This is a new feature that will be looking at blogging, books, and anything of any relevance to the YA Blogosphere in short form. It's meant to start a discussion by offering quick thoughts from Mari and P.E. on a variety of topics. 

The Excitement for Gone Girl (The Movie!)

by P.E.

I don't often watch trailers and I think I need to watch a movie. Except I saw the trailer for Gone Girl and fangirled very hard. It seems incredible, with lots of suspense, and darkness. I love the creepy voice of the wife saying he could kill her, and the mood from this trailer is phenomenal. I know the book came out already and I haven't read it. I'm planning to see the movie first, even though that's totally not cool.

Will Today's YA Beat the Obstacle of Time?

Kids react to a cassette walkman

by Mari

At some point in the past few years Rainbow Rowell exploded into the Young Adult book scene and dominated. I don't remember much about the 90s and my family never got into any of the Western 20th century pop scene, so I might as well have been born in 2000 because that is where my memory starts. As a result, I don't have much of an interest in modern contemporary fiction books set pre-2000. Until now, I used that as the reason as to why I wasn't interested in Rainbow's acclaimed Eleanor and Park. Now, that I've been listening to the novel for the past few days, I'd like to say that I understand the hype. She is a good writer and her books have a very strong character presence. But I have to say, my initial misgivings about the time period is a problem. The comics and music that Eleanor and Park formed a friendship and then a romance over are things I can't even fathom. Of course, I can search them up and try to understand what they are talking about, but something in my mind tells me that it's not the same as having already had those experiences either in first person by being around at that time or second person like hearing it from a parent. This makes me wonder with all the books set in the present, involving our modern technology and music, references like Lady Gaga or the iPhone, what will the young adults or the readers of tomorrow think of them. Will they have trouble connecting like I do? Will the era turn them off?

-P.E. and MARI