Edgy YA discussion

The discussion folder for the novel Easy.

Peyrac wrote: "I'm 16% into the book and not really impressed yet. Authorial voice, behaviour and facts/plot do not fit together. There's very clunky info-dumping and even clunkier fore-shadowing."

I haven't read it yet, but have started reading A Beautiful Disaster, and am not impressed so far. I think these books are popular more for the subject matter than the writing ability.

Peyrac wrote: "Marita wrote: "Peyrac wrote: "I'm 16% into the book and not really impressed yet. Authorial voice, behaviour and facts/plot do not fit together. There's very clunky info-dumping and even clunkier f..."

Her book is probably her first novel. I learned about the does and don'ts of writing from youwriteon.com and authonomy.com, having to go through some pretty harsh criticism (the writers on youwriteon will rip people's works to shreds, one even made me cry it was so harsh. Plus, I found offense with a statement that was very culturally insensitive. I won't say racist as I don't think he realised how his statement could be interpreted). Anyway, if I'd gone with my first novel, not bothering with youwriteon, the writing would've been poor, but the subject matter would've been more agreeable and might have done well in the market. It was a YA fantasy novel set in East Auckland (a nice area). It was completely PG, no swearing or sex, and my daughter loved it. I should've stuck with it, but got frustrated and as a new writer those few years back, let the criticism make me change it too much. I eventually gave up and wrote Behind the Hood's first chapter and it took off on the site, rocketing up the charts. However, what is technically well written as opposed to the subject matter makes a huge difference. I now realise that the people on that site don't like YA fantasy and once I have my two sequels for both my series out of the way I'm hoping to finally rewrite my YA fantasy and make my daughter happy. I also have a middle grade comedy due out next year (no doom and gloom in either book).

But, I found that many of the subjects in Behind the Hood are also in paranormal romance (?), just of course I don't have vampires to soften the blow :) I found this amusing, so I created a character in my sequel "Behind the Tears" who is obsessed with paranormal romance. A couple of the male characters are highly critical of her view, especially with the way that paranormal romances romanticises rape. I read J.R.Ward's books, so have noticed this with 3 of her characters. The harshness of the act doesn't come across in the books, but instead, it is used in these contexts to portray the characters as desirable. Do you agree that many of these romance books do this. I understand in Easy they have a rapist. I don't know whether the author does this here or not, but if she runs with the conventions of romance novels I say she will as well as using it as a dramatic tool to add suspense.

Since Ash is in Behind the Tears, I want to get across that rape shouldn't be romanticised, and he and his brother pretty much tell this character (who loves paranormal romance) off for her views, because she asks one of them to pretend to force her.

(By the way, I'm doing something different with Behind the Tears. I have my fist gay storyline with one of the brothers (not Ash). I hope it turns out, someone on one of the writer's websites thought I was brave to write it. He's a hetro male. and fortunately he still liked the story, so hopefully others will too. I want to challenge the view of how gay people are stereotyped, because I don't like stereotyping.

Thanks for the offer.

Someone also mentioned that the character's reaction to the attempted rape wasn't realistic. Sorry to hear about what happened to you.

Peyrac wrote: "It was even less of a thing, in some ways, than what is described for the heroine, yet she goes on speculating about her next BF and dating away as if nothing happened. To me that's bad writing.

N..."

These ones are definitely still following the fantasy mold, regardless of being portrayed in the "real" world. An influx of bad-boy stories are flowing in, being hugely successful. However, they are just as much fantasy as paranormal novels are, because in reality you stay away from the bad boys, unless you want your heart ripped in two, to be hurt, stolen from, etc.

You've just inspired me to put in some dialogue where one character tells off another for slut-shaming him. This is the unedited piece of dialogue :)

“I don’t sleep with that many women, and if I did, so what? There’s nuthin’ wrong with sex. It’s you religious types that have a problem with it, slut-shaming people who enjoy what your so-called God gave them.” Sledge from "Behind the Tears."

So, not to interrupt or anything, but...I'm reading this one, about 10% in I think. I'm still not sure. Rape scenes in the first chapter are a widely recognized no-no, as they are 'easy' ways to pull the reader in. But, the book is self-pubbed, or it appears that way. So I guess I judge a little easier in that case.

Lena wrote: "So, not to interrupt or anything, but...I'm reading this one, about 10% in I think. I'm still not sure. Rape scenes in the first chapter are a widely recognized no-no, as they are 'easy' ways to pu..."

That's one good thing about self-pub books, they ignore no-nos. I'm not saying the book is good or bad as I've only read the intro at the moment because I have to finish another book first. However, often no-nos are there to be broken. Subject matter that is, not technical conventions like head-hopping, info dumps, etc, those things shouldn't be broken. And I suppose she put in an attempted rape, rather than a rape. It shows that there is going to be more trouble down the line, because if it was a rape the story would take a totally different turn.

I agree, it's predictible. However, at least in the US, rape has a huge stigma, and it's pretty common for it to go unreported. There is some statistic I heard that only one in four rapes is reported. It's hard to get a prosecution for rape charges, and since this guy didn't actually 'succeed' (what a horrible word for it, right?), he probably would have gotten away with it.
I do agree that the character's response to it (and everything) doesn't go along with the way the author wants to portray her as eccentric and strong. My jaw dropped when she started joking with her friend about being sex-starved. I doubt anyone who's ever been assaulted is going to lament about not having sex, or want anything to do with it for a while.

What part of it made you think the author slut-shames the MC?

I got about 1/3 of the way through, and I'm quitting.

The book may have started out 'edgy,' but it was only the one (attempted rape) scene. It quickly devolved into a 'Twilight'-esque romance novel. The MC drives me nuts, one minute saying she's strong and independent and the next acting like a complete twit the minute an attractive man looks at her. I have a hard time reading romance novels because the heroines are usually portrayed as helpless, and I get sick of reading about them. I found the same is true of "Easy." I'm pretty sure there's going to be a 'twist' at the end, which I figured out from the very beginning, so that ruins the mystery element. And the whole plot is not about a girl recovering from an assault and trying to move on, but about a teen trying to hook up. Not as edgy or interesting as I hoped.

Hope someone else gets more out of it than I did.

I thought that was the character's view rather than the author's. It was one of the few aspects of the rape attempt I thought was realistic, for the girl to blame herself or give excuses for her attacker.

It really bothered me that the 'hero' saved the girl, then picked up her keys and said, "you were looking for these," or something like that... Was he there watching the whole time, or how did he know what she'd been looking for BEFORE the attack? It creeped me out and made me wary of him from the start. If the author didn't intend that, it was a huge oversight. I doubt I'm the only one who noticed.

Peyrac wrote: "The people responsible for it never even said a word to me, instead they walked on and had been watching while they neared. So I wouldn't see that negatively. Sometimes things simply move fast.
..."

That could be true. But it seemed as if that guy was attacking her for a while...maybe it was just that the author described it all in such detail it seemed to take a while.

Anyone actually reading this?

Lena wrote: "Peyrac wrote: "The people responsible for it never even said a word to me, instead they walked on and had been watching while they neared. So I wouldn't see that negatively. Sometimes things simply..."

I decided to not read it now, both of you put me off it :) That's maybe a good thing, because I just came out of reading another New Adult book and I really didn't like it much. And I'm reading another book everyone is going crazy over, and I like that one even less. I hate so much inner thought to the point that it drives me nuts. I buy books to get swept up in a story, not to be groaning and reading the same thought said in a different variation times fifty. How can people give 5 stars to something that is so repetitive? (I'm referring to Captive in the Dark in this instance). Apologies, Marita.

Now, if authors wrote a New Adult book like an Enrique Iglesias song then I'll buy it in a heartbeat. His songs have so much emotion and sexiness wrapped up into a very tight package, lol. Maybe I should write one like that so I can read something without getting clogged down by inner thoughts, because it really isn't my thing.

I have actually planned to write a New Adult book, because of this craze. I plan to start it after I've got Behind the Tears out of the way. I'm calling it Dirty Dancer, and it'll have absolutely no slut-shaming in it, because I find your comments about the topic interesting, Peyrac. They will be university students, the equivalent to the college students in the US. College in NZ is high school. I have already started writing it. I also want to see if I can complete something that isn't social realism or edgy YA. Of course it'll have some edgy content, I won't be able to help myself, but it'll be nice not to have to think about the dialogue so much, because although it'll be set in the same city, it won't have the same dialect as the characters from my other books since, most of them, will have a different social background. I better shut up as I think I'm just writing now to get out of working. Back to editing. *groan*

P.S. I love this Enrique Iglesias song with Nadiya:
my link text

Peyrac wrote: "Marita wrote: "Lena wrote: "Peyrac wrote: "The people responsible for it never even said a word to me, instead they walked on and had been watching while they neared. So I wouldn't see that negativ..."

Yeah, I got sidetracked, sorry, I just really don't like that book and wanted to vent. Inner dialogue is good, just as long as it doesn't get repetitive. And for some reason everyone thinks that book is shocking and harsh. ???? Really? They don't know what harsh is. That's a romance novel with a BDSM flavour. If I'd realised it was just another BDSM book I wouldn't have read it, because I find BDSM stories boring and lame.

Peyrac wrote: "Most of them are, I agree. Especially if you are not into BDSM yourself the currently most written "format" of BDSM is boring like so much blather.

It is one of my top criticisms of particularly A..."

Lol, so true.

I swear I'm going to make it to the end, but I'm skim reading it now. I don't think New Adult is for me, I find it boring and can't see the appeal. Maybe I'm too old :) Nah, I'm juvenile, it's just not for me.

THIS ENDED UP BEING MY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK:

rating: 2 of 5 stars
bookshelves: boring, new-adult, read, romance
status: Read from April 05 to 26, 2013
format: Paperback (edit)


Apologies to everyone who likes this book, but it definitely was not for me. I feel bad about writing this review, because I AM in the minority. Maybe this is my fault as it seems that I just don't like New Adult books. But the main problem for me with this book is that I'm an adrenalin junkie and this story was just too slow for me. It was a slow romance with a rapist thrown into amp up the danger, but that was only a minor part of the book in relation to word count. Anyway, I got so bored at one point (I think it might have been when Jacqueline went home on Thanksgiving break) that I decided I'd had enough, and to make it to the end I would need to skim read it, which I hate doing, but it was the only way this wasn't going to end up as a DNF.


The characters weren't at fault, they were actually nice, but when my life is more exciting than the main character's there must be a major problem. P.S. And I do have a tattooed hottie of my own.

Conclusion: If you like fast-paced books that don't rely heavily on romance to the point that it's all encompassing, then this book isn't for you.

But if you seem to be in the majority of readers that fall over themselves to read New Adult, like Beautiful Disaster and other books of that ilk, then read away, you will probably like this and wonder what planet I'm from.

2 stars from me, and probably 5 stars from you. Haere Ra!