Tag Archives: John Green

Top 10 Literary Boyfriends

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Oh, come on, be honest now … if you’re a reader, you have them too. 🙂

10. Marco Alisdair from The Night Circus | A handsome young magician with creativity exploding out of him?  Yes please.  “What did you wish for?” Bailey asks. Marco leans forward and whispers in Bailey’s ear. “I wished for her.”

9. Will Trombal from Saving Francesca | Confused, sweet, smart, willing-to-be-humbled student leader at an Aussie high school, eventually Will figured out just what he wanted.  “Do you think people have noticed that I’m around?”
“I notice when you’re not. Does that count?”

8. Jace Wayland/Morgenstern/Herondale/Lightwood from The Mortal Instruments series | You know, I wouldn’t mind having a stunningly gorgeous boyfriend who was acerbically hilarious and could kick anyone’s ass, even if he was conceited as all get-out.  Too bad something is always going majorly wrong with his world.  “Not everything is about you,” Clary said furiously.  “Possibly,” Jace said, “but you do have to admit that the majority of things are.”

7. Joe Fontaine from The Sky is Everywhere | His smile alone completely won me over.  Joe is sincerely and deeply in love with life.  “And then he smiles, and in all the places around the globe where it’s night, day breaks.”

6. Prince Char from Ella Enchanted | He is so real, so sincere, so sweet, so honest, so straightforward: “That’s funny, you’re funny. I like you, I’m quite taken by you.”

5. Finnikin from Finnikin of the Rock | Once he realizes what he truly wants, he is a die-hard.  His loyalty and dedication won over my heart.  “This hand says you spend the rest of your life with me,” he said, holding out his left hand, “and this one says I spend the rest of my life with you. Choose.”

4. Max Vandenburg from The Book Thief | Okay, so I don’t think readers are supposed to fall for Max, but I couldn’t help it.  He writes books for her.  Swoon.  ‘Such a brilliant German day and its attentive crowd. He let his mouth kiss her palm. “Yes, Liesel, it’s me,” and he held the girl’s hand in his face and cried onto her fingers.’

3. Jonah Griggs from Jellicoe Road | A young, passionate cadet who will fight with you but also do anything to defend you, Griggs is one of my all-time favorite literary boyfriends!  He’s hilarious and smart and hot and cares so deeply, even though he keeps up a tough facade.  “I think it would cause a riot.”  “Well, you know me,” he says, lowering his head towards me. “Causing a riot is what I do best.”

2. Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables series | Gilbert is one of the most wonderful men ever written about, period.  From the time he was about thirteen, he has wanted one thing: Anne Shirley’s love.  He is most girls’ idea of “the perfect man,” one who waited for her for years.  He’s so funny and SMART and sweet and handsome.  Love him.  “Gilbert wisely said nothing more; but in his silence he read the history of the next four years in the light of Anne’s remembered blush. Four years of earnest, happy work … and then the guerdon of a useful knowledge gained and a sweet heart won.”

1. Augustus Waters of The Fault in Our Stars | I just cannot get over this guy.  He’s smart, hilarious, gorgeous, a deep thinker, a reader, intense and honest and fun.  “Oh, I wouldn’t mind, Hazel Grace.  It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.”

Honorable mentions:
Ron Weasley of Harry Potter series
Cal Trask of East of Eden
Dickon of The Secret Garden

How about you– who are your favorite literary boyfriends?

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Just finished …

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead | Brilliant!  This is a children’s book, meant for younger ages than the books I usually read, but it was absolutely incredible.  This is the story about Miranda, a young girl in New York City, who starts receiving mysterious notes from an unknown sender, asking her to “write out the whole story, from beginning to end.”  She is, of course, confused, but after a cast of wonderful characters are introduced, everything begins to fall into place.  I actually shouted aloud the moment that everything finally clicked into place for me– I was that excited.  Absolutely loved it.

Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley | Another Printz winner, so I had high expectations.  The writing was good, and it had two storylines that merge into one (a device I am rather fond of).  It also was very interesting, especially all the writing about the Book of Enoch, but in the end, the book didn’t wholly touch me.  Whaley didn’t make me love the characters quite enough to care enough.  I wanted to love this one; I really did.  One story is about Cullen Witter, his small town that is going crazy over an extinct woodpecker who has supposedly been seen again in their community, and the disappearance of his younger brother Gabriel.  The other story begins with a young missionary on his first mission.  Seems right up my alley, doesn’t it?  I didn’t hate this book, but it just didn’t go far enough to truly capture me.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness | Oh man.  So good.  I wept.  This is a fascinating story about Conor, whose mother is dying of cancer, and about the yew tree in the churchyard out of their window.  In the evenings, the tree walks and talks to Conor, telling him stories and demanding one from him, all as he deals with the emotions of his mother’s slow fade.  So real, so raw, so dark, so clever.  A must-read.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine | I found myself easily sucked into this re-telling of Cinderella, even though I think that Levine needed a couple more drafts of the manuscript (how pretentious am *I*?  wow.).  Still, a sweet story for children.  Ella was blessed/cursed at birth with the need to obey all orders … as she grows up and falls in love, she seeks a way to end the spell that binds her, and this is the story of what happens.  I honestly did find myself rather heartbroken as I read this story … I applaud Levine for that!

Going Bovine by Libba Bray | This book started out INCREDIBLE and hilarious and interesting– Cameron, a teenaged slacker, is diagnosed with the human equivalent of mad cow disease, which essentially eats holes in your brain, making it like a sponge.  The descriptions were fantastic and dead-on and intense.  And then Cameron starts drifting out of reality and in his unconscious state, he goes on this completely bizarre roadtrip with a dwarf and a yard gnome, guided by a punk angel in torn fishnets.  In a lot of ways, I suppose I have to give Libba Bray credit, since it did seem very dream-like.  The problem was that I was just not incredibly interested– and it went on far too long.  Outside of Narnia, I’m not a huge fan of big quests in books.  This just got too wacky and too long for me.  I finished it though because I was so won over in the first part of the book by Bray’s phenomenal writing.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare | Okay, so this is book #5 of the Mortal Instruments series, and it’s (obviously) safe to say I’m hooked.  I am writing this mini-review at 1:25am, having just finished it.  I don’t know how Cassie Clare keeps doing it, but she just introduces such heartbreaking plot elements in every novel.  I feel like I can’t truly review this book without any spoilers, since there are four other books before it, all filled with twists and turns and secrets revealed.  I will say that I am PUMPED for the sixth and final book of this series … which I just looked up and discovered is not coming out until March 2014.  Two-thousand-freakin’-fourteen.  You have got to be kidding me.  Speechless.  (I don’t know how Potter fans did it … I didn’t start the series till Hallows was released.)  Well, I guess it’s time for bed.

Currently reading …
The Narnian by Alan Jacobs, all about the life and creativity of C.S. Lewis, my favorite

En route to my mailbox …
The Casual Vacancy by Jo Rowling
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta

So. Freakin’. Pumped.

whom I write for

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Who is your audience? is a question every writer faces in the midst of creative work.  For me, the question has kind of morphed into For whom am I writing this?  In other words (for me), Whom do I most want to please with this work?

It’s different answers for different things.  For example, with Lights All Around, my first novel, the answer was

1) God.
2) Other obsessive-compulsives.
3) My writing community.
4) Myself.

With my second novel, Truest, I have found the answer to be

1) God.
2) Myself.
3) John Green.

I hadn’t really thought through this much until the other day at work when I was talking to some coworkers about how desperately I wanted John Green to like the story I was writing.  Am I crazy?  Maybe.

How about you, writing friends?  What does your list look like?  Does it change from project to project?

books books books

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Oh man, I have been reading like a maniac lately … some delicious books.  I love stories so FREAKIN’ much that I find myself sending out these random text messages to people declaring my love for words as if I had a wounded heart.

Just finished …

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan | Even though John Green is one of my heroes, I avoided this book for a long time because of its LGBT themes.  (Now, don’t freak out on me– some of my friends are gay.  I love gay people.  But I didn’t think I’d care to read a book centering on those issues.)  But I decided to bite the bullet and buy the book.  Started reading it that night and finished it the next day.  Brilliant.  So good.  The book is about two boys who share the name Will Grayson.  Green and Levithan each write from one Will’s perspective.  I am always a sucker for a book that has two storylines that end up melding into one at the end.  I actually think I may have liked this book more than Looking for Alaska, which is Green’s first novel, a Pritz winner.  Let’s just say this book includes one straight Will Grayson, one homosexual Will Grayson, and this huge tank of a boy named Tiny who is writing and directing an epic musical.  Love.

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta | Another one of those two storylines telling one cohesive story.  This book (which I have read before) just flabbergasts me.  It is so fascinating and so different than most other books.  It’s about Taylor Markham, a young lady who is the leader of her school during the annual territory wars between the boarders (at her boarding school), the townies (from Jellicoe), and the cadets (a visiting military academy).  This book is brilliantly written, completely beautiful, heartbreaking, and lovely.  I cannot tell you how smitten I am with this story.  A must-read.

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare | This is book #4 in the Mortal Instruments series, and I have to be honest: at this point, I’m only in it for Jace.  But I will say that I am very in it for Jace.  The sexuality is ratcheted up in book four; Clare is incredible at building tension.  But the books are also exciting and sweet, not … pornographic.  And now, with four books down, I am pretty stoked for book #5.  “I am Jonathan, but everyone calls me Sebastian, and I am going to burn down the world.”  Eeeep!  Terrifying!

Currently reading …

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Up next …

Everyday by David Levitha
Divergent by Veronica Roth*
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine*

*(I know I have been claiming these two are up next for a while … I just keep finding things I am more eager to read!)

So stinkin’ excited for …

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling (out this month!!!!)
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta (out this month in Australia but not in the US till March– never you worry, I believe I will somehow track down an affordable Aussie copy earlier than that!  Anyone have ideas?  Fishpond doesn’t have the Aussie supplier!!!)

The Fault in Our Stars

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I know I’ve mentioned this book before, but it really deserves its own post.

TFiOS is a young adult novel written by John Green, and while it has characters with cancer in it, I would never classify this as a “cancer book” (cough, Lurlene McDaniels).  This book is clever, FUNNY, moving, and it has incredible characters, most especially ♥ Augustus Waters ♥.

You really ought to read it.

I will say this:

1) This book made me cry both during and after I read it.  During because I was so involved in the story and after because I was so envious of John Green’s writing abilities.  (I am not joking– I’ve told you before I struggle with writer envy!)

2) I was working on an adult novel about a woman who discovers she was adopted when she inherits her birth parents’ estate, but after I readThe Fault in Our Stars, I completely scrapped that story and started over, making my debut writing YA lit.  That was in January, and now, in July, I have a first draft of a YA story!

So TFiOS is very important to me.  In some ways, it feels as if this book birthed my own.  I hope that makes sense to you.  This book and John Green were so much my muses as I wrote my story (working title Her Truest Lamentation) that I set it in the fictional town of Green Lake to throw props to John Green.

Request it from the library or buy your own copy at Barnes and Noble andread this story.  And then let me know what you think of it.