Book Review: The Boy Most Likely To by Huntley Fitzpatrick

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boy most likelyThis. book. was. great.

First of all, it’s the sequel to My Life Next Door, but it also works as a standalone novel– in fact, I had read Next Door so long ago but Boy Most Likely To got me all caught up!

It’s about Tim Mason, who is a MESS: he’s a recovering alcoholic at age seventeen, and his distant father has just kicked him out. He has a few months to get his act together or he’ll lose his college fund. So he moves into the garage apartment at his best friend Jace’s house. It doesn’t hurt that he’s crazy attracted to Jace’s older sister Alice, who is trying to keep the family afloat while their dad is in the hospital.

I thought the “recovering alcoholic” thing was going to be the big hurdle of the book, but I was SO WRONG. Crap hits the fan in a major way– and there’s nothing in the book description to prepare you for it! But WOW, it was so amazing. I didn’t know how Fitzpatrick was going to be able to resolve it all. BUT SHE DID– in a very satisfying way!

The characters. Oh my gosh, the characters. I LOVE TIM MASON. This guy is a WRECK, but he’s freaking hilarious and brutally honest and really cute with … the spoiler. 🙂

Just read this book. You won’t regret it.

Here is a quote to whet your appetite:

“Tim, I’d chew you up and spit you out.” She slants forward, yanks the straps of her bikini behind her neck, ties them, and settles back. God. I almost can’t breathe.
But I can talk.
I can always talk.
“We could progress to that, Alice. But maybe we start with some gentle nibbling?”
Alice shuts her eyes, opens them again, and gives me an indecipherable look.
“Why don’t I scare you?” she asks.
“You do. You’re scary as hell,” I assure her. “But that works for me. Completely.”

Upcoming Events

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Saturday, October 3, 10-11 am: reading and book signing at Kimball Library

Saturday-Sunday, October 10-11: Young Adult Literature Conference in Chicago

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Tuesday, October 13, 7-8:30 pm: OCD Awareness Week event with OCD Twin Cities
Ask the Experts: Gail Bernstein, Matt Kushner, and Chris Donahue with special guest Jackie Lea Sommers
Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington Parkway North, Saint Paul, MN 5510

Saturday, October 24, 1-3 pm (open house): book signing at Maple Grove Barnes & Noble

A Little Rest

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This week was crazy.

Tuesday night I had a recruitment event and got to spend time with some lovely young writers and future English majors. It’s fun to get to chat with people who remind me so much of myself at their age! Then we all heard Karen Swallow Prior speak about how important it is for people of faith to read, and not only that, but to read great literature, even if it includes content that may be contrary to our faith. She talked about the Areopagitica, a speech given by John Milton, in which he says that truth is truth, wherever we find it. That’s a paraphrase of a paraphrase, but it was just what I needed to hear this week.

On Wednesday, I had writing group. It’s always so good to get together with these lovely, talented women. They are so smart, and their fiction is so sharp. I’m so blessed to benefit from their brilliance.

Yesterday, I taught a biblical counseling class at Northwestern– I spoke about OCD and brain disorders, better defining what OCD is, debunking myths, and talking about treatment. It was really great; the students were wonderful and responsive, and they asked very thoughtful questions. Then, last night, I spoke to the Emerging Artists Collective about faith and writing and their intersections in my life. It was a great crowd, and again: great questions. I read them a pre-parable draft of a scene in Truest as well as the parable-ized version. I think everyone agreed it moved in the right direction.

So, then, of course, today I was sick. I spent basically the entire day in bed, finally crawling out around seven PM or so. Now I have Deathly Hallows pt 1 on while I work on my blog and eat pizza. Self care. Love.

I hope you’ve all had a great week. I did. It was just a lot!

❤

I Miss Blogging + Blogging Survey + Truest Giveaway

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I miss blogging. I miss engaging daily (or, okay, three times a week) through fresh content. I miss my blogging friends. I miss getting a slew of comments. I really miss the excitement of generating fast, new content and putting it out there, especially when I’m doing so much writing behind the scenes that no one is seeing, you know?

That said, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with my website. Will you help with my direction by taking a brief survey? All the questions are optional, and you’ll get five entries into my giveaway just for taking it.

So, two steps.

First,

Take this short survey. Four questions.

SURVEYNext, 

Enter my giveaway for a signed copy of Truest here. (There are a couple other ways you can get additional entries. Use them if you’d like to up your chances.)

GIVEAWAY

Thanks, everyone. Miss you guys.

HOCD: A Letter to Loved Ones

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I hope this helps someone.

Jackie Lea Sommers's avatarJACKIE LEA SOMMERS

Here are a couple hard truths:
1) I hear from more OCD sufferers dealing with HOCD than with any other theme.
2) Many of these sufferers are quite young, still in school, unsure how to seek out help, and scared to share their hard-to-explain concerns with parents or other trusted people in their lives.

I want so much to do something meaningful to help them find their footing.

So, I’m writing here a letter that they can show their parents/trusted advisors. I’m hoping to be a voice if they can’t find their own.

Friends, feel free to share this as needed.

hocd letter

Dear friend of a reader of my blog, hello.

You’ve likely been sent to this blog post by someone who wasn’t able to articulate what he or she is going through– suffering from– or someone who was too scared to trust their own voice and explanation. I hope I…

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A Humble, Hesitant Defense of Pantsers

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Jackie Lea Sommers's avatarJACKIE LEA SOMMERS

I know I’ve been spewing on this blog since last night, but I have a hundred million emotions, and I haven’t been blogging, so in some ways, these hundred million emotions have been locked up inside me, and I need to get them OUT OUT OUT. I’m a mess, to be honest.

So, lately I’ve been a little (or more) stung when one of my favorite authors has really been slamming the whole “pantsers” process. For those unfamiliar with my terminology here, it’s a term you hear in the writing word: some are plotters (they plot and plan prior to writing a book) and some are “pantsers” (they write by the seat of their pants). I write my first drafts as a pantser. It’s the only way 1) I know how and 2) I can. I’ve tried to plot before, and then I lose all the energy around the…

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A Heart-to-Heart with JLS

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Unsplash47Pour yourself some coffee; I have hot cocoa. Fall has finally arrived in Minnesota. Let’s chat, friend.

Life is really good. I have a book in the world, and it’s hard to let your baby go! Reviews are overwhelmingly positive (so far), and that makes me so happy. People keep saying things like “Your book wrecked me” or “I’m ruined” and I think they mean it as praise– that’s how I’m taking it. That’s what my favorite books do to me too: wreck me. (I’m still recovering from The Wrath and the Dawn, which I read back in June.)

Reviews are coming in slowly, which is hard, because I want to be like, “People, I’ve been waiting for four years to hear your thoughts!” But maybe it’s better this way, spaced out. I can listen to each friend in turn.

I’ve had my first “outcry” against my book. I use quotes because it was not anything like an outcry, just a dear friend questioning some of the content of Truest and admitting he wouldn’t let his daughters read it. (Note: his daughters are currently 1.5 and 3.5, so they wouldn’t be reading the book anytime soon anyway!) But then yesterday, I talked to the chair of the psychology department at the university where I work, and she said, “I loved your book, and I can’t wait to have my daughters read it. It will be a great conversation starter.” And her words came at just the right time, to hold me together.

I’m about to start traveling for my job as a recruiter, and I can’t decide how I feel about it. This will be my thirteenth season of fall travel. Let’s hope it’s not unlucky. On the one hand, I am looking forward to being away from my desk, to meeting great teens, and to copious amounts of audiobook listening in my car (any suggestions, friends?). On the other, I don’t love being away from home, and the start of a new recruitment cycle is a little overwhelming. Admissions has changed a lot in the last year, and I’m still transitioning.

I got an extension on writing book #2 (which is currently untitled … we’re getting rid of the Mill City Heroes title), which will push back the publication to summer 2017, but it will also give me more time to make it something really special for readers. And for myself. I keep begging God to enter into the writing of it, and I believe that he will. It’s just not there yet. Which makes sense. It’s only draft two.

Writing takes a lot of faith. Let me tell you. Or at least, being a pantser does.

I’m so delighted that the fall weather is here. I’m so sick of the humidity and of feeling gross and hot all the time. I’m not ready yet for winter, but I open my arms to autumn.

Your turn. How have you been lately? Are you working on any projects you’re excited about? What are you looking forward to this fall? Tell me one fun thing in the comments, please! I want to hear from you!

Win-Win-Win, Pt. 2

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win winAlmost exactly two years ago, I was undergoing a dilemma: how much religion to include in Truest. You can read about the solution I chose (using a parable) here.

Did it work?

On the one hand, you have people saying things like, “Published by HarperCollins Publishers (and not by any of their “Christian” imprints or subsidiaries), this was the most deeply and poignantly Christian YA book I’ve ever read.”

&

“I also loved the way that Jackie approached the topic of religion. As a teenage girl who, like West, struggles with a relationship with God, it was refreshing to hear all of these characters talk about God but not be God-like saints.”

&

“Loved the spiritual theme interwoven in the book. Rescue, redemption being a greater priority than perfection. Uncertainty in the midst of a certain God. Great deep stuff than teens need without being preachy. Ironically a book that will be sold in the YA section with a clearer Christian message than most of those sold in the Christian section.”

On the other hand, consider such things as, “Yes, there is religion in this book, which scares a lot of people (present company included!) but it is done is wonderfully. Even though West’s father is a pastor, there is absolutely nothing being preached or forced down the reader’s throat. It’s just his occupation, and a part of their family’s identity, not their entire existence.”

&

“The faith aspect of Truest made me super nervous, but I thought it was handled beautifully. There’s a lot of stuff about God and belief, and pretty much all of the main characters are devout Christians. Normally, this sort of thing would have me running for the hills, but Truest doesn’t come across as preachy and most of the discussion of god is of a more theological/philosophical bent, and I love those things.”

&

“Personally, I really appreciated this story having the underlying discussions, thoughts, and questions about God. God wasn’t the center of the book or the story, but He certainly wasn’t kept completely separate either. And even though several of these characters have faith, they’re still imperfect people. Do I always condone or agree with the actions of the characters? No. But I really appreciated a book in today’s society where the main character wasn’t just coming out and saying they don’t believe in God, or they don’t know what to believe, or they’ve had nothing but horrible “church” experiences and thus want nothing to do with God or religion. It was refreshing and I want more. Yet, these characters don’t have it all figured out. There’s just as much that they don’t know as they do, and I think readers who might not enjoy religious aspects in their books will appreciate that these characters weren’t just trying to teach the reader a lesson about God or religion. It never felt like the story was trying to teach me as the reader a lesson but that Jackie Lea Sommers was truly just telling a story. Any lessons the characters learned were lessons for that character and not a moral trying to be taught to the reader.”

So, verdict?

I don’t know. It’s not up for me to decide anyway. But I’m happy, and I feel like I was faithful to myself, my God, and my story, and that’s enough.