T2T Guest Post: Leila Sales!

Boy do I have something special for you today. As part of her Traveling to Teens tour, YA humor novelist Leila Sales, whose debut novel Mostly Good Girls was recently released, is visiting my blog today to give some advice about humor writing. Welcome, Leila, to Steph Su Reads!

HUMOR WRITING – PART SIX

I’ve already been over my big rules for humor writing: agreement, using gifts, the rule of three, callbacks, and being careful about digressions. I have one last tip for you! If this doesn’t work, nothing will! Ready for it?

6. MAKE THINGS EXTREME

This is probably my favorite of all humor-writing techniques. In practice, for me, it means “write in all caps,” or, “use a lot of exclamation points,” or, “include extreme adverbs that don’t necessarily make sense.”

An example from Mostly Good Girls, that epic tome (“Epic tome”= making things extreme. It’s not actually an epic tome. It’s like 350 pages, and it’s got some substantial margins.):

“Hey, do you want to go out some time?”

“Um.” I was already halfway out of the vehicle. “What?”

“Go out,” he said. “Some time.”

“Like on a date?”

“Sure,” Raymond said. “Yeah. I guess. Like on a date.”

“No,” I answered quickly because, like, why would I want to go on a date with Raymond? Not that there’s anything obviously wrong with him, but he is just some guy, and merely being a) male and b) my age is not reason enough for me to date someone. What I wanted to say to him was, “Are you honestly so delusional as to believe that we have anything in common? Did you consider your fifteen minute-long soliloquy about sports to be a successful conversation?”

But I couldn’t say that aloud. Because that is mean. So instead what I said, to soften the blow of my rejection, was, “Thanks for asking, but I’m actually not allowed to date.”

What makes this passage funny? One, the italics. I love the italics, not as much as I love the CAPS LOCK, but I have found over the years that copyeditors tend to get annoyed when you write in caps lock.

The second thing this passage has going for it is the phrase “to soften the blow of my rejection.” Violet’s rejection of Raymond is not a “blow.” He will not be devastated. He will forget about it by tomorrow. But the overstatement works.

Of course, the reader doesn’t bother to parse sentences like that. All a reader notices is whether something is funny, or boring. They don’t care why. But the writer sometimes has to care.

The best way to write is to learn from example, so in the next post of my blog tour, I’m going to share with you a selection of my favorite humor writers. See you then!

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Thanks for this Leila! I'm no good at humor writing so I've been learning a lot. Be sure to follow the rest of Leila's T2T tour to find out more about her, her book, and her writing tips!

Review (T2T): Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Tags: YA, boarding school, humor, friendship

Summary

Violet Tunis and her best friend Katie attend a prestigious all-girls’ private high school in Massachusetts. To deal with the pressure to succeed as well as the eccentricities of their classmates, Violet and Katie love to do projects with one another, planning baking parties gone wrong and “dates” with Scott Walsh, the boy they both love.

Junior year, however, their friendship is changing. Katie, whom Violet has always envied for the ease with which she succeeds, has been pulling away from their old lifestyle. The hypocrisy of their cutthroat school becomes more and more unbearable. Will Violet be forced to give up who she is in order to succeed? Will her friendship with Katie weather the changes?

Review

Humor and heart shine equally bright in Leila Sales’ brilliant debut novel, MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS. Female readers of all ages will laugh and cry as they relate to Violet’s difficulties and chuckle over her mishaps.

It is a sad indication of our times that we are able to relate so well to Violet’s situation. Westfield School is extremely competitive, and Leila Sales beautifully captures the utter ridiculousness of upper-middle-class prep school culture: the democracy that results in no decision being made for the most mundane issues, a lack of perspective, etc.

But what makes MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS so enjoyable is not a focus on its setting: it’s because the two main characters are so real, likable in their flaws. It’s easy to see from just her first-person narration that Violet is intelligent. However, she is also very much her age, and thus lacks a certain degree of perspective that makes her escapades so funny. Whether it’s attempting to gain experience talking to guys, to her confusion over Katie’s seemingly changed personality, Violet tries to solve her problems with typical adolescent gusto. She’s far from being perfect, but we love her all the more because of that.

MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS deals well with the sensitive issue of changing friendships during adolescence, but in a humorous way that is sorely lacking in YA lit. I think if I were closer to Violet’s age I would’ve loved this book to pieces: as it is, sometimes her drama grated on my nerves. But as it is, this is teen chick lit as its smartest and most incisive. It will make you laugh so hard your stomach will hurt, and yet it also brings to light the troubling pressures that high-achieving teenagers are facing these days. I’m looking forward to more from this talented new author!

Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 3 out of 5 - One might consider it almost too generic, but I kind of like how it doesn't belittle the book's content, and adds a bit of sass and flair to the novel.

Simon Pulse / Oct. 5, 2010 / Hardcover / 347pp. / $16.99

ARC picked up at BEA, reviewed as part of a Traveling to Teens tour.

Stay tuned for a special guest post from the author!

Author Interview (T2T): Jackie Morse Kessler

Adult urban fantasy turned YA writer Jackie Morse Kessler is participating in a Traveling to Teens tour to promote her debut YA novel, a unique and wonderful magical realism book called Hunger, which reimagines the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Today, Jackie was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions for readers. Welcome, Jackie, to Steph Su Reads!

1. A modern, urban fantasy retelling of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse--how cool! What gave you the idea for this new series?

Death, doom and destruction, of course! **g** Actually, for me the focus was always on an anorexic protagonist becoming Famine. Thinking through the purpose of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse came later. I guess it’s closer to magical realism than urban fantasy.

I’ve wanted to write this story for years. But I’d convinced myself that it would never sell, because it wasn’t sexy. No one would want to read about a girl with anorexia, I thought. Luckily, my agent convinced me otherwise. (Her exact words were, “Are you crazy?”)

2. Lisabeth's demonic inner voice is so pitch-perfect it's eerie. Did you have a similar inner voice when you were a teen? How did you finally defeat it?

Ah, the Thin Voice. Yeah, evil, isn’t it? I used to be bulimic, and even though I haven’t been for many years, it was very easy to slip into that mindset when I was writing HUNGER. I wonder if we ever lose that nasty voice, the one that whispers how ugly/fat/alone/insert-your-poison-here we are. I still have bad days when I feel worthless. But even at my worst, I still live my life. That’s the thing: being able to ignore that voice if we can’t completely silence it. I’ll never be perfect. And that’s OK.

3. How different was it to switch from writing adult urban fantasy to YA?

Once I figured out that the protagonist was 17 and not an adult, it just flowed. So I was very fortunate; it wasn’t difficult at all. (Maybe that’s because the story has been simmering for 10 years! It was much harder writing the second book, RAGE.)

4. Let's talk a little about Death, probably my favorite character. Why did you decide to create such an unconventional--and, as a result, endearing--Death character?

Thanks! He sort of pulled an Athena and sprung from my mind, fully formed. I wasn’t even into Nirvana when I created him. (Or maybe I was and I just didn’t know it.) Other authors have done wonderful things with the character of Death — Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett and Piers Anthony come immediately to mind; I’m sure those characters influenced me when I created Death for HUNGER.

Unlike the other Horsemen, who have been replaced over the years, Death is the original. So it seemed to me he had to have a very...interesting perspective on life. You’d have to have a sense of humor if you were Death for thousands upon thousands of years, no? (One hopes!)

5. The Four Horsemen are said to bring about the apocalypse as harbingers of the Last Judgment, in the biblical version. At the risk of sounding a bit morbid, how might you imagine the end of the world coming about?

Well, if I were an evil overlord—and if there’s an opening, please let me know—I’d destroy everything with chocolate. Chocolate typhoons. Chocolate avalanches. Chocolate volcanoes. Chocolate climate change! Sucks for those people who are allergic to chocolate, but hey — I’m evil. **g**

6. And now for something hopefully a little less morbid: if you could be a Horsemen, what would you symbolize, what color would your steed be, what would you carry, and what would your travels consist of?

I’d be the Horseman of Second Guessing. My color would be blue—no, green...I’d have an overstuffed backpack as my symbol because I’d be afraid that I’d forgotten whatever my real symbol was. And I’d mostly hang out in Washington, D.C., where it seems like second-guessing prevents anything meaningful from getting done quickly.

7. What books would you recommend to a reader who's interested in starting to read adult urban fantasy?

Oh wow. Much better for me to recommend authors instead of specific books. And so...Neil Gaiman, Chris Moore, Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Rob Thomas, all of the Deadline Dames (Devon Monk, Jenna Black, Karen Mahoney, Keri Arthur, Lili Saintcrow, Rachel Vincent, Rinda Elliott, Toni Andrews and me. :) and the League of Reluctant Adults (Mario Acevedo, Michele Bardsley, Dakota Cassidy, Carolyn Crane, Molly Harper, Mark Henry, Stacia Kane, Caitlin Kittredge, J.F. Lewis, Richelle Mead, Kelly Meding, Nicole Peeler, Cherie Priest, Kat Richardson, Michelle Rowen, Diana Rowland, Jeanne C. Stein, Anton Strout, Jaye Wells and me again!). And finally, everyone should read the Jaz Parks series, by the late but great Jennifer Rardin, who just passed away.

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Thanks for answering my questions, Jackie! I encourage you to check out the tour as it continues tomorrow at Sarah's blog (http://sarahbear9789.blogspot.com). You can find the complete tour schedule at the Traveling to Teens website here, and Jackie's author website is here. I hope you check Hunger out!

Review (T2T): Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Book 1

Tags: YA, magical realism, mythology, anorexia

Summary

In the throes of anorexia and contemplating suicide, Lisabeth Lewis is paid an unexpected visit by Death, who tells her she is to be the new Famine, one of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Lisa is incredulous: how can someone with such a hateful relationship with food be Famine? But as she travels the world on her steed and sees famine in action in heartwrenching scenes, Lisa begins to wage a war with her own inner demons as well.

Review

HUNGER is a succinct but powerful tale with mythological undertones, yet a very relevant modern topic. Jackie Morse Kessler weaves together old-style storytelling with contemporary charm to create a memorable and 100% fascinating read.

HUNGER draws on mythology, but its fairy-tale-like feel comes from much more than just its premise: it’s the way Kessler writes the story. Lisa’s conflicting emotions never feel forced: Kessler’s choice of words, their rhythm and their placement, portray that for us, so that we are never told how Lisa or we are supposed to feel. The writing thus makes you feel like you’re simultaneously within Lisa’s mind and above it, viewing everything from a magical, observant distance, the sort of reader-story distance that forms the core of ageless fairy tales.

The human characters in HUNGER are relatively straightforward, as befits their role within the fairy-tale-like feel of the story. However, Death is such a great and unique character. He’s cheeky, and has a sort of too-cool-for-his-own-good vibe going on. It puts a different spin on something that could be otherwise very heavy in the mythology and issues.

Overall, HUNGER was an incredible read. At under 200 pages, it goes by quickly, but it packs a punch, expertly combining an old-school storytelling feel with the issue of eating disorders, so relevant to many today. I will definitely be looking out for Jackie Morse Kessler’s future books!

Similar Authors
Holly Black
Marcus Zusak

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5


Cover discussion: 3.5 out of 5 - Uniquely, enticingly unisex, different, and flavorful.

Graphia / Oct. 18, 2010 / Paperback / 180pp. / $8.99

ARC picked up at BEA.

This review is part of a blog tour brought to you by Traveling to Teens. Stay close for an interview with Jackie!

Guest Post (T2T): Y. S. Lee!

Y.S. Lee is the talented author of The Agency series, starring an unusual and resourceful Victorian-era woman named Mary Quinn in a historical mystery trilogy worthy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Today she's here on my blog to talk about a famous Victorian figure as part of her "Notorious Victorians" guest post series for the Traveling to Teens tour for The Agency, Book 2: The Body at the Tower!

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Welcome to part six of Notorious Victorians – the blog tour supporting my second novel, The Body at the Tower. Today, I’m continuing the mini-theme of “Scandal and spectacle”. Yesterday, I talked about Oscar Wilde’s hunger for celebrity. Today, I want to look at the reluctant spectacle of Joseph Merrick – better known in some circles as the Elephant Man.

One of the less appealing aspects of our culture is its fondness for pointing and staring at those who are different. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries took this further: if you were affluent and bored, you could take a tour of a lunatic asylum. It was a bit like going to the zoo, but with people as your subjects. Sometimes, the people came to you.

Joseph Merrick was born in 1862, an average-looking baby. During early childhood, his body began to change: his lips swelled, his skin thickened and developed a loose, lumpy appearance, and he grew a lump of bone on his forehead. As he grew up, his right hand and both feet swelled and a childhood accident to his hip left him permanently lame. He had to sleep sitting up, because of the size of his head, and his swollen lips made it very difficult for him to speak clearly. Merrick’s disfigurations were blamed on an accident his mother had while pregnant, in which she was frightened by a fairground elephant.

Merrick tried different jobs, but he wasn’t dexterous enough for factory work and his speech difficulties and appearance frightened people. At the age of 17, rejected by his father and unable to support himself, he entered a local workhouse – an institution for the desperate. Workhouses were places of punishment and humiliation. Merrick had no desire to remain. After another failed attempt to find a job, he concluded that his best chance for survival lay in exhibiting himself as a freak. He found a manager and embarked on a tour that ended up in East London. While in London, he was examined and interviewed by a doctor called Frederick Treves.

These were the waning days of the human freak show. Shut down by London authorities, Merrick travelled to Brussels, where his manager stole his savings and abandoned him. Merrick made his way, with difficulty, back to England. Rediscovered by Treves (whose card Merrick carried), Merrick was taken to the London Hospital. Through a newspaper campaign, Treves arranged for him to live there permanently, funded by public donations. As a minor celebrity and tragic public figure, Merrick continued to receive visitors. He even made friends, and it was these human connections that most delighted him. He died, aged 27, of suffocation. Treves, who knew him best, theorized that he’d broken his neck by lying down to sleep, in an attempt to be more like an ordinary person.

Joseph Merrick’s life was a succession of tragedies. It was also a series of utterly practical decisions by a man intent on achieving some level of independence. That he achieved it by trading on his grotesque appearance makes him one of the most interesting reluctant spectacles of his age.

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Wow, freaky! I looked up more about Joseph Merrick after reading this guest post. Turns out he has what's called Proteus Syndrome, which is an unexplainable accelerated growth of random parts of the body. Apparently only 200 cases of this disease have been documented, and there is no known cure for it. Scary!

Thank so much, Ying, for that fascinating guest post! Be sure to follow the rest of the Traveling to Teens tour, with the schedule below:

Mon. 8/2 - Kristi (The Story Siren)

Tues. 8/3 - Kristen (Bookworming in the 21st Century)

Wed. 8/4 - Sarah GreenBeanTeenQueen

Thurs. 8/5 - Lizzy (Cornucopia of Reviews)

Fri. 8/6 - Ari (Reading in Color)

Mon. 8/9 - Mariah L

Tues. 8/10 - Steph Su

Wed. 8/11 - Cecilia (The Epic Rat)

Thurs. 8/12 - Laura (Laura’s Review Bookshelf)

Fri. 8/13 - The Book Smugglers

Review (T2T): The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee

The Agency, Book 2 (Book One review here)

**Note: slight, minor spoilers for Book One, but nothing earth-shattering or life-ruining, yup**


Tags: YA, historical fiction, mystery, Victorian London, suspense

Summary

Orphan Mary Quinn works for the Agency, a secret spy organization run by and employing entirely woman. Her latest assignment has her disguised as a 12-year-old boy at the construction site of a clock tower near Parliament, investigating a mysterious death and the site’s overall generally bad reputation. Mary is skilled at her “trade,” but she finds being a boy harder than she expects when it brings back long-suppressed memories of her rough childhood.

To make matters worse—or better, in some instances—James, her old flame, has returned from India, changed in some ways, yet exactly the same in others. Will Mary be able to balance all the different parts of her life while she does her job, or will something have to fall—literally?

Review

The first book in this series, A Spy in the House, was a solidly entertaining and well-researched historical mystery, but this second installment, THE BODY AT THE TOWER, throws me into fangirl zone. THE BODY AT THE TOWER, is off-the-charts incredible for its genre, a Victorian London mystery that is sure to please old and new fans.

All of Y. S. Lee’s writing strengths return in full force in this worthy sequel: from character development, to exquisitely immersing historical details, to a sizzling romance. All of the details about the Victorian era never feel forced or extravagant: readers will find it easy to fall into the gritty London that Mary inhabits, while learning incredible things about the Victorian era along the way.

The richness of the setting is matched well by the playful banter between Mary and James, banter that I described as Austen-worthy in my review of the first book, a sentiment that I heartily return to now. Sure, maybe it’s wish fulfillment in a number of ways—James is a self-described arrogant and persistent man—but damn if the pages didn’t nearly catch on fire while I was reading their banter. This is a strong-minded couple that doesn’t have it easy, but they certainly have chemistry.

Lee introduces new characters almost effortlessly, while simultaneously further exploring Mary’s conflicts with her heritage and childhood. Sure, minor characters help move the plot forward or give the MCs necessary information, but in THE BODY AT THE TOWER they acquire the possibility for life outside the story. And Mary is not just your average inexplicably competent female detective, but rather a young woman with demons of her own.

I’m not a big historical fiction OR mystery fan, but this series is one of my favorites, and probably my favorite historical mystery series. Well-written, eye-opening, and entertaining, you will dive in and be immersed immediately. THE BODY AT THE TOWER proves that Y. S. Lee is a rising star, and hasn’t even reached her peak yet. I am on tenterhooks awaiting the third book, and more after that from this incredible author!

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5


Cover discussion: 4 out of 5 - Personally I don't see Mary ever having occasion to dress like that, and I see her slightly different--more feisty, perhaps?--but I certainly appreciate the enormous effort Candlewick goes to to make sure Mary is represented accurately on the cover. Bravo, Candlewick!

Candlewick / Aug. 10, 2010 / Hardcover / 352pp. / $16.99

ARC sent by publisher for a Traveling to Teens tour. Check out the other blog stops on the tour below!

Mon. 8/2 - Kristi (The Story Siren)
Tues. 8/3 - Kristen (Bookworming in the 21st Century)
Wed. 8/4 - Sarah GreenBeanTeenQueen
Thurs. 8/5 - Lizzy (Cornucopia of Reviews)
Fri. 8/6 - Ari (Reading in Color)
Mon. 8/9 - Mariah L
Tues. 8/10 - Steph Su
Wed. 8/11 - Cecilia (The Epic Rat)
Thurs. 8/12 - Laura (Laura’s Review Bookshelf)
Fri. 8/13 - The Book Smugglers

Stay tuned in a few hours for a guest post from the magnificent author Ying herself!

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[ETA] OH, and HOW DID I FORGET that TODAY (August 10) is The Body at the Tower's release date? Huzzah! Hoorah! Congrats! *pops champagne and sprinkles all over Ying, who is thousands of miles away* Now you can run out and get this book immediately (or tell your local bookstores to stock it)!

Author Interview (T2T): Y. S. Lee!

Earlier today I posted my review of the fabulous YA historical fiction mystery novel, The Agency: A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee. Now, Ying has graciously stopped by my blog today as part of a Traveling to Teens tour and answered some questions for you! Welcome, Ying!

1. What was the most interesting thing you did in order to do research for this book?

I moved to London! When I was researching my PhD thesis, I spent 6 months living in Bloomsbury and working at the British Library. It was then that I fell in love with the city. I used to get up early on weekend mornings so that I could walk the neighbourhoods while they were uncrowded. Victorian London still exists, absolutely.

2. You mentioned in an interview with Sophie of So Many Books, So Little Time that, as a teen, you were "suspicious" of YA fiction. How, then, did you come to write YA?

It was a complete fluke. I first wrote an adult mystery novel set in Victorian London complete with Lascars, smugglers and stench. However, it took my agent to point out that it was really a coming-of-age novel; she suggested that I rework it as a YA novel. It seemed daunting, at first; I didn’t think I had anything to say to teen readers. But when I thought about it, I realized that 1) my agent was absolutely right, and 2) I didn’t have to use a special tone or vocabulary in a YA novel. Ultimately, I ended up cutting about 30,000 words and changing Mary’s and James’s ages, but the substance of the original novel is all there.

3. You did your PhD work in Victorian literature and culture. Can you explain for my blog readers what about the Victorian era you find fascinating?

I love how simultaneously near and far it is to our present culture. We tend to hear a lot about how fast everything is changing: how you can’t keep up with technology, how the world is shrinking as a result, and how completely unrecognizable our world will be in twenty years. Well, the Victorians had very much the same experience. They invented huge factories, ocean steamers, train travel, the camera, moving pictures… things that radically changed their culture and that are still very much with us.

4. Oh wow, that's such a new and cool way to think about the Victorians! What is the most memorable thing that a reader has said to you since SPY was released?

May I include 2 things? First, a couple of blog reviewers noticed that SPY pokes fun at mystery novels in general; I’m ridiculously excited that people got my meta-narrative jokes! And it’s ridiculously satisfying to hear that reading SPY made someone miss lunch/late for a ballet lesson/forget to call her grandmother. I’m a catatonic reader, and am so pleased to induce catatonia in others.

5. Who are your favorite Victorian authors?

George Eliot, George Eliot, George Eliot! Also Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and the Brontës. I don’t know that I really like Dickens’s novels, but I find them fascinating.

6. What are some of your non-reading- and writing-related hobbies?

Yoga, cooking, and watching really bad action flicks.

7. What are some of your favorite YA novels?

You can’t go wrong with Madeleine L’Engle. I also thought highly of Veronica Bennett’s ANGELMONSTER, Marie-Louise Jensen’s THE LADY IN THE TOWER, and quite wish I’d written Lisa Mantchev’s EYES LIKE STARS.

8. Beyond the Agency trilogy, what other eras/subjects/ideas would you like to write about?

I’ve been thinking about the Second World War recently, and its impact on Southeast Asian countries. I have a couple of fantasy-esque ideas for books that I’m not sure what to do with yet. And I’m far from done with the nineteenth century!

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Thanks so much for your answers, Ying! I predict that she's an author who will be around for a long time to come. Can I haz the next two books in The Agency trilogy now, please? Not to mention those story ideas of hers! Pleeease please check this book out when you get the chance! Oh, wait, look...

Want to read this book? Ying is currently holding an "If I Were a Spy" contest over at her website. Enter there for a chance to win a signed copy of A Spy in the House along with a t-shirt!

For a schedule of blog stops on this tour for A Spy in the House, check out the Traveling to Teens Weebly or Ying's website!