Mod-Goth is totally a thing, right?

I vividly remember being in 7th grade and struggling to pick a book for my first book report of the year. I had just read Phyllis Whitney's Silverhill, my first classic gothic romance, and I was in love with it. I convinced it was the only type of book I ever wanted to read again. My mother gently tried to suggest that perhaps it wasn't the best material for a book report but my answer was simply to suggest other titles by Whitney or similar sounding stories by Victoria Holt. My mother rolled her eyes and sent a note to my teacher with my book report proposal. My teacher tried to have the same conversation with me but I wouldn't budge. Thus my love of gothic was born. 

Over the next several years I burned through all of my mother's gothic romance novels but I read so many that I started to see repeating patterns, overused tropes, and stock characters. I wasn't calling my issues by those names at the time, but I got a little bored with the formulaic nature of the genre. 

And then Jenny Adams Perinovic wrote A Magic Dark & Bright and I fell entirely back in love with gothic. It was spooky and romantic and full of deep dark family secrets. It was all the things I had loved about my mother's gothics but it was also something else. It was modern and fresh and included so many other elements that made it the antithesis of formula fiction. 

Despite my undying love of AMD&B, I didn't dive right back into gothic. The wounds of my old betrayal ran deep. But I took baby steps. I downloaded The Artisans by Julie Reece months ago because it sounded so good and just what my little gothic-loving heart craved.   

Just a few days ago, I was struggling to stay afloat in daily life and, because stress leads to bad decisions, I decided to start reading The Artisans at 11pm on a weeknight. I binge read it in one sitting. (Bed time was after 2am but I don't want to talk about it.) 

AND I LOVED IT. It was perfect gothic gone modern. It had just enough of the tropes I wanted without being too predictable. It was just what my stressed out brain needed to relax and find its happy place again. I loved the spunky voice of the main character, Raven. And the infuriating but drop dead gorgeous Gideon with his blond curls and fancy cane. I loved Raven's super supportive, effortlessly endearing best friends and the grumpy chauffeur. And the pearly white boy who tells her that her black cat is in danger. I loved literally everything about this book. I highly recommend! 

So I'm thoroughly back in love with gothic, but modern, fresh, and innovative gothic. Something I've dubbed mod-goth. It's totally thing, right? Cool, now send me all the recommendations! 

xoxox,

LSM

BROWN GIRL DREAMING is even better than they said

When I picked up Jacqueline Woodson's BROWN GIRL DREAMING at the library I was apprehensive. I don't always love the things that the larger book world loves including many National Book Award winners. I decided to give it a go anyway and I'm so glad I did.

Woodson uses stunning free verse to take us on a journey, to help us bear witness to a life. I don't think of this book as a story in the traditional sense. It is an experience. The milestones, the family, the religion, the race, the time period. All these things so vivid in her poetry that I feel as though I know her neighborhood, her family, her friends. I could feel the heat of south and hear the rush of the NYC.

When I read a book, I generally walk away with a few big ideas or themes. For this book, that idea was identity. What makes us who we are, and how people, ideas, and places shape our development. I finished the book and I felt more attuned to the world around me and to myself.

My only complaint about this book was that I could'e kept reading. I wanted more of the story. I wanted the next chapter of Woodson's life told in aching poetry that awakes my head and heart together.

If you haven't read this book yet, DO IT NOW! Happy Reading!

xoxox
L.S. Mooney

If you've ever been dumped go read OVER YOU

I picked up this book because moving on is hard. As in, I broke up with my boyfriend over the summer and I still don't know what I'm doing emotionally. So, yeah, I picked up a YA book as a self-help book. Sue me. 

But you know what? This book was EXACTLY what I needed. 

Max is the girl who helps everyone else get over the boys that dump them, but deep down she isn't really over the boy who dumped her. Her program for getting girls over their exes is AWESOME and pretty real world accurate.  Her concept of The Moment as what every girl wants (and kind of needs) when getting over a guy is phenomenally on point. I couldn't help but think of experiences from my own past, of running into old crushes/bfs/etc and not feeling on my game or pretty enough or successful enough. But this book made me feel empowered and independent and awesome even when I'm not perfect. Oh, and Bridget is pretty much my favorite ever. 

Oddly enough, the best part about the book wasn't the man-hating, it was the girl power. I didn't come away from reading it hating the opposite gender (any more than I already did going in) and in some ways it even rekindled my hope for relationships. If a book about moving on can do that, I don't think you need any more of a recommendation. Just go read it. 


xoxox
L.S. Mooney

Lex Martin got it right with DEAREST CLEMENTINE

I want to preface this post with the fact that I have not read a ton of NA. Despite starting my own NA project (but more on that in a different post) I have only read a handful of NA and liked even fewer. And then I got DEAREST CLEMENTINE because it was free on my Kindle app a few weeks ago. I hate reading on my Kindle app, it isn't a fun experience for me, but I put up with it when the stories I want to read only come in that format (worthy stories so far have included THE ART OF FALLING by Jenny Kaczorowski, CLASS OF '98 by A.L. Player).  When I saw the tweet that DEAREST CLEMENTINE was free and FINDING DANDELION was coming out, I decided to get them both. But because I'm not big on ereading, I forgot I had them until I didn't get to the library  before it closed and NEEDED something to read.

And how glad I am that I did!

Lex Martin NAILS the college feel. That one roommate who is always screwing her boyfriend but you love anyway and the struggle to politely tell your roommate that you hate their furniture. And the horror of letting someone else plan your 21st birthday party. I loved letting myself fall back into my college days as these girls took me on a great journey.

And don't even get me started on Gavin. He is the perfect mix of confused college boy and sweetheart and amazing cuddler. Gah, I want a Gavin, ok? And the bad communication and the misunderstandings and ugh. Why was this romance so perfect?

Oh, and Clementine? While she has a much darker past, I could so easily relate to the one setting: bitch. Hello, most of my young life. For real, my best friend called me a praying mantis for the way I treated guys in late high school. I loved seeing those feelings of disgust portrayed so accurately in Clementine. I wanted to be her BFF and commiserate about the eternal shortcomings of young men. Except Gavin, because he's perf.

Basically, Lex Martin GETS IT. Her dialogue is awesome, her characters feel real, and her story is part mystery, part romance, and a whole lot of college friendship. Go read this book!

Laini Taylor is a Godstar and I don't care if you don't believe me.

A little over a year ago I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and fell in love with the universe that Laini Taylor created. I read Days of Blood and Starlight in the fall and was heartbroken in so many ways. Then two weeks ago I saw Dreams of Gods and Monsters at the library and left it on the shelf. I was so worried that it would rip my heart out and thought maybe I was better off not knowing what happened to the characters I had grown to love.

On Monday, I went back and picked it up. AND I AM SO GLAD I DID. I believe the chat below pretty accurately sums things up.

So I was reduced to semi-incoherent babbling by this book which is a pretty awesome feat. The only issue is that I miss them. I miss them all. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it so  I guess I really can't say any more. Just know that these characters are awesome. The story is phenomenal. The world is rich. And it is perfect. So perfect that it will leave you begging for more.

Go read this trilogy, you will not regret it.

xoxox
L.S. Mooney

carpe diem ain't got nothing on Just One Day by Gayle Forman

I was drawn to this book because (a BUNCH of people recommended it to me and) I have this constant feeling that these tiny brief encounters in my life have greater meaning even when no one else seems to give them value. Just the blurb for this book made me feel like I wasn't alone in that. Actually reading it was like making a new friend. C.S. Lewis is credited with the quote: Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . " and with every new emotion that Allyson shared, I had that feeling. Throughout the book, I connected with Allyson in profound ways. 

Goodreads calls this book sweepingly romantic and it is. I mean she has this fairytale day in Paris then spends a year recovering before deciding she has to go back and find that fairytale guy. But to me, this book was so much more than that. It was a novel about friendship - learning to grow with old ones and get close to new ones, family - finding the nuances of being an adult with your parents, responsibility - paying your own way to your dreams, and self-discovery - figuring out how the sometimes clashing part of your personality make you who you are. This book, for me, is about so much more than romance. 
Don't get me wrong, I was dying for her to find Willem. To know why he left her. To know anything more about him. To know if they still had a chance. 

But Gayle Forman did something amazing with my emotions in this book. I won't spoil the ending because you should ALL read it but it left me profoundly missing its entire cast of characters and thinking about my own life.

Go read it. NOW!


xoxoxL.S. Mooney

Are you there, Judy? It's me, Lavender.

I know, I know. Riffing on Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret  is overdone. However, I recently read my first ever book by Judy Blume, Summer Sisters. I have loved a lot of the books I've read recently, but this book left me with deep thoughts all day in a way nothing has for a long time.

Summer Sisters is the story of Vix who spends every summer on the Vineyard with Caitlin, a wild child and serious trust fund baby. The book follows Vix and Caitlin from their first summer together as pre-teens, through their summer of first loves, to college, marriage, and beyond. Along the way there are fights, laughs, betrayals, and unforgettable memories.

One of the things that struck me about this book was how accurately it nails a variety of interpersonal relationships. Firstly, the friendship between Vix and Caitlin is one I've seen and been a part of. It is both toxic and incredible, sometimes alternately, sometimes simultaneously. It doesn't matter how long it's been since you last talked because you pick right back up where you left off. It doesn't matter how crazy your last stunt was because you still love each other anyway.

Secondly, Vix's relationship with Caitlin's father and stepmother, Lamb and Abby. They completely take her in. They treat her like their own, protecting, providing, and advising as they do Caitlin. Vix, in return, loves them fiercely and turns to them for support. This connection really hit home for me. While I was never anyone's Summer Sister, I had a best friend raised by essentially a single dad while I had been raised by a single mom. We used to joke that together we had a whole family. The almost illicit feeling of loving someone else's parent/child as your own is well captured here.

Perhaps, the most poignant part of this book for me was the messiness. Every character had a messy life. Even the ones who ended up happy made mistakes and screwed things up in their own ways. I think there is a profound message to be found in this book about blended families and what it really means to be family, whether you're connected by blood or something else. I can't articulate it for you, but I do think it's there.

My First Ebook

In general, I'm pro-reading so if you choose to do it on an ereader rather than with a traditional paper and ink book in your hands, that's your call.
In my own reading, I'm very pro-physical books. I love everything about them, the feel of the paper, the sound of pages, the shift in weight distribution as you pass the half way point. And, yes, the smell. I worked in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library in college and my honors thesis was a descriptive bibliography of Early Modern witchcraft books. It's pretty safe to say that I'm hardcore in love with tangible books and all their splendor.
I had never found my predisposition toward physical books to be a problem until December when my nook-aholic friend Jenny told me that I simply had to read The Art of Falling by Jenny Kaczorowski. Her text said something like: "There is purple hair and Buffy!"
(For those of you who don't know, I'm a rabid Buffy enthusiast and the same Jenny put a streak of purple in my hair back in October.)
Anyway, I was stoked to read this book and flew to Amazon to order it where I realized it was an ebook. I was crushed. I was all hopped up about the story with no way to read it.
I spent a few months following @jennykacz on Twitter and realizing that I really really needed to read this book. So, I downloaded the free Kindle app for my phone, followed swiftly by The Art of Falling.
I devoured the book in a day. It was more than I could have hoped for. I could relate to it on a deep personal level. It had a sweet romance and rock solid friendships. I loved it.
What I did not love was reading it on my phone. I wanted to hold it in my hands. I wanted to slip my finger under the page as I got close to the bottom. I wanted to flip it over on the end table when I got up to get something. I want to have it on my shelf at home. I mean, it wasn't a traumatic experience, and the story was well worth the inconvenience, but I still wish I could have read it as a physical book.
I don't anticipate reading another ebook soon which is a bummer because I'm sure I'm missing out on some great books but I just didn't enjoy the digital reading experience. It makes me wonder what kind of divide society is creating between digital and physical readers when the same selection of books isn't offered to both them. More than how they read, what they read is different.
Anyway, the book was awesome so I consider the whole thing a success. Happy reading!
xoxox,
L.S. Mooney

Five Favorites This Fall

Fall is my favorite time to read. I love reading all the time but when it starts to get cold, there is just something about grabbing a cup of tea and a good book and snuggling under the covers with warm fluffy kitties. Since finishing college - which put a serious damper on my leisure reading - I always read a ton in the fall. Like, I've read 30 books since September 1st. I wanted to share a few of my favorites from the last few months.

1. Paper Towns by John Green 

I read Looking for Alaska and it was good but after this one, I understand why everyone loves John Green. This is accurate yet adventurous coming of age. 

2. The Misfits by James Howe

Middle school is rough but having friends makes it better. I really liked everything about this book. 

3. Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

The characters is this are great. Having been the girl with the crush on the inappropriate older guy, Buzo gets it SO right.

4. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

This book is eerily easy to relate to. I'm not going to try and explain it. Just read it. 

5. Winter Town by Stephen Emond

If you have friends you only see during certain seasons, you will understand how just a short period of time together can still feel incredibly important. This book might break your heart but it will kind of put it back together again.