Never Eighteen [Review]

Title: Never Eighteen
Author: Megan Bostic
Publisher: HMH Children's Books
Release Date: January 17, 2012
Hardcover: 200 pages
Average Star Rating: 3.79


Synopsis (from Goodreads):
I had the dream again. The one where I’m running. I don’t know what from or where to, but I’m scared, terrified really.

Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. But in the short time he has left there’s one thing he can do: He can try to help the people he loves live—even though he never will.

It’s probably hopeless.

But he has to try.


My Thoughts:
This book was so bittersweet. From the title (and the synopsis) it is apparent that Austin will not be turning 18. And, despite the fact that I knew this book would make me tear up, be sad, and/or cry, I still read it. And, boy, am I glad I did. I read this book for the intention of spotlighting it in my Road Trip Challenge. Now, many will ask, why? Even though it's not a cross country roadtrip, however, Austin and Kaylee do a lot of driving around the state of Washington and Austin let's us in to the fun as well.


This book is told from a male perspective and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it as told by Austin. I thought it was a very different thing to come across. I'm used to listening to a girl's perspective but it was very nice reading a guy's perspective from a woman writer.


I do feel that it could have been a bit sadder at the end. In fact, I was expecting a bit more from the ending. For some reason I didn't cry. Don't get me wrong, I totally teared up, but I was expecting a full out sob like I did with My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult.


Despite the fact that I didn't cry as much as expected and that it is a very bittersweet story. I still enjoyed reading every word. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for other books by Megan Bostic.


My Rating:
4 / 5 Stars


Now, since this book is being featured in my Road Trip Challenge I interviewed the lovely Megan Bostic and here it is! I hope you enjoy!

--What inspired you to write a novel featuring a road trip?

Austin’s road trip is a little different from others, as his is part of a bucket list he creates when he realizes he may never see his 18^th birthday. The inspiration behind the particular novel came from my own experience of taking care of my mother-in-law when she had cancer. I think when we are face to face with death; it makes us contemplate our own mortality. What would I do if I had a short time left? Sure, I’d want the party, I’d want to travel, but I do think I’d want to make a difference in people’s lives, to make a mark, even if only a small one, and that’s what Austin tried to do on his weekend road trip.

--How much research did you do and what kind of research was done?

As far as the road trip is concerned, most of it takes place in my back yard, per say, so there wasn’t too much research needed. Austin and Kaylee do take a hike up to Mount Rainier, a hike I’d done a few times, though a handful of years ago, so I decided to make the trek again. I’m glad I did because in the first draft I didn’t do it justice. So many beautiful details would have been left out had I not gone on that hike again.  Also, and this is pathetic, I know, having lived in the area my entire life, I’d never been to the Space Needle. So, I went and had lunch and went to the viewing area of the Space Needle to see what it was like. I wasn’t disappointed.

--Would you ever consider writing another book that features a road trip? Why or why not?

I would definitely write another road trip book. I’d started one a while back, but put it aside, I will probably pick it back up again someday. I think there’s a lot to be said for road trip books. I love reading them, number one. Also, you can really dig deep into not only interpersonal relationships, but internalizations of the characters. They are in such a tightly enclosed space, we can really get to know them as well as their relationship to one another, but also, there is always some quiet reflective time when it’s possible to get into the character’s head and explore their thoughts and emotions.

--In your opinion what makes the road trip?

A road trip is simply a vehicle, at least one good friend, good music, and the open road. You don’t even have to have a destination in mind.

--What are your ideal stops for your road trip?

We used to travel a lot when I was a kid, and took many road trips across the country, but since graduating high school, I’ve always wanted to drive cross country and go to the places I’ve never been and see things I’ve never seen (or maybe go places I’ve been but don’t remember too well because I was young). A couple places that would definitely be on my list would be Mount Rushmore, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I’d go up to the New England are, way up northeast because I’ve never been. A couple other places would be Graceland, New Orleans, and some sunny California beaches.

--What are your favorite road trip snacks?

Have to start with coffee from Starbucks. I like to fill the cooler with fruits that you can eat with your fingers and aren’t too messy, like grapes and blueberries. I’d have some Greek Yogurt and Coke Zero, nacho cheese Doritos, and a couple bags of Gummy Worms.

--In your opinion, what are some road trip necessities?

Music is the most important. GPS definitely. Water bottle, emergency kit, first aid kit, magazines and books, pillows and blankets.

--And finally, what’s your road trip playlist?

Very difficult question. My taste in music is very eclectic. I’ve thought about this before and I’d have to have different music genres for different stretches of the trip.

For the first leg of a trip, I like to listen to upbeat pump-you-up music:

• These Days by the Foo Fighters
• Mr. Brightside by The Killers
• Get Some by Lykke Li
• I Write Sins not Tragedies by Panic! At The Disco
• Misery Business by Paramore
• Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
• Alives by Pearl Jam
• Flagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger
• This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race by Fall Out Boy
• Last Night by the Strokes
• Fat Lip by Sum 41
• Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine
• Just about anything by the Beastie Boys

Second leg of the trip, hip-hop and rap to keep you going:

• Airplanes part II by B.O.B. feat. Haley Williams and Eminem
• In the Dark by Dev feat. Flo Rida
• Forever by Drake, Kanye West, Li’l Wayne, and Eminem
• No Love by Eminem feat. Li’l Wayne
• Good Feeling by Flo Rida
• Remember the Name by Fort Minor
• Superbass by Nicki Minaj
• Single Ladies by Beyonce
• Bottoms Up Trey Songz feat. Nicki Minaj
• Look at Me Now by Chris Brown feat. Li’l Wayne and Busta Rhymes
• Rude Boy by Rihanna

On the last leg of the trip, I like to take it down a notch with a little punchy indie and rock as I prepare to reach my destination:

• Loser by Beck
• Going the Distance by Cake
• Yellow by Cold Play
• Stay Young Go Dancing by Death Cab for Cutie
• Calamity Song by the Decemberists
• Criminal by Fiona Apple
• How We Operate by Gomez
• Gold on the Ceiling by the Black Keys
• The District Sleeps Tonight by The Postal Service
• Sail by AWOLNATION
• Short Skirt Long Jacket by Cake

I hope you enjoyed the review and the interview. Definitely check this book out if you haven't already!

xo Stephanie

Sykosa Blog Tour- Interview

Today is the start of the Sykosa Blog Tour!

Please enjoy this interview with Justin Ordoñez, author of the YA novel (for 18+ readers), Sykosa. Then read on to learn how you can win huge prizes as part of this blog tour, including $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book.

  1. Who or What is a Sykosa? Sykosa is a sixteen year old junior in high school. She’s the main character of a novel I’ve written by the same name. For a quick rundown, she attends a prestigious preparatory academy, is part of the school’s coolest clique, “the Queens,” and she has started dating the boy she’s secretly been crushing on for a year, Tom. It’s taken a year to start dating him because A) there was this SUPER HUGE thing that happened during her sophomore year, and it delayed things and made being intimate with Tom difficult, and B) she kinda starts seeing stars around him and loses the ability to behave in any type of serious manner.

  2. Why is Sykosa different from other novels? It’s different because youth driven literature has become full of metaphors for danger that seem to have split into either science fiction or fantasy. (Before I go any further, I like both genres, so I’m not being a snob!) Sometimes, it feels like instead of dealing with real problems, it’s easier to have kids use magic. And instead of facing real contemporary issues, kids should fight aliens or something. These metaphors are meant to represent real life, but I fear they’ve slightly crossed over into a bit of denial about contemporary Americanism, which is a hard topic to write about since our country is in an identity crisis, and has been for about 11 years. Sykosa is an attempt to counter-act this trend. When I was young, I read books about young people that blew me away like One Fat Summer and The Outsiders. These books felt real, and it felt like I could slip into them at any moment. The writing was gritty, it was unapologetic, it was brilliant. I just don’t see many of those around, and I wanted to write one, and I wanted to write one with a female protagonist.

  3. Why did you chose cross-gender writing? Toward the end of the my high school education, I was allowed to split my school day from my normal, traditional education and a newer style, self-directed educational program. I took an English class where my English teacher, someone who I’m still friends with to this day, gave me only one assignment for an entire semester, and it was, “Perform a deep self-evaluation of yourself and your writing and come up with one goal for what you’re going to improve on.” At the time, I was seriously into writing, and had taken to writing a few books per year, but most of them were in the first person, and they were just me talking about myself. The issue was that I had been in a serious car accident the year prior and I had injured a friend in it. (He fully recovered, but never forgave me). I had tried to write a first person story about myself many times since the accident, but I was constantly failing because I was dealing with some lingering self-loathing and guilt. As a way to get away from it, I decided I wanted to work on a story I had been thinking about for a while, but that I never started writing for one super scary reason. The main character was a teenage girl. Odd as it might sound, I was intimidated by the fact that the main character was a woman. So I faced my fear and said my goal would be to write women better, and I proceeded to work with several teachers and several female students to help me craft a female character that was realistic, yet met my vision of her as well. This challenge stuck with me into my adult life, and it eventually found its ultimate form in Sykosa.

  4. How will I know I’m a fan of Sykosa? I’m glad you asked! Sykosa.com has tons of stuff to help you determine if this book is right for you. Below you’ll see some humorous diagrams I’ve made, but at the website you can read an excerpt of the book, watch the book trailer, read character profiles and really get a solid understanding of Sykosa’s world.

5. What kind of stuff influenced you to write Sykosa? The primary motivators for Sykosa were Buffy The Vampire Slayer and It by Stephen King. It so happened, in 2001, I moved in with a woman I was dating. She was a fan of Buffy, so I had to watch it and became a fan myself. While most people were probably drawn to the vampire killing, it was the last thing I was interested in. I thought Whedon created an interesting cast of personalities and analyzing them was something I enjoyed. At the time, I was reading It. What I liked about It was the small town, insular feel to the novel, and how the inhabitants of this town were able to show a “front” of values, but were secretly hiding and allowing evil to proliferate all around them. From these two things came Sykosa, a girl who does not have any super powers, nor does she kill any vampires, but she did have a traumatic event happen in her life, and she’s struggling to deal with it, and its made no easier by the fact that her small, insular parochial school has decided to ignore the incident.

  6. What is your most favorite and least favorite part of Sykosa? The most favorite part is easy. It’s Sykosa’s best friend Niko, who just gets my blood pumping every time I have to write her. I love Sykosa, she’s definitely the main character and the story would never work without her, but I could sing Niko’s praises all day and all night. She’s such an interesting young woman and to see how she’s developed over the years as I’ve written the story has been a real treat. When someone first reads Sykosa and then decides to talk to me about it, I’m secretly waiting to hear them mention Niko. It’s never the first thing they say, it’s never the last, it’s always sandwiched somewhere in the middle, “By the way, this Niko—I love her!” My least favorite part… Wow, that’s hard to answer, isn’t it? In the middle of the book, there’s a section called an Interlude, which is a story structure that Stephen King used in It, and that I borrowed as an homage to it. There’s a section where Sykosa, Niko and her mother are driving in a car together. I swear, I rewrote it fifty times—maybe more—and it’s never read right to me. It just never has.

  7. What kind of writing schedule do you keep? Let’s put it this way: I recently heard a story that there are “cat writers” and “ox writers.” I’m an ox writer. I put in the time, every day, whether I’m feeling it or not, whether its terrible or not, even if I know I’ll just end up deleting it, I push through it and I do it anyway, and somewhere along the way, it ends up coming together as a story.

  8. What’s the coolest story you have from writing Sykosa? Sykosa is interesting in the sense that it took me a long time to finish it. The first couple years I was writing it, I was really just writing stories about the characters, feeling everyone out, figuring out how they fit together, but there was no plot holding it together or pushing anything forward. In 2003, I seriously debated quitting, as it had been the hardest piece of writing I had ever taken on, and to be honest, I was somewhat used to overcoming challenges easily and without a lot of adversity. And while I usually worked on the book on my bus ride to and from work, this one beautiful, sunny day, I decided not to. I sat on the bus and kept the binder of writing closed on my lap. When the bus stopped at Pioneer Square, a homeless black woman sat next to me. She noticed the book, then said to me, “So you’re writing a novel?” I couldn’t tell how she knew that, but I said, “Yes, I am.” She asked me what it was about, but I’m terrible at talking about my work, so I gave her the gist, “teenage girl” “high school” “likes her boyfriend” etc, etc. The conversation lasted one stop, when the bus opened its doors, the woman reached out with her hand, put it on my own (which was clinging to the book like I was protecting it or something) and she said, “Justin, I want you to know, God blesses this book. He blesses it, and you can’t quit.” I had never mentioned to her that I was quitting it. I started working on it after she left the bus, and I never spoke or saw her again. True story.

  9. Do you have any tips for people who are struggling with writing or want to take it up? I do. First off, keep struggling. It’s a worthwhile struggle. There’s a lot of be gained from writing. And for those who want to take it up and for those who are already writing, I can’t stress this enough: Draft. And by the I mean, write in drafts, don’t sit in a chair and challenge yourself to make it perfect now, write it perfect now, but instead write in drafts. If something only gets 5% better, that’s fine, cause it’s just one draft of what will be many, and eventually, that 5%, that 3%, that 7%—it adds up and you end up with a really good story. But, if you try to knock it out of the park every time you step up to the plate, you’ll swing the bat a whole lot, and you’ll be tired and exhausted when you’re done, but you won’t have a ton to show for it. That’s when most people quit. They think, “I can’t do this” or, “I don’t have the talent.” They don’t understand they’re doing it wrong, that’s all.

  10. When you’re not writing, you’re… Singing karaoke. I go once a week with some close friends of mine. It’s a fantastic release, also you get feedback from an audience, which you sometimes miss from writing, and you can forget how exciting it is to share your work with others. My favorite song to sing right now is Gaga’s “You and I.” Gaga has got a great voice that she can make raspy if she needs to, and I’ve got a voice that can match the raspier songs, so I think I do her proud. Otherwise I’m singing the Killers, Kings of Leon, Oasis or Lauryn Hill.

  As part of this special promotional extravaganza sponsored by Novel Publicity, the price of the Sykosa eBook edition is just 99 cents this week. What’s more, by purchasing this fantastic book at an incredibly low price, you can enter to win many awesome prizes. The prizes include $550 in Amazon gift cards, a Kindle Fire, and 5 autographed copies of the book. All the info you need to win one of these amazing prizes is RIGHT HERE. Remember, winning is as easy as clicking a button or leaving a blog comment--easy to enter; easy to win! To win the prizes:

1. Purchase your copy of Sykosa for just 99 cents
2. Fill-out the simple form on Novel Publicity
3. Visit today’s featured social media event
4. BONUS: Leave a comment on this post*

Leave a comment, win $100: One random tour commenter will win a $100 Amazon gift card. Just leave a comment on this post, and you'll be entered to win. For a full list of participating blogs, check out the official tour page. You can enter on just my blog or on all of them. Get out there and network! About the book: YA fiction for the 18+ crowd. Sykosa is a sixteen-year-old girl trying to reclaim her identity after an act of violence shatters her life and the lives of her friends. Set at her best friend’s cottage, for what will be a weekend of unsupervised badness, Sykosa will have to finally confront the major players and issues from this event, as well as decide if she wants to lose her virginity to Tom, her first boyfriend, and the boy who saved her from danger. Get it on Amazon. About the author: Sykosa is Justin Ordoñez's life's work. He hopes to one day settle down with a nerdy, somewhat introverted woman and own 1 to 4 dogs. Visit Justin on his website, Twitter, Facebook, or GoodReads.


Click the read more to get to the rafflecopter entry form!!

xo Stephanie

Start of the Farsighted Blog Tour!

Farsighted by Emlyn Chand was released today! And so begins our Blog Tour from 10/24-11/24. Today  I will post an interview I had with the author. I will be posting something every Monday and Thursday until 11/24/11 that deals with either Emlyn Chand or her novel "Farsighted." Hope you all enjoy and reap the benefits!

Get the kindle ebook here at Amazon!
Get the nook version today or pre-order the paperback here at B&N

LRR: What inspired you to write "Farsighted"?
EC: Everything started with a single image—my face in these tacky oversized sunglasses reflecting out at me from the car’s side mirror. I was daydreaming while my husband drove us across Michigan for my sister’s wedding. Something about my image really struck me in an almost horrific way. I felt the glasses made me look blind but found it so weird that there was still a clear image within them; it seemed so contradictory. At the time, my book club was reading The Odyssey, which features the blind Theban prophet, Tieresias. I started thinking about what it would be like to have non-visual visions of the future and began forming a modern Tieresias in my mind. Lo and behold, Alex Kosmitoras was born. I didn’t want him to be alone in his psychic subculture, so I found other characters with other powers to keep him company. Thank God for my poor fashion sense. =]

LRR: How was the writing process for you?
EC: Farsighted is the first novel I’ve felt good about enough to publish, but I actually wrote another book before it (last year). The first novel was done in one fell swoop by devoting an hour-and-a-half per day for roughly three months until I got it done. Farsighted was more of an all-or-nothing proposition. I would spend twelve hours one day on it and then walk away for several weeks. The whole process took close to a year. I finished two-thirds of it this summer when I decided to hold myself “writing hostage” at Panera. I went there when they opened at 6 AM and stayed from 8 hours at a stretch. I did this every day for about three weeks until draft 1# was done and my self-editing was complete. Then it was on to my critiquers and my editor—great, wonderful, helpful, and absolutely crucial people.


LRR: Why did you choose this particular genre and how much research did you have to do in order to make this story a success?
EC: Well, first I spent about three months trying to talk myself out of writing Farsighted. It’s too ambitious, my inner critic pointed out. You’ll never get it done, not in the way it deserves to be done, it pressed. But there was another part of me that couldn’t resist; I knew I had to at least try before giving up. I started by reading tons and tons of books—I read about world folklore and superstitions, religions especially Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, psychic powers, the occult, blindness, and even Nostradamus. I learned how to cast runes and perform a ten-card Celtic Cross Tarot reading. I had nightmares for several weeks, but then they eventually stopped, and I started writing.


LRR: Who was your favorite character to write?
EC: My favorite character would have to be Shapri; she’s kind of the person I wish I could have been like back then. She’s strong, always true to herself, and won’t let anyone disrespect her. Sure, she has fears, but we all do. Shapri is the kind of girl I would love to be friends with. You know she’ll always go to bat for you when you’re too tired to step up to the plate.


LRR: I know it is fiction, but were there any little tidbits of your own life that you snuck into your novel?
EC: Oh, gosh. The only thing I can think of is the multiculturalism. Grandon is based on my hometown; it’s small and kind of boring. I couldn’t wait to escape and move on to bigger and better things. My home town was mostly Caucasian, but somehow I ended up with a very diverse set of friends even though they made up less than 1% of the student body. Fast forward a few years, and I end up marrying a man from India. He’s from New Delhi, like Simmi. I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures; I even decided to pursue my Master’s in Sociology for this very reason. I credit two early life influences for this attraction:  1) My adoration of A.C. Slater in Saved by the Bell, 2) Disney’s Aladdin being the best movie ever.


LRR: When I read, I picture a whole movie in my head. If you could cast anyone as your main characters, who would they be?

EC: Oh man! I wouldn’t mind having Taylor Lautner play Alex. As for the others, it’s just so hard to say. I wrote the entire book with only vague ideas of what they looked like, since the story is told from Alex’s point-of-view, and he’s blind. I guess I’m pretty open to the others. Definitely Taylor Lautner for Alex though ;-)


LRR: Any works in progress?
EC: I’m working on book two in the Farsighted series. It’s called Open Heart and will be written from the point-of-view of a different main character. I’m also toying with the idea of a special hardcover edition of Farsighted Book 1 with new chapters added to the end and a sneak peek of Open Heart.


LRR: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
EC: My advice is this:  Have fun with your writing. Don’t put pressure on yourself or your story and don’t try to fit either into some type of mold. Not every work HAS to be published, but every work will teach you something, and it will make you a better writer. Find the joy in writing, and you won’t go wrong.

Keep a look out for more to come. Including: my review of the book, book excerpts, and author guest posts!

xoxo stephanie

Blog Tour Notes

THE BOOK:  Alex Kosmitoras may be blind, but he can still “see” things others can’t.  When his unwanted visions of the future begin to suggest that the girl he likes could be in danger, he has no choice but to take on destiny and demand it reconsider. Get your copy today by visiting Amazon.com’s Kindle store or the eBook retailer of your choice. The paperback edition will be available on November 24 (for the author’s birthday).

THE CASH PRIZES:  Guess what? You could win a $100 Amazon gift card as part of this special blog tour. That’s right! Just leave a comment below saying something about the post you just read, and you’ll be entered into the raffle. I could win $100 too! Please help by voting for my blog in the traffic-breaker poll. To cast your vote, visit the official Farsighted blog tour page and scroll all the way to the bottom. Thank you for your help with that.

THE GIVEAWAYS:  Win 1 of 10 autographed copies of Farsighted before its paperback release by entering the giveaway on GoodReads. Perhaps you’d like an autographed postcard from the author; you can request one on her site.

THE AUTHOR:  Emlyn Chand has always loved to hear and tell stories, having emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). When she’s not writing, she runs a large book club in Ann Arbor and is the president of author PR firm, Novel Publicity. Emlyn loves to connect with readers and is available throughout the social media interweb. Visit www.emlynchand.com for more info. Don’t forget to say “hi” to her sun conure Ducky!

MORE FUN: There's more fun below. Watch the live action Farsighted book trailer and take the quiz to find out which character is most like you!