1. This book dealt with sexual assault. How did you think this was handled? Would you call this an "issue" book? I think it was handled really well - it was used in a way that made me feel like it was as serious as sexual assault needs to be, but without it being the entire focus of the book, so I wouldn't necessarily call it an 'issue' book, even though it obviously does deal with serious issues.
2. What did you think of the college setting? We previously read Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund, which was also set in college. Is this "new adult" genre--not quite YA, not quite adult--something you'd like to see more of? LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! Books set in college are my favorite, and I'm so sad that not more authors write about that age group because there are great stories to be told (as we can see from both SSG and Easy) and I'd definitely love to see more from this new adult genre.
3. Both Lucas and Jacqueline, to some extent, chose their names. What do their choices say? to me, Jacqueline's choice to no longer go by
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You should read The Ivy books by Lauren Kunze! They're a bit lighter than either this or the Secret Society Girl (think Gossip Girl), but a lot of fun!
I mean, maybe I wish it had all been resolved a little bit more quickly, but at the same time, it never felt like the secrets thing was dragged out to me.
Yeah, that's how I felt. I was getting a little tired of it, but I think that was more natural comfortableness with the situation than thinking it was dragged out too long.
HMMM. Hard to say with self-published books? In some ways, it doesn't feel that different from traditionally published books in that there is good stuff out there, but it can be hard to find. But I'd still normally rather risk a traditionally published book.
1. This book dealt with sexual assault. How did you think this was handled? Would you call this an "issue" book?
I was really impressed with how it was handled. I think it easily could have been an issue book, but it never felt like that to me at all. It just felt like something that could have happened. I appreciated that tremendously.
2. What did you think of the college setting? We previously read Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund, which was also set in college. Is this "new adult" genre--not quite YA, not quite adult--something you'd like to see more of?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. More college books, PLEASE. I know that people think that high school experiences are more universal and that's why there are more of them, but as we move into more charters and whatever, that's not going to be true. Just the polls I've done on my flist of what people's high school experiences were like, no two of them were the same. So it shouldn't matter if not everyone's college experience is the same either.
Or maybe they think they're more alienating? But I don't know. Not everyone goes to college, but a lot of people do! And I gotta think people might want to know what they missed or younger kids might want to know what they have to look forward to. And I didn't have that great a college experience, so it's not like it's a nostalgia thing for me. (Neither are the high school books for that matter.)
Yeah, that's kind of how I saw the names, too. Both of them kind of seemed like reclaiming?
I get why he thought it was a violation. But I don't know how she would have initiated that conversation in a good way. She was trying to spare him hurt, I think, and yet made it worse. Idk. People are complicated, yo.Yeah, I think that kind of sums up all of the secret keeping for me. I definitely got uncomfortable . . . but I probably SHOULD have been uncomfortable? And all of their decisions were very understandable. Not sure I would've done much different. Plus, the whole thing about Jacqueline googling for Lucas's mom's obituary . . . that's
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1. This book dealt with sexual assault. How did you think this was handled? Would you call this an "issue" book? I think it very narrowly avoided being an 'issue' book - because the sexual assault wasn't the main focus of the book - it was more about Jacqueline growing up?
2. What did you think of the college setting? We previously read Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund, which was also set in college. Is this "new adult" genre--not quite YA, not quite adult--something you'd like to see more of? YES LOVE. I need more New Adult in my life. I am also very aware that my love of this new adult style hit around the time I turned 21, so. I loved reading a book that I could absolutely relate to.
3. Both Lucas and Jacqueline, to some extent, chose their names. What do their choices say?I think Jacqueline shows her growth, like she wants be be recgonised as her own person, not as the name that her boyfriend chose for her (& also that she really wants to distance herself from him
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I am also very aware that my love of this new adult style hit around the time I turned 21, so. I loved reading a book that I could absolutely relate to.
Oh interesting! Had you tried it before? Or was it something you hadn't encountered or looked for? YA was barely a thing when I was a teen, so I don't think I really read college fiction back then. Maybe a couple of sort of classics that were set in college, like Daddy Long Legs and Carney's House Party.
but I think the fact that he choses his middle name, her maiden name, rather than some random name is indicitive of how much he clearly loved her
I read it more as reclaiming for him, but I think you're absolutely right: It honors his mother, too.
Yeeeeah. Hiding things isn't my favorite trope, so I was uncomfortable, but I do think it was realistic and well done, so this isn't really a complaint.
In general I have no issue with self-publishing, I have issues with self-published articles that haven't had enough editing, but this was brilliant
No, I hadn't tried it before, not as it's own thing, but this year I'd been sort of over the traditional YA, 16 year old protagonists because they were really starting to not speak to me, especially when that was all I was reading & it was beginning to feel really false & unrealistic, so when I discovered NA around April it was ironic timing!
Oh yeah, there is definitely the reclaiming as well.
Yeah, because it wasn't stupid secrets they were hiding, like not just plot points, it didn't even really occur to me until I had pretty much finished the book.
GOOD timing! For me, YA just started to feel all the same. I guess it still kind of does, a lot of the time, but I've taken enough of a step back that I can at least appreciate the ones that ARE different/good. For a while there, I don't think I really COULD enjoy any YA.
Lucas/Landon maybe went on a LITTLE long for me? But it was revealed pretty much right as I was feeling that way, soooo maybe that means it was revealed at the right time after all?
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I think it was handled really well - it was used in a way that made me feel like it was as serious as sexual assault needs to be, but without it being the entire focus of the book, so I wouldn't necessarily call it an 'issue' book, even though it obviously does deal with serious issues.
2. What did you think of the college setting? We previously read Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund, which was also set in college. Is this "new adult" genre--not quite YA, not quite adult--something you'd like to see more of? LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!! Books set in college are my favorite, and I'm so sad that not more authors write about that age group because there are great stories to be told (as we can see from both SSG and Easy) and I'd definitely love to see more from this new adult genre.
3. Both Lucas and Jacqueline, to some extent, chose their names. What do their choices say? to me, Jacqueline's choice to no longer go by ( ... )
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I mean, maybe I wish it had all been resolved a little bit more quickly, but at the same time, it never felt like the secrets thing was dragged out to me.
Yeah, that's how I felt. I was getting a little tired of it, but I think that was more natural comfortableness with the situation than thinking it was dragged out too long.
HMMM. Hard to say with self-published books? In some ways, it doesn't feel that different from traditionally published books in that there is good stuff out there, but it can be hard to find. But I'd still normally rather risk a traditionally published book.
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I was really impressed with how it was handled. I think it easily could have been an issue book, but it never felt like that to me at all. It just felt like something that could have happened. I appreciated that tremendously.
2. What did you think of the college setting? We previously read Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund, which was also set in college. Is this "new adult" genre--not quite YA, not quite adult--something you'd like to see more of?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. More college books, PLEASE. I know that people think that high school experiences are more universal and that's why there are more of them, but as we move into more charters and whatever, that's not going to be true. Just the polls I've done on my flist of what people's high school experiences were like, no two of them were the same. So it shouldn't matter if not everyone's college experience is the same either.
3. Both Lucas and Jacqueline, to some ( ... )
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Yeah, that's kind of how I saw the names, too. Both of them kind of seemed like reclaiming?
I get why he thought it was a violation. But I don't know how she would have initiated that conversation in a good way. She was trying to spare him hurt, I think, and yet made it worse. Idk. People are complicated, yo.Yeah, I think that kind of sums up all of the secret keeping for me. I definitely got uncomfortable . . . but I probably SHOULD have been uncomfortable? And all of their decisions were very understandable. Not sure I would've done much different. Plus, the whole thing about Jacqueline googling for Lucas's mom's obituary . . . that's ( ... )
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I think it very narrowly avoided being an 'issue' book - because the sexual assault wasn't the main focus of the book - it was more about Jacqueline growing up?
2. What did you think of the college setting? We previously read Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund, which was also set in college. Is this "new adult" genre--not quite YA, not quite adult--something you'd like to see more of?
YES LOVE. I need more New Adult in my life. I am also very aware that my love of this new adult style hit around the time I turned 21, so. I loved reading a book that I could absolutely relate to.
3. Both Lucas and Jacqueline, to some extent, chose their names. What do their choices say?I think Jacqueline shows her growth, like she wants be be recgonised as her own person, not as the name that her boyfriend chose for her (& also that she really wants to distance herself from him ( ... )
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Oh interesting! Had you tried it before? Or was it something you hadn't encountered or looked for? YA was barely a thing when I was a teen, so I don't think I really read college fiction back then. Maybe a couple of sort of classics that were set in college, like Daddy Long Legs and Carney's House Party.
but I think the fact that he choses his middle name, her maiden name, rather than some random name is indicitive of how much he clearly loved her
I read it more as reclaiming for him, but I think you're absolutely right: It honors his mother, too.
Yeeeeah. Hiding things isn't my favorite trope, so I was uncomfortable, but I do think it was realistic and well done, so this isn't really a complaint.
In general I have no issue with self-publishing, I have issues with self-published articles that haven't had enough editing, but this was brilliant
THIS! A million times this!
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Oh yeah, there is definitely the reclaiming as well.
Yeah, because it wasn't stupid secrets they were hiding, like not just plot points, it didn't even really occur to me until I had pretty much finished the book.
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Lucas/Landon maybe went on a LITTLE long for me? But it was revealed pretty much right as I was feeling that way, soooo maybe that means it was revealed at the right time after all?
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