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.

Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block is one of those books that dazzles and sparkles, but once you look through all that and get down to the details, it starts to lose some of its shine.

There's just so much going on in the limited amount of space provided that certain plot points feel tragically under written -- mad scientist, magic users, man-made vs natural disasters; all of these are never quite resolved in any way that feels truly satisfactory. The connection the The Odyssey -- one of the book's main selling points -- is a great example:

But where the book does shine is in the prose, in the teen characters, and in the magical realism that is Block's signature. The characters feel real, their internal struggles (primarily grief and their sexualities) are relatable, and their external battles (as in, the end of the freaking world) are fantastical but still grounded in their responses to it. The world After is beautifully illustrated, though horrific in its construction.

If you want an easy read with a rich world and characters, then read this book, just mind the details left unsaid.

This is one of those times where my logical brain pisses me off. For some reason, the blurb of this book made me think that perhaps the fantastical goings on in Love in the Time of Global Warming were not real – that they were a story Pen was telling. And I was wrong. But I couldn’t accept this fact until halfway through reading, and by then my enjoyment of the story had been greatly reduced because I had spent so much time going WTF? Is this real OR NOT? So if you think it’s not: it is. IT FREAKING IS, OKAY?

So, once I got over myself, I was able to really enjoy Love in the Time of Global Warming. Like, four star enjoy it. But I won’t get into my irritation at myself again. But yeah, it was lovely once I realised that everything that was happening was happening.

All of Block’s other books that I have read haven’t really followed a true storyline (more like prose, I suppose), but Love in the Time of Global Warming is told like a normal book (albeit with flashbacks). And I really liked her style; it was very easy to read and yet quite lovely with its prose-like qualities in places, as well.

The four main characters in this book are pretty adorable, not gonna lie. And they’re all diverse, which just makes everything about them amazing. Pen was not a very vivid character to me, but I liked her nonetheless. My favourite aspect of her character was her love for Hex, and her complete acceptance of who he was. Which brings me to Hex. I just. I cannot even with Hex. I absolutely adored him from the moment he stepped onto the page. He’s freaking divine in so many ways, and I just. *nods furiously* HEX. Ash and Ez were pretty likeable, too. Although I must say I likes Ash a little better than Ez. I always like the musicians. >.>

There wasn’t a lot of urgency to the plot, but I wasn’t averse to that. I kind of wish I knew The Odyssey a little better because everything was new to me in Love in the Time of Global Warming, and I’m sure that knowing the parallels between the two texts would have made for an even more enjoyable read but hey. I haven’t picked up an ancient book, and I may never.

I was really happy with the ending of Love in the Time of Global Warming, and I am a little surprised that there is a sequel, since I think it could have been left as a pretty agreeable standalone novel. But I can see that there was room for a sequel, so that relationships would be explored even more, as well as the whole “end of the earth” theme. I haven’t heard very good things about the sequel, but I’m willing to give it a try anyway. Even if only to revisit one of my all time favourite characters in any book ever (HEXXXX).

© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

This YA novel was a fairly loose retelling of The Odyssey, and it didn't work all that well for me. I thought the writing was lovely, but I didn't particularly care for the story as Block told it. I thought it was difficult to follow, and there were certain plot elements that seemed to be added more to have something to say about a "hot topic" issue than to really further the action of the plot. I will read more by this author, but probably not more in this sequence.