And now on to SSKA. Can I just say I loved it? Okay. I loved it. Fogelin has such a way of evoking the South that you feel like you’re right there. She’s an incredibly visual writer. And that’s all I’ll say, except read it!

My list to read before I go on vacation includes three manuscripts from my workshop group, Bruce Coville’s FORTUNE’S JOURNEY, Fogelin’s THE BIG NOTHING, and at least one Valerie Hobbs book (if I like it, I have a second one to read). I picked up Hobbs’ books because she’s published by the publisher that I’ve been unofficially working with and I thought that would be good form. Plus, I’ve pretty much loved everything I’ve read that they published recently (which is not a lot…I mean, they’ve published plenty, but I haven’t gotten my hands on a lot of books…small town library).

And yes, that reading list is a bit ambitious since it’s not long before I fly, but you know what? I sent my revision out today and so I’m already on writer vacation!

I sent the announcers Bob & Len the CD just to see if they would use it,  and today the producer Pete Toma called to tell me they are going to. It should be on any time after the fifth inning.

Go Cubbies!
Joelle

I have always sort of held on to that thought because I have an uncommon name and it made sense to me. In the last year and a half, I have run across my name in three YAs. In the thirty years or so that I’ve been reading, these are the only times this has happened.

I have to say that I totally agree with the above theory, even more than I did before. Here’s the deal, in HONEY, BABY, SWEETHEART, the character Joelle was very, very minor – someone’s aunt, but in SUMMER SCHOOL, WHAT GENIUS THOUGHT THAT UP? and SISTER SPIDER KNOWS ALL, the character of Joelle is a snobby, popular, pretty, bitchy girl. And I have to say, every time she’s in a scene, I think “Why is Joelle the name for a bitchy girl?” I know…I know, Ashleys, Brittanys, Lisas, Debbies and Julies, and other popular names have had to deal with this, but there are likeable characters with their names too. 

It’s funny, but I think it’s more that I’m just really possessive of my name, more than anything. I love having an unusual name. I’m afraid if it starts showing up in books, there will be little baby Joelles everywhere. I know there’s one YA writer named Joelle and an editor too. I think that’s a weird thing to know!

Okay…back to reading…no more ranting about my name…

I do like the idea of making up names if you’re not going to use a fairly common one though.

I’m on to another book by Adrian Fgoelin…something about Sister Spider. I’ve only read a couple of pages, but like CROSSING JORDAN, she packed a bunch into page one. That woman could teach a workshop on writing the first page! More as I get into it. I’m taking the day off from writing while the husband reads my manuscript and so I’ll probably read in the backyard. Ahhhh….lazy summer days.

Now here’s where it gets strange. From the first page I thought the language was a bit odd, kind of dated…the girl referred to guys as “fellas”, stuff like that. Now, being the book detective that I am, about the third time something struck me as old fashioned, I checked the copyright. 1942. Yes…1942. Okay…that explains a lot.

What really burns me up is it’s a lovely story, but why would any teen read it? They’ve marketed it as a contemporary romance by putting a graphic blue and pink cover on it, with contemporary kids in the photo, and you just KNOW it’s a new YA, right? So, if you’re a teen and you pick up this book and the girl is fretting about whether she’s fast or not because she let the boy kiss her on the THIRD date, are you gonna just think this is a weird book or what? Yeah…I think you are. And I think you’d drop it quick because I mean, really…if she’d slept with him, okay, but kissing him was a HUGE deal? That’s just lame…

Unless…

Suppose they’d put some sort of vintage picture on it, or even added 1942 to the the section heading (which is “June” so it lends itself to it beautifully) then anyone would pick this up and have a nostalgic look at romance in the forties. I love these kinds of books that are not historical fiction, but actually written then (if they’re done well). I mean, don’t you get a kick out Beverly Cleary’s SISTER OF THE BRIDE or FIFTEEN? I really think that when Pocket Books reprinted this they missed the boat. But maybe no one cares but me…Oh, and this isn’t just an old copy sitting around our library, because they also had it in hardback, same cover, and it looked brand new.

Okay…that’s my rant!

The characters were extremely strong and well-developed and the main character’s voice was great. I think everyone behaved within their characters, which might not make sense unless you’ve read the book, but it was important in a book like this.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the author’s use of Jane Eyre. She wove the plot points of the book throughout her book, and she did a fantastic job of it, but she completely spoiled Jane Eyre for anyone who hasn’t read it. And yes, I have read it, so not for me, but how many of her readers have read it? Probably not a lot of them. One could argue that by the time they get around to it, CROSSING JORDAN will be a faint memory at best and they won’t even remember having heard the story before, but I don’t believe it. I truly believe that if I’d read this book at age 12 or 13 and then picked up Jane Eyre when I was 18 or so, I would still remember how it went. I might be wrong, but I do think that’s true. On the other hand, some people (my husband) could read CJ today and pick up JE next year and not remember it! Still, I am vehemently opposed to authors spoiling the plots of other books in their own.

Anyway, despite that, I found the book extremely engaging and I really liked it a lot. I just suggest that if you haven’t read JE, and you think you might, you read it first.

I have since picked up CROSSING JORDAN by Adrian Fogelin (Peachtree), and I have to say, the first page not only hooked me, but passed on a boat-load of information, ideas, attitudes, and the main problem. Very good stuff. Something to work for when I write! I’m only twenty pages into it though, so I won’t comment further.

I won’t be reading too much though because I have a writing deadline. There’s more on that on need_to_write, which I now have a link to, off to the right.

I started reading a book last night that I know got good reviews. At least, people who’ve read it have said good things about it to me. The author (who shall remain nameless) also has won a spattering of awards for this, and other books. Like one of her other books that I read, which also was highly praised, I just couldn’t get into it. I did finish the other one, but it left me feeling a bit ho-hum towards it. In the time since I read that book, I’ve realized that I generally don’t like books written in third person.

Of course there are exceptions. The Betsy-Tacy series, which are my all time favorite kids books are written in third person. Harry Potter is written in third person and I never feel “removed” from the narative like I do with so many third person books. I’m still trying to figure out why this is.

I guess you could say that generally the third person books that I can’t get in to feel as if the author is talking down to the reader. In a sense, then I’m talking about the quality of the writing , not the tense, but perhaps it’s just that much more apparent in third person than in first.

I did not pay attention too much to the craft of writing when I was growing up and reading, but looking back, I think most of the stuff I read was probably third person. Either I have just gotten so used to first (and of course, I write in first exclusively), or there is a lot more first person stuff out there now, so third person feels awkward to read.

If anyone’s out there, I’d love to hear your comments.