Book Reviews: V Is For Virgin And Serial Hottie By Kelly Oram

I've discovered a Young Adult author whose work I enjoy very much: Kelly Oram, author of V Is For Virgin and Serial Hottie. It took me less than two days to plow through both novels because I just couldn't put them down! Her writing is easy and conversational, and reminds me a bit of Meg Cabot's -- which I mean as a compliment.

V Is For Virgin is narrated by a young woman named Valerie, a high school senior who -- gasp! -- has decided to not have sex until marriage. *SPOILERS AHEAD* After she's dumped by her boyfriend for not putting out, their confrontation in the cafeteria goes viral -- and Val takes a very strong stand by turning her decision to wait into a movement for other teens. Meantime, she captures the attention of a rock star and her movement becomes an even bigger deal than she'd anticipated.

Okay, so many parts of this story were pretty fantastic and slightly unrealistic, but who cares? This is why I read fiction and Oram made all of her book's events perfectly believable. I loved Val, who was strong, outspoken and determined to stick to her beliefs. I also liked the fact that her virginity really wasn't the main concern; the book's true theme was about choices and the idea of standing behind one's own decisions.

Though the book deals with the ideas of virginity and abstinence, it is not preachy at all. Val (and the author) never claim that being a virgin is the right choice; it's more about it being the right choice for VAL and she has a very specific and important reason for why she wants to wait.

Of course, with this being a YA novel, there is a love triangle and both guys involved are compelling. You can understand why Val would be attracted to either one. However, the relationships between her best girl friend and a couple of new girl friends are also very well drawn, so it isn't just about Val and the guys.

The one downside for me is that I wasn't crazy about Val's rock star suitor. I found him to be a bit too pushy and disrespectful of Val's personal space. He wasn't a bad guy, but he seemed to think that he could win her over by constantly getting in her face -- and I just didn't find that to be very attractive.

Almost immediately after finishing V Is For Virgin, I began Serial Hottie. In this novel, the narrator is 16-year-old tomboy, Ellie. *SPOILERS AHEAD* She's very attracted to Seth, the new boy in town who's just moved in across the street, but when a serial killer murders several girls who look like her, she suspects that her new suitor could be the culprit. *Gulp.*

And boy does she have good reasons to suspect him: Seth is skilled in karate and knife throwing, and seems to be a little too interested in the murders. He also has a bad temper and "kidnaps" Ellie to prove that he won't hurt her. Um... what?

I didn't like this book as much as Virgin, but I still enjoyed reading it. Again, Oram pulled me right into the story and I couldn't wait to find out who was the real serial killer. Ellie was a decent narrator, but was a bit violent for my taste (she breaks a guy's nose and punches a girl in the face, among other things). However, I LOVED her relationship with her "girly-girl" sister, Angela. At the start of the book, she and Ang don't seem to have much in common, but as the summer progresses, they bond and become friends. Once again, Oram invests a lot of time in crafting a female friendship, which I must appreciated.

My issue with this book is the same as the other: I was not crazy about the "hero," Seth. *MAJOR SPOILER BELOW*

Though Seth obviously wasn't the killer, he had major, major issues! He also had a violent streak and was jealous of Ellie's many friendships with boys. He also kept telling Ellie that he'd "make" her be his, which wasn't romantic; it was creepy. He did have a sweet side, but like the rock star in VIRGIN, was also very pushy and disrespectful of Ellie's personal space. I guess the author thinks that pushy guys are romantic? See, I don't. And I really never liked it when a guy would insist that I had feeling for him before I was ready to say that I did.

Even so, I was entertained by both stories and enjoyed Oram's writing. I'm going to check out her supernatural YA book Being Jamie Baker and will let you know what I think of it. As for the other two, I give Virgin 4.5 stars and Hottie 3.5. Both are quick reads that I recommend to anyone who loves YA!

Please read and review my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Book Review: Reasons I Fell For The Funny Fat Friend

I've been writing a lot lately about plus-sized heroines in books, especially since my latest novel deals with a main character who's not just plus-sized, but morbidly obese. I'm writing about an extreme example, but most women are NOT a Size 2; having dealt with a lifetime of weight issues myself, I appreciate when a story features a curvy character who's portrayed as being beautiful, smart and loveable.

Author Becca Ann does a wonderful job in creating such a heroine in her YA novel REASONS I FELL FOR THE FUNNY FAT FRIEND. Hayley is described as being "not fat, not thin," but has many insecurities about her weight, thanks to her belief that she's just the "Funny Fat Friend" (or FFF). Interestingly, the story is told from the guy's POV; through a smitten Brody, we learn how terrific and gorgeous Hayley really is.

I really enjoyed getting the guy's side of the story because girls tend to be harder on themselves -- and each other -- than boys. When I was in high school, I was SKINNY, dangerously so at times, but I seriously thought that I was fat. I remember my guy friends telling me that I was too thin and was very surprised by this; but most of them agreed that they liked girls to have curves.

I was also drawn into Hayley's very toxic relationship with her mother, who has rather unrealistic expectations for her daughter. For anyone who thought the mom is critical in BAND GEEK, this one is far worse! I do wish that we'd seen more of this relationship because the mother came off as being one-dimensional and I feel as if we got only a glimpse into a serious issue. But again, this was told from Brody's POV, so he'd only have so much access to the mother and Hayley's home life.

I also would have liked to have had some more detailed scenes. We never get much information about characters' appearances or even what the town looked like. I had to fill in most of those blanks on my own. But, in a way, the limited descriptions made sense for a male narrator because most of the guys whom I know, including my husband, tend to be less visual than females. If Jon needs directions, for instance, he can just look at coordinates on a map and figure out where he's going. I, on the other hand, prefer directions like, "Turn left by the gas station and blue house." I'm not saying that ALL men think in a more linear than visual way, but a lot do so this felt realistic to me.

What I really loved, though, was the meat of the story which was Brody and Hayley's relationship. They go from being friends to more over the course of the book and Becca Ann did a geat job in showing this progression. Both mains are extrmely fun and likeable, and you can't help but root for them to get together.

Overall, I give this sweet read four stars and highly recommend!

Meantime, please read my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD, now only 99 cents!

Writing A Novel: "Innocent" Characters

One of the most surprising and frequent praises I've seen of BAND GEEK is that it's "wholesome" and "not too racy." I certainly don't mind the praise and am glad that parents feel comfortable letting their kids read my work. Truthfully, though, I had fears that my novel would be written off by the YA audience -- no pun intended -- for being too mature in certain parts.

For one thing, my characters talk like teens. And by that, I mean they swear. Josh, in particular, has a bit of a potty mouth and often uses the F-word. He even uses it to address his school's principal at one point. Meanwhile, Melinda curses at her mom during a major argument. Mind you, I don't have them cursing all that much; I felt that if every other word was a swear word, my dialogue would get pretty boring. Still, I didn't want to whitewash my kids' speech. Having them say, "Oh, golly gee, what the heck?" in 2012 just didn't feel realistic in my opinion.

On that note, there is also a big scene that features underage drinking. I don't paint it in a great light, but I don't condemn it, either. Let's just say that some characters handle their liquor better than others. In real life, I'm not a big drinker myself and wouldn't encourage my friends' teenagers to do it. But teens do drink and I wasn't going to pretend that they don't.

As for those other things that teens do, there are no actual sex scenes in BAND GEEK, but there's plenty of talk about it, some graphic makeout scenes and some very naughy band locker room behavior. My characters also say some pretty bawdy things, especially Mel's friend Lana. There is also bullying (both in person and cyber) and some minor violent acts beween students. I mean, my title is REVENGE of a band geek gone bad...

I guess my book is being called "wholesome" because compared to a lot of other YA stories out there, like the GOSSIP GIRL series or the BRENNA BLIXEN trilogy, it is pretty tame. But compared to some of the books that I grew up with, I think it's kind of edgy. Besides, I'm always surprised to see which books get knocked for having "inappropriate" content; the ALICE books, for instance, are often maligned because Alice and her friends have very frank discussions about sex. Yet Alice herself rarely cusses or does anything that out of line. Judy Blume's JUST AS LONG AS WE'RE TOGETHER also has some reviews with complaints about its "racy" content, which I find ridiculous. I LOVE that book, but the 13-year-old girls in that story from 1987 are BABIES compared to today's 13-year-old's who have exposure to so many more things.

I think what perhaps people are reacting to in my story is that there are consequences for the bad behavior and that ultimately, BAND GEEK is a tale of redemption. I don't know if I'd call my work wholesome, but I do think that there are some lessons to be learned from it.

Please read and review REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Book Recommendations: Books About Gay Teens

First up: my Virtual Book Tour continues, and this time, BAND GEEK is featured at the blog Dream Big ... Read Often. You can read an excerpt of my novel and once again, sign up to win a prize of a free copy of the book, a CD and some handmade music earrings. Go for it -- it only takes a second to click!

Meantime, I'd like to recommend some more Young Adult novels that I think are worth reading. This time, they all have gay, lesbian or transgender protagonists. In the past few years, there have been so many tragic stories about gay teens who were bullied to the point where they killed themselves. Of course, there are many others who haven't made the news, but are also picked on at school or are not accepted at home. You'd think that in 2012 being gay wouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately, it still is in some circles.

The following LGBT novels tackle some difficult topics, such as what it means to be gay and Christian, or what it means to be a girl trapped in a boy's body. I think that all are books that can help gay teens feel not so alone and can help straight teens understand what their gay friends, siblings and classmates are going through.

The God Box by Alex Sanchez: Sanchez has written several YA novels that star gay teens, but this is my favorite of his. The narrator, Pablo, a.k.a. "Paul" lives the seemingly-perfect life in Texas: he has a steady group of friends, a beautiful and sweet girlfriend and is a devout Christian who's active in his church and school's Bible club. However, his life is turned upside-down when he discovers that he has feelings for his classmate, Manuel, who's out and proud. Paul not only has to come to terms with being gay, but also questions his religious beliefs and his entire identity. This is an LGBT story that digs deeper than a typical "coming out" tale and takes on a rather controversial angle.

Something Like Summer by Jay Bell: A warning before I begin: though this book is YA and has young characters, there are some explicit scenes in this book! I suggest it for older teens, ages 17 and up. Still, while there are some hot sections, the tale is heartfelt and made me cry in parts. The story follows Ben, an out teen who begins a relationship with closeted jock, Tim. The first section shows readers how Ben went after the object of his affection and managed to win Tim's heart. it then goes on to cover the next 10 years or so of their on again/off again relationship. What I liked about this novel was that it wasn't really a coming out story, which is often what YA LGBT books are. Though it did involve on teen accepting his sexuality, the main portion of the novel focused on the characters' love story.

Keeping You A Secret By Julie Anne Peters; This story is similar to The God Box in that the main character, Holland, has a boyfriend and hasn't quite realized that she's gay. She then meets the school's new girl, Cece, who's an out and proud lesbian, and they fall in love. I enjoyed the romance between the girls, but I also liked that the story didn't neatly wrap up every plot. There were some messy scenes that made me want to smack certain characters and cheer for others. It's always a good read for me when characters make me so emotional!

Luna by Julie Anne Peters: In this novel, Peters introduces readers to a main character who's transgender. the story is told from the POV of Regan, whose brother Liam is a female trapped in a male's body. Regan is the only person who knows of "Luna's" secret and she struggles to accept and deal with the fact that her brother identifies himself as her sister. The one thing I wish is that we'd gotten the story from Luna's point of view; perhaps Luna and Regan could've narrated alternating chapters? Still, it's a moving story about love, identity and acceptance.

If you have any favorite LGBT books, feel free to share in the comments! Meantime, please read and review my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.