Welcome Back to YA Cafe, where book lovers can gather and chat about teen literature. I’m your barista, along with Ghenet from All About Them Words.

Each Friday we pick from a menu of topics and share our thoughts on our respective blogs. We’ve also got plans brewing for interviews, events and even some exciting giveaways, so stay tuned! Join the discussion by responding in the comments, on your own blogs or on twitter using the hash tag #yacafe.

Today we’re kicking off our new summer book club by discussing The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, a book that really captures summer at the beach.  With romance and friendship, this book takes me back to the summers in high school that I spent at the beach in Florida with friends and family.  And boys.  But there’s so much more to this book than just romance at a beach house.  In fact, you don’t have to look very far to realize that this book is not just any summer beach read; all you have to do is look at the title.

The Summer I turned Pretty.  On the surface this seems like a fairly innocuous, almost superficial title.  It’s a story about a girl who wasn’t pretty before and now, during this particular summer she has become pretty and everything changes.  Or so we think.  The title makes us believe that this book is about one particular summer, but really it’s about a family and family can’t just be contained in one season.  Family spans a lifetime.

It’s in seeing flashbacks to previous summers that we grow to understand why this particular summer is different, unique.  When we get to the end of the book, we realize that nothing in Belly’s life will ever be the same again.  If we didn’t have the context of those other summers, we wouldn’t quite be able to understand why this one in particular is so important.

One thing that surprised me is that the title seems to imply that because she has turned pretty during this particular summer, things will be better.  As we discover in the story, things don’t necessarily become better or worse, they just get… complicated.  The title lulls us into thinking that this will be just a fun summer beach read, but really the book more complex than that.

Which leads me to the question: What makes a good title? Titles are just about the hardest part of the book to write.  While on one hand you want the title to hint at the overall story, you don’t want it to give away too much.  Some titles are so obscure and random, it’s almost as if the author is having a private joke with himself and the reader is left on the outside.  On the other hand, some titles are so long and contain so much information that it’s impossible for readers to remember the title in the first place (which, of course, is problematic if you’re trying to recommend the book to a friend).

Of course there are exceptions.  Some titles are long and convoluted for humor’s sake.  Other titles might seem random at first, but as you read the books they begin to make sense.  What makes a good title and what makes The Summer I Turned Pretty so effective as a title?

1) It’s memorable. It’s easy to remember this title.  If I needed to go to a bookstore or library and ask for this book, I would be able to do so easily.

2) It gives us a hint of what the book is about. As I mentioned above, this title implies that something about this particular summer is different, special.  We go into the book having a general idea of what to expect.

3) It doesn’t give it all away. While we do go into the story expecting a summer romance, what we discover is that there’s so much more to this book than just that.  There’s friendship, family dynamics and loss.  The title gives us a hint but it doesn’t reveal all.

You tell me now: Is The Summer I Turned Pretty an effective title?  What do you think makes a title effective or not?  And most importantly: how do you come up with titles for your work?

Fellow barista, Ghenet shares her thoughts about THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY on her blog: All About Them Words.  Check it out, then tell us what you think!

Drought feels like this.

I have been experiencing a writing drought lately.  It’s not that I don’t have projects to work on and writing to do (I have plenty of that) but for some reason, I’ve been struggling with the actual doing of it.  This is very difficult for me to admit here in writing, because people are always saying “writers write.”  The implication of course is that if I’m not writing, then I’m not really a writer, and if I’m not a writer then I don’t know what I am.  So, yes, this is very difficult to say but I’m admitting it.

For the past few weeks I’ve been struggling with it on my own and I’ve realized that I can’t do that anymore.  First off, I feel I owe it to all of you to let you know why I’ve been less active than usual on the interwebs.  But more importantly, I’m hoping that maybe some of you have felt this way too and may have some words of advice.

But what do you do when you’re in the middle of a drought?  Today I had a great meeting with my writing group and got lots of encouragement, but I think it’ll take more than that to kick this drought problem.  That’s where you all come in.  I need some advice and a good, swift kick in the pants.  I feel like I’m trying to water a desert with a watering can and it’s just not working.  Any advice?

What do you do when you hit a writing drought?

Good morning all!  Today Ghenet and I wanted to share some discussion points for Friday’s book club and also give you all an update on the plan for the rest of the summer (Pssst, there’s a giveaway involved!) But first, the discussion points.

Feel free to answer or not answer these questions.  They are just here to get the discussion going and help spark ideas.  But if you need someplace to start, go ahead and use these questions as a jumping-off point.

The Summer I Turned Pretty: Discussion Points

1) Are the characters likeable and believable?  If so, how does the author accomplish that?
2) Since the stakes aren’t life and death (at least not at first), how does the author keep us engaged?
3) What effect does the setting have on the story?
4) What role does Cameron play in the story?
5) Title: Was it a good choice? What effect does it have on the story?
6) What did you think of the ending?  Is it satisfying? Does it make you want to read the next book?

We’ve also chosen the next books for the rest of the summer book club.  This will give you all plenty of time to get the books or borrow them from your local library.  On July 29th we’ll discuss Tangled by Carolyn Mackler, and on August 26th we’ll discuss Sweethearts by Sara Zarr!

Speaking of Sweethearts, we have a fun giveaway just for you!  Just fill out the form below before 11:59pm Wednesday, June 29th and you’ll have a chance to win a signed copy of Sweethearts by Sara Zarr!  Earn an extra entry for the contest by participating in the book club.

Welcome Back to YA Cafe, where book lovers can gather and chat about teen literature. I’m your barista, along with Ghenet from All About Them Words.

Each Friday we pick from a menu of topics and share our thoughts on our respective blogs. We’ve also got plans brewing for interviews, events and even some exciting giveaways, so stay tuned! Join the discussion by responding in the comments, on your own blogs or on twitter using the hash tag #yacafe.

Today’s Special: What YA book(s) would you like to see turned into a movie?

‘Tis the season for books turning into movies.  Between the last installment of the Harry Potter series out this summer and the Hunger Games movie (yeeey!) out next spring, there’s a lot to look forward to in YA books going to movies.  But there’s one book I’m dying to see as a movie and I’m not sure if it’s ever going to happen.  This book is: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor.

I let my fingers do the walking and did a little searching on Google, only to find that there appear to be hints that this movie is in store, but because of the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie released in 2010, it appears that LGW is in wait-and-see mode.  There was mention on the Google that one of the producers of The Dark Knight had signed on for LGW, which would be awesome.  This book is such a dark twist on the Alice in Wonderland story that the movie would need to be equally so.

The reason this book would translate so well into a movie is because it’s so visual.  The color plates in the book with illustrations of the characters give us just a taste of the incredible visuals that this story has in store.  But this book isn’t just about cool imagery, there is also action and a hint of romance that would allow it to appeal to both guys and girls.  The strong female lead–Alyss–definitely appeals to the female audience, but the action and intense fight scenes would also keep male viewers engaged.  Think Alice-in-Wonderland-meets-Star-Wars, what’s not to love?

If this movie were out right now, I would see it in a heartbeat.

What about you?  What YA book are you dying to see made into a movie?

Fellow barista, Ghenet shares her book-to-movie picks on her blog: All About Them Words.  Check it out, then tell us what you think!