I got the chance to read another fabulous Fearless Fifteeners ARC this week! Seriously — y'all are in for a treat when 2015 rolls around and these books start releasing. I've now read 14 of my fellow debut authors' books, and each and every one had something special to offer. I'm so proud to be a part of the Fearless Fifteeners!
Up this week: Moriah McStay's EVERYTHING THAT MAKES YOU. This book tells two stories about the same girl. Fiona Doyle was in an accident as a kid that left half of her face scarred. Fi Doyle is the same girl, but that accident never happened. As a high school junior, Fiona is a shy bookworm who writes song lyrics she won't let anyone see. Fi, meanwhile, is an outgoing star lacrosse player with her eye on an athletic scholarship. The two stories cover three years in the girls' lives, and intersect in unexpected ways. Minor players in Fi's story become major ones in Fiona's, and vice versa. Fi and Fiona prioritize different things, and make different decisions, but there are still characteristics that make it clear they're the same girl. And some things are the same in both stories; for instance, Fiona/Fi's mom wishes both girls were girlier and is always trying to buy them frilly clothes. I enjoyed reading this book—which is really two stories for the price of one! If you've ever wondered "What if…?" you should pick this one up.
I'm currently two-thirds of the way through A.S. King's GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE, which is completely and totally different! It's about a girl whose mother killed herself and who worries that she'll fall victim to the same depression—and who then gains the supernatural ability to see a dark and dangerous future and decides it's her responsibility to try to change it. This book is gritty and painful and *weird* and probably not for everyone—but I'm curious to see where it ends up. And I want to pick A.S. King's brain one day! She truly comes up with the most imaginative and unusual premises for her books.
That's all for now. Anyone out there reading anything good?
~Kathryn