YA Magical Realism is still a fledging genre, I think. Compared to the YA fantasy and contemporary books that are published each year, it’s a much smaller part of the pie. But as I’ve said before, I’d love to see more YA magical realism. I basically love magical realism because I think in YA, in particular, these kinds of stories take really unexpected turns and can push the boundaries of what YA does. Some people think that magical realism stories are slow-paced and they can be, but for good reason. I’m not an expert, but the magical realism definition according to Wikipedia involves work that “share… an acceptance of magic in the rational world…. Magical realism… refers to literature in particular that portrays magical or unreal elements as a natural part in an otherwise realistic or mundane environment.” According to The Atlantic, when they wrote an obituary for Gabriel Garcia Marquez, they mentioned how his works were “quintessential examples of ‘magic realism’: fiction that integrates elements of fantasy into otherwise realistic settings.” (More magical realism definitions, re: YA magical realism & urban fantasy vs. magical realism).

This is where things get a little hazy for me – because Urban Fantasy often includes magic + contemporary settings, but the feeling of urban fantasy is much different from that of magical realism, though I think both could end up in an urban setting if you wanted. I think that UF is much more likely to include creatures of legends; both can have that dreamy feeling, too, but then I think magical realism focuses more on the individual, the main character and the MC’s unique experience. You can have character-driven urban fantasy, of course, but the actual experiences of the character PoV in magical realism tales are more deeply explored, I think. Hey, for all I know I could be talking out of my ass, but if you’re looking for more YA magical realism books to read, here are some of the ones that I’ve enjoyed reading!

 

** Chime by Franny Billingsley.

Chime is the story of a girl whose life turns upside down once a new boy comes to her witch-intolerant village swamp, because his presence helps to reveal long-lost secrets. It’s cyclical and beautifully written, and the swamp – here’s another magical realism quality! The setting is almost ALWAYS its own character! Which should happen in most books anyways, but can be critical to magical realism – the swamp is its own character. You get fantastic new magical creatures in the swamp, and Briony’s coming-of-age and sexual awakening are twined together so beautifully in her quest for the truth. Highly recommended! The writing style might throw some people off, but stick with the book and you’ll be so rewarded!

** We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.

We Were Liars is the story of a girl who no longer remembers the tragedy that happened at her family's summer home but seeks to discover the truth behind all the lies.. The details of her fifteenth summer at her family's private island elude her, and her family is reluctant to talk about what exactly happened. Her quest for the truth is interspersed with fairy tale like stories about her family and her memories of their summers at their island retreat. It’s a beautifully written suspense story on grief, privilege, family, duty, friendships, and much, much more.

Today I thought that I'd share my favorite reads from 2015. I've been posting these on a Goodreads shelf all year long, but some of them are books I'd also marked as favorites in 2014: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, and The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon. Those I read in 2014, though they were officially published in 2015 -- would still recommend reading those! Last year I only made a video as a means of recommending books to people who didn't like YA much, but this year I wanted to make a full list!

Great contemporary reads --

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed, Dumplin' by Julie Murphy, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn, and Black Iris by Leah Raeder

Written in the Stars is a heartfelt exploration of an arranged marriage in Pakistan, written simply to maximize its impact and our identification with the main character on her horrific journey. Dumplin' is a romantic coming-of-age about a fat girl who competes in a beauty pageant to regain her confidence and self-love. About a girl trying to break into a men-only secret society, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is another great read from E. Lockhart. And what happens when you take three self-destructive, morally grey people and force them to interact with each other? A high stakes psychological thriller from Stephanie Kuehn, potentially her best work yet in Delicate Monsters. Black Iris is Leah Raeder's heart book, sexy, romantic suspense layered with questions about gender identity and sexuality. All are wonderful explorations of growing up in a patriarchal world.

You can read my reviews of: Black Iris, Delicate Monsters, and Dumplin'. I nominated Dumplin' and Delicate Monsters in theEpic Reads Book Shimmy Awards, and encouraged others to be excited for the release of Dumplin'.

Magical realism that takes risks in its narrative --

Chime by Franny Billingsley, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, and The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

YA magical realism is a wonderful expanding genre that's pushing the boundaries of the typical YA narrative. All three of these stories are told in their own cyclical, winding ways, and all three have absolutely gorgeous writing. Chime tells the story of a girl regaining her confidence as she discovers the truth; Bone Gap tells a story about perception and beauty; and The Accident Season tells the story of a family broken by a tragic past. Highly recommended, and can't wait for more magical realism to crop up.

I discussed Bone Gap and The Accident Season here. I nominated Bone Gap in the Epic Reads Book Shimmy Awards.

Female-led historical journeys --

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein, and Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier

Elizabeth Wein is a reigning queen of YA historical fiction, and Rose Under Fire was a gorgeous tale of female friendship tested under terrible circumstances. Walk on Earth a Stranger is about a girl with a fantastical ability to discover gold on an Oregon Trail-like, self-discovery journey to California, and it's as fantastic as that sounds.Daughter of the Forest is loosely based on the legend of the Children of Lir and "The Six Swans," a fairy tale told by the Grimms and many more. It's gorgeous and I absolutely adore the commingling of tender romance, Celtic atmosphere, and fantastical curses.

You can read my review of Walk on Earth a Stranger. Because of my love for Daughter of the Forest, I wrote a recommendation list of adult fiction for YA readers. I nominated Walk on Earth a Stranger in theEpic Reads Book Shimmy Awards, and encouraged others to be excited for its release.

Er, the only Urban Fantasy recommendation I have is Burned by Karen Marie Moning. A few years ago, I got caught up in adult urban fantasy, which is often sexy and led by kickass heroines. At this point, I'm not reading much adult UF (though feel free to recommend me some books!); only the Fever series remains on my tbr list.

Fantasy! Fantasy! Fantasy!

The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove, Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman, Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge, Serpentine by Cindy Pon, Eon by Alison Goodman, Poison Study by Maria Snyder, and A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Goodness, where to start? The Golden Specific is a part of the MG trilogy I said was most inventive MG fantasy I've read since Harry Potter. Shadow Scale is the much anticipated sequel to Seraphina, and is, like its predecessor, a wonderfully written masterpiece. Crown Duel is the most fun I've had with fantasy in a while. As Small Review said: "It's like a fantasy Pride and Prejudice with an imperfect main character who grows throughout the book, a swoony slow burn hate-turned-love romance, and lots and lots of political intrigue." Uprooted has a side plot of slow burning hate-to-love romance, a determined, spirited heroine who learns to wield magic with skill, plenty of plot twists and an absolutely wonderful main female friendship. Plus, of course, a creative fairy tale world, with a cinematically creepy evil Wood. Crimson Bound is very much of the same ilk as Uprooted; enjoyed one, and well, you should read the other. At its core, Serpentine features a wonderful main female friendship which runs well alongside a sweet romance, lush setting inspired by Chinese folklore, and an innately discussable premise about a girl with a power that makes her feel Other. Eon is an epic fantasy inspired by Japanese and Chinese mythology, full of daring adventure and heartbreaking action and romance, and layered with questions on gender identity. I'd definitely recommend Poison Study to fans of Throne of Glass; Poison Study is about the food taster to the Commander of a military regime, and the political intrigue, magic, and romance she unexpectedly finds. A Thousand Nights is a loose epic fantasy retelling of 1001 Nights, and features a heroine who defies the odds in not only surviving the threat of murder from her husband but also in becoming a stronger leader and a goddess in her own right. ALL FANTASTIC FANTASY READS!

You can read my reviews of: A Thousand Nights, Eon, Serpentine, Crimson Bound, Uprooted, Shadow Scale, and the Mapmakers trilogy. I discussed Crown Duel and Poison Study here. I nominated Serpentine and A Thousand Nights in theEpic Reads Book Shimmy Awards.

Science Fiction for your Star Wars craving --

Stone in the Sky by Cecil Castellucci

In three weeks I managed to read 11 books. I thought that my August TBR goals of 8-10 books in three weeks (afterbooktubeathon) were stretching it and then I beat my own goals!

Well, I’ve also been experiencing a lack of motivation with a lot of things, including blogging, and that has to do with August marking the one year anniversary of a close friend’s suicide. So, in periods of little motivation, sometimes I end up reading a lot without people knowing.

And today I’m here to discuss the 11 books I read and the several books that I want to read in September. Don’t forget to tell me what’s on your September TBR and what you’ve read in August.

AUGUST BOOK TALK: 

** The Fifth Wave – Rick Yancey || Goodreads

Hey, hey! You might be interested in reading this one soon too. The trailer was recently released for the movie adaptation (or at least a sneak peek trailer).

Anyway, everyone was raving about this book years ago, and I pre-ordered the book but then never got around to reading it (#StoryOfABookHoarder). I recently saw that the audiobook was available on Overdrive, so I decided to try it out, knock a book off the TBR (even if it wasn't the TBR I'd made for August). Y'all, if you're going to read this book, I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook. The narrator does a fantastic job of capturing Cassie's emotions and the atmosphere as she recounts the different waves of the Other's invasion. There's also a narrator for the male characters (the guy who narrated Linger by Maggie Stiefvater), and he's good, but for me Cassie's narrator totally stole the show and made the audiobook worthwhile.

I really liked where Yancey took the story. I have to admit: alien invasion stories are not my thing. Too often I feel icky; aliens vs. humans, and this Othering, makes me think about xenophobia, and anyway, Yancey avoided that. There are obviously some parts that I enjoyed less than others, but it was entertaining enough that it stayed with me, made me curious enough to check out the sequel. Also, I'll probably check out the movie on January 29?, 2016.

** The Infinite Sea – Rick Yancey || Goodreads

This one is a lot more action-packed than The Fifth Wave and the main point of view isn't actually Cassie's. it's another side character from book one, and I've got to say - I liked that character a lot, so I enjoyed the perspective shift. I liked this less than The Fifth Wave, but I am still curious about what Yancey has planned for The Last Star. There were definitely plot twists in The Infinite Sea with huuuuge repercussions for TLS.

** Alanna: The First Adventure – Tamora Pierce || Goodreads

My reaction is pretty similar to what it was in my August TBR post. Which is to say, I'm super impressed thinking about how this was Tamora Pierce's debut novel and how she hadn't had the legions of YA novels before her, and yet she set such a trend! A trend and a legacy that's easily traced in other YA fantasies. I really wish that I'd read this in high school. I enjoyed it now, but I know that I would've enjoyed it even more then (aka when I was less jaded and picky about books).

** Bone Gap – Laura Ruby || Goodreads

This book takes a while to get started, but I almost didn't care because of its fantastic characters. Laura Ruby really does a wonderful job developing the setting and making the people of Bone Gap feel unique to Bone Gap (but also familiar to us). (Side note: magical realism may become one of my favorite genres, especially as it is here, with a character-oriented plot and emphasis on characterization first.)
Most often the complaint about magical realism novels is that they're slow-paced. My reasoning is that readers might be entering with bad expectations if they think a MR novel is supposed to go fast. A friend once said that the good horror novel first establishes the daily reality of the characters for you before adding in the horror elements. That's what makes the horror and creepiness feel real - the sense of it seeping into your daily reality. I'd say the same of magical realism. A MR novel that's fast-paced might not have the time to set up the proper atmosphere and setting. You gotta get the contemporary element in, and then inject the magic slowly but surely....

Anyway. I really did love Bone Gap, and Finn is one of my favorite male protagonists. Loved the way it played with perception, beauty, being lost and getting found.

** The Accident Season – Moira Fowley-Doyle || Goodreads

Wow. What a remarkable debut novel.

We Were Liars is probably a fair comparison, but it also doesn't quite capture the beautiful atmospheric tension of this novel. WWL's prose was more focused on emphasizing Cady's brokenness, I think, whereas the prose in The Accident Season seems more akin to Nova Ren Suma's. Here's a better explanation: WWL is described as a modern day suspense novel, but The Accident Season is described as a sexy magically realistic YA. If you're a fan of Nova Ren Suma's or Maggie Stiefvater's writing, this could be right up your alley.

I'm definitely coming back for more from this author.

The Accident Season is much more plot-oriented than Bone Gap. My favorite element of Bone Gap was the characterization. My favorite part of The Accident Season was the writing style. Ohhhhhhh, wow, the climax was stretched on and Fowley-Doyle captured the atmosphere and setting and this dreamy, what-is-going-on feeling for all of it. I could picture the entire book as a movie. Same with Bone Gap. Which is why I thought that magical realism might become one of my favorite genres.

** Court of Fives – Kate Elliott || Goodreads

No wonder Kate Elliott was a World Fantasy Award Finalist. The world-building is SO extensive, and the plotting does well to highlight different aspects beyond the core "Fives" game concept.

"Court of Fives is inspired by Little Women, by epic fantasy which I’ve written for years, by my wanting to write a story that’s also a love letter to female athletes, by the history of Hawaii, and by my husband’s work at an archaeological site in Egypt dating from the Greco-Roman period, a period when first Macedonians/Greeks and after them the Romans ruled over the Egyptian population." 

-Kate Elliott in her Book Smugglers post, which is well worth reading if you have the time.

That's also a good summary of this book. A love letter to Little Women, female athletes, and epic fantasy set in a Greco-Roman inspired world rife with colonial class warfare. If you wanted more focus on the world-building in The Winner's Curse, Court of Fives is your novel (though in general, definitely expect an overlap of fanbases here).

(P.S. Bonus points for Jessamy. She's going on my favorite heroines list.)

** George – Alex Gino || Goodreads

I'm really glad this is being published. It's wonderful to think that discussions will start across the country because of George. I was trying to think of when someone had ever really discussed gender identity with me when I was growing up, and I couldn't think of a single time. In fact, the first time I had ever even heard of the concept of personal gender pronouns was my first day at college. I should've done better, and we can all do better, and this is a really important book.

Something I also really appreciated about this book were the cringe-worthy comments from different characters that might seem innocent except that we're in Melissa's PoV (i.e. things like "you'll turn into a fine young man"). A nice reminder of how important our word choice is. And how the casting of the play went! I remember the parents and the people in charge of my elementary school plays specifically making up *girl* characters (e.g. Janet, Jim's twin sister in Huckleberry Finn) or changing boy characters to have "girl" names (i.e. probably ending in a vowel; e.g. "Quincey" instead of "Quince" in A Midsummer Night's Dream) - what is the deal with girls playing boys or boys playing girls?

Anyway, it's a good starter point for discussing gender identity with your kids. Some moments reminded me of this NYT article. Read that against this novel, or read the novel on its own -- whatever you decide, you should have some discussion at hand. Plus, the way the novel is written makes it really easy to sympathize with Melissa (see above).

** Sunshine – Robin McKinley || Goodreads

I was at the Strand the other day and found this one in the YA section. Remembered how much I'd enjoyed The Hero and the Crown and decided to give this book a shot.

Haha, this book was originally published as adult UF and republished as YA. That made me think that YA is really just at the publisher's discretion. Because there were definitely explicit terms you don't normally see in a YA novel: labia, the feeling of a hard-on going soft in your body, etc. But explicit terms aside, there aren't many explicit scenes, so it also makes sense that the book got published as a YA novel.

Anyway, it's a vampire faery tale, and I have some unanswered questions, and I may or may not go hunting on the author's website. I'd definitely read more from her in the future. Definitely one of the master story-tellers...

And the romance novels that I read when I fall into that lack of motivation mode...

** Slave to Sensation – Nalini Singh || Goodreads

Sarah J. Maas mentioned this book when she came to my college to give a SFF world-building workshop (before the publication of Crown of Midnight - aka when such things were still possible without costing too much money). She highly recommended it despite the old cover.

And ever since then, I've seen it on so so so many different UF and romance readers' radars. It seems to be a really popular series, the Psy-Changeling series, so I decided to try it out for myself. I enjoyed it well enough. Maybe will try her other books in the future?

**Luck Be a Lady – Meredith Duran || Goodreads

Meredith Duran is my go-to historical romance author. Especially when I'm in a funk.

** When Beauty Tamed the Beast – Eloisa James || Goodreads

I think a popular Goodreads reviewer might have tipped me off to this, but I was in the mood for a Beauty and the Beast retelling... I liked this. Probably just as much as Slave to Sensation, both good, and maybe I'll try more from those authors in the future.

Currently Reading:

** Slasher Girls and Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke || Goodreads

I've only read the first story by Nova Ren Suma, but I enjoyed that so much! Her writing style seems particularly suited to short stories, and the magical realism elements fit well with an anthology comprised of horror and thriller stories.

September TBR:

All the books from my August TBR that I didn’t read including:

• Shadowshaper – Daniel Jose Older || Goodreads
• More Happy Than Not – Adam Silvera || Goodreads
• The Golden Specific – S.E. Grove || Goodreads
• The Wild Ones – C. Alexander London || Goodreads
• A Curious Tale of the In-Between – Lauren DeStefano || Goodreads

All of these books have actually been released by now, so if you're interested in them, you can grab a copy too. And hopefully I'll be able to read them soon, and catch up so I don't continue to fall behind on my TBR and push books back... back... back... Hah.

Also, books releasing in September and/or purchased:

** The Killing Moon – N.K. Jemisin || Goodreads

• I don't read enough adult fantasy, and I've heard such good things about Jemisin's work, so I'm really looking forward to diving into this book. (Though I think her other series won the Hugo and Nebula awards? Not this one? But still.). I also read a small excerpt about Jemisin's characterization skills on io9 and I loved them.

 

It's BookTubeAThon week (https://twitter.com/BookTubeAThon). Seven books, seven days, seven challenges that are hosted on different channels (yesterday was from Ariel Bissett about Book Dominoes; day 2/today is Scene Reenactment from Raeleen at Padfootandprongs). I'm probably not going to have time to participate in the video challenges and do all this reading... so I've chosen to prioritize the reading. Big surprise, huh?

So what books am I planning on reading?

Well, we'll see how far I actually get but...

1. Venetia by Georgette Heyer

After reading Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix, I saw in the acknowledgements / author's note that he was inspired by Jane Austen and... Georgette Heyer, who was apparently the founder of Regency Romance novels. What! I read a bunch of historical romances, several of which are Regency romances, and I had never heard of her. Wow, clearly I was behind. Then NPR wrote an article about 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances. You guessed it: Venetia is on that list, and I decided why not.

2. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

This book was actually going to be one of the books selected for discussion with my book club but then complications arose... but hey, I was going to read this regardless. It was recently made into a film adaptation, and it's been compared to The Fault in Our Stars. So when it was at BEA, I grabbed it. It's got a very distinct teenage male voice. I've been listening to it on the way to work and just yesterday, there was a line about terrorists and hummus and I was kind of offended until I realized oh, hey, everyone probably gets offended at least once while reading this book. It's just so frank, and that frankness is refreshing. Plus some parts of the book have been really funny.

3. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

This I got from audiobooksync, which I extolled quite extensively here on the blog. Love audiobooksync! Less a fan of this book so far. It's been hailed as a classic, and I'm pretty sure (?) it's on Gutenberg, but even though I'm about 60% into the audiobook, my thoughts align with this review a lot. The Englishman looking down on all the peoples in the countries he's visited... ugh.

4. The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove

I absolutely loved The Glass Sentence (my review & I listed Sophia as one of my favorite heroines). I pre-ordered The Golden Specific (I asked about it at BEA, too, & listed it in my books I want to read in 2015 video). The Glass Sentence is like everything you could ever want in an MG fantasy adventure, and I can't wait to dive back into S.E. Grove's world and learn more about the Great Disruption and all the different cultures and their different time periods and Sophia and Theo and Shadrack and oooooooooh.

5. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

This book has been chosen by my book club for our title this month, so aha! Maybe this challenge will help me to get ahead and read it much in advance of our meeting. I'm pretty sure this is going to be a BIG fall book: look, it already has over 2,000 ratings and it hasn't even been released yet. Also, everyone seems to be talking about it, and it's gotten plenty of rave reviews. I've read about 20 or so pages and it's got an easy to read writing style. Can't wait to read more!

6. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

This book was so good when I started it two months ago but then it became one of those books that I was leisurely reading and put aside for something else, I don't even know what anymore, and then I was like, "oh yeah, I'll totally get back to it." It's been two months people. It was good and it was entertaining me. Don't let this become another book that was good and that gets shelved for no reason whatsoever except that I apparently have a short attention span and/or bad memory. I WILL USE THIS CHALLENGE FOR GOOD.

7. Court of Fives by Kate Elliott or The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Not sure which of these two books to choose from for the last title to read! I sincerely doubt I'll be able to get through all seven books in seven days, but hey! Let's be more optimistic! Which book do you think that I should read? I'm excited for both, of course, and I'm an indecisive person, so help a girl out and choose for me, haha :).

So that's what I'm insanely planning to read in a week. This week. Haahaha, well, since I sort of have a head start on some of these books, maybe I'll actually have some progress...???

Even if you're not a BookTuber, I'd highly recommend checking out the video challenges. I spoke recently about lacking motivation for reading / blogging / booktubing. Watching the video made me laugh and feel all hyped again. It's always a treat to see someone else's enthusiasm for reading and books, so hey, if you need a cheer, there you have it.

What are you going to be reading this week or just this month? Have you read any of the books I've listed above? Which should be my seventh book? Let me know what you're reading and up to!