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How to guarantee Becky will love your YA book

I love all types of books, but there are certain things that will guarantee that I pull a book off the shelf. Combine those? And you get the epic book I will not be able to put down and will love forever. Here's how to guarantee I will love it.
  • have a structural plot device--Frame narratives are my thing. Sections of before and after. Story within a story, divisions of location or time. Or 13 envelopes. Don't care what kind, just give me a structural piece to hang my hat on.
  • create intelligent, strong-willed, quick-witted leads (both male and female)--both (or all) leads must be people I can imagine to be real and whom I can imagine in multiple dimensions. If you give me a weak, whiny female I will throw your book against a wall. (Bella Swan...I'm lookin' at you!)
  • give your characters pronounable and non-ridiculous names--if it's a fantasy you get some leeway here. Otherwise give me a name that I can say out loud without getting odd looks.
  • employ a snarky best friend/minor character--Enough said.
  • send your characters on a trip--preferably a roadtrip, but a good old jettison to Europe will often suffice
  • include an inside joke or quirk to which the reader is privy--Dingleberries. Neglected Positives. Edmund and Hillary. If you've read the books these are from, you know why I insist on this.
  • use footnotes--even in fiction. Haven't found a fiction book with footnotes I haven't liked. Especially if I get inside jokes in the footnotes.
  • provide a musical playlist--I take book suggestions from authors I like (see below). Why not music ones? They haven't steered me wrong so far. (Morgan Matson...that one's for you)
  • get David Levithan to edit it--the man's got a magic touch. I seriously look to see if he's edited a book before I start reading it.
  • acknowledge one of my fave authors as your writing buddy--I always imagined all my fave authors being friends. I love when it's true. (More than you'd think it would be.)
  • convince John, Maureen, Cassie or Scott to blurb your book--Again...they haven't steered me wrong yet. I trust them. (Probably too much.)
  • have a graphic cover--No more headless female models. I picked up what ended up being one of my fave books ever (How to Say Goodbye in Robot) simply because it was a pink cover with a black phone and I could not look away. Graphic prints rock. 
All of these may be over kill, but a combo of at least 6 is a safe bet. 8 or more is pretty much a homerun. Do these sound good to you? If so, you should check out my YA Book Primer. You may notice many of the books on that list contain many of the characteristics listed above. :)

Comments

  1. Yay! You came up with a great topic. I know neglected positives for sure, and it is driving me crazy because those other two sound so familiar but I am blocking. You will have to text/email me the answers. Great list of requirements though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I too have judgey eyes when it comes to book covers - entice me publishers, do it!! I can also be won over by the construction of the book (I like that meatier paper and stiff paperback cover - no, scholastic, your flimsy covers just won't suffice!)

    ReplyDelete

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