Vlog: #YAforHaters: 5 Book Recs

It's my 500th post! And I'm spending it talking about my favorite thing ever: books. Specifically, awesome books.

In concordance with Megan Whitmer's fabulous #YAforHaters vlog tag, as well as the awesome Twitter tags #PromoteaYAInstead and #NoShameYA, I'm sharing five books I'd recommend to those who haven't read YA or say they don't like YA.

Enjoy!

What books would you recommend to those who haven't read YA or say they don't like YA? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

Writer @Ava_Jae joins @MeganWhitmer's #YAforHaters vlog tag & shares 5 books she'd rec to YA newbies or haters. (Click to tweet) 

What books would you rec to YA newbies or haters? Writer @Ava_Jae shares her 5 picks: #PromoteaYAInstead #NoShameYA (Click to tweet)

For YA Readers: Read These Now

So I've been reading a lot, lately. While I haven't written any book reviews in a while, I'd like to share with you some fantastic YA novels that I've had the pleasure of reading recently that more than deserve an enthusiastic recommendation.

So, without further ado, and in no particular order, I give you three YA books that you really must read.

Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore.

Goodreads summary:

Photo credit: Goodreads

"In a world where people born with an extreme skill—called a Grace—are feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of the skill even she despises: the Grace of killing. She lives under the command of her uncle Randa, King of the Middluns, and is expected to execute his dirty work, punishing and torturing anyone who displeases him. 

When she first meets Prince Po, who is Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. 

She never expects to become Po's friend. 

She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace—or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone."

I'm not sure why I put off reading this for so long, but I am so glad I finally sat down with it. Graceling was my favorite combination of elements: action, romance, loss, victory and a supernatural twist. The romance especially stuck with me—it was realistic, perfectly paced, and at times heartbreaking. It didn't fall for typical YA tropes and I found Cashore's take on Katsa and Po's relationship refreshing.

As for the characters themselves, Katsa was a breath of fresh air. She's easily one of the strongest female protagonists I've ever read—stubborn without being unlikable, and caring without being weak. I’ve added the companion novels (Fire and Bitterblue) to my TBR list and I look forward to reading more about the Graceling realm.

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi.

Photo credit: Goodreads

Goodreads summary:

"tick 

tick 

tick 

tick 

tick 

it's almost 

time for war. 

Juliette has escaped to Omega Point. It is a place for people like her—people with gifts—and it is also the headquarters of the rebel resistance. 

She's finally free from The Reestablishment, free from their plan to use her as a weapon, and free to love Adam. But Juliette will never be free from her lethal touch. 

Or from Warner, who wants Juliette more than she ever thought possible. 

In this exhilarating sequel to Shatter Me, Juliette has to make life-changing decisions between what she wants and what she thinks is right. Decisions that might involve choosing between her heart—and Adam's life."

This book. THIS BOOK.

If you caught my review for Shatter Me way back when, you know that I absolutely love Tahereh Mafi's unique writing style. She is truly an author whose voice you can't mistake for anyone else's, and she manages time and time again to blend poetry with high-action, emotion-packed novels. I devoured Unravel Me in 48 hours, and I loved it.

I will say that there were moments were I got a little frustrated with Juliette (the protagonist), but I was glad to see her growth in the story. Unravel Me will take your emotions, rip them up, stomp on them, set them on fire, then hand them back to you with a wink and a smile. I need to know what happens next.

Shades of Earth (Across the Universe #3) by Beth Revis.

Goodreads summary:

Photo credit: Goodreads

"Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They're ready to start life afresh—to build a home—on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. 

But this new Earth isn't the paradise Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed's former passengers aren't alone on this planet. And if they're going to stay, they'll have to fight. 

Amy and Elder must race to discover who—or what—else is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed—friends, family, life on Earth—will have been for nothing. 

FUELED BY LIES. 

RULED BY CHAOS. 

ALMOST HOME."

So, as of this writing, I haven't actually finished Shades of Earth yet, but I couldn't leave it out because it is so good thus far. Seriously.

I don't usually read sci-fi, but the Across the Universe trilogy has easily become one of my favorite trilogies. I've reviewed the first two books (or should I say, rambled about how awesome they are) and the final book is turning out to be a doozy.

If you like exciting, twisty mysteries and with lots of deaths, I definitely recommend you give Across the Universe (and the rest of the trilogy) a try.

Has anyone else read these? If so, what did you think? And for those of you who enjoy YA, feel free to recommend some of your favorites—I'm always happy to add to the ever-growing TBR list. 

How to Write Romance Well

Photo credit: vicki wolkins on Flickr

I received an interesting question over the weekend from a lovely reader (thanks, Robin) that uncovered an area that I haven't thoroughly discussed here at Writability. 

I'm talking about romance. 

I'll admit that I started this post with some trepidation, as I do not write genre romance. Now, that's not to say that I don't ever write romance—in fact, I often include a romantic subplot in my novels—but for me, romance isn't the core of the story, it's more of an enhancement. 

Nevertheless, even as a subplot, romance can go drastically wrong if not handled correctly, and so I still think it's important to discuss how to write it effectively. 

I suspect that romance in writing is something that every writer handles a little differently. For me, I usually establish what characters will be romantically involved before I write a word (with exception to instances where characters surprise me). At the very beginning of the writing process, I usually have a general sense of who the characters are, what they are like and a bit of their background, but I don't really get to know the true core of my characters until the writing begins. 

In my experience, the romantic subplots unfold much the same way—a natural growing relationship between two characters rather than a meticulously planned this then that plot. That's not to say that I don't plan it at all—I usually set down milestones while planning/outlining (first date, first kiss, etc.), but I try to be as flexible as possible while writing it. 

There are two dangers that I look out for when working out romantic relationships between characters:

1. Forced love. I've written a post detailing the dangers of forced romance in writing, so I'm not going to dive into it here. What I will say, is that the danger of over-planning a romantic relationship between characters is this forced romance. It's pretty easy to tell if your characters are victim to this danger—the relationship between them will feel stiff and unnatural, and reaching those milestones will feel much more difficult than it should be. The romance should unfold naturally, so if you're fighting your characters to get them to like each other, that's a pretty good sign that you might want to reconsider your romantic subplot.


2. Insta-love. This totally clever term was coined by one of my CPs, and I have stolen it (with permission) will be using it from here on out. Insta-love is a problem on the opposite side of the spectrum, and it's one that many writers often struggle with. Sometimes, when writing romance, we writers start to get a little impatient. We want to get to the good parts—the first kisses and the first l-word and those moments in romance that make our heart flutter. And sometimes, in our eagerness to get to the good stuff, we push our characters along a little too quickly. We end up with love at first sight and premature kisses and saying I love you so quickly that our readers get whiplash.
   
   The good news is that while this is a common problem, it's relatively easy to fix in revision. Your characters have chemistry—this is good—you just need to push on the brakes a little so it doesn't feel so sudden. Remember, most relationships don't form overnight, and if you want your readers to fall in love with your romance, you need to give them time, too. 

Once you've avoided those two major dangers, you can breathe easily knowing you're likely on the right track with your romance.

And for examples of particularly well-written romantic subplots, check out Graceling by Kristin Cashore and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.  

What tips do you have for writing romance? Any book recommendations with well-written romantic elements?