Movie Trailer: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Here is the Official Trailer!! I listened to the audiobook over Christmas & it was amazing. I'm hoping to have a review up in the next week. Until then, enjoy!

January Genreflecting: Contemporary Life: The Details

Based on the Collins English Dictionary, a subgenre is "a category that is a subdivision of a larger genre." (Source) While "contemporary life" may sound like a rather boring genre, it does have a sense of flair. Just a few of the subgenres contained under the larger umbrella genre of contemporary life relate are: identity (ethnicity and race, gender and sexual identity), coming-of-age, relationships, passions, and humor.

Now any good book has elements of these incorporated in it, but for the book to be truly situated in one of these subgenres, these subjects have to play a large role in the protagonist's personal journey. Remember, the primary focus of these books is the life of the protagonist and these subgenres just provide an extra outlet for the reader to experience the character's life.

I took the liberty of visiting two of the previously mentioned author's sites to see if they had anything to say about why they write in this particular genre. Here's what I found.

Sarah Dessen "In high school, I was lucky enough to have a big group of girlfriends that have really inspired a lot of the stories in my books. I’m still close with my friends from that time, so it’s never very hard to put myself back into that place, that voice. Also it doesn’t hurt to still be living in my hometown, where it’s a given that I’ll bump into people I had homeroom with, or guys I had big crushes on, while I’m pumping gas or buying stamps. It makes it hard to leave high school behind entirely, which is a good or bad thing depending on what day you ask me." Sarah Dessen's Press Kit

I think it's safe to say that if we were placing her books in subgenres, based on this snippet, I'd say we were looking at primarily relationships and coming-of-age stories. Sarah draws on her own experiences to re-create (or completely fabricate) the situations and relationships she had in high school.

John Green"Well, it’s a lot easier than writing about, like, vampires, because I used to be an adolescent. But in truth all fiction is an attempt at empathy: When I write, I’m trying to imagine what it’s like to be someone else more than I’m trying to express what it’s like to be me. So in that sense, it’s very helpful for me to write from the perspectives of characters who are at least a little different from me. Of course, I’m a writer of limited talents, and I don’t feel that I can stray too far from myself."John Green's FAQ section

John is definitely tapping in to a whole other concept. He's not just writing from his own personal experiences, but he's also writing those of others. I would say that his books fall into several different sub-genres, including identity and passions. His characters often times feature some sort of obsession or hobby that is usually fundamental to the story's progress.

Who else can you think of that belongs in some of these subgenres? I know they can be nit-picky, but I think that they allow for reader specification that a lot of other types of books don't necessarily represent. Sound off in the comments with your recommendations of subgenre representations. Also, be sure to check back next week when I discuss the older representative of this genre, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

January Genreflecting: Contemporary Life: The Basics

I wanted to do a reading challenge for the subject of Genreflecting, but I didn't get much feedback (maybe because it asked you to read 2 books for each genre and discuss them or because it's not really a "reading challenge" per se, but more an educational experiment), so I've turned it into a monthly feature! For each month of 2013, there will be a specific genre that will be analyzed. I'm planning to have author input and at least 2 reviews of books in the genre as well.

January's genre is contemporary life. Contemporary life books are real-life or reality based books. These books are placed in a contemporary setting that readers can relate to in real time. Usually the reader is following a teen protagonist as they work through their daily lives. While there can be a science-fiction (or other) slight twist in the story, that is not the primary focus. The primary focus of these books is the life of the protagonist and his/her cohorts, not necessarily the issues that they face in that life. (paraphrased from Teen Genreflecting 3, 2010)

Just a few authors you may recognize who often write in this genre are:
Sarah Dessen (Along for the Ride)
John Green (Paper Towns)
Deb Caletti (Stay)
Jennifer Echols (Going Too Far)

While there are many more, these are some of my favorites. I'm excited to say that I've chosen my two books, one older and one newer, to read for this challenge. The older book is The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (originally published in 1999) and I'll have a review and analysis up on Friday, January 18th. The newer book is The Brothers Torres by Coert Voorhees (originally published in 2008) and I'll have a review and analysis up on Friday, January 25th. I'll also be hosting a giveaway, so stay tuned!

Be sure to check back each week for the next installment in this exciting and fun new feature!

Paper Towns by John Green

Margo Roth Spiegelman has always been an unknown quantity ever since she was a child. Her quirky behavior and reclusive, yet outlandish, actions have always made her quite a character to behold. Quentin Jacobsen has lived next door to her all their lives and as children they were quite close. As they grew up though, they grew apart with Quentin focusing on his studies and Margo doing whatever she wanted to do.

One night, a few days before graduation, Margo shows up at Quentin's window and begs him to come on a night of revengeful adventure with her. Reluctantly he agrees, mostly because he's intrigued. They spend all night pulling pranks and getting back at people who made Margo's "hit list." In the morning, Quentin realizes the feelings he had for her at a younger child have now matured and he is enamored. To his dismay, and worry, it turns out the next morning that Margo has disappeared.

Quentin sets out on a journey to find the girl he loves with a rag tag team of geeks and clues that she seems to have left specifically for him.

After the first read, I despised this book. There is such a focus on the poem "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman, which Margo used as a clue, that I felt like I was back in college dissecting works of literature for every minute detail.

Then I went back and read it again and then one more time. And the more I read it the more I like it. I think I was so focused the first time on figuring out what happened to Margo, that I ignored the more nuanced action. There was so much more going on with the characters that I overlooked while analyzing the poem and other clues. I realized I was acting almost exactly like Quentin in the book. He was so obsessed with piecing the puzzle together, that he missed the whole point of the exercise. Talk about ingenious!

I really enjoyed watching the characters grow and learn to appreciate everything around them. Margo was definitely a "carpe diem" kind of gal and I found that both refreshing and frustrating. She was very "in your face" about her actions, while sometimes I questioned her motives. Eventually her reasoning was revealed and that made it much easier to handle on a re-read. Quentin on the other hand went the other way. He went from being the geeky, quiet guy to a parent-ignoring, blowing-off-of-graduation kind of guy. Margo really managed to shake his core.

Truly, I am on-board now with those who says this is a great book. If you haven't already, give this book a chance. I would consider myself proof that it's worth it.