YA Romance: Fact or Fiction?

I know what you're probably thinking:

"Julia you hate romance! Of course you're gonna say all romance is fictionalized nonsense!"

Yeah, I know I'm a cynic but lets face it guys: YA romance isn't exactly the most reality based stuff. Just look at Twilight. I don't know about you but I've never run into any sparkling super beings in my hometown. And yeah, that's paranormal but what about all the contemporary novels with "hot British boys" and the like. How many of THOSE kinds of guys really exist in America? Yeah, not that many. So here I am to discuss the top YA romance trends. Are they complete and total fiction? Or can they be fact?

The Boy Next Door Turned Boyfriend

Seriously? When does this EVER happen in real life? Maybe I was just never lucky enough to live next door to cute guys my age (or any guys my age for that matter) but it just seems so unlikely, yet it pops up in YA fiction all the time. Has this situation ever happened to one of you guys? Because I if so I really want to hear about it because I wish so badly that this situation was real! :P

Verdict: Though it's never happened to me I do think this situation could happen. Or maybe I'd just like to think it could happen. :P  

Books: The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler and Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.


The Blast From the Past Boyfriend

This romance situation is terribly unrealistic but I will admit it: I am a sucker for the blast from the past boyfriend romances. This is probably attributed to the fact that EVERY girl has a guy from their past that they wish would pop back up in their life and fall in love with them. Yes, even me the romantic cynic wishes for things like that. I am human after all. :P

Verdict: Like the Boy Next Door Turned Boyfriend romance I think this scenario COULD happen but honestly I doubt it.

Books: Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler, Forgotten by Cat Patrick, and Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. Sweethearts really isn't a romance but it has a blast from the past guy so it counts. :P

The Hot Foreign Guy Romance

You know the romances I'm talking about. The ones with a foreign exchange student/new boy in school/random guy who just so HAPPENS to have a really schmexy accent (normally British) and then of course falls in love with the heroine of the story. Yeah, I love these guys too (who can resist a British accent?) but I really doubt this happens. At least not all that often. I mean how many of us have randomly run into foreign guys while living in America? Pretty much never. >.<

Verdict: Highly unlikely. Unless of course you move to Britain or some other country. Then you'd be surrounded by foreign guys. :P

Books: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

The Love Triangle Romance

Ohhhh the infamous love triangle. Probably the most overused and equally despised romantic cliche in all of YA literature. Twilight kick-started this one and it's been on a roll ever since. The funny thing is I actually know someone who was in a real love triangle. I'm not even kidding. Apparently my aunt was in a love triangle and not only were two guys fighting over her but the guys were also best friends. And now she's married to one of the guys. So as unrealistic, obnoxious, and terribly overused as these romances are they can and do exist. Crazy right?

Verdict: Highly, HIGHLY unlikely though my aunts story proves it is possible.

Books: So many I can't even count them all but the biggest ones that come to mind are The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, and The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith.

Best Guy Friend Romance 

I love the best guy friend romances because they feel real. Why? Because these romances actually happen in real life. Not only that but these are the romances you want to happen because who doesn't want to fall in love/marry their best friend? That's right: No one. However I do feel like this romance has been getting a bit overused.

Verdict: Fact. At least one of these scenarios is based in reality!

Books: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting, and Heist Society by Ally Carter just to name a few.

The "Forbidden" Romance

I saw this pic and I just had to use it. So funny. XD

This romance comes in so many different forms its ridiculous.

Contemporary: One of the characters is from the wrong side of the tracks/a different social circle and so everyone at school thinks it would be CRAZY if the two characters got together as a couple.

Paranormal: One of the characters is a paranormal creature and so the romance is doomed (or really just extra sexy and forbidden) from the start.

Dystopian: Society dictates that the couple can't be together/they're fighting for different sides.

But what happens to the couples in these scenarios? THEY ALWAYS END UP TOGETHER. I will concede this does happen in real life (at least the contemporary and dystopian versions) but I am not really a fan of these types of romances because they often involve bad boys and bad boys are really just douchebags in disguise. Face it: You do not want to marry a bad boy.

Verdict: Fact unless of course we're talking about the paranormal scenario. I'm sorry but vampires are just not real folks. Neither are fallen angels.

Books: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, Fallen by Lauren Kate, Matched by Ally Condie and many, many others.

The "Oh My Gosh It Might Be Incest" Romance

(This topic may or may not be an excuse to post pictures of Alex Pettyfer....)

Yes, I am calling out Cassandra Clare on her oh so cliche Jace and Clary dynamic. I was late to jump on the Mortal Instruments bandwagon so I already knew that Jace and Clary couldn't be siblings since everyone sticks them together so much and I figured if they WERE siblings that was just gross.... So yeah I guess you could say I'm not a huge fan of this. It's just so gimmicky and lets face it: Absolute fiction.

Verdict: FICTION TO THE MAX. Long lost siblings who aren't really long lost siblings? Yeah, NEVER happens.

Books: The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare and believe it or not a random manga series (I've never read it I swear) Marmalade Boy by Wataru Yoshizumi.

---

And that is the end of my little examination of YA romance. There are a few others like the "Mysterious New Boy in School Romance" or the "Road Trip/Vacation Romance" but I decided that if I continued this post it would be forever long and you probably wouldn't want to read it. :P

So what do you guys think? Is YA romance too gimmicky and not realistic enough? Or do you like it's unrealistic yet fun nature? Which of these romances is your favorite? Which is your least favorite? And most importantly have any of these crazy scenarios happened to you? If so I want to hear about it!

Julia :)

Waiting on Wednesday [17]

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted over at Breaking The Spine. The purpose is to spotlight upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on Fear by Michael Grant.

Despite the hunger, despite the lies, even despite the plague, the kids of Perdido Beach are determined to survive. Creeping into the tenuous new existence they've built, though, is perhaps the worst incarnation yet of the enemy known as the Darkness: fear.

The Gone series by Michael Grant has slowly been becoming one of my favorites. Each installment has been better than the last and I'm excited and also a bit sad to see it come to and end with Fear. I've given up trying to predict what happens in this series since Michael Grant cooks up the craziest stuff but I'll bet Fear is gonna blow my mind. I guess I'll just have to wait and see!

Fear comes out on April 3rd from Katherine Tegen Books.

Julia :)

Book Review: The Girl Who Was On Fire + Giveaway

The Girl Who Was on Fire: Movie Edition
Edited by Leah Wilson
Contributors: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Mary Borsellino, Sarah Rees Brennan, Terri Clark, Bree Despain, Brent Hartinger, Adrienne Kress, Sara Darer Littman, Cara Lockwood, Jackson Pearce, Diana Peterfreund, Elizabeth M. Rees, Carrie Ryan, Ned Vizzini, Lili Wilkinson, Blythe Woolston.
252 pages
Publisher: Smart Pop Books
Publicaton Date: January 17th 2012
Source: Received from the publisher for review. Thanks Smart Pop Books!
Add this book to your shelf on Goodreads!

Katniss Everdeen's adventures may have come to an end, but her story continues to blaze in the hearts of millions worldwide.

In The Girl Who Was on Fire, thirteen YA authors take you back to Panem with moving, dark, and funny pieces on Katniss, the Games, Gale and Peeta, reality TV, survival, and more. From the trilogy's darker themes of violence and social control to fashion and weaponry, the collection's exploration of the Hunger Games reveals exactly how rich, and how perilous, protagonist Katniss' world really is.

Calling all Hunger Games mega fans! YOU NEED THIS BOOK! Okay so maybe need is a strong word but this book is awesome. It's a fantastic compilation of essays from a bunch of wonderful authors and every last one of them is worth reading. The topic of these Hunger Games themed essays range from Cinna's Fashion to SCREW THIS I'M TEAM KATNISS! My personal favorite essays were:

Why So Hungry for the Hunger Games? by Sarah Rees Brennan
I like this essay mostly for the hilarious part that basically says that Suzanne Collins refers to Katniss and Peeta scootily pooping at the end of Mockingjay but before the epilogue. Sarah Rees Brennan goes off on this whole "No dear reader I am not the lucky recipient of The Secret Naughty Edition of The Hunger Games" (direct quote!) tangent and its freaking hilarious. This book is worth picking up JUST to read that one paragraph of the essay. And yes, Sarah Rees Brennan you are a filthy-minded creature from the gutter (her words, not mine! I assure you this is all in fun). Go read some fanfiction. :P

Gale: Knight. Cowbow. Badass. by Jackson Pearce
As you guys know my love for Gale is immense. That being said when I saw the title of this essay in the index of my new Movie Edition of The Girl Who Was on Fire I totally squealed with joy. I'm not even exaggerating. I literally squealed and then ran to my Mom so I could talk her ear off about Gale's badass knight status. In short: This essay is my favorite thing ever. Finally someone who understands Gale's awesome and yet flawed nature! Oh and Jackson Pearce? Yeah, you're my new favorite person. Just thought you should know.

Team Katniss by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
For all those people out there who hate "Team Peeta or Team Gale" then this essay is for you! It discusses Katniss as a character without talking about the Peeta/Gale dynamic and it's awesome. After all there is a lot more to Katniss then just her admittedly swoon worthy male counterparts am I right?

Not So Weird Science by Cara Lockwood
This essay is downright creepy but that's what makes it so cool. Basically it's all about The Hunger Games trilogy in relationship to science and whether or not things like the muttations are really plausible. I love examining fiction in a scientific way so I thought this was just plain cool.

All in all The Girl Who Was on Fire is a fantastic addition to any Hunger Games fan's Library. And even if you don't buy it I would still recommend picking it up from your local Library or taking the time to look through it at your local bookstore. It's worth it I assure you.

---

GIVEAWAY TIME!

I have one copy of The Girl Who Was on Fire to giveaway! Unfortunately it isn't the movie edition so it won't have the awesome Gale essay (I know all you Gale fans are terribly disappointed) or the two other special movie edition essays. Sorry about that! It's still an amazing book without those essays though and if you want you can always access the three extra movie edition essays digitally.

The only rule for this giveaway is that you have to live in the United States! Extra entries are the general follow my blog and my twitter and you get an extra entry if you comment on this post with who your favorite character from the Hunger Games Trilogy is and why! You might even get an extra extra entry for answering with Gale. ;) Haha just kidding!



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Julia :)

Kawaii Monday: Animal Balance Erasers

When I went to California for the Holidays I stopped at my favorite little Asian goods store and they had these MAJORLY awesome balance eraser games. You know those balance games where it's like a semi-circle of wood and then try to balance as many wooden animals on top of it as possible? Well they make them in a mini eraser versions too! SO COOL. Check out all the different types!

Zoo animal erasers balancing game? HECK YES! I love the camel and the crocodile best.

Dinosaur erasers balancing game! I want this set so bad. I mean THEY'RE DINOSAURS. <3

Sea life erasers balance game. I just love this one! I think sea creatures are particularly awesome, especially eraser ones.

Unfortunately each set of these was $11 which is more than a little unaffordable. I wish I could add these to my eraser collection but I guess I'll just admire them from afar. >.<

Which set is your favorite? I honestly can't pick a favorite. I like all three of them too much.

If you want to purchase these erasers you can find the zoo set here, the dinosaur set here, and the sea animal set here.

Julia :)

Cover Comparison [25]

In just a few days (on February 28th to be exact) Veronica Roth's AMAZING dystopian novel Divergent is gonna be coming out in paperback and I thought what better way to celebrate than to do a cover comparison! So let's get this thing started.

                                               US Cover                    UK Cover

US Cover: I really, really love this cover! It's eye catching, dynamic and its got FIRE on it! I wish it was a bit more flashy in real life but even without any extra textures or sparkles this cover still stands out on a shelf! The tagline is awesome and I love the symbolism and the way it relates to the story. All in all a fantastic cover!

UK Cover: You guys may or may not know this but I am not a big fan of pink. It's just such a girly color and I am not a girly person. Now I know they tried to make this cover as gritty and non-girly as possible but it's still pink and therefore rubs me the wrong way. Plus it looks less like a dystopian and more like a paranormal. Oh and the teen angst vibe I'm getting from this is insane. I am just not a fan.

So who wins? I'm giving it to the US cover by a landslide. The pink hues of the UK cover don't even come close to comparing to it's epicness.

Which cover of Divergent do YOU like best? Be sure to vote in the poll below and sound off in the comments about why you made your decision!

If you have a suggestion for future cover comparisons feel free to leave them in this form.

Julia :)