Review: What Light by Jay Asher

"People think what they want. That's what I've had to accept. I can fight it, but that's exhausting. I can feel hurt about it, but that's torture. Or I can decide it's their loss." - Jay Asher, What Light

My initial intention was to read several Christmas-themed books, and schedule them for upload throughout December. Obviously...that didn't happen. So instead, I come sliding in on the last Wednesday of the month to bring you the only Christmas-themed book I actually got a round to reading!

What Light follows Sierra, whose family has owned a Christmas tree farm since before she was born. For eleven months of the year, she lives in Oregon, helping her parents grow and chop down endless rows of trees. But come Thanksgiving, they pack up and migrate down to California for the holiday season, where they open a tree lot to help families find the perfect tree. Although having two lives always means missing one, Sierra can't imagine living her life any differently.

This Christmas, though, there's also Caleb--a boy with a past and an affinity for Christmas trees, who won't get off Sierra's radar. Any relationship possibilities are already complicated by an expiration date--but the future is uncertain, and it may be Sierra's final Christmas in California. Is any relationship worth saying goodbye?

This book. Was. Adorable. It was an adorable ball of cheese, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially after having to go three+ months reading nothing but the texts required for my university courses. (I mean, some of those were also very good. But still.)

I'm going to re-state this, because it's worth emphasizing: this book is so cheesy. Sometimes unbearably so. But when you've been buried under school-induced stress for 13 weeks, unbearable cheese is pretty much exactly what you need. I also found that there was no real overarching conflict through the story--it was more comprised of several smaller issues that resolved themselves quickly, which meant that the climax was...well, not very climactic. It was more of a calm story, with less tension than other similar romantic comedies.

That being said, it was still very well written--pulled me in, and I couldn't get enough of Caleb and Sierra. (Because, again, they are adorable.) There was potential for it to do more, but what it did, it did well.

Final rating: 3.8.

Until later,

- Justyne

Why I (Almost) Never Read Adult Fiction

If you've been paying attention for the last, oh, almost two years or so, you'll probably notice that most of the books I read are YA. I can count on one hand the number of times I've read books that classify as adult fiction (not including classics, or books read for no other reason than a school curriculum) on one hand. In fact, I'll list them for you right now:

1. Pinch Me

2. How to Fall in Love

3. Attachments

4. Landline

5. On the Other Side 

6. Maybe Someday

7. November 9 

8. The Help

9. Heat Wave

...Okay, so maybe I require slightly more than one hand. But still, compare these 9 books to the other 192 on my Goodreads read list. Statistically, I tend to lean towards the YA spectrum. There is a reason for this: 99% of every adult fiction book I've pulled off the shelf has been about a character who is 30-ish years old, facing Real Adult Problems surrounding marriage, kids, careers, etc--things that I can't really relate to, because I'm a forever single 22-year-old who can't even be trusted to make a proper dinner once a week (let alone every day).

Now, I don't want to say that I'm "growing out of" YA. That statement implies that, as a Certified Grown-Up™, my interests and I are somehow above the level of YA fiction. I don't believe that this is possible. I remain firmly behind the stance that anyone can enjoy YA fiction, or middle grade fiction, or children's picture books, and I also firmly believe that anyone who thinks otherwise is a condescending a-hole who can put their equally condescending opinions in a certain place where the sun don't shine.

But I digress.

I may not be growing out of YA, but lately I've been struggling to find books that follow characters closer to my age range. I've been sticking to the older end of the YA protagonist spectrum, but the oldest character you're likely to find headlining a YA novel is 18--19 tops, if you're lucky. But I stick around, because that's still closer than the 30-and-up protagonists that plague every other corner in the bookstore.

It is, of course, entirely possible to enjoy a book, regardless of the protagonist's age. Most of the time, it doesn't really matter--all I care about is that the tone of the book fits in with the mood I'm in. And I'm not less likely to enjoy adult fiction. Look at Rainbow Rowell--she wrote both Fangirl, a YA novel, and Attachments, categorized in adult fiction. I read both, and enjoyed both equally.

But I'll be damned, I want more books about 22-year-olds! I want more books following university and college students! I want books about people in their fourth year realizing they've hated their major this whole time. I want books about people who go on gap years, who go on vacation and just never come back, because who really needs responsibilities, anyway? I want books about people who genuinely have no career plans, and people who are just flying by the seat of their pants, because sometimes that's an okay thing to do. I want more books about people my age.

Maybe I'm not looking hard enough.

Until later,

- Justyne

Review: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Ah, Just Listen. A personal favourite.

This week's read follows Annabel, a model who went from having everything to nothing at all. After a scandolous party mishap sparks rumours abound and ends her friendship with Sophie, she finds herself on the literal outskirts of her school's social circles--and the cafeteria. There, she meets Owen, who has his own rumours circling the school. Music-obsessed, unbelievably honest, and with a rough past of his own, the two begin an unlikely friendship that gets the school talking more than ever.

As the two tread further into each other's lives, Owen teaches her the importance of listening--to music, to others, and to yourself.

A problem I sometimes find with Dessen's books--as much as I love them--is that the minor characters often end up outshining the main protagonist. In truth, all of Dessen's characters are great, but sometimes I end up caring more about the best friend than the main character. Just Listen is one of the exceptions, as I think Annabel shines out just as brightly among the likes of Mallory, Owen, and Rolly.

I also loved the sisters' ongoing storyline, and their relationships with each other. Each of them had their own lives, their own problems, their own ongoing stories, and yet they all somehow came back around and connected with each other. In a way, they all learned the same lesson, in a variety of different ways.

There were times when Annabel's behaviour was frustrating, but her reluctance to tell her mother the truth about modelling was warranted, understandable, and overall relatable for myself and for others, I'm sure. The idea of speaking up about anything is easy, but actually doing it is another matter entirely.

And finally, at the center of it all, was the relationship between Owen and Annabel. Dessen's characters always have great chemistry, I find, and these two are no exception. Their conversations seemed effortless, and their shift from friendship to something more was a lot more gradual and easy than some of her other books.

Overall, I don't really have any complaints about this one! It's a solid read, although I personally think that some of her other work outshines this one.

Final rating: 4 stars.

Until later,

- Justyne