New YA Beach Reads

 Summer is right around the corner and it's time to recommend summer beach reads. With my love of the movies, I can't resist recommending Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter.  Liz Buxbaum, whose deceased mother used to be a rom/com screenwriter, is looking for her own happily-ever-after, but finds it in an unexpected love interest. My Epic Spring Break (Up) by Kristen Rockaway (How to Hack a Heartbreak) introduces Ashley Bergen, a coder who has always been focused on academics. When she is rejected for a summer internship by ZigZag, a popular social media platform, she decides to refocus on her social life with unanticipated results. It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill (Meant to Be) finds Beck Brix, the infamous Pizza Princess who was born on the bathroom floor of Hot n' Crusty Pizza, struggling to escape her notoriety and move on. In Sunkissed by rom/com favorite Kasie West (Lucky in Love), Avery Young is heading off to a summer vacation with her family in an homage to Dirty Dancing. 

Better than the Movies introduces Liz Buxbaum, who loves romantic comedies. After losing her mother, who was a rom/com screenwriter, Liz draws comfort from the soundtracks, the happy endings and the connection she feels to her mom when she watches them.  Her senior year is ripe for rom/com moments, but she finds herself missing her mom more than ever.  When Michael, her childhood crush, moves back to town, she decides going to prom with him with be the perfect happy ending.  She enlists the help of her arch nemesis Wes Bennett, her next-door neighbor, who has driven her crazy since they were kids. He agrees to help her attract Michael, in exchange for her giving him the prize neighborhood parking spot for the rest of senior year.  Like the best rom/coms the story is filled with witty dialogue and there are twists and turn in the path to true love.  Each chapter starts with a quote from a classic rom/com and they are peppered throughout the text, as well. 

In My Epic Spring Break (Up) mathlete Ashley Bergen has always been focused on academics and is sure she is a shoe-in for  a summer internship at ZigZag, a popular social media platform.  When she is rejected, she is devastated and decides to focus on her lack of a social life over spring break.  In addition to competing in a coding hackathon, she is going to pursue her crush, popular Walker Beech. To her surprise he seems to reciprocate her interest, and she finds herself involved in risky behavior and paying the price.  Meanwhile Ashley's lifelong friend Jason, who seems to be a better match, tries to convince her Walker is bad news.  As the hackathon approaches, she finds out the ZigZag team will be judging the contest and the prize will be a summer position in Silicon Valley.  Inviting Jason to join her team, she vacillates between her growing attraction to him while practicing for the competition and trying to please Walker. Making one misguided choice after another, she struggles to find the right path for her romantic, as well as STEM future. The author is a former programmer and has a real sense of a female navigating the IT world.

It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story focuses on Beck Brix, who is known as the "Pizza Princess" or "Bathroom Baby" after her notorious birth on the bathroom floor of Hot 'N Crusty Pizza.  The restaurant manager has given her free pizza for life and a guaranteed job when she turn sixteen, but she is mortified by the attention she receives from the media and the pizza palace every birthday. When she falls in with the popular crowd, she is determined to shed her infamy, but ends up taking the job and finding her true comfort zone with the pizza crew. Although she has a crush on Mac, a popular football player, she finds herself attracted to Tristan, the moody delivery guy at Hot "N Crusty, and her workmates are obsessed with the same vintage Sci/Fi show that she and her dad love. When disaster strikes the restaurant, her status as Pizza Princess gives her a unique opportunity to help.  Her self-deprecating personality and predictable rom/com disasters, makes this a enjoyable summer romp. 

Kasie West's latest book Sunkissed is an homage to the classic film Dirty Dancing.  Avery Young's family summer vacation finds her at a remote resort in the California woods, where she is trying to recover from her best friend's betrayal in kissing Avery's boyfriend.  Cautious by nature, Avery decides she is going to spend the summer stepping out of her comfort zone.  She agrees to help Brooks, a handsome staff member, write songs for his band and ends up singing with the band when the lead singer is injured.  Of course, campers fraternizing with staff is against the rules, so her outgoing sister, who is a video blogger hoping to do a piece on the band, helps her sneak around to spend time with Brooks.  Although Avery has a great voice, she has stage fright and is reticent to sing with the band at an upcoming competition. Coupled with her parents' disapproval. her growing attraction to Brooks leaves her struggling find herself in this predictable but satisfying YA romance. 

New Film Related YA Novels: The Movie Version, My Unscripted Life and You in Five Acts

As the chair of the programming committee for the Boedecker Art House cinema, I find myself drawn to young adult novels that are movie related.  Three new fall releases in this category are on my list of recommendations this month.  The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch is about Amelia and her brother Toby, who are obsessed with movies and living their lives as though they are in one, until Toby goes through a drastic personality change.  My Unscripted Life by Lauren Morrill (The Trouble with Destiny and Being Sloane Jacobs) focuses on Dee Wilkie, who lands a summer job as a PA on a movie which stars a teen heartthrob on whom she has a crush. Finally, You in Five Acts by Una LaMarche (Like No Other) is a poignant story about five students at a performing arts school in NYC who are preparing for graduation.

In The Movie Version Amelia Anderson has always taken a back seat to her popular older brother Toby, whose goal is to live the "movie version" of his life.  Obsessed with movies, the two of them have always been close, but lately Toby hasn't been himself, disappearing into his room to write in his journal or hanging out with the stoners and doing drugs.  Amelia is in the throes of first love with a boy who lives in NYC, but finds herself distracted with Toby's struggles and covering up for his erratic behavior.  When he is finally diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized, she is devastated.  Ultimately, she will have to decide if she will let Toby derail her life, or let go and focus on her own hopes and dreams. Wunsch, a film critic turned author, provides detailed movie references that are a cinephile's dream.  Toby's flamboyant behavior which spirals into mental illness is heartbreaking and Amelia's reluctance to accept that the brother she idolizes is no more, will touch teens who are interested in realistic reads about teens dealing with family issues involving mental illness.

My Unscripted Life is a first person narrative about Dee Wilkie, an artistically talented teen, who is devastated when she is rejected by a summer fine arts program, but rebounds when fate throws her the opportunity to work on a movie set in her Georgia hometown.  Dee is thrilled to find the film stars Milo Ritter, a famous pop-star she has had a crush on since middle school, but she is then disappointed when he turns out to be a jerk. As they are continually thrown together, she gets to know him and realizes there is a reason for his standoffish behavior, and she may just be the girl to change his attitude. Although this is a fun light read, the author inserts movie script elements and stage directions into the text, making this a cut above many teen rom/coms. Dee's internal monologues reveal a girl who is in the process of self-discovery and decisions about life after high school and it all plays out on a movie set.  What's not to enjoy?

You in Five Acts is written from five points of view, telling the story of a diverse group of friends at Janus Academy, a high pressure performing arts school, in the months leading up to their final performances that will determine their futures. Joy, the African American ballerina, partners with the phenomenal Latino dancer Diego, who hopes their performance will move him out of the friend zone.  Ethan, the Russian American playwright hopes to turn his muse, the Puerto Rican actress Liv into something more, while she crushes on Dave, the movie celebrity, who recently transferred to Janus and is her costar in Ethan's play.  In each Act the narrator refers to the object of affection as "You." The plot is like a Shakespearean play in that love interests are continually shifting and emotions are misunderstood.  Ethan's passion for Classic American film informs his play and he tries unsuccessfully to get his friends to share his obsession. Although Liv is supposed to be his girlfriend, she is decidedly uninterested in a romance with him. Her snarky relationship with Dave belies the crush she has on him, while he tries to disregard the feelings he has for her, because she is supposedly Ethan's girl.  Diego and Joy indulge in dance films like Save the Last Dance and Center Stage, as they slowly acknowledge the passion they feel on the dance floor has blossomed into their offstage lives. The love relationships slowly work themselves out, as the story moves toward a tragedy that will change everything.  The well-written sympathetic characters, the frequent movie references and the author's clear understanding of life at an arts academy make this a truly compelling read.  It's release date is November 1, 2016.

New Film Related YA Novels: The Movie Version, My Unscripted Life and You in Five Acts

As the chair of the programming committee for the Boedecker Art House cinema, I find myself drawn to young adult novels that are movie related.  Three new fall releases in this category are on my list of recommendations this month.  The Movie Version by Emma Wunsch is about Amelia and her brother Toby, who are obsessed with movies and living their lives as though they are in one, until Toby goes through a drastic personality change.  My Unscripted Life by Lauren Morrill (The Trouble with Destiny and Being Sloane Jacobs) focuses on Dee Wilkie, who lands a summer job as a PA on a movie which stars a teen heartthrob on whom she has a crush. Finally, You in Five Acts by Una LaMarche (Like No Other) is a poignant story about five students at a performing arts school in NYC who are preparing for graduation.

In The Movie Version Amelia Anderson has always taken a back seat to her popular older brother Toby, whose goal is to live the "movie version" of his life.  Obsessed with movies, the two of them have always been close, but lately Toby hasn't been himself, disappearing into his room to write in his journal or hanging out with the stoners and doing drugs.  Amelia is in the throes of first love with a boy who lives in NYC, but finds herself distracted with Toby's struggles and covering up for his erratic behavior.  When he is finally diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized, she is devastated.  Ultimately, she will have to decide if she will let Toby derail her life, or let go and focus on her own hopes and dreams. Wunsch, a film critic turned author, provides detailed movie references that are a cinephile's dream.  Toby's flamboyant behavior which spirals into mental illness is heartbreaking and Amelia's reluctance to accept that the brother she idolizes is no more, will touch teens who are interested in realistic reads about teens dealing with family issues involving mental illness.

My Unscripted Life is a first person narrative about Dee Wilkie, an artistically talented teen, who is devastated when she is rejected by a summer fine arts program, but rebounds when fate throws her the opportunity to work on a movie set in her Georgia hometown.  Dee is thrilled to find the film stars Milo Ritter, a famous pop-star she has had a crush on since middle school, but she is then disappointed when he turns out to be a jerk. As they are continually thrown together, she gets to know him and realizes there is a reason for his standoffish behavior, and she may just be the girl to change his attitude. Although this is a fun light read, the author inserts movie script elements and stage directions into the text, making this a cut above many teen rom/coms. Dee's internal monologues reveal a girl who is in the process of self-discovery and decisions about life after high school and it all plays out on a movie set.  What's not to enjoy?

You in Five Acts is written from five points of view, telling the story of a diverse group of friends at Janus Academy, a high pressure performing arts school, in the months leading up to their final performances that will determine their futures. Joy, the African American ballerina, partners with the phenomenal Latino dancer Diego, who hopes their performance will move him out of the friend zone.  Ethan, the Russian American playwright hopes to turn his muse, the Puerto Rican actress Liv into something more, while she crushes on Dave, the movie celebrity, who recently transferred to Janus and is her costar in Ethan's play.  In each Act the narrator refers to the object of affection as "You." The plot is like a Shakespearean play in that love interests are continually shifting and emotions are misunderstood.  Ethan's passion for Classic American film informs his play and he tries unsuccessfully to get his friends to share his obsession. Although Liv is supposed to be his girlfriend, she is decidedly uninterested in a romance with him. Her snarky relationship with Dave belies the crush she has on him, while he tries to disregard the feelings he has for her, because she is supposedly Ethan's girl.  Diego and Joy indulge in dance films like Save the Last Dance and Center Stage, as they slowly acknowledge the passion they feel on the dance floor has blossomed into their offstage lives. The love relationships slowly work themselves out, as the story moves toward a tragedy that will change everything.  The well-written sympathetic characters, the frequent movie references and the author's clear understanding of life at an arts academy make this a truly compelling read.  It's release date is November 1, 2016.