I love few things more than finishing a book with the thought of, “OMG, how did the author DO that?” The first book that did this for me was The False Princess, by Eilis O'Neal. The second I finished, I had to go back and seek out how O'Neal had so successfully intertwined her plot threads and foreshadowing. So this week's Technique Tuesday is a shout out to my favorite mentor texts in each of the Swoon Reads site's four indexes: heat, tears, laughs, and thrills.
For heat, I adore Simone Elkeles's novels, especially Perfect Chemistry. Brittany's perfect life unravels when her teacher assigns gang member Alex as her lab partner but things soon heat up – and I'm not talking about their hand-warmer class project! I find many romance novels filled with kissing scene after kissing scene to the point where they all smear together like a lipstick stain but Elkeles works the heat in every touch. And when she does use kissing, she still makes the scene unique. My personal favorite is when Brittany loses a challenge to Alex and has to kiss him. If you haven't read this novel, I dare you to read it just to see where.
For tears, I have to cheat a little. Wendelin Van Draanen's The Running Dream isn't a “boy meets girl” or “girl meets girl” or “boy meets boy” kind of love story. Jessica's true love is running and her heart is broken after losing a leg in an accident while traveling for a track meet. I'm not usually big on tear jerkers but I cried the whole way through this novel: sad tears, angry tears, happy tears, and just about everything in between. I cheered Jessica on with each artificial limb stride. And as soon as I was done, I had to read it again.
For laughs, nothing tops Miranda Kenneally's Catching Jordan. I don't even like football but it was impossible not to love the sport when I saw it through the eyes of heroine and high school quarterback Jordan Woods. Jordan's interactions with her teammates kept me in stitches and made me want to hang out with them all. And, yes, I wanna date Henry, too!
For thrills, my vote goes to Crash Into You, by Katie McGarry. Rachel and Isaiah share a love for street racing – that puts both their lives in jeopardy and gives them six weeks to save each other. McGarry spins their story through alternating view points, which I love, and after two books which featured Isaiah in the literary backseat, I was so ready to see him get his turn behind the wheel.
Happy reading!
For heat, I adore Simone Elkeles's novels, especially Perfect Chemistry. Brittany's perfect life unravels when her teacher assigns gang member Alex as her lab partner but things soon heat up – and I'm not talking about their hand-warmer class project! I find many romance novels filled with kissing scene after kissing scene to the point where they all smear together like a lipstick stain but Elkeles works the heat in every touch. And when she does use kissing, she still makes the scene unique. My personal favorite is when Brittany loses a challenge to Alex and has to kiss him. If you haven't read this novel, I dare you to read it just to see where.
For tears, I have to cheat a little. Wendelin Van Draanen's The Running Dream isn't a “boy meets girl” or “girl meets girl” or “boy meets boy” kind of love story. Jessica's true love is running and her heart is broken after losing a leg in an accident while traveling for a track meet. I'm not usually big on tear jerkers but I cried the whole way through this novel: sad tears, angry tears, happy tears, and just about everything in between. I cheered Jessica on with each artificial limb stride. And as soon as I was done, I had to read it again.
For laughs, nothing tops Miranda Kenneally's Catching Jordan. I don't even like football but it was impossible not to love the sport when I saw it through the eyes of heroine and high school quarterback Jordan Woods. Jordan's interactions with her teammates kept me in stitches and made me want to hang out with them all. And, yes, I wanna date Henry, too!
For thrills, my vote goes to Crash Into You, by Katie McGarry. Rachel and Isaiah share a love for street racing – that puts both their lives in jeopardy and gives them six weeks to save each other. McGarry spins their story through alternating view points, which I love, and after two books which featured Isaiah in the literary backseat, I was so ready to see him get his turn behind the wheel.
Happy reading!
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