Debut of the year? Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Everyone and their neighbour have already read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Now I have as well, but did I like it?

As a side note, don’t you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it should be this big awkward thing whether you’re straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I’m just saying.

My short, unfair and spoiler free synopsis:

Simon is gay. No one knows, except Blue. Blue is also gay, and the two boys have a secret, anonymous email exchange going on. A wonderful friendship is in the making. Only trouble is on the horizon. One day Simon forgets to log out of his email at school and the mistake will soon throw Simon’s world into chaos.

Well let me start by using the phrase “all the feels” for the first time ever, because truly Becky Albertalli writes the most genuine scenes. It was not a sad story, but the parts that were borderline sad, the happy scenes, the angry scenes and every other emotional evoking scene all felt so genuine. By the last part of the book I was a bit frustrated, angry, I laughed, laughed again, cried a few tears, laughed some more and then I cried again. I told my significant other that I would think myself a bit emotional unstable I had observed myself from the outside as he did.

All I ever do is come out. I try not to change, but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways. I get a girlfriend. I have a beer. And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again.

Believeable characters

Simon is a great character. He is not without faults, but he has this admirable ability to look back and reflect upon incidents where he did wrong. I loved that about him. Along with Simon, there are plenty of other well fleshed out characters. Even the ones just doing a guest performance in the story felt like real people. Well done, Becky!

There is a lot of love, caring, support and empathy between these pages, as well as there are a handful of people who contribute to evoke the opposite kind of feelings. Like in the real world, Simon have some encounters with people who are narrow-minded, but he slays them with his bravery (yes, that was just a silly metaphor, this is not a fantasy novel).

My limbs feel really heavy. I kind of want to go home and crawl into bed with my iPod. But the curtains start to open. And I keep moving forward.

It’s not easier. It’s impossible. Because even though it feels like I’ve known Abby forever, I really only met her four months ago. And I guess there hasn’t been time for her to have any set ideas about me yet. But I’ve known Leah since sixth grade, and Nick since we were four. And this gay thing. It feels so big. It’s almost insurmountable. I don’t know how to tell them something like this and still come out of it feeling like Simon. Because if Leah and Nick don’t recognize me, I don’t even recognize myself anymore.

Becky Albertalli have created a fictional contemporary world that I fell in love with. The wonderful friends, loving family, the cutest love interest and a truly amazing teacher, I could have read on about them all for hours and hours. I was sad to let them go.

For those who find it of importance: there are some swearing, a tiny scene of underage drinking and references to sex. All addressed with the loving care, concern and advice of Simons parents. In my opinion, nothing to hide from a seventeen-year-old living in the real world. Then again, I live in one of the Nordic countries and scenes like described above very rarely shock us – is that an American thing? Some might find us weird, I mean we rarely to never ban books even. A real live book utopia that is ;)

I could have written more in depth about this novel, but I do not wish to do so. I just want the world to know, if in doubt, that I LOVED Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda! It is an important novel for young adults and adults alike. Not only does the books address the challenges of being gay and the huge deal everyone makes the “coming out” part out to be, it also addresses what it is like to be a teenager and how a parent/child relationship evolves through the years regardless of whom you love.

Book source: I bought the book.

#bookreview - Golden boy by Abigail Tarttelin

I read Golden Boy by
Abigail Tarttelin
last summer.

Now even a year after reading the book
the story is still fresh in my mind.
To me that is a sign of quality.

Golden boy in my words:

On the outside Max is a boy, but biologically he has both male and female reproductive organs. Max is born intersex(there are various kinds of the condition this is just one of them). Even if he might be different underneath a few layers of clothing Max leads a life no different than other teenagers. That is until one day when his best friend from childhood oversteps all boundaries. A friend who knows everything about Max turns his world upside down and shatters it. To Max intersex has been his normal, as well it should, and he lives just fine with the condition. Now Max starts to doubt himself and wonder if he is a freak of nature. 

A golden boy

First of all my heart bleeds for those who in real life experience the difficulties of feeling that they are born different and those struggling coming to terms with the fact that we are not all made the same way. Luckily each day shows us that 'normal' is a concept far broader than the world perhaps initially defined it as. Max is intersex yes, he happens to be biologically parts boy and girl, but that does not define who he is as a person. Max is portrayed as generous, loving and kind - if he were a living, breathing human, and not letters on paper, I would love to have Max in my own life.

In the news:

As I am sure you have picked up on by now Abigal Tarttelin made sure that Max is a character the reader cannot help but fall head over heels for. Max is such a sympathetic and strong boy, even when people try to break him down. When Max is brutally forced into learning more about his condition he is quite shocked by what he learns and also to discover what has been kept from him all his life. Some of the people in Max life,that loves him dearly has made some less than wise choices in the name of love and for what they thought would protect him from harm.

Multiple point of view

The story is told to the reader through the eyes of Max and those closest to him and that makes it possible to view things from several angles and to understand some of the choices that was made. I am glad for it and in my opinion it works quite well. Everything is illuminated, so to speak. Things have been said, done and kept from Max out of love and good intentions, but there is a time and a place for everything. A parent cannot protect his or her child from difficulties forever, especially not when the problems are related to the child's physical and psychological well being. Sometimes on has to face the difficulties and work it out in the best possible way, teenagers has a right to be heard in matters concerning his or hers future.

No justice

Golden boy was an excellent novel, one I cannot do justice by mere words from the English vocabulary of a Norwegian. I enjoyed the writing and the theme(s) addressed in this novel, it makes a person more able to understand and empathize with the difficulties that can arise concerning gender identity. In addition this book is important for those who might be intersex, you are not alone and you are not abnormal. Like I said I cannot do this story justice but I will treasure it forever. One of the best books I have read in the past year. I recommend this book to young adult and adults alike.

Have you read Golden Boy or will you sometime in the future?

Undone by Cat Clarke #bookreview

Every good story deserves a happy ending – it’s a basic rule of storytelling. The boy next door certainly shouldn’t die.

Undone tells the tragic story of a sixteen year old boy who commits suicide, because society cannot accept that he is gay, and how his best friend Jem copes with the loss. A well written YA contemporary from UK author Cat Clarke.

Undone, published in 2012 by Quercus. 502 pages.

Torn

I have so many conflicted feelings inside of me after having finished reading Undone. On one hand it was a great read, with an unexplainable hook keeping me invested throughout the story on the other hand there were some things that bugged me very much.

Kai was the best, and the only, friend Jem had and in her opinion the only one she needed. Jem loved Kai dearly, not only as a friend, but he could never give Jem what she wanted. Jem understood and kept loving Kai all the same. One day Kai's sexuality was being outed in the worst possible way, in the end he cannot bear to live with it.

And I knew. She didn’t even have to tell me. I knew. But she told me anyway. I screamed. A raw, animal sound that I would never have imagined could come out of my body. Then I blacked out. When I woke up he was still dead.

After recovering slightly after the horrible shock Jem decides that she are going to revenge Kai. And so begins the journey, a great drama, in some ways unlike things I have read previously but also other areas recognisable from films and other novels. Jem moving up the ladder in the social hierarchy and leaving who she once was behind for the sake of payback for the boy that she loved.

He was the type of boy who would lie flat on his back in the middle of the lawn to make sure the sky above was still the same sky he’d left behind in Manchester.

Slut shaming

The story is told through the eyes of our main character, Jem, that means the reader is left to interpret her view of the world. It is soon established that Jem is not alway trustworthy in her judgment and that her view of friendship(with other people than Kai) is messed up. Jem is so judgemental, negative and suspicious. I have to say that I did not like the way Jem several times turned to slut shaming - like in this example(and this was not the worst one):

But she wasn’t wearing a scrap of make-up, which was pretty much unthinkable to the popular, slutty girls she was friends with.

Wearing make-up does not turn someone into a slut, but in Jem's bitter mind it does. Also I found Kai's voice from the afterlife felt a bit stereotypical, it sounded a bit like one of the guys from the tv-series Queer Eye. Shopping, hair and make-up.

This month is all about SHOPPING! Your very favourite thing, right?!

Social media and intolerant people

To me this was the tale of coping with grief and also how hard it can be to have the world know about your sexuality if you are not yet ready to tell and I must add that there still is a lot of narrow minded people in our world, sadly. This story also does a great job showing how social media and cell phones can be used for bullying and that things that go viral cannot be taken back. In Jem's own words:

Kai and I would be living in a world where nobody cared about your sexual orientation. Being gay wouldn’t be gossiped about or frowned upon – it wouldn’t even be worth mentioning. It would just be a fact. A mundane sort of fact.

As a parent myself I think this is a good read for adults as well as young adults. It is a reminder that one should step up, care and see the teenager - our kids needs us way beyond the age of ten. I wanted to shout at the book why the hell haven't anyone fixed therapy for Jem? But I guess we would not have had this story if Jem went to a councilor. In my opinion there is some serious case of neglect or at least turning a blind eye from the parents in this story.

‘I really, really like you, Jem.’ The way he says it makes it seem like a declaration of the deepest, most sincere love.

The cast and THE END

I sometimes wished the author had chosen another narrative point of view, the first person narrative in this story makes it difficult to get to know the other characters more intimately. Despite of the issues I had with this novel I still liked it. Jem irritated me so much, but I still could not stay away from the book - always wondering what Jem was up to.

The ending of the story was like it had to be, but still I would very much like a sequel to the story. I need more, pretty please Mrs. Clarke!

The sun’s coming up now. I was hoping for a proper, beautiful sunrise, but I think we both know you don’t always get what you wish for.

Cat Clarke was born in Zambia, but lives and writes from Scotland. Cat is publishing a new ya novel(already on my wish list), The Lost and Found, with Quercus this year, in May.

Flat out love by Jessica Park #bookreview

The self publishing industry is popular at the moment, but in my experience the good titles are few and far apart. The quality of self published novels is often lacking, there is a lot to be said for having a good editor and the traditional publishing industry on ones side when publishing a novel. This time however I have managed to find that rare piece of gold among the gravel!

I bought Flat out Love after reading several good reviews from my Goodread friends. I felt reasonably safe that I could trust these reviewers as I just removed well over 600 friends whom for some reason or another did not fit my new criteria for GR friendship. So after my bout of cleaning Flat out Love still stood out as a good read, friends had given four and five star ratings to the novel. I was curious, could this self published YA novel really be that good? After having finished the novel, I wonder why on earth no major publishing house has bought the rights to this lovely story. Several self published novels that is lacking, compared to Flat out Love, has already been bought, so why ever not a novel that actually deserves it?!

Julie has been scammed, her supposedly nice little flat (one she found through Craiglist) is a restaurant. What ever should you do when you have no place to live in a new town? Julie calls her mother. Luckily, mom Kate is able to find a temporary home for Julie with a family of her best friends from her own time studying. The Watkins is kind and Julie quickly bonds with brothers Matthew and Finn, and their younger, quirkier sister Celeste. One of the strangest tings with Celeste is the fact that she is dragging with her a live size cardboard copy of her older brother Finn everywhere. The doll is appropriately named Flat Finn; it keeps Celeste company when Finn is out traveling the world.  Julie finds it rather weird that this is how a thirteen year old copes with missing her brother. Could there be more too it? However nice the family is something is off and all family members are overprotective of Celeste. 

Julie moves from Ohio to Boston to go to college. In Boston, she houses with a nice but also a very dysfunctional family. The story is predictable and could perhaps have delved even more down into the more serious issues, that being said the story was so entertaining and addictive that I devoured it despite of some of the things that the author could have delved deeper into. What you see is what you get and sometimes that is all this reader needs. Nicely done characters, smart (sometimes perhaps a bit too smart on some areas in life and not so much in others) and evolving throughout the story. Jessica Park has a good vocabulary and a varied language, I enjoy that in a novel, it has a nice flow too it and I learned a few new words along the way.

“Only one more exit, and then we’ll be there. This will be worth the two-hour drive. Trust us.” “When you say worth, do you mean there will be cash incentives involved? Apple is having a press conference in a few days, and I’m sure they’ll be releasing some wildly unnecessary gadget that I need."

Self published novels are often more unpolished than a traditional published novels. I find myself speculating how this novel could have taken the step from very good to excellent with the firm hand of an editor. Jessica Park has done an amazingly good job all on her own. It is important to remember that the publishing industry is a whole lot more than big budgets for marketing, at least in the early stages of a novel. Author and publisher works together to bring out the very best story that lives in the author, the see a good story and offers guidance on the road to a great story. I must not forget the wonderful people washing the manuscripts for grammatical errors and so on. Luckily, I cannot say that I noticed any grammatical errors in Flat Out Love. I give this sweet romance my stamp of approval. The sequel, I do believe it is the story of Celeste, is already added to my wish list.

Have you read Flat  Out Love? What did you think? What are your experiences with self published novels in general? Would you consider reading this one? Drop me a line in the comments.

Book Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor just moved to a new place with her mom, stepdad and younger siblings. Park has lived there forever with his korean mother, american father and younger brother. He likes his spot alone on the school bus where bullies like the neighbour Steve leaves him alone. For reasons he doesn`t understand he offers the seat next to him to the weird looking Eleanor when noone else will on her first day. And this is where the story about the two of them starts.

                                                                   

The story about Park and Eleanor is cute, real and heartbreaking. They are in a way two lost souls that find each other over comic books and music on the school bus. Eleanor is the new weird looking girl with clothes that don`t really fit and big read hair. Park is the half-Korean kid that tries to be left alone most of the time and is in sharp contrast to his brother who looks and act more like his all-american macho father when he himself looks more like his feminine korean mother. At Eleanor`s house they all have to tip-toe around the very moody and abusive stepfather. Eleanor has been sent away before for being rude and even though home is not a happy place it`s still home. She also has way too much responsibility for her brothers and sisters, that all sleep in the same room, for keeping them of the stepdad`s radar. This way of living has made her very tough and her shell is not easy to break into.

The story`s told form both Eleanor`s and Park`s perspectives divided into their own chapters. It`s set to the 80`s with a lot of popcultural references from that era but it doesn`t seem to matter to the younger readers nor should it. I guess when an author writes about things they know it usually feels more real than if they try to write about the things that young people care about today without really getting it. Music and comic books are the most important way for Park and Eleanor to connect and communicate. Park provides Eleanor with mix-tapes and comic books to take home and they`re definitely her comfort in a home where nothing`s like it should be. And then they talk about it on the school bus the next day. Eleanor also finds a way give something back when she realizes Park isn`t that updated on older music. So I guess the main reason why the era doesn`t really matter is that all readers will get their way of communicating and finding someone who cares about the same things you do.

The best part of the book is the way Rowell gets you to really care about the characters. They are so well described and seem so real to me. My heart just breaks for Eleanor and all the things she had and has to go through. And even though Park`s problems in comparison doesn`t seem as major you still gets his struggle because I think a lot of us can relate to feeling like an outsider, not being or looking the way you want or are expected to especially in those challenging teenage years.

What makes this book stand out is the way it combines the heavy issues with the more plain but still important issues of being a teenager. And this is not your typical romance or love story where the girl is swept away.  It`s just as much about friendship and finding someone who gets you, for both of them all told in such a cautious way that makes it such a tender experience. And even though I constantly wanted to help Eleanor, hug her and tell her everything would be okay, she manages to find her own way and strength. And unfortunately this is the reality for many people that struggle, there are noone there to save them or even help them. The story gets to me as my teenager self, and as a mother and human being and it`s the beautiful and strong Eleanor I will remember the most.

Eleanor & Park has won several awards, both literary and given by the readers. Amongst them YA-book of the year on Goodreads and just last week it was recognized as an Honor Book at the Printz awards. I did really like and enjoy this book despite all the fuzz because fortunately quite a few books actually deserve it. I am very tempted to read more by the author and since I already have Fangirl  at home it`s very likely this will happen. I am also very happy tø say that I recently discovered that this book will be published in norwegian later this year.

Intelligent and moving YA: Please Ignore Vera Dietz

This is me using the word compassionate in a sentence. Please Ignore Vera Dietz is to me a novel about being compassionate, about caring for what happens to your friends and family. 

Sounds lame? Well if you think so, you, my dear, are very wrong. There is nothing boring or lame about Vera at all. Her story is moving and funny, I laughed and wiped the occational tear away while reading.


So the main character in Please Ignore Vera Dietz, who surprisingly enough is called Vera, is a smart girl. Sometimes she has to study for her vocabulary tests and she involves the reader in her studying. That is what I am playing at in the intro to this review. So there you are!

Best friends from childhood,Vera and Charlie are soon turning eighteen when they suddenly end up as each others nemesis. Then one night Charlie just dies. Should Vera try to find out what happened or is Charlies secrets better off being buried and forgotten alongside him? The hundreds and sometimes thousands of Charlies Vera sees in the most unsuitable situations might be a significant sign that Vera should take action. Either that or Vera is being contacted from the great beyond.

Dare to care

A.S. King's story is for me a story about caring, not turning a blind eye on things that happens to your loved ones. In these days sadly it is not uncommon to turn a blind a when difficult issues lies dead ahead. If we dared to care more about each other it might result in a lot more happy people in the word. Please Ignore Vera Dietz drives this message home, at least for me. The main character Vera learns that one should care, it is not always wise to fly below the radar, but by then it is way too late.

I was always so unsure where Vera would end up, she was living on a dangerous cliff edge, would she tip over over would her feet stay grounded? I guess you have to figure that out by reading this book yourself.

Cheering on the good parents 

I would say it is rather common for parents to be portrayed in a unflattering manner in a lot of YA novels. That or the parents are not visible to the reader at all. That is not the case in PIVD, Vera's father, Ken Dietz, actually has a few chapters here and there all to himself.

By letting Ken Dietz have a voice of his own A.S. King gave the readers a unique view into Ken's thoughts on being a single parent for Vera. Ken tries to understand his daughter and he is doing his very best and still he feels like he is failing. I loved the insight in Ken's life, past and present, it has a lot to do with who Vera is now. Also Ken makes the most hilarious flowcharts.

A wonderful YA novel, and I think young adults and adults both would benefit(and be entertained by) from reading this novel. I think the author have done a great job, one that might provide each parties to understand each other a bit better. One doesn't have to agree with each other all the time, but it do helps to see things from a different perspective. A unputdownable, funny and sad read at the same time. Well done, A.S. King! I will read more of your work, that's for sure.

Check out A.S. King talking about her novel and some other stuff:

I have to add that I first discovered Please Ignore Vera Dietz over at book blogger, now turned published author, Lenore Appelhans' blog back in 2010. You can read Lenore's review here.
Have you read PIVD or any other books by A.S. King?
Do tell me about your A.S. King experience :)

I'll end this review with a song that makes me think about the turning of the main character, Vera, and Charlies relationship.