Perth Writers Festival - Part 1

Losing It - Julia Lawrinson

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged and it’s taking me forever to read books at the moment, but I managed to get myself down to the Perth Writer’s Festival at UWA yesterday. I attended The Devil in the Details and Not Just for Kids seminars but for this post I’m going to focus on the latter.

It’s becoming clear that young adult fiction is reaching audiences outside of its initial target age group and that it’s not just being read, but devoured. YA authors Amanda Betts (chairperson), Julia Lawrinson, and Vicki Wakefield led the discussion and questioned why people of all ages are reading teenage fiction. Before the discussion I thought about this and it ultimately came down to YA being relatable (everyone has been a teenager amiright?) and that it can be so fast paced, so vibrant, and so full of possibilities for authors to explore and to push the boundaries. The Not Just for Kids seminar definitely confirmed this and then some.

All I Ever Wanted - Vicki Wakefield

The session started off with Julia Lawrinson reading a humorous sex scene from her latest book Losing It, which follows the story of four girls who want to lose their virginity before Schoolies Week (for non-aussie readers this is essentially a celebration week full of parties for students finishing their final year of high school). Besides a few others, and myself, most of the audience consisted of people in the 30+ range and they were in absolute hysterics at this awkward fumbling scene like you would not believe. I think that Vicki Wakefield accurately narrowed down the popularity of YA to four words: Hope, Heart, Humour, and Horniness. While not all YA has every single one of these elements, I think it’s fair to say that it’s a category that enables people to engage with a text that can freely explore so many avenues, and can play with the characters and the audience in various ways.

Another factor as to why YA is so appealing to adults is because when they, themselves were teenagers, a category of books designated for their age group simply didn’t exist. And in a way it enables older readers to feel nostalgic and remember what it was like when they were a teenager, because being a teen is full of so many potential firsts – whether it be a first exam, first job, first kiss, or first girl/boyfriend. It’s also a period in time (even though we don’t necessarily realise this until we’re older) that in a way we are free due to their being less responsibility and stress from “adult thingz”.

Ultimately, the categorical name of “young adult fiction” is a marketing ploy to try and attract a specific target audience, or rather the audience that marketers believe would most enjoy these books, when in fact, people of all ages can enjoy them. I don’t doubt that there are plenty of teens that would rather read so-called “adult” books; therefore it’s only fair that there would be plenty of adults interested in so-called “teen” books. Read YA with pride people!

Why do you think YA is so appealing to older readers ? Comment below or tweet me @faultystairs :)

Review: Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

I have the tendency to either finish a book within a few days or take a painstakingly long month to complete a book - there is no in-between. Finale did not escape either method as I sped through at least 3/4 of the book within several days and then I just got distracted and didn't get around to reading the rest of it for around about two weeks.

I've been following the Hush Hush series since the first book as Nora was pulled into the dangerous, yet thrilling, world of fallen angels and Nephilim. Undoubtedly, each novel has its share of ups and downs, ranging from slightly cheesy and perhaps unrealistic dialogue (does anyone actually talk like Vee?) to so many plot twists and turns it could give you whiplash.

After the somewhat disappointing third installment, Silence, which to me seemed rather unnecessary apart from a few pieces of interesting plot development - it's clear that the Hush Hush series would have been significantly stronger if Fitzpatrick had stuck to her original plan of creating a trilogy. Nonetheless, Finale was considerably better than its immediate predecessor. Nora has sworn an oath of fealty to lead the Nephilim army to victory against the fallen angels, to end the torment of their bodies being possessed during the month of Cheshvan. Consequently, Nora must question where her loyalties lie: with the race of Nephilim or with Patch and the fallen angels? 

Nora Grey can at times either be brilliant or infuriatingly annoying. In comparison to the previous novels in the series, I think that she developed in character and was more determined in making decisions without Patch. As much as I adore dear Patch Cipriano, he can sometimes be a little too overprotective and essentially interfere with Nora's progression in character. Readers can look forward to Nora actually going out and kicking some arse, more Scott, and plenty of the new and vital character to the story, Dante Materazzi.

There were a few problems with the plot whereby certain things just seemed unnecessary, out of character, or I quite simply wanted to have explored in more detail. (To be honest I really want to discuss these issues.)

Nevertheless I've decided to give Finale three stars.

What are your thoughts on Finale?