Title: Eyeleash

Author: Jess C. Scott

Pages (on .pdf copy): 260

Summary (from eyeleash.wordpress.com):

Jade Ashton is a sassy virgin. In her private blog, she vents about “fitting in” a world where superficiality reigns supreme.

Suddenly all logic flies out the window when she meets Novan: the former geek, who’s morphed into a delicious songwriter-musician.

They decide to be “friends-with-benefits”. But it’s Novan, with his poems and riddling passages on his own blog — which *isn’t private* — that backs out.

EyeLeash captures self-discovery in the 2000s, and showcases the colorful, intricate drama in two youths’ relentless search for themselves — and what’s really in their hearts.

I'm going to be honest. When I first heard of a "blog fiction" novel, I immediatley thought it would be another IM fluffy rom-com, like TTYL by Lauren Myracle. But, once I read the description, I was intrigued.

Jade is a virgin--much to her dismay--pining over the idea of love while still holding her 'indepednent women' ideals. She makes no secret of her self-satisfactory practices (then again, it is her private blog) and the conversations she and her friends have about sex. She's worried about her seemingly endless virginal future, listeninng with both curiousity and envy to her friend's account of their recent *ahem* activity.

But then, an old middle school fling (Noven) sends her an IM:

[novan]: hey hey
¤Jade¤: helloo
¤Jade¤: haven’t seen u online in a while =)
[novan]: oh yea
[novan]: i’ve been busy with a friend’s band, lol
[novan]: so how u doin
¤Jade¤: i’m good. how abt u?
¤Jade¤: and wow cool ur in a band??
[novan]: been listening to the same song for hours... trying to
get the tabs right
[novan]: yea!... we’re ‘the blah blah blahs’ (super creatively
thought of by myself)

And this is the cataylist that sets the rest of the plot in motion; he invites her to catch his band playing. She goes, only to find the geeky fourteen year old she remembers has transformed into a...well, he's hot. And she wants him. Bad.

After some mutual flirtation (and several nude pictures) they agree to be "friends with benefits"

They book a room at a 5-star hotel. Unexpectedly, Novan backs out at the last moment. Though he wants to explain his decision, he backs off due to Jade’s subsequent hostility.

At loveXpress.com [a fictitious site parallel to www.secondlife.com], Jade starts to chat with another guy—Hawke, a fitness trainer. His online avatar’s name is “Tyler Weed”.

Jade shifts her attention from Novan to Hawke. Still, she struggles to define her own feminine identity in today’s sex-saturated culture. (from Eyeleash synopsis)

I think the spotlight on Eyeleash should be on Ms. Scott for her representation of todays high-tech world, capturing perfectly the John Hughes-like angst every teenager goes through like any real teenager would--through the internet. Jade has a voice all her own, not like the drabble most teenage girls usually put in their blog; again, this is private, for her eyes only. She's stripped away her filter, giving an uncensored account of her journey to losing the ever-loving virginity.

I love this especially because, let's face it, we've all rambled on about our love-lives on some blog or another, we've all been in these kinds of situations before, we've all been in Jade or Novan's shoes. It's so easy to relate ot Jade's narrative. Personally, I've grown up in the technology era--I learned to type when I was seven--and this so truthfully protrays how love is these days. I've had entire relationships based around hour long chats and emails. If it sounds like I'm saying the same thing over and over, that's because it's all I can think about: how alike Jade is to me and so many of my friends. This really is a book for any teenager living in Cyber-America.

My only gripe? Even I, who will probably forget how to communicate audibley with my fellow human being by the year 2012, didn't understand some of the lingo and abbreviations. While it doesn't completely draw away from the story, it is a bit distracting and messes up the flow of the narrative. Again, not a complete deal-breaker, but still. I like to read books without having to go on the Urban Dictionary.

Overall, Eyeleash is a heartfelt, honest read that every teen can relate too--though, due to the content, I would probably only suggest it for 14 and up XD

And stick around later for...

AN INTERVIEW WITH JESS C. SCOTT ABOUT HER DEBUT NOVEL, EYELEASH: A BLOG NOVEL!


About the Author (from her site):

Hello, I’m Jess. I’m primarily a writer/novelist/poet.

I lived in Singapore for the first two decades of my life. Currently I’m in Maine, USA. Permanent location would be “in my head”.

I don’t like labels but the MBTI is fascinating; according to that, I’m an INFJ.

I’m working on my fourth book (as of May 2009). In June 2009, I decided to publish my first book myself (some stats on its history here), after realizing that my work isn’t “commercially categorizable” enough, for the current publishing industry’s standards.

Also: Here's a book trailer Ms. Scott created (pictures and all) for Eyeleash




And: I thought this was cute, a song/poem Novan posted on his blog about Jade;

[pinkstar]
pink & sweet
what a treat
if we were in high school
i’d go ‘what the hell’
and we’d be both expelled
at your mercy
when you show off like that
don't you think that hint of pink
slipping out's
so
so
so
(ohh...)
you're cosmic rocks glass
too hot to handle
too cold to touch
yea, i wanna impress
yea, this boy’s a mess
all i gotta say is…
you look fabulous.

If you like this: you might like Just Listen by Sarah Desson. Both are about two girls having issues in their love life (albeit, completely different problems) who fall for a guy in a band. Don't know why, but I thought of it as I was reading Eyeleash. Another one you might like, also music oriented, is Mosh Pit by Katilyn Dunnion, reviewed here. It's also a very raw coming of age tale, though a bit more graphic then Eyeleash.

Rating: 8 out of 10---an excellent, original novel that I suggest to anyone, whether their tech-savvy or not.

Title: Beastly
Author: Alex Flinn
Tagline: Ever wonder what it was like for the beast?
Pages: 300
Summary (from back):

I AM A BEAST

A beast. Not quite a wolf or a bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright--a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever--ruined--unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly.

Kyle Kingsbury is, let's face it, a dick.

He rides through life on his TV anchorman father coattales (and wallet) while silently swooning every girl that comes within an inch of him. He never ceases to remind everyone who will listen how amazingly attractive he really is. He remains happily ignorant of the lives outside his own, including the 'ugly' peoples--those who don't meet his standards of perfection.

Until one day, when Kendra, an obese Gothic girl in his class, calls him out for what he truly is: a beast.

As a joke, he asks Kendra out to the upcoming dance, expecting to ditch her there in favor of his real date, Sloan. But when the day of the dance actually comes, and he finds Kendra not hurt but dissapointed by the public humilation he put her through, he is unsettled.

After getting back from the dance, he finds Kendra in his room. She suddenly transforms from a 'fat Goth' to an attractive young women, who turns Kyle into a 'beast'--fangs, fur, the whole package. She shows him one bit of mercy, though: he has two years to find a girl who will love him, despite his appearence, and get her to kiss him, or live as a monster forever.

Distraught, Kyle hides in his room for the entire weekend, until his neglectfull father finally forces him out. After going to the best doctors and plastic surgeons in the country---"no son of mine is going to look this way"---both he and his father all but give up, his father dumping Kyle into an abadoned, five story mansion, with only their maid, Magda, for company. After threatening his father with going public about his condition, he recieves full access to the Kingsbury bank account, plus a tutor, a blind student named Will. Soon, Kyle has become Adrian--to fit his darker persona--a solitary, desolate being who only leaves the confides of the mansion to tend to his newly created garden. He is a prisoner in his own body, with no hope of finding love--until a robber attempts to rob his home. After catching him, the robber offers Adrian his one chance at returning to how he was--his daughter, Linda.

If there is only one notable thing to say about Alex Flinn's writing, it's that she has an innane ability to make you swoon for three hundred pages straight. During the first hundred pages, it's for poor Kyle/Adrian, who is only now realizing the error of his ways, when it's too late. It's when he watches his past classmates through a mirror Kendra gave him, able to watch anyone he wants, everywhere in the world, and how he pines for his old life. It's when he sits in a corner and watches people go to and from work, wishing desperatley for the freedom of life outside his mansion. Then, it's when he tries to win Linda's--or Lindy's--heart, watching him fall for her himself. I was basically "awwww"ing throughout the entire book. You watch Kyle transform from a selfish, self-absorbed rich d-bag to a kind, gentle--I'll say it--sensitive gentleman. (Once more, with feeling--awww)

Though it is a cute, if rather chaste, romance, there is the issue of believability. I mean, yeah, it's already unlikely that a guy would suddenly become a hairy beast, but that doesn't change the fact that they are still modern teenagers, all of them, and modern teenagers do behave a certain way. I understand that living in a mansion for a year straight, reading books like Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame could change you, I doubt it would change someones complete speech pattern and convince him to change his name. (quite dramatic about it, might I add) The dialogue is a bit drifty, a bit rushed, though this might be to get the plot along. Adrian's interactions with Lindy are a bit...I don't know. I'd say awkward, but that's putting it mildly. First, he acts like a thirty year old, only in the next breath to switch back to his teenage self. I might be alone on this one, but I found it a bit distracting. No matter how beastly he may be, he's still a kid, and kids don't talk like Victorian shadow-dwellers.

I did like Lindy, though. She came off as very real, to me, with her drug addicted father and love of reading (my people!). She's not described as a traditional 'beauty'--far from it. In fact, when Kyle first meets her as a ticket taker at the dance, he describes her as plain, with Ragedy Ann red hair. But as he gets to know her, he starts...erm...I'll say fantisizing about the girl. Again, in a very PG way, but still. It's a little bit of a "woah, calm down, fella" type of feeling. I get that you've been forced into chastidy over the last year in a half, but seriously. There's a point where it's cute and a point where it's annoying.

The only other gripe I have with this book is that Lindy's reaction to finding out Adrian is her long-time secret crush Kyle Kingsbury is not what I expected. I expected it to be a big deal, seeing has he had basically lied about his entire past. As a girl, I'd be a tad pissed (assuming I had come to terms with the fact that he looks like a monster one minute and a supermodel the next--but I'm rather shallow like that), but hey, it's not my book and it's not my character.

Other then that, Beastly is a highly enjoyable book. I read it in one sitting, and just re-read it a few days ago. Again, if your into the "awww" factor, then you'll be in heaven with Kyle and Lindy.

Also: Alex Flinn has a feature on her website called "Alex's Favorite Books", where she suggest titles you might like if you liked her books. So, if your liked Beastly and looking for something similar to it, that'd be the place.

I digress: There also making a movie, with *gag* Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy and Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra. Also, that kid from Alex Rider as Kyle my homedog Beil Patrick Harris as Will. Not sure how to feel about this, since most adaptions are botched up anyway.

Rating: 8 out of 10