Saturday, August 16, 2014

Katy Swartz Appreciation Post

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Contrary to what this
picture suggests, the girl
is actually the main character.


You may or may not have read Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout. You may have been wary of the (rather ridiculous) cover and average-sounding synopsis. On the other hand, you may be one of the many people who have read it and loved it. I'm in the latter group. Not only is the story unique while defying many cliche tropes; Armentrout has written one of the most extraordinarily relatable female protagonists yet.

Her name is Katy Swartz. She's stubborn and quick to anger. She flips off people who are rude to her. She has a book blog and she nerds out every time she checks the mailbox to find a book waiting for her. She doesn't wear a bra around the house and her clothes have strawberries on them. She scorns insta-love. 

I loved her from the moment she started to garden.

I don't think I've truly understood how relatable characters can be until Katy came along. Sure, I've said in about a million reviews: this character is so relatable! but Katy takes it to another level. 

Maybe it's the fact that Armentrout knows her audience. Then again, she could have taken Katy in another route and made her hobbies overly nerdy and odd. But she didn't. She made Katy one of us, which is one of many reasons why I love her (and want to be her.) Armentrout made Katy average in a book about aliens.

Katy welcomes Dee into her life with such warmth that I wanted to hug her. In a book about paranormal activity, she doesn't forget the humans and makes meaningful friends out of Lesa and Carissa. These relationships aren't treated as flimsy or transitory. They're developed and live as people do, when they spend time together they're full of happiness, and when they're neglected they whither. Everything in this series has a life of its own including the relationships. 

Moving onto arguably the central part of the book (I mean, it is a paranormal romance.) Daemon Black: the hot and rude alien. In their first meeting, he calls Katy 'kid' and says that she looks like she's twelve. You wouldn't think that this is the start of an epic romance. She proceeds to call him a douchebag, then a dickhead, before flipping him off and going home. Why is this so amazing to me? Because even though she's embarrassed and rightfully pissed off, she held her own. She continues to hold her own throughout the book and their dynamic is not one of a cat and mouse, but more like two very pissed off cats. 

Armentrout drew a line between lust and love. Katy acknowledges that the former is there and that it's just natural chemistry. In my opinion, this is what I believe that a lot of books lack. Lust doesn't have to be developed. It's there or it's not. Love has to be developed and nurtured else that dreaded insta-love comes into play. I mean, I'm not against the idea of love at first sight. But I'm against love at first word when it comes to the books I read.

Daemon almost put me off the entire series when I was reading Obsidian. He was exceptionally controlling and always needed to be put down a peg. I wanted to punch him for trying to control his sister's relationships and being a dickhead to Katy. I was afraid of this book turning into another boy-meets-girl-and-becomes-her-entire-reason-for-existence tale. There were underlying reasons for his negative attitude which are later explained, but that doesn't justify his actions. Katy swoops into save the day because doesn't let him get away with it. She holds him accountable for his actions while still allowing herself to be vulnerable and get to know him. Neither character is one dimensional.

What's important about Daemon and Katy? That they're equals. That they recognize what's between them and understand it. As I write this, I'm only on the second book, Onyx, and my two favorite idiots are, of course, struggling with their relationship. Katy is working on herself and making sure that she can protect herself if things come to pass. 

"I have to be able to defend myself and the people I care about. Because I can't expect you to always be there to protect me. It's not right or fair to either of us" 
(Armentrout 594). 

What's important to Katy is staying true to herself. She's living in a world where aliens exist and live next door. She still finds time to blog and pick up her mail at the post office, and I absolutely love her for that.

I've only seen Kaya Scodelario act in BBC's True Love, but I think she'd play a great Katy!
Look, she's already got the moody gaze down!

Friday, August 8, 2014

Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins


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Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Anna and the French Kiss #3
Published: August 14th, 2014
Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 339 

Official Synopsis:

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Charlotte's Review:

Isla and the Happily Ever After was an amazing finish to one of my favorite series. The great new characters of Isla and Josh were explored as well as old ones re-entering the mix. The ending is bittersweet because it is the end, but Perkins managed it all along with wrapping up plot-lines that I'd completely forgotten about. 

My love for Paris exploded when I read Anna and the French Kiss. I'm going to be totally blunt: I don't reread books. I have too many other books I want to read and I'm racing against the clock. But I've reread Anna and the French Kiss many times. On sad days, on rainy days, and even on gorgeous summer days (like today, which I've of course spent inside.) That book is theromantic story for me. Lola and the Boy Next Door was just as dazzling, if not capturing the same level of magic. Getting back to the point, Isla and the Happily Ever After was a return to Anna's original magic and I tasted in it what was raw, awkward and amazing first love. I got the chance to visit Paris and Barcelona this past February, so everything was especially dazzling and real when I dove into Isla and the Happily Ever After (to my mom's annoyance, I kept pointing out random lines to her!)

Isla was real, she was flawed, she was smart, and she could be an idiot at times. I loved her from the first chapter when she acted like a drugged up fool. She loved dresses and turned mousy around her siblings. Being with Josh was a challenge that she took with as much ease as can be expected. The only unrealistic things about her were that 1) were her cheeks not puffed up to the max? and 2) she did not end up applying to any safety schools! I mean really, you gotta have a backup plan. 

After loving Anna and the French Kiss with all my heart, you have to understand how much I was looking forward to having Josh as a love interest. I was not disappointed. The sulky boy from Anna and the French Kiss was transformed and, while still sulky at times, was intriguingly complex. I loved Perkins' description of his art; it felt as if I was seeing it with my own eyes.

The qualms I had with this book were very minor and almost not worth mentioning. Isla and Josh's romance got sappy at points and their sobbing made me doubt the legitimacy. At other times, I felt that the cause of their fights were muddled and unclear in the goings of the plot.

Overall, the ending was absolutely adorable and had me in near tears on a public bus. Not many books can cause me to smile and laugh out loud. Isla is a quirky and lovable read. I can't wait to read whatever Stephanie Perkins writes next!