not sleep until the work is done. Please pass the caffeine.
2. VISUAL PROGRESS INDICATOR
I’ve made a habit to check Goodreads daily to update progress on my book, so the Reading Challenge progress indicator is right there for me to see. Either I’m “on track” or behind schedule. When I’m racing against a clock, there’s nothing like a stopwatch to kick me into high gear.
The Reading Challenge progress indicator lets me know every day whether I’m still on target to meet my goal—or I’m behind.
And by the way, the panel above also shames me with the books that I’ve started and failed to make any progress with for the past 6 months. They just sit there… waiting, mocking, daring me to finish them. The indicators point out that I could meet my Reading Challenge goal if I’d simply finish the two books I’ve already started. They make it seem so easy and achievable with their little graph and numbers in nice fonts.
Why am I still sitting here on the computer when I could be reading?
3. SUCCESS CELEBRATIONS
To motivate me further, when someone else meets their goal, Goodreads posts a banner in my feed so I can celebrate with them.
I celebrate with Jennifer and am simultaneously humiliated by my pittiful progress on 25 books—which I still have not yet completed.
Plus, Goodreads celebrates everyone. Dave isn’t even my friend.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy for Dave. Yeah Dave, congratulations! He’s amazing. But his celebration only serves to remind me that I’m still not at goal—and the clock is ticking down to the end of the year.
I need to pick up the pace.
If I wasn’t overwhelmed for being behind in my Reading Challenge before, when I start seeing other people complete Reading Challenges with 5 times more books, I definitely start feeling the heat to complete my own goal.
PARTING THOUGHTS...
While setting a reading goal and tracking progress on Goodreads is great, I also see how the Reading Challenge can distort something lovely into a thing of pain. Reading is meant to be a joy to be savored, not a checklist to be rushed and forgotten. Reading is that pleasure best enjoyed on a rainy afternoon with a warm cup of tea or on a beach lounge chair with a cool drink. A good book is as wonderful the second or third time time through as it was on the first.
I never want the challenge to create such anxiety that I dread reading; a 150 book challenge would do that to me. In fact, my challenge for next year will be fewer books.
I’m already excited about my reading list for next year. There are several titles I’m eager to pick up, and this means a trip to the bookstore to wander the shelves for an hour or so—another guilty pleasure of mine.
What about you? What are your goals for next year’s Reading Challenge? Are you going to cover the classics or explore some new authors?
---
Khristina Chess is the author of several award-winning YA novels about troubled teens turning corners.
www.khristinachess.com
December 7, 2018
3 Reasons Why The Show “13 Reasons Why” Is Better Than the Book
True confession from a YA book addict: Although I liked Jay Asher’s book, Thirteen Reasons Why, I LOVED Netflix’s miniseries version of it. Admitting that I binge-watched the whole first season but struggled to turn the pages is hard for a bibliophile. I’m biased toward books. Three rooms in my house contain bookshelves crowded with books. I write them.
Books rule. They’re always supposed to be better. Always.
But Netflix did several things right:
1. Adaptation Changes
Usually when screenwriters mess with a book I love, I groan, “No, no, no!” during the offending scenes. “That’s not how it was! You’re messing it up!” In the case of the Netflix adaptation of Thirteen Reasons Why, the writers did such an amazing job that I often found myself wondering, “Was that in the book?” or “I like that better than the book.” There was never a moment when I felt the series wasn’t doing the original novel justice. Rather, the changes made the whole story more honest. Everything shown told openly, including Hannah’s graphic suicide scene, and this way of showing events makes the whole narrative compelling.
2. Point of View
The viewpoint in the book is limited to Hannah and Clay, but the show expands scenes in a way that develops the entire world and all of the characters in Hannah’s life. Giving the full picture of what happened through multiple viewpoints helped me put the events together in a more complete way, and I felt more strongly connected to them on an emotional level than with the book characters. Each of them became real, and their roles in the events leading up to her death were more poignant.
It helped that the entire cast was amazing.
3. Length
With lower word counts in average YA fiction, Jay Asher faced certain constraints. However with 13 episodes, the writers of the series could expand the entire story and character development over a longer timeline. In particular, Hanna herself became three-dimensional in the series, and that gave her character a depth that felt so much stronger than in the novel.
In fact this storytelling technique of using multiple episodes in a series to tell a whole story, such as with Netflix’s Stranger Things, has become both popular and effective because of the binge-watching phenomenon.
A great many of us will happily watch an entire season of a series in a weekend the way we’d watch a two-hour movie, so the effect feels very much the same except more satisfying because there is… more.
Which leads me to my closing point. Sometimes writers don’t know when to stop. There’s the tendency to conclude that if audiences liked the show so much, maybe they’ll want more. Another season. Another story. They think, “Hey, the book ended here, but maybe we could come up with something.”
Just don’t.
With Thirteen Reasons Why, Netflix should have stopped with Season 1 along with the novel. The End.
What are your thoughts on the subject: book or series—and why?
---
Khristina Chess is the author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. Her novel Straight A'stackles the topic of suicide and academic pressure.
www.khristinachess.com
Books rule. They’re always supposed to be better. Always.
But Netflix did several things right:
1. Adaptation Changes
Usually when screenwriters mess with a book I love, I groan, “No, no, no!” during the offending scenes. “That’s not how it was! You’re messing it up!” In the case of the Netflix adaptation of Thirteen Reasons Why, the writers did such an amazing job that I often found myself wondering, “Was that in the book?” or “I like that better than the book.” There was never a moment when I felt the series wasn’t doing the original novel justice. Rather, the changes made the whole story more honest. Everything shown told openly, including Hannah’s graphic suicide scene, and this way of showing events makes the whole narrative compelling.
2. Point of View
The viewpoint in the book is limited to Hannah and Clay, but the show expands scenes in a way that develops the entire world and all of the characters in Hannah’s life. Giving the full picture of what happened through multiple viewpoints helped me put the events together in a more complete way, and I felt more strongly connected to them on an emotional level than with the book characters. Each of them became real, and their roles in the events leading up to her death were more poignant.
It helped that the entire cast was amazing.
3. Length
With lower word counts in average YA fiction, Jay Asher faced certain constraints. However with 13 episodes, the writers of the series could expand the entire story and character development over a longer timeline. In particular, Hanna herself became three-dimensional in the series, and that gave her character a depth that felt so much stronger than in the novel.
In fact this storytelling technique of using multiple episodes in a series to tell a whole story, such as with Netflix’s Stranger Things, has become both popular and effective because of the binge-watching phenomenon.
A great many of us will happily watch an entire season of a series in a weekend the way we’d watch a two-hour movie, so the effect feels very much the same except more satisfying because there is… more.
Which leads me to my closing point. Sometimes writers don’t know when to stop. There’s the tendency to conclude that if audiences liked the show so much, maybe they’ll want more. Another season. Another story. They think, “Hey, the book ended here, but maybe we could come up with something.”
Just don’t.
With Thirteen Reasons Why, Netflix should have stopped with Season 1 along with the novel. The End.
What are your thoughts on the subject: book or series—and why?
---
Khristina Chess is the author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. Her novel Straight A'stackles the topic of suicide and academic pressure.
www.khristinachess.com
September 17, 2018
When Friday Night Football Slams Art
Downtown Huntsville offered a Bonus Friday Night Art Walk to art vendors on Friday night, but traffic around the square was decidedly light compared to summer events. I was a lonely bookseller on my street with only a handful of jewelry makers in view on the street around the corner.
To pass the time, I resorted to people-watching and spinning stories. A woman passed me carrying a large vase of red roses, and her expression wasn’t happy. Were those roses a plea for forgiveness from some suitor? Breakup roses? Anniversary roses on the wrong day? Or maybe her frown had nothing to do with the roses, but she’d just been yelled at by her boss.
What was her story?
On the steps of the museum across the street, a beautiful lady posed in a gold dress while the setting sunlight bounced off her face, and a photographer instructed her to pose. After some time, she changed into a glamorous pink and red dress and made her way toward me for further pictures on the steps on the courthouse, then on one of the benches beside my table. People blew their horns as they drove by, and she waved. Was she famous? Was she an important person? It was hard to avoid staring as she moved down the sidewalk and posed under streetlights, beside trees, and next to buildings.
What was her story?
Back on the museum steps, another couple lined up between the white columns to pose for a picture. They held a big sign that said “We’re Engaged.” I imagined this photo shoot would soon go viral on their social media network. Why weren’t they posting pictures of an engagement ring? You didn’t need a sign if you did that. A diamond told the whole story without any words at all. Maybe there wasn’t a ring. But why?
A few people stopped and talked to me about my books, but they weren’t “my people.” My readers were somewhere else last night. I don’t know if they were watching high school football or just hanging out at home with friends, but they weren’t downtown at the art stroll.
There was, however, a shirtless skateboarder. And a very confident man wearing salmon-colored corduroy pants. While both of them looked like Avant guard artsy-types, neither seemed to be the target audience for YA novels about troubled teens turning corners.
So until next spring, football wins the day.
www.khristinachess.com
To pass the time, I resorted to people-watching and spinning stories. A woman passed me carrying a large vase of red roses, and her expression wasn’t happy. Were those roses a plea for forgiveness from some suitor? Breakup roses? Anniversary roses on the wrong day? Or maybe her frown had nothing to do with the roses, but she’d just been yelled at by her boss.
What was her story?
On the steps of the museum across the street, a beautiful lady posed in a gold dress while the setting sunlight bounced off her face, and a photographer instructed her to pose. After some time, she changed into a glamorous pink and red dress and made her way toward me for further pictures on the steps on the courthouse, then on one of the benches beside my table. People blew their horns as they drove by, and she waved. Was she famous? Was she an important person? It was hard to avoid staring as she moved down the sidewalk and posed under streetlights, beside trees, and next to buildings.
What was her story?
Back on the museum steps, another couple lined up between the white columns to pose for a picture. They held a big sign that said “We’re Engaged.” I imagined this photo shoot would soon go viral on their social media network. Why weren’t they posting pictures of an engagement ring? You didn’t need a sign if you did that. A diamond told the whole story without any words at all. Maybe there wasn’t a ring. But why?
A few people stopped and talked to me about my books, but they weren’t “my people.” My readers were somewhere else last night. I don’t know if they were watching high school football or just hanging out at home with friends, but they weren’t downtown at the art stroll.
There was, however, a shirtless skateboarder. And a very confident man wearing salmon-colored corduroy pants. While both of them looked like Avant guard artsy-types, neither seemed to be the target audience for YA novels about troubled teens turning corners.
So until next spring, football wins the day.
www.khristinachess.com
September 8, 2018
Why I Hate Censorship in YA Fiction
The YA fiction choices of my generation were fewer and tamer. Judy Blume was the author who took on tough topics for teens, and I believe there was some scandal surrounding the reading of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
My parents rarely censored my reading. As a latchkey GenX kid, I had free reign of their adult library, as well as Grandma’s closet of harlequin romance novels, and I read everything. Early in the book, Stephen King’s Cujo has a pretty graphic adult scene, so Judy Blume’s Forever . . . was not as shocking for me as it might have been. But this lack of oversight is not the reason why I hate censorship.
Today’s youth have outstanding choices in YA fiction and a whole section of their own in the bookstore, so they don’t have to pillage their parents’ shelves for good reading material. Some critics argue that dark themes in YA literature are contributing to the violence in schools, ranging from bullying to gang violence, and therefore we should censor the books that teens read for their own good.
Here's why I hate censorship.
1. Books Are Not Bad
I never want to be afraid to read books—any books, not even books whose content I might disagree with. Words and ideas are information that a thinking person can use to make better decisions. I want to always be free to choose for myself whether or not to read a particular book. Shouldn’t young adults also be able to make up their minds about what to read, particularly 15-18-year-olds who are developing their intellect?
2. Digital Age Makes Banning Books Silly
My parents had the ability to block my reading habits. They could have restricted my library access, and I didn’t have money to buy books on my own. There wasn’t an Internet or eBooks.
But today, banning books just seems silly. Students have phones with unlimited access to the Internet and the ability to download anything they want. If some school or library decides that Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why or Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should be banned from the school library, students can simply download the books on their phones. Who can stop this? What is the point of restricting access to these books? It seems like a silly protest.
3. Banning Books Doesn’t Erase Teen Problems
Okay, so parents censor the books that their fragile children are reading, and now nothing bad will happen to them, right? Wrong. The bullies are still in their schools, as well as the drugs. Guess what? Girls still get raped at parties, and girls still cut themselves and drink too much, and kids die from driving while under the influence. Banning books about these things doesn’t stop them from happening.
4. It’s about Power, Not Helping
Maybe people who want to censor the reading material of others truly believe their motives are well-intentioned and good. Their concern comes from a well-intentioned place. Maybe. My perception is that those who want to control others, like the book-banners in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, really want power.
• I know what’s best for you.
• I know what you can handle (and what you can’t)
• I know what you need (and you don’t)
The only good thing to come from banning books is that it drives popularity. What’s better than forbidden fruit, right? If it’s banned, it must be good. If you’ll look at the Banned Books that Shaped America, you’ll see some titles that have become some of our literary staples:
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Where do you fall in the debate? Do you agree with banning some books in high school, or do you hate censorship too? Share your thoughts.
My parents rarely censored my reading. As a latchkey GenX kid, I had free reign of their adult library, as well as Grandma’s closet of harlequin romance novels, and I read everything. Early in the book, Stephen King’s Cujo has a pretty graphic adult scene, so Judy Blume’s Forever . . . was not as shocking for me as it might have been. But this lack of oversight is not the reason why I hate censorship.
Today’s youth have outstanding choices in YA fiction and a whole section of their own in the bookstore, so they don’t have to pillage their parents’ shelves for good reading material. Some critics argue that dark themes in YA literature are contributing to the violence in schools, ranging from bullying to gang violence, and therefore we should censor the books that teens read for their own good.
Here's why I hate censorship.
1. Books Are Not Bad
I never want to be afraid to read books—any books, not even books whose content I might disagree with. Words and ideas are information that a thinking person can use to make better decisions. I want to always be free to choose for myself whether or not to read a particular book. Shouldn’t young adults also be able to make up their minds about what to read, particularly 15-18-year-olds who are developing their intellect?
2. Digital Age Makes Banning Books Silly
My parents had the ability to block my reading habits. They could have restricted my library access, and I didn’t have money to buy books on my own. There wasn’t an Internet or eBooks.
But today, banning books just seems silly. Students have phones with unlimited access to the Internet and the ability to download anything they want. If some school or library decides that Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why or Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian should be banned from the school library, students can simply download the books on their phones. Who can stop this? What is the point of restricting access to these books? It seems like a silly protest.
3. Banning Books Doesn’t Erase Teen Problems
Okay, so parents censor the books that their fragile children are reading, and now nothing bad will happen to them, right? Wrong. The bullies are still in their schools, as well as the drugs. Guess what? Girls still get raped at parties, and girls still cut themselves and drink too much, and kids die from driving while under the influence. Banning books about these things doesn’t stop them from happening.
4. It’s about Power, Not Helping
Maybe people who want to censor the reading material of others truly believe their motives are well-intentioned and good. Their concern comes from a well-intentioned place. Maybe. My perception is that those who want to control others, like the book-banners in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, really want power.
• I know what’s best for you.
• I know what you can handle (and what you can’t)
• I know what you need (and you don’t)
The only good thing to come from banning books is that it drives popularity. What’s better than forbidden fruit, right? If it’s banned, it must be good. If you’ll look at the Banned Books that Shaped America, you’ll see some titles that have become some of our literary staples:
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Where do you fall in the debate? Do you agree with banning some books in high school, or do you hate censorship too? Share your thoughts.
September 2, 2018
Which YA Books about Eating Disorders Should You Read?
My most popular book is Hollow Beauty, a YA novel about a girl who decides to go on a drastic diet after a boy asks her to go to the prom. The fact that this book is my “bestseller” makes me feel sad because I still think about the death of Karen Carpenter on February 4, 1983 from anorexia nervosa. I was a young girl, and here we are in 2018, with women (and even men) still struggling with eating disorders.
I started my first diet in middle school, around the time that puberty hit. I remember having "head rushes" where everything went black because my blood sugar dropped so low from not eating all day. Then I went to college and gained the Freshman Fifteen. I've struggled with dieting much of my life. In my thirties, I lost 60 pounds on Weight Watchers but remain relatively stable at a healthy weight now—give or take a few pounds.
According to one Internet article that I found, I was in the 91% of female teenagers who tried dieting. Maybe I was even in the 40% who had an eating disorder, though I don’t know if I qualified for the label of anorexic. Does it really matter? I suffered from low self-esteem, low self-respect, and a desire to please other people, often at cost to myself. I certainly didn’t know who I was or what I wanted, except to be smaller. Much smaller.
YA BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Reading books can help save lives by showing what eating disorders look like. Through the power of story, someone may recognize their own symptoms of disordered eating or in their friends, and this can help someone to seek help. With that in mind, I offer two of my favorite YA titles on the topic:
1. The Stone Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel
Sethie Weiss is such a disconnected character. She’s almost hard to like because she’s so cold, made of granite, and not really in touch with herself in any way. It takes awhile to realize that her pain is tied to this perfectionist state she’s locked herself in, and the things she does and says are really part of her illness. In the end I rooted for her. I wanted her to become a real girl again.
2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
This book is stark, beautiful, and also painful. Laurie Halse Anderson writes about tough topics, and Wintergirls addresses eating disorders, friendship, grief, loss, and recovery. One girl is dead. The other one suffers from guilt and anorexia. You won’t be disappointed in this story.
While there are great Goodreads Lists for YA Eating Disorder Fiction, I cannot offer other titles for recommendation because I didn’t rate others that I read as highly. Go and find your own joy. Let me know if you find something great.
MEMOIR RECOMMENDATIONS
The authors whose writing has been more impactful have been in the area of memoir. One person in particular stands above all others: Carolyn Knapp. Her struggles with anorexia are detailed in The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays, Appetites: Why Women Want, and even to some extent in Drinking: A Love Story. Her work is amazing. I give her 5 stars all around.
Another great memoir about eating disorders is Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Mayra Hornbacher. Check that one out as well.
Above all, if you are someone who struggles with food, do not take four decades to learn the lesson that I have learned: you are enough. You are small enough, good enough, smart enough. The number on the scale does not define who you are or who you will become.
I’d love to hear from you. Please like or share any books and personal stories.
www.khristinachess.com
I started my first diet in middle school, around the time that puberty hit. I remember having "head rushes" where everything went black because my blood sugar dropped so low from not eating all day. Then I went to college and gained the Freshman Fifteen. I've struggled with dieting much of my life. In my thirties, I lost 60 pounds on Weight Watchers but remain relatively stable at a healthy weight now—give or take a few pounds.
According to one Internet article that I found, I was in the 91% of female teenagers who tried dieting. Maybe I was even in the 40% who had an eating disorder, though I don’t know if I qualified for the label of anorexic. Does it really matter? I suffered from low self-esteem, low self-respect, and a desire to please other people, often at cost to myself. I certainly didn’t know who I was or what I wanted, except to be smaller. Much smaller.
YA BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Reading books can help save lives by showing what eating disorders look like. Through the power of story, someone may recognize their own symptoms of disordered eating or in their friends, and this can help someone to seek help. With that in mind, I offer two of my favorite YA titles on the topic:
1. The Stone Girl by Alyssa Sheinmel
Sethie Weiss is such a disconnected character. She’s almost hard to like because she’s so cold, made of granite, and not really in touch with herself in any way. It takes awhile to realize that her pain is tied to this perfectionist state she’s locked herself in, and the things she does and says are really part of her illness. In the end I rooted for her. I wanted her to become a real girl again.
2. Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
This book is stark, beautiful, and also painful. Laurie Halse Anderson writes about tough topics, and Wintergirls addresses eating disorders, friendship, grief, loss, and recovery. One girl is dead. The other one suffers from guilt and anorexia. You won’t be disappointed in this story.
While there are great Goodreads Lists for YA Eating Disorder Fiction, I cannot offer other titles for recommendation because I didn’t rate others that I read as highly. Go and find your own joy. Let me know if you find something great.
MEMOIR RECOMMENDATIONS
The authors whose writing has been more impactful have been in the area of memoir. One person in particular stands above all others: Carolyn Knapp. Her struggles with anorexia are detailed in The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays, Appetites: Why Women Want, and even to some extent in Drinking: A Love Story. Her work is amazing. I give her 5 stars all around.
Another great memoir about eating disorders is Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia by Mayra Hornbacher. Check that one out as well.
Above all, if you are someone who struggles with food, do not take four decades to learn the lesson that I have learned: you are enough. You are small enough, good enough, smart enough. The number on the scale does not define who you are or who you will become.
I’d love to hear from you. Please like or share any books and personal stories.
www.khristinachess.com
August 31, 2018
13 Reasons Why Adults Love Reading YA
The wonderful thing about the novel as an art form is that its appreciation is subjective. I don’t care for The Great Gatsby, but some people find it amazing. I’d rather pick up Stephen King than Jane Austen, although these days I’m reading a lot more YA than horror.
Market statistics point to more than 50% of YA readers are adults like me. This information has led many to speculate on the trend, but I’ve come up with 13 reasons why I think adults love reading YA:
1. Amazing Story
First and foremost, I want a great story. I’m a plot junkie. I want pages that turn, chapters that beg me to leave the light on for ten more minutes, and twists that I don’t expect. Not every book is a suspense thriller, but I don’t want the whole novel to be predictable. Surprise me a few times.
Recommendation: Missing by Kelly Armstrong and One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
2. Real, Sweet Love
It seems the teenage love triangle has fallen out of favor these days, but I still enjoy a sweet love story, like Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. When the emotional stuff is done well, not love at first sight or some other contrived device, but the excited fever that comes with new, young love—that’s something! It’s complicated, clean, and messy all at the same time.
Recommendations: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
3. Delightful Writing
Some of the YA novels have witty and beautiful language. David Arnold’s Mosquitoland is particularly lyrical: “So I float in silence, watching the final touches of this perfect moonrise, and in a moment of heavenly revelation, it occurs to me that detours are not without purpose. They provide safe passage to a destination, avoiding pitfalls in the process.”
Recommendation: The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. Tough Topics
Many of the breakout novels and films in YA have been in the category of issue-driven fiction. Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why tackles the topics of bullying and suicide. John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is about children with terminal cancer. Some critics argue that authors are too cavalier with their treatment of topics like mental health, eating disorders, physical illnesses, self-harm, depression, or other issues, but others applaud such books for taking on the challenging stories and handling them with honesty, humor, and a bit of hope.
Recommendations: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and
The Future Unborn by Khristina Chess
5. Memorable Characters
The best characters stay with me long after I’ve closed the book, and YA has characters with strong, memorable voices.
Recommendations: Elizabeth Scott’s Living Dead Girl and By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
6. Breadth of Genre
Within YA, there’s so much variety. In addition to contemporary literary novels, I’ve discovered books that are historical, like Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The dystopian future is popular in YA and adult alike. My whole introduction to YA started back with a teen vampire named Edward and a friend who said, “You have to read this! You won’t believe how good it is.”
Recommendation: Enclave Series by Ann Aguirre and The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
7. Unpretentious
Because YA novels focus on story and have a reduced page length from mainstream literary fiction, most authors don’t waste time on fluff. Descriptions are not overly complex and drawn-out, and characters are developed without so much backstory that you know their kin’s next-of-kin. The language is meant to be readable at the high school level. This is not War and Peace or Waiting for Godot.
Recommendations: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
8. Universal Experience
Most YA novels have some coming of age aspect to them, and all readers relate to this, young and not-so-young. The journey of change is one that most of us continue into our twenties, thirties, and beyond as life events and stages continue. Leaving high school to go to college and having your kids graduate high school are similar moments, evoking common feelings and memories.
Recommendations: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer Smith and The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
9. Diversity
YA novels seem to make a more concerted effort to include diverse characters in them, as well as to publish books by diverse authors. This opens the genre to more inclusive voices and stories.
Recommendations: The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
10. Creative Techniques
Many YA novels employ creative storytelling techniques. They can be more visual, a step away from picture books, as if still in transition from their middle-grade and elementary levels. This format gives the novels a fresh appeal that reminds the reader the characters are still students.
Recommendations: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews and The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
11. Movies
Sometimes the movie tie-in is the hook that brings adult readers to YA novels. YA novels have been made into movies and television series more than ever: The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Hunger Games, Thirteen Reasons Why, If I Stay, Pretty Little Liars, The Fault of Our Stars, and so on. Sometimes the movie is the hook that brings adult readers into the world of YA fiction.
12. Cost
A lot of YA fiction is cheaper than adult books because of its shorter page count.
13. Positive Escapism
For those who read for respite from lives that are full of stress and worries, YA fiction offers positive escapism. Even in those “tough topics” books, the themes are overwhelmingly full of hope and good messages. The novels portray strong young women and men who are learning about life and finding their voices. The characters explore friendship, love, loss, and the other range of experiences that it means to be human.
All of these are great reasons to pick up a YA book. They’re some of the reasons why I love reading them—and writing them. It’s become my go-to genre, slowly displacing the literary fiction on some of my bookshelves at home.
What about you? Are you a YA reader, and if so, why? I’d love to hear your comments about your favorites.
www.khristinachess.com
Market statistics point to more than 50% of YA readers are adults like me. This information has led many to speculate on the trend, but I’ve come up with 13 reasons why I think adults love reading YA:
1. Amazing Story
First and foremost, I want a great story. I’m a plot junkie. I want pages that turn, chapters that beg me to leave the light on for ten more minutes, and twists that I don’t expect. Not every book is a suspense thriller, but I don’t want the whole novel to be predictable. Surprise me a few times.
Recommendation: Missing by Kelly Armstrong and One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus
2. Real, Sweet Love
It seems the teenage love triangle has fallen out of favor these days, but I still enjoy a sweet love story, like Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. When the emotional stuff is done well, not love at first sight or some other contrived device, but the excited fever that comes with new, young love—that’s something! It’s complicated, clean, and messy all at the same time.
Recommendations: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
3. Delightful Writing
Some of the YA novels have witty and beautiful language. David Arnold’s Mosquitoland is particularly lyrical: “So I float in silence, watching the final touches of this perfect moonrise, and in a moment of heavenly revelation, it occurs to me that detours are not without purpose. They provide safe passage to a destination, avoiding pitfalls in the process.”
Recommendation: The Absolute Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
4. Tough Topics
Many of the breakout novels and films in YA have been in the category of issue-driven fiction. Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why tackles the topics of bullying and suicide. John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is about children with terminal cancer. Some critics argue that authors are too cavalier with their treatment of topics like mental health, eating disorders, physical illnesses, self-harm, depression, or other issues, but others applaud such books for taking on the challenging stories and handling them with honesty, humor, and a bit of hope.
Recommendations: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven and
The Future Unborn by Khristina Chess
5. Memorable Characters
The best characters stay with me long after I’ve closed the book, and YA has characters with strong, memorable voices.
Recommendations: Elizabeth Scott’s Living Dead Girl and By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters
6. Breadth of Genre
Within YA, there’s so much variety. In addition to contemporary literary novels, I’ve discovered books that are historical, like Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The dystopian future is popular in YA and adult alike. My whole introduction to YA started back with a teen vampire named Edward and a friend who said, “You have to read this! You won’t believe how good it is.”
Recommendation: Enclave Series by Ann Aguirre and The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
7. Unpretentious
Because YA novels focus on story and have a reduced page length from mainstream literary fiction, most authors don’t waste time on fluff. Descriptions are not overly complex and drawn-out, and characters are developed without so much backstory that you know their kin’s next-of-kin. The language is meant to be readable at the high school level. This is not War and Peace or Waiting for Godot.
Recommendations: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
8. Universal Experience
Most YA novels have some coming of age aspect to them, and all readers relate to this, young and not-so-young. The journey of change is one that most of us continue into our twenties, thirties, and beyond as life events and stages continue. Leaving high school to go to college and having your kids graduate high school are similar moments, evoking common feelings and memories.
Recommendations: Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between by Jennifer Smith and The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
9. Diversity
YA novels seem to make a more concerted effort to include diverse characters in them, as well as to publish books by diverse authors. This opens the genre to more inclusive voices and stories.
Recommendations: The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
10. Creative Techniques
Many YA novels employ creative storytelling techniques. They can be more visual, a step away from picture books, as if still in transition from their middle-grade and elementary levels. This format gives the novels a fresh appeal that reminds the reader the characters are still students.
Recommendations: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews and The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
11. Movies
Sometimes the movie tie-in is the hook that brings adult readers to YA novels. YA novels have been made into movies and television series more than ever: The Maze Runner, Divergent, The Hunger Games, Thirteen Reasons Why, If I Stay, Pretty Little Liars, The Fault of Our Stars, and so on. Sometimes the movie is the hook that brings adult readers into the world of YA fiction.
12. Cost
A lot of YA fiction is cheaper than adult books because of its shorter page count.
13. Positive Escapism
For those who read for respite from lives that are full of stress and worries, YA fiction offers positive escapism. Even in those “tough topics” books, the themes are overwhelmingly full of hope and good messages. The novels portray strong young women and men who are learning about life and finding their voices. The characters explore friendship, love, loss, and the other range of experiences that it means to be human.
All of these are great reasons to pick up a YA book. They’re some of the reasons why I love reading them—and writing them. It’s become my go-to genre, slowly displacing the literary fiction on some of my bookshelves at home.
What about you? Are you a YA reader, and if so, why? I’d love to hear your comments about your favorites.
www.khristinachess.com
August 12, 2018
Why I Believe in the Next Generation Readers
At the Huntsville Downtown Art Stroll on Friday night, three small children stopped at my table and began to interview me:
“Did you write these books?”
“Do you like to read?”
“What are they about?”
I offered them bookmarks and answered their many questions. Since teen drinking wasn’t an age-appropriate topic, I told them Drive to June was about a girl who learned how to drive a car—which is also true. Several minutes into the interview, their mother caught up and said they were just learning to read.
“Reading is a lifelong joy,” I said. “What do you like to read?”
“Shel Silverstein.”
“Oh, I love Shel Silverstein!”
“And Dr. Seuss.”
“Are You My Mother is my favorite,” I said. “Have you read Where the Wild Things Are?”
“Did you write that?”
“No!” I laughed. “I wish! It’s an excellent book!”
“We’ve read Where the Wild Things Are,” their mother said. “Remember?” She thanked me and herded them on with promises of ice cream.
After they left, I continued enjoying my evening of people and dog-watching. There was a boy in an alligator suit and a man with a cat hand puppet, and I can only assume they were advertising for a local theatre production. Diners pulled in front of the swanky restaurant across the street and blocked the street to wait for the valet parking, and horns blared from the cars stuck in the intersection behind them. It was high drama.
My greatest thrills of the evening came from fan visits. One reader stopped by to say she’d met me at a previous event and had bought two of my books. She read both of them and enjoyed them, and now she wanted to purchase the other two—signed of course.
Then, as I was packing up my table at the end of the evening, another girl raced up to my table and said, “You’re still here!”
“I am.” Barely.
“We were all the way on the other side of the square,” she said. “And we ran over here before you left.”
She explained to her parents that she’d met me at an earlier event but didn’t have money to buy my books. Would they buy some for her now?
I pulled a copy of each novel out of my suitcase, spread them across the table, and described what each was about.
“Can I have all four?” she asked her mom.
“Two.”
She made her choices. I signed them and thanked her. She looked delighted. I know I was. Who are those naysayers that claim young people aren’t reading anymore? I’d spent an evening talking to future young journalists who read Shel Silverstein. I’d been pursued by teenage readers and returning fans who clearly loved books. My faith in the future reading public remains strong.
www.khristinachess.com
“Did you write these books?”
“Do you like to read?”
“What are they about?”
I offered them bookmarks and answered their many questions. Since teen drinking wasn’t an age-appropriate topic, I told them Drive to June was about a girl who learned how to drive a car—which is also true. Several minutes into the interview, their mother caught up and said they were just learning to read.
“Reading is a lifelong joy,” I said. “What do you like to read?”
“Shel Silverstein.”
“Oh, I love Shel Silverstein!”
“And Dr. Seuss.”
“Are You My Mother is my favorite,” I said. “Have you read Where the Wild Things Are?”
“Did you write that?”
“No!” I laughed. “I wish! It’s an excellent book!”
“We’ve read Where the Wild Things Are,” their mother said. “Remember?” She thanked me and herded them on with promises of ice cream.
After they left, I continued enjoying my evening of people and dog-watching. There was a boy in an alligator suit and a man with a cat hand puppet, and I can only assume they were advertising for a local theatre production. Diners pulled in front of the swanky restaurant across the street and blocked the street to wait for the valet parking, and horns blared from the cars stuck in the intersection behind them. It was high drama.
My greatest thrills of the evening came from fan visits. One reader stopped by to say she’d met me at a previous event and had bought two of my books. She read both of them and enjoyed them, and now she wanted to purchase the other two—signed of course.
Then, as I was packing up my table at the end of the evening, another girl raced up to my table and said, “You’re still here!”
“I am.” Barely.
“We were all the way on the other side of the square,” she said. “And we ran over here before you left.”
She explained to her parents that she’d met me at an earlier event but didn’t have money to buy my books. Would they buy some for her now?
I pulled a copy of each novel out of my suitcase, spread them across the table, and described what each was about.
“Can I have all four?” she asked her mom.
“Two.”
She made her choices. I signed them and thanked her. She looked delighted. I know I was. Who are those naysayers that claim young people aren’t reading anymore? I’d spent an evening talking to future young journalists who read Shel Silverstein. I’d been pursued by teenage readers and returning fans who clearly loved books. My faith in the future reading public remains strong.
www.khristinachess.com
June 9, 2018
Shrek, Dragons, and an Ugly Duckling
Humpty Dumpty isn’t a normal visitor to the Friday Night Art Walk in downtown Huntsville. I see a lot of things from my vendor booth on the corner: people walking dogs of all shapes and sizes, kids eating frozen ice, cars circling the block, and that guy at the restaurant across the street who does valet parking for the restaurant. Occasionally there’s the oddity like the guy riding a skateboard down the middle of the street with a camera. Or the musician with the accordion. Or the little redheaded princess in pink tights with green butterfly wings.
But when Humpty Dumpty crossed the street, I wasn’t sure what to think.
More characters soon followed. There were two king’s men, a lovely queen, and then an ugly duckling. They were characters from Shrek the Musical, handing out cards to advertise for their upcoming production at Lee High School. That ugly duckling looked adorable and very hot in her costume.
That’s what I love about the downtown Art Walk. Every month is unique. The people who come out are fun to talk to, and everyone is enjoying the city and the atmosphere. There’s live music competing with the street noise of the traffic. It has a festival feeling about it.
Lots of people visited my table. One mother and her teenage son came to hear about my books, and I ran through the 30-second elevator pitch on teen issues: anorexia, academic pressure, teen pregnancy, and drinking. The mother turned to her son.
“No dragons,” she said.
“I don’t care about any of that,” he said. “It sounds really depressing.”
I laughed. “They have happy endings. Romance.”
He shook his head and backed away with a look of horror on his face. I wish I’d thought to mention to robots and the zombies, but I’m not sure that would have been enough to entice him. Maybe my next book needs to include a dragon?
www.khristinachess.com
But when Humpty Dumpty crossed the street, I wasn’t sure what to think.
More characters soon followed. There were two king’s men, a lovely queen, and then an ugly duckling. They were characters from Shrek the Musical, handing out cards to advertise for their upcoming production at Lee High School. That ugly duckling looked adorable and very hot in her costume.
That’s what I love about the downtown Art Walk. Every month is unique. The people who come out are fun to talk to, and everyone is enjoying the city and the atmosphere. There’s live music competing with the street noise of the traffic. It has a festival feeling about it.
Lots of people visited my table. One mother and her teenage son came to hear about my books, and I ran through the 30-second elevator pitch on teen issues: anorexia, academic pressure, teen pregnancy, and drinking. The mother turned to her son.
“No dragons,” she said.
“I don’t care about any of that,” he said. “It sounds really depressing.”
I laughed. “They have happy endings. Romance.”
He shook his head and backed away with a look of horror on his face. I wish I’d thought to mention to robots and the zombies, but I’m not sure that would have been enough to entice him. Maybe my next book needs to include a dragon?
www.khristinachess.com
