LGBT YA Week - Guest Review of Beyond Evie by Rebecca Burton

This review is part of the LGBT Teen Novels Week, Hosted here.

For more information about the week, head over here.

~~~

Please welcome Lauren from I Was A Teenage Book Geek who will be reviewing Beyond Evie by Aussie writer Rebecca Burton.

Summary from Amazon:

Charlotte has a good life. She′s a gifted athlete and she loves hanging out with her friends. It's true, she doesn′t talk much about how she feels since her father′s death -- but that′s just Charlotte. That′s the way she is. Now there′s something else she doesn′t talk about, either. How can she tell anyone about what happened last year? How can she tell anyone about Evie?

~~~

Beyond Evie is not your everyday YA coming out story. It’s the bittersweet tale of sixteen-year-old Charlotte’s first love, as narrated to her first love, the eponymous Evie. By turns frank and wistful, it’s a little like reading a love letter intended for someone else. You, Evie, Charlotte repeatedly addresses her audience, drawing the reader into her confidence with an intimacy both powerful and, at times, even uncomfortable.

Narrator Charlotte doesn’t think of herself as a storyteller; she prefers science to literature, fact to fiction, and she’s not a talker by nature. She’s not used to sharing her secrets, and we soon learn that she’s only doing so now because she’s realised it’s too late. Whatever happened between her and Evie is already over. She never really told her how she felt about her, and telling the story now is her way of working through everything she’s kept bottled up inside for so long.

Evie, in contrast, is an elusive character. She’s wily and impulsive and rebellious.  She’s an enigma for narrator and reader to puzzle out together, but she’s no manic pixie dream girl – Charlotte’s far too pragmatic for that. There’s an ordinariness to her, and that adds to her authenticity somehow; she’s real, and that enhances the realness of Charlotte’s feelings. It’s impossible to read the story without believing, wholeheartedly, in Charlotte’s every word.

Beyond Evie is the work of an Australian author, and she brings a real sense of place to the story. Charlotte’s connection to the world around her comes to life in a way that’s irresistible to the reader; the laugh of the kookaburra, the scent of the eucalyptus trees. It’s vivid and evocative and beautiful.

Although this is the story of one girl’s attraction to another, it doesn’t fit neatly into the category of lesbian fiction. Charlotte’s focus is on distilling the truth of her first love, rather than questioning her sexual orientation or trying to put a label on herself. It’s about her own feelings, not other people’s reaction to them – about love at its purest. It’s a coming-of-age story, and one that will touch the hearts of those who might usually avoid LGBT ‘issues’ in their reading.

Intense and poignant, Beyond Evie is the kind of book that will stay with you long after the last page. If you’re looking to read off-the-beaten-track YA, don’t miss this one.

~~~

Thank you for this review, Lauren! I really like the idea that the book isn't about "being gay" but what Charlotte feels. I'll definitely read this one!

LGBT YA Week - Dare Truth or Promise by Paula Boock

This review is part of the LGBT Teen Novels Week, hosted here.

For more information about the week, head over here.

Summary from the back cover:

When Louie and Willa first meet, they don't know that their lives will change forever.

Self-assured Louie is gearing up for another successful year of high school. Kicked out of her last school, and hurting from a past relationship, Willa just wants to graduate and become a chef.

But when Louie first sees Willa, it's like lightning strikes. Everything the girls are sure of - their plans, their faith, their families, their identities - is called into question.

Can two girls fall in love? The answer is yes, fast and frantically. 

Can two girls navigate the strange, uncertain, and devastating waters of love? That remains to be seen....

~~~

Oh this book! It had me crying my heart out for the characters and rooting for love to win. This is a beautiful love story set in New Zealand.

Louie and Willa meet in their last year of high school and they pretty much already know who they are and what they want to do in life. Louie is a confident and gifted girl raised in a liberal family and she wishes to be a lawyer whereas Willa knows she prefers girls and is toughening up after a relationship gone bad and preparing to become a chef. 

But then they meet. It's fireworks, an explosion of sensations and a deep connection. None of them knows exactly how it happens, but it just does, and neither of them will ever be the same person again. You don't only read about how much they love each other, you can nearly feel it through the page and see how they ache about each other and how they can hardly breathe when the other isn't around. In Louie's words: 

"I'm in love with that girl," she said out loud in amazement, because she knew that this was a life-changing thing and life-changing things should be said aloud, should have a moment in time, and a place in the air, some molecular structure to make them real. I'm in love with that girl, she heard as it reverberated inside her head. And it was truth, she realised, as things are which you don't think, but discover have always existed.

The girls are quite different in their personalities but they complete each other in such a way that it doesn't matter. Louie is outgoing and strong on the outside but quite doubting on the inside whereas Willa might appear vulnerable but has this silent strength in her. I loved both of them and how multidimensional they were. The girls' parents also play a part in the book and I felt that they weren't set out to be the meanies. Their reaction felt real and the story was really worth reading. 


Religion plays a big part of the story with Willa's ex Cathy and Louie's family being very religious and questioning homosexuality through this angle. It is heart-breaking to read how Willa is led to feel when she keeps getting the same reaction from people. She feels wrong, evil, unnatural even and her heart is heavy with the knowledge. I'm really glad that this angle is treated the way it is, with well-meaning people on one side wanting to "cure" Willa, and more accepting others who see God's message as one of love. 


The story is told in the third person and focuses either on Willa, either on Louie and at first I wondered whether this book might have been better alternating first person point of view of the two girls. But the style grew on me and by the time I reached the end, it didn't really seem to matter how the story was told as long as I knew what was happening!


This is a really beautiful book and hints at many subjects surrounding homosexuality without being too heavy. It can be seen as a coming out story but I feel that it is more a story of first love and how sometimes, you just know this person is special. The writing is beautiful and the characters all stand on their own. I am really happy to have discovered this book and if you want to read about love (real love), you should probably read this, I can guarantee you'll love it!

The Hours - Michael Cunningham | Guest review by Andrew for Lesbian Teen Novels Week

This is the last review for the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

When I asked around if people wanted to write guest reviews for the week,

Andrew from The Pewter Wolf volunteered with this book.

It isn't per se a young adult novel, but I can remember devouring Virginia Woolf's books and loving the film version of The Hours when I was in high school so I thought it was a perfect choice to finish this week. One book which is one of the many possibilities you can read to develop your literary tastes as well as make you think. It seems fitting that teenagers read about the importance of one moment's choice.

~~~

When Portrait of the Woman asked on Twitter if anyone would like to take part in Lesbian Teen Novel Week, I was quite excited and thought it would be cool and interesting idea to take part in. Now, after a few hours of trying to think of a novel that uses lesbian characters as lead characters (It was too soon to reread Huntress by Malinda Lo [which, I thought, was a wonderful fantasy story with a lovely romance] and I didn't have a copy of The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson [which I heard is a very good read!]), I decided to reread my copy of The Hours by Michael Cunningham (which doesn’t technically come under “Lesbian Teen Novel” but I asked if this was okay to read).

The Hours follows a day in the lives of three women in three different time zones, each unrelated to the other yet whose lives are intertwined by one event: a book. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. We follow the day in the life of the author, the reader and the character. Virginia Woolf is starting to write Mrs Dalloway in the early 20th century, Laura Brown is reading Mrs Dalloway in 1960s America and Clarissa Vaughan (who is nicknamed Mrs Dalloway) is going to throw a party that evening in late 1990s New York City.

I first read this just before the film based on this book came out in 2003 and, at the time, I really enjoyed this book. It was so different to what I have read before and the ideas of writing an ordinary day in the lives of three seemingly ordinary women was interesting. No wonder it won awards like the Pulitzer Prize (which at the time - and now, actually - I still don’t truly understand).

But now, rereading and rewatching the movie in 2011, I am beginning to doubt my memory of the book as things are creeping up that I had not noticed before.

I understand what the book is trying to do. It’s trying to write what can happen within a moment and how important a day can be to a person who makes decisions that could and would change your life forever. Basically, Michael Cunningham is doing the same thing Virginia Woolf did within Mrs Dalloway.

But it seems to me, the second time I read this, that it fell a tad flat. There are times when it feels like the book is repeating itself. There was a chapter where we follow Virginia Woolf where she goes into her bathroom and washes her face. Within the one paragraph, we are told three times that she washes her face and doesn’t look in the mirror.

However, the book becomes interesting the further you read. The last five or six chapters are my fave as it all comes to a head as is the prologue which has no real impact to the story but if you know the life story of Virginia Woolf, it makes sense and rings true.

Now, let’s touch on the subject of love. With the story where we follow Virginia Woolf and Laura Brown, both are married and both kiss a woman. But it’s Clarissa’s story that tackles her being a lesbian. She is in a relationship with her partner, Sally, for over several years and she has a straight daughter. Most of her friends that we meet are gay or bisexual and nothing about this felt sensation. It felt normal. Clarissa and Sally have been a couple for years and they acted like a couple for years. Under the new laws that has happened in the state of New York, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were a married couple. It felt like I was reading a typical couple. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Now, the film. I do like the film. I think I prefer the film to the book, but of course, things have changed from the book version of the Hours to the film version of The Hours. For example, Laura Brown goes to a hotel. In the book, she goes there to escape the “failure” of the birthday cake she has made and to have think to herself. It is only there where she realises how easy it would be to die. How easily it would be to kill herself. In the film, however, she goes to the hotel with the idea of killing herself in mind. It’s only after a nightmare of drowning that she changes her mind.

But, out of the two, I would say watch the film. Meryl Streep can’t seem to do anything wrong!

~~~

Thank you Andrew for this lovely review!

I will go and grab a copy at the library, I love the idea of it being a re-creation of Mrs Dalloway!

What Now? | Lesbian Teen Novels Week

This is my last post for the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

~~~

This week is over guys (well, there will be one last review to be posted later today!) and I had such a fantastic time! Thanks to all those who posted guest reviews, reviews and articles on their blogs or retweeted this week's posts, I've had very nice comments about this from new readers/followers so I am really glad some people found some great book recommendations! I am also very happy that more and more people (who are not gay or questioning their identity/sexuality) want to read LGBT fiction.

Lesbian fiction is not just about two women falling in love. It really isn't. It has *gasp* exactly the same themes as general fiction plus a few more. Acceptance for being different works just as well with sexuality as with ethnicity, religious origins, health, etc. Julie Anne Peters says in a letter printed at the end of Keeping You A Secret that she had many people writing to her about this book, and not only gay teens, and how it had helped them go throught their teenage years. Some themes in young adult literature are definitely universal.

Teenagers can also choose to discover other authors and novels which are not specifically aimed at young adults. I'm pretty sure I was reading more adult fiction as a teen than I am now (oops!). One of the most famous contemporary lesbian fiction author is Sarah Waters. She writes historical fiction (think Charles Dickens with a lesbian twist). The branding of LGBT literature as "genre fiction" (read "erotica") when it isn't really any different from general fiction is the biggest problem and it is even more an issue for teenagers who wouldn't go seek a book in those shelves. Thankfully, Sarah Waters is one of those authors who are not discarded to the erotica shelves but showcased in the general fiction ones - let's hope many other authors will follow her!

If you hang around this blog often, you might know that I am a bit of a feminist and I really love strong female characters and abhor weak ones (unless they are here to be a counter-example). As a teen I discovered Virginia Woolf in my English class and I really fell for her ideas. I didn't like *her* that much when I read her biography (though I understand her better now), but her ideas and her way of writing resonated deeply in me. I felt that what she was writing about her time, was what I was feeling in mine. Obviously, times had changed and everything, but I still felt confined in a place for reasons I couldn't fathom at the time. If my earlier teens were mainly confused, I think that my later teens had that rebellious streak you can find in Virginia Woolf's novels and essays.

A lot of narrow-minded people think that feminists are lesbians and that, worse, "feminist" is an insulting word one should be ashamed of. *sigh* It isn't (I shall not bore you to death by proving that with actual arguments) and some people today could really use reading now some of the best essays and novels on the woman condition. Things appear to have changed more than they actually have, you'll see.  

 

Because this week is not just a drop in the ocean but more of a commitment, I thought I wouldn't leave you hanging with just a few recommendations. There are different places where you can find Lesbian teen novels:

• Wikipedia has a page for that here (of course it does)
• You can find lists on Goodreads or Amazon
• There are quite a few blogs (not specifically YA though) centred on LGBT literature which you can Google but you can also go on The Lesbrary which has a fantastic blogroll and a weekly review round up. You Can also visit the GLBT Reading Challenge for book tips.
• Besides being a fantastic author, Malinda Lo is also very active in the blogosphere to get people to read more diverse books (sexuality is one of the aspect, there is also the religion, origins etc.), so go check out the blog Diversity in YA.
• Bella Books is a publisher/retailer which specialises in lesbian fiction, go visit their website and their blog.
• For the UK people, the lesbian magazine Diva has a book feature every issue and there is even more content and links on their website.
• I'm probably forgetting loads of things so don't hesitate to ask around on Twitter etc. to have more info :)

(Sorry if I rambled too much)

(I couldn't help it)

I hope you guys had as much fun as I did and could discover some fab books!

Cheers,

Caroline x

The Sky Always Hears Me... and The Hills Don't Mind - Kirstin Cronn-Mills | Lesbian Teen Novels Week

I am reviewing this book as part of

the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

~~~

Summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year-old Morgan lives in a hick town in the middle of Nebraska. College is two years away. Her mom was killed in a car accident when she was three, her dad drinks, and her stepmom is a non-entity. Her boyfriend Derek is boring and her coworker Rob has a very cute butt that she can't stop staring at. Then there's the kiss she shared with her classmate Tessa...

But when Morgan discovers that the one person in the world she trusted most has kept a devastating secret from her, Morgan must redefine her life and herself.

~~~

The Sky Always Hears Me and The Hills Don't Mind is absolutely fantastic. Morgan's voice is unique and you will want to read this book only for this!

Morgan is a roughly regular teenager, she is a bit of a geek so she isn't very popular. She doesn't have any friends, just Girls To Sit By at lunch, her having a popular jock boyfriend was a bit of an accident, and now she is stuck with him whereas he's a bit boring. She has a crush on Rob who works as an assistant manager in the grocery store where she works (well, technically, she has more of a crush on his butt) and she was kissed by her friend Tessa a few nights before. Very complicated love life, indeed! She is a bit lost, especially since her dad is an alcoholic, and her step-mom kind of invisible and her brothers have very unique personalities. Morgan gives funny names to people and things and the only thing she wants is to get out of here fast. Her voice is grittily honest and it feels just like being in her head.

Morgan wants to write the Great American Novel as well as write fortunes. The entire book is  filled with the fortunes she comes up with during the day. She has a very clear voice and her personality just comes through the narration. there are some truly laugh out loud moments in the book and there are some very touching ones (I read the book in one sitting in a café and I looked like an idiot laughing out loud and crying but oh well). Morgan is very close to her grandmother and she feels that she is the only one to truly understand her. When Morgan isn't feeling well, she takes her grandmother's car and drives up the hill and screams her frustration to the sky (hence the title).

The story is from the point of view of Morgan and how she is trying to help Tessa who is coming out. At the beginning Morgan doesn't really know if Tessa is just experimenting or if she is actually a lesbian. It is such a small and mostly narrow-minded town that when Tessa and another girl are found naked in the same bed, everyone assumes it is a "sleep-over" which is absolutely hilarious to read from Morgan's point of view, who knows it is more than that. Morgan has to deal with Tessa's crush on her and the fact that people think she is a lesbian too for being friends with Tessa. Morgan's position, as the straight friend of a lesbian in high school, is really fascinating to read. She herself wonders if she feels something for Tessa and she at times stands by her, at others doesn't know how to react. The reaction of everyone else to Tessa is very harsh but luckily she is one tough girl and can take care of herself, I really loved her character.

There are a lot of themes in this book and the most important one, I felt, was choosing a positive feeling rather than be mad, embarrassed, mean or spiteful. Morgan goes through the story making those choices and i really loved her for it.

I can't say much more not to spoil the story but Morgan's voice, the crazy (and quite realistic) personalities of most of the characters and the story will make you fall for this book. I cannot wait to read more by this author and I know that, the book being so fantastic, I will be rereading it soon!

The Sky Always Hears Me and The Hills Don't Mind by Kirstin Cronn-Mills | 2009 | Flux | Borrowed from Lauren @ I Was A Teenage Book Geek

Keeping You A Secret - Julie Anne Peters | Lesbian Teen Novels Week

I am reviewing this book as part of

the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

~~~

Summary from Goodreads:

As she begins a very tough last semester of high school, Holland finds herself puzzled about her future and intrigued by a transfer student who wants to start a lesbigay club at school.

~~~

I have been a huge fan of Julie Anne Peters after reading her beautiful and sensitive book Luna about a girl born in a boy's body (my review here) and I think that Keeping You A Secret is my favourite lesbian young adult novel. I love the story, the writing, the characters and the themes present in this book. But I know this is my favourite because this is the one book I wish was translated into French so that I could give it to my parents to read. I don't come from a place where homosexuality is seen as remotely ok, you often hear that gay people are "disturbed" or that "you wouldn't leave your children with them" and I found that Keeping You A Secret showed a lot of things I felt inside and never been able to express. It talks about the beauty of love and the hurt one feels when confronted with the hate and ignorance around.

Holland lives a pretty regular life, she is in her senior year in high school, is class president, has a lot of friends, does sports and has a loving boyfriend. For her last semester in high school she took way too many classes, including an Art Class she has no reasons to be in. Then she meets Cece, she has a long blond ponytail, a cryptic t-shirt (IMRU?) and a whole lot of confidence. From that moment on, Holland can't stop thinking about her and starts to question herself and her sexuality.

Holland's self-discovery is brilliantly told in this book. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling the read for you but I could really relate to what was going on in her mind and how she couldn't put words on the feelings for Cece which were starting to grow inside of her. Holland and Cece feel passionately attracted to each other but it's by getting to know one another that they really fall in love. 

Another side of Holland is how misunderstood she is by her own family. Her mother, who had Holland at 16 and had to go to work early instead of going to College has a love/hate relationship with Holland. Of course she loves her daughter and is fiercely protective of her, but you feel the resentment coming through every now and then. Holland's mother also wants to live through her so Holland doesn't get much of a say over her life. She used to find it annoying before, but now that the college application deadlines are coming up, her mother is becoming downright unbearable and will not let Holland choose a future for herself. This type of pressure on teenagers is very common from parents and Julie Anne Peters shows brilliantly the consequences it has on teenagers. Holland has no idea what she wants to do in her life, she is doing good in all her classes but doesn't have real affinities with any. Then she starts this Art class as a way to fill in a blank period. Art is obviously not a career possibility for her mother, but Holland realises that she really likes it, and quite surprisingly, that she is good at it. 

Throughout the book is also shown the type of homophobia that gay people have to go through regularly. Everyone is "fine with homosexuality" (you know, because it isn't very proper to be full-on against it) but you realise that their actions don't add up to what they say. That parents have this attitude, you can sort of see where they're coming from, but a lot of the hate comes from teenagers themselves. When Cece wants to create the Lesbigay club in Holland's high school, everyone says that "there are no gays in the school" and they don't understand why a Lesbigay club would be useful anyway. Obviously, this isn't true and many of the teens questioning their sexuality would rather wait for college to actually come out because there is no way they would "survive high school" if they didn't.

The book is about a lesbian love story and how a teenager has to face her family and peers to be accepted for who she is, but it's also a universal story for all the people who go through this type of bullying in school and who feel there isn't anyone to help them.

One of the aspects of the book I loved is how Cece's character explains what a Lesbigay club entails and how they help people how to come out and that if all hell breaks lose and your family and friends turn against you, you are not alone because there is a big loving family just waiting for you. There is a real positive message in this book without the reality being sugar-coated in any way. It really shows you that things do get better. This is a very powerful book that really hit home for me, but I am sure other people will learn a lot by reading it, especially those who are not themselves questioning their sexuality. I really feel that for parents or friends of people who just came out, reading this book would be really helpful. 

Keeping You A Secret by Julie Anne Peters | 2005 | Little, Brown | Bought on Amazon.

About A Girl - Joanne Horniman | Lesbian Teen Novels Week

I am reviewing this book as part of

the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

~~~

Summary from Amazon:

I remember the first time that we lay together and I felt the crackle of her dark hair between my fingers, and closed my eyes and breathed her in, so that she became my entire world. Anna is afraid she must be unlovable - until she meets Flynn. Together, the girls swim, eat banana cake, laugh and love. Some days Flynn is unreachable; other days she's at Anna's window - but when Anna discovers her secret, she wonders if she knows Flynn at all. A beautifully crafted novel that explores the tension between the things that pull people together and the things that push them apart.

~~~

I found this book in Foyles and the original cover caught my eyes on a table, then I had the pleasant surprise to discover that this was a lesbian young adult novel and that the book was set in the author’s native country, Australia - I couldn't be more thrilled!

The book is about 19-year-old Anna who lives in small town and works in a bookshop. She lives far from her family and has no friends but she finds all she needs in books. Especially the dark ones written by dead Russian writers. Then one day she meets Flynn (well, she really is Rose but everyone calls her Flynn) and Anna realises that she needs more in her life, that she needs Flynn in her life. 

They both fall for each other and they start getting to know each other even if they are cautious to share some parts of their past.

The book perfectly encapsulates the characteristics of first love. It's like being short-sighted all your life and suddenly putting on glasses: you finally realise what you've been missing out your whole life and what you now can't live without. Anna thought her entire life that she was not lovable and that no one would ever love her. The day before, Anna was roughly satisfied with her life (as much as a lonely and depressed 19 year old could be, that is) and the day after she can't stop thinking and obsessing about Flynn. Because love may be a beautiful thing but has some obsessive, absolute and all-encompassing aspect to it. And as Anna and Flynn get to know each other, we get to know more about them and reevaluate what we have been thinking all along since the beginning.

A part of the book tells the teenage years of Anna and how she had to go through the divorce of her parents and how her little sister has learning disabilities. Even though Anna loves her sister Molly, she sometimes resents the attention her sister gets instead of her. Anna also feels "like a freak" for being gay and she closes herself to the people around her. 

One aspect of the story is Anna's depression, and I thought that young adult novels on the subject are far too few. It is very respectfully and realistically described and I thought it added a very interesting layer to Anna's personality.

Creativity is an important part of the book as well: Flynn is a musician and has a very lively personality (she names her belongings and talks to her guitar). It also shows how a creative activity can bring out your deeply hidden emotions which you feel you can't talk about. It definitely reminded me of Melinda in Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson who progressively finds her voice in art class. Some traumas are hard to get out there and I loved how Flynn tried to find a way to express herself.

 

The story is very much centred around the two main characters and their stories. The book is told from Anna's point of view and her obsession with Flynn was hard to follow at times, but the book’s writing kept me going. You might not be able to like the characters or be fascinated by this love story, but the writing is very beautiful that it holds you until the very last page. It really has been a pleasure to read and I highly recommend it if you are reading books leaning on the more literary side of the force.

This is a very sweet love story, but most of all the coming of age story of a girl who needs to get away to find herself. The passages on Anna's depression and on Flynn's creativity as a means to escape and deal with reality as well as the beautiful writing really made this book special for me. I will be looking out for Joanne Horniman's other novels!



About A Girl by Joanne Horniman | 2010 | Allen and Unwin | Bought in Foyles.

The Bermudez Triangle - Maureen Johnson | Guest review by Raimy for Lesbian Teen Novels Week

This book review is part of

the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

I am thrilled to welcome Raimy from Readaraptor 

to review this wonderful book by Maureen Johnson.

Raimy has been posting quite a few article for the week,

so don't hesitate to head over her blog to check them out!

~~~

Summary from Goodreads:

What happens when your two best friends fall in love...with each other?
"Their friendship went so far back, it bordered on the Biblical -- in the beginning, there was Nina and Avery and Mel." So says high school senior Nina Bermudez about herself and her two best friends, nicknamed "The Bermudez Triangle" by a jealous wannabe back on Nina's eleventh birthday. But the threesome faces their first separation when Nina goes away the summer before their senior year. And in ten short weeks, everything changes.
Nina returns home bursting with stories about Steve, the quirky yet adorable eco-warrior she fell for hard while away. But when she asks her best friends about their summer romances, an awkward silence follows.
Nina soon learns the shocking truth when she sees Mel and Avery...kissing. Their friendship is rocked by what feels like the ultimate challenge. But it's only the beginning of a sometimes painful, sometimes funny, always gripping journey as three girls discover who they are and what they really want.

~~~

“Look at us, we are the three

Nina, Mel and there’s Avery

Shout it loud, shout it louder,

Shout it out, Triangle Power!”

Nina, Mel and Avery form the Bermudez Triangle. Best friends since childhood they picked up the name during one of Nina’s birthday parties when another girl was jealous of their closeness. Spending all time together no matter what their relationship is tested when Nina goes off to precollege the summer before their senior year. Everything changes that summer and when Nina gets back she realises that maybe the triangle can some distorted shape once in a while, especially when it transpires that Avery and Mel are now more than just friends.

Ok so let me just get this one out in the open straight away; The Bermudez Triangle is AMAZING! Go read, now!

I had been anticipating this one for so long that I was actually worried about reading it! Thankfully it really lived up to the hype that I’d given it in my head so I was really happy with the outcome!

The three girls reminded me of the type of friends I’d always wanted when I was growing up; those girls who I’d known forever and would be friends with for life no matter what happened. Unfortunately I didn’t get it and I met my awesome friends for life in Uni but I loved what Nina, Mel and Avery had so much and it felt so right!

The characters and what they were all going through seemed very realistic and I could easily picture them in my mind. I had all of their looks right down to their clothes and the way they wore them so clear in my mind that I could see them walking down the street in certain scenes! I loved their development throughout the book and I really think this book should be read by anyone and everyone because it captures the coming of age element brilliantly.

I read this one as a part of Caroline’s Lesbian Teen Novels Week but I wanted to read it anyway. LGBT books shout out to me because I love to see how well the authors can put these themes across. I think Maureen Johnson captured everything brilliantly, right down to the straight girl thinking about the possibility that she was gay just because her friends were. All the ups and downs of working out who you are and what you want were cleverly put across in this book and I just loved it. You got the arses that make wise-cracks about being gay and who are obviously too narrow minded to think more than “ooo two gay girls, come on then, put on a show!” But at the same time you got the beauty of finally realising who you are and being happy about yourself.

I loved that there were different aspects of this book, it wasn’t all about coming to terms  with your sexuality, coming out and having lesbian relationships, there was also the idea of becoming attracted to your best friends - male and female - and having straight relationships. All three girls had their own stuff going on so it wasn’t all just all Mel and Avery; they all had their own thoughts and feelings.

I loved the girls so much but I really got annoyed with Avery… She seemed really selfish and there were times when I just wanted Nina and Mel to tell her to bugger off. She grew on me though and I do think that maybe her selfishness and annoyingness was an avoidance technique. 

Obviously I have to give Parker a mention too! Parker is an awesomely cute, funny boy who I honestly wanted to adopt as my own! He was lovely and sweet and I felt so sorry for him sometimes as he was lumbered in the middle a lot. The Triangle kinda adopted him during the months that the book was set over and I think he made a brilliant addition to the story!

Overall I honestly believe that straight or gay, young or old, The Bermudez Triangle is one of the best coming of age stories I have read. I knew Maureen Johnson was a pretty damn cool author before I’d read this and now it’s confirmed, she is a genius! I couldn’t get enough of this book and Its definitely going in my top reads of all time!

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Thank you Raimy for this fabulous review!

The Rules For Hearts - Sara Ryan | Lesbian Teen Novels Week

I am reviewing this book as part of

the Lesbian Teen Novels Week hosted here.

If you would like more information about the week,

head over here.

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Summary from Goodreads:

Battle Hall Davies is sure of some things: she's going to Reed; she loves girls; and her older brother, Nick, is cooler than she could ever be. Nick ran away when Battle was in high school, and four years later, he's tracked her down. Now she's spending her summer before college in Forest House, the co-op where he lives in Portland. Battle is quickly swept into Forest House's community Shakespeare production, its all-night card games, and the arms of her new roommate, Meryl. It turns out that Nick isn't who Battle thought he was and Battle's not who she thought she was, either.

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Even though the book isn't a sequel strictly speaking (you can read this one without having read Empress Of The World), it is still set after Empress Of The World so I will try to keep the spoilers at bay, but be warned! Head over here to read my review of Empress Of The World.

I honestly couldn't say which of the two books I prefer. They do have things in common, the characters, the style of writing the general characteristics of the story, but they are stories so different that I can't even compare (not that you should compare books in the first place). I felt very different emotions while reading them and they also brought me different things. Sara Ryan's stories are like a snippet of her characters' lives. It follows them during the few months of summer and then leaves them without trying to force on a resolution or some sort of closure on the story. I like that aspect because it feels like real life so much more than a story with a clear-cut beginning, middle and end.

Battle has finished high school and the summer before going to college she goes to Portland to live in the cooperative house with her brother Nick. Nick left his parents' home at 16 and never gave any news to them, but he kept a bit contact with Battle. Battle loves her brother and she missed him so much. You have the feeling that during his absence, she kind of idolised him. Progressively, Battle gets on with the day-to-day life at the house and begins to see through her brother and learn more of who he is as well as who she is herself. 

As in Empress of the World, the focus of the book is on characters and The Rules for Hearts has a bigger cast of varied personalities. Since we are seeing the story through Battle's eyes, we get a much better glimpse as to who she is and how she has evolved since the previous year. We also get to know more about what happened in her family and why Nick left. His personality is interesting and I feel that one of Sara Ryan's talent is to show a person with everything laid out in the open and you can't say this person is good or bad because this is so irrelevant. I *love* Meryl :D she is just so unique! I don't agree with everything she does but she has a great personality and she is a nice counterpart for Battle. I love the characters in the house, I live myself in a shared flat and having roommates is awesome (except when they do karaoke every night)!

The family is explored in this, but it is more the family you choose than the one you inherit. You might not be able to fit in with your family as much as you want, and sometimes, you create your own family along the road with people you meet and who know and understand you. It definitely symbolises the change from the friends and family you might have during high school when still living with your parents to entering adulthood and daring more to stand up for yourself. That's for me why it would be a really interesting book for 16 year olds and older to read before they leave their home for Uni themselves.

I love how homosexuality and other gender identity themes are present in the book without being the focus. It *is* an LGBT novel, but that's not all it is. If Empress Of The World explored that part of Battle's life where she comes to term with her sexuality, The Rules For Hearts is more a time for Battle to experience life, which is one of the reasons why those two novels are so different in a sense. There is some romance in there as well and I loved how realistically and sensitively it was portrayed. 

The book is centred around A Midsummer's Night Dream which Aurora (owner of the house where they live) is directing so there's a cast list at the beginning and the chapters are divided in Acts and scenes. I *loved* that! Such a great way to link style and plot and the preparations for the play are great to read.

In just two books, I became a huge fan of Sara Ryan and her style and I really love her take on the characters she created. This story features some more "grown up" themes and really explore that moment where teenagers become adults and choose their lives for themselves. Everyone should read this book :)

The Rules For Hearts by Sara Ryan | 2007 | Speak | Bought on Amazon