Love is a Many Trousered Thing is the eighth book in the Georgia Nicolson Confessions series by Louise Rennison. Umm…well, it’s basically exactly like the others and is foremost about who should Georgia snog next. And it’s really funny. If you’re looking for substance, keep looking, but if you’re looking for more lightheartedness and crazy characters, this is the book for you. I have to say that because I lived in England, I can imagine exactly what Georgia’s village looks like, what the houses look like inside and out, etc. but I have to wonder if there are a whole bunch of American teenagers reading these books and in their mind’s eye they are seeing U.S. suburbia. Just a random thought…not that it makes much difference, but it would be an entirely different picture.
If We Kiss by Rachel Vail is another hit for me. I really don’t think Rachel Vail can do anything wrong though. There are some authors that inspire us and some that make us want to quit because, well, “Why bother?” I think that sometimes the ones closest to how we write, or want to write, often send us in the “Why bother?” direction. I have to admit Vail does this to me. It’s not so much that our styles are the same, but her plots could easily be ones that I would come up with for my own. Not that she’s written anything that I had an idea for exactly, they just resonate with me. If We Kiss is really one of my favorites of hers. It seems so honest.
Gentle’s Holler by Kerry Madden came to me because someone sent me to her blog and I read about it there. It’s set in the early sixties in rural NC, which is close to where I just moved from a few months ago. Traditional roots music and songwriting play a large part in the story, much like the manuscript I just finished writing too (although mine is contemporary and very different in style). In this lovely, lovely book, Madden paints a picture so vivid that anyone can see, hear, smell, and even taste it. I could only dream of writing that well. Do check this one out. I’ve got her next book on hold and can hardly wait to sink my teeth into it.
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