Wednesday 5? I Don’t Even Know

Thanks to everyone who chimed in on my author photos! We’re going with #2 for the Penguin catalog and the book jacket.

I am a wee bit frazzled with revisions this week (see above blog post title–I stared at the blank for like five minutes all I have to call it something! because my brain is kind of broken). But I wanted to share some things that I’m excited about:

• BUMPED by Megan McCafferty (released yesterday!) A fascinating dystopia in which adults are infertile and teenage girls are raised to pregg for profit. Harmony and Melody are twins who were separated at birth: one reared to be the perfect surrogate, with a huge contraception contract that will pay for Princeton, and one reared in religious Goodside to be the perfect wife and mother. Both end up rebelling. I connected more with Melody (the secular twin) than Harmony, but I’ve read a bunch of reviews wherein other readers had the exact opposite experience, which I think is fantastic since the book is a dual narrative. The stellar element for me was the world-building–for instance, tweens wear “born to breed” t-shirts and try on baby bumps at the mall, boys who aren’t of optimum height are only good for everythingbut, and cheerleaders throw massSEXtinction parties. The slang about bumping and pregging and terminating clearly showed what their society’s preoccupation. And the premise of the book certainly pokes fun at our current society, with its reality-tv obsession over teen moms and tabloid focus on celebrity baby bumps. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for book two!

• SHINE by Lauren Myracle (released May 1 but in stock now on Amazon) When Cat’s former best friend is the victim of a vicious anti-gay hate crime, Cat suspects the perpetrator might be someone she knows and sets out to figure out who it was, hoping to settle an old grudge along the way. Myracle paints a stark, disturbing picture of a small town where opportunities are limited and drugs are plentiful. Cat’s despair of ever getting out is easy to relate to. The author does a great job of making us complicit in some of Cat’s assumptions as she looks down on her neighbors, many of whom have made some bad life choices–but then she twists the picture, showing us the humanity in all of them. It’s easy to feel alternately outraged and sympathetic toward just about everyone. It’s not an easy book or a happy one, but it’s terribly timely.

• GLEE Presents: The Warblers CD featuring Darren Criss. *swoons* My favorite tracks are “Somewhere Only We Know” and “Raise Your Glass,” but I like all of them. It made me feel way less stabbity today at work!

• ♥ A LONG LONG SLEEP by Anna Sheehan (August 9). A twisted fairy tale in which Rose wakes up from a frozen sleep of 60+ years to discover half the world’s population has been decimated by disease, her parents and her boyfriend are dead, and she’s being hunted by someone or something who wants her dead. I gobbled up this book. Rose is a fascinating character, and we see her grow from a scared girl who only wants the relief of her stass tube to a young woman willing to fight for her new life. I don’t usually like flashbacks, but I thought they were handled beautifully here. I loved that Rose says she’s not smart, that she’s too high-strung, that she’s worthless–and we see that none of that’s true, but we gradually come to understand why she feels that way. I loved all three boys: Xavier, her best friend/ex; Bren, her savior and current crush; and Otto, her fascinating, alien new friend. Also, without spoilers: I loved that the ending isn’t a HEA sort of thing, that Rose is still figuring things out. Highly, highly recommend! I’ll give away a copy on the blog when it comes out for sure.

• My revisions. Exciting things are happening! My deadline’s been moved up to May 15 for this round of edits and consequently, I’ve cancelled all social engagements for the next three weeks except for my own birthday party. My friends have been awesomely understanding about me cancelling on dinners, book club meetings, seeing their shows, and being slow as molasses to email them back. Thanks, friends! I promise to thank you again in my acknowledgments.