Author: Maureen Johnson
Date of Publication: February 26 2013
Pages: 290
Source: Library

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory’s brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she’s become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city’s secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it’s too late.

AMAZON / GOODREADS

Review:

Although I wasn't the most enthusiastic fan of The Name of the Star, I was curious enough to read its sequel. The Madness Underneath was fascinating and fun to read. I liked it much more than its predecessor.

I don't know why but I started to truly like Rory in this book. In the first book I considered her bland. I don't think I was into any of the characters but that changed the second time around. Rory's personality shines through. She has so many quirks and has a background that has shaped her. It is cool to see a character constantly experiencing what is happening and making little comments on the surrounding world, just like I imagine most people do. I thought she was successfully written.

The other characters weren't terribly important. I got to know them on the surface and they definitely served a purpose. Johnson didn't go into too much detail, which was a little bit disappointing for me because I love reading about characters, but it wasn't all that necessary. Rory is vibrant enough to carry the story. I will say that I did care about the characters, but in the sense that they were entertaining and likable.

London is such a cool setting and having Rory be an outsider to Wexford (she's from America) means that Maureen Johnson can explain London in a different way. She can talk about the differences in culture and tradition and it's fascinating for both Rory and the reader. I'm not American, but I could connect with Rory as she reconciled the way things happened at home compared to in the UK.

The Madness Underneath was entertaining and there were many positives. The one kind of big element I didn't enjoy was the plot. See, the story is great to read. It draws you in with the mundane events taking place. Rory's personal drama is compelling, but that's not really what this book is about.

The series is about ghosts. Rory is now a terminus, the only one that now exists. This paranormal aspect to the story is so significant. It's the grand story arch. The author doesn't spend too much time on it so instead we get a book that doesn't feel satisfying. Almost nothing truly significant happens until the end and that's a little maddening since as soon as the story becomes good, it ends. This is something I hate in general, when books feel more like installments than individual stories, because it whets your appetite, then leaves you hanging.

That's probably the only issue I had. The Madness Underneath is a good summer book because it's entertaining and light. It's an easily digestible book except it will leave you wanting more. I'm impatient, especially considering the ending (I'm still a little shocked) so I give 3 hearts, for a book I liked.

-P.E.

The Weekly Progress is a type of wrap-up post started by P.E which is meant to be written every Sunday to look back on the week that was.

Reading

Alas, I haven't finished any books this week I'm ashamed; but I have been reading (kind of).

I'm currently reading This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith and I'm going to blame my situation on it. As of now, I'm 100 pages away from finishing and I'm really disappointed, more on that later.

I also started City of a Thousands Dolls by Miriam Forster, and it has a very interesting concept so I'm looking forward to reading more.

 On the Blog

1. I (Mari) reviewed The Assassin's Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke, an awesome adventure book featuring an assassin x pirate match up.
2. P.E. posted a new Cover Wars! This time it's Asylum vs. Cruel Beauty. Cruel Beauty's been going strong on it's 3 week winning streak and it seems it might win again.  Visit the post and vote for your favourite!
3. On Wednesday, P.E. reviewed The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, an author I've been meaning to check out for a long while.
4. P.E. then posted Trending in YA: HarperTeen, a new series from her exploring and analyzing upcoming books from publishers.
5. I spotlighted one of my favourite dark YA books, Don't Breathe A Word by Holly Cupala.
6. Lastly, we have the TSC original meme, Best of Saturday. BoS (Boss!) is a weekly meme that features post we enjoyed and shares the love!

Current Obsessions:

Well you already know that I'm a nerd which was consolidated by my Reading Slump Cure: Mangas post and I did breifly talk about my addiction to the Taiwanese drama, Autumn's Concerto in a previous Weekly Progress. Similarly, I've been in the mood for Asian dramas and I cannot deny myself so I've been splurging on some interesting k-dramas!

1. I Can Hear Your Voice : I love this one, it's filled with revenge, court drama, life lessons and just beautful characters. It's the first time I came upon such complex chracters in an asian drama and I'm very impressed.
2. Currently, I'm watching City Hunter another one based on revenge. Loving it so far, it's very well acted and written! Also, I love this picture it's so mysterious with the smoke action in the back.

In Conclusion

I'm getting a bit antsy as the summer goes on and school is almost at my door step. Hoping to finish the books I've started and maybe squeeze in a reread of City of Bones before I watch the movie next week!

Now for my grand finale, I was introduced to this my brother and I find it hilarious!

-MARI

Best of Saturday is a new feature on The Sirenic Codex about highlighting YA blog posts. It's a way to showcase the best of the blogger community. You can read more about the rules, and the idea behind this feature here.

Remember, post other people's awesome posts. The second linky is the one to use for awesome links, the first is if you wrote a feature post about their post.

P.E.'s BoS

DNF Review: Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts

by GillyB at Writer of Wrongs

I love this post. First, it's a DNF review. There aren't enough of those out there, and she does a great job at explaining why she couldn't continue Tumble & Fall. The review is humorous, descriptive, and she manages to incorporate GIFs really well. I laughed while reading this, and love the personality in this review. From the beginning, where in the place of the rating she wrote, "I wold like to drop an asteroid on this book," I knew this would be a fun post.

Your Turn

What awesome posts have you encountered this week?

Don't Breathe A Word - Holly Cupala
Release Date: January 2, 2012

Publisher: Harper Teen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 299

Buy the Book: Amazon

Joy Delamere is suffocating.

From asthma, from her parents, and from her boyfriend, Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out. She can take his cruel words, his tender words...until the night they go too far.

To escape, Joy sacrifices her suburban life to find the one who offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. He introduces her to a world of fierce loyalty, to its rules of survival, and to love—-a world she won’t easily let go.

Set against the backdrop of the streets of Seattle, Holly Cupala’s power­ful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the secrets we keep, and the ways to redemption. But above all, it is an unflinching story about the extraordinary lengths one girl will go to discover her own strength.

Synopsis and cover taken from Goodreads.  

The story of a girls fight for survival, when those closest to her are the reason she is dying.

Why It's Awesome:

• Brings forth the reality of street kids (homeless teen/runaways).
• Explores abusive relationships and their mental and physical effects.
• Courageous protagonists 
• Shockingly honest and suspenseful.
• Beautifully written.
• Compared to Speak by Laurie Hulse Anderson.

Recommend If You Liked:

• Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys
• Street Pharm - Allison van Diepen
• If I Lie - Corrine Jackson 

Comment: 
This is among the best and post powerful books I've ever read. Yet, I'm surprised that not many other have read it. So TSC readers I emplore you to pick it up and give it a shot. I especially recommend this one to those who are in the mood for a dark YA read that deals with a real horror faced my people everyday.

 MY REVIEW

Book Trailer

-MARI

I became a voracious reader of YA at the time when every book was the next Twilight. I stayed around for the dystopia trend, and after that I wasn't active enough on the blogosphere to notice anything, except that NA is extremely popular at this time. I've read a few pieces concerning what publishers are looking for these days. Naturally, being the overly curious person that I am, I started to wonder: What is the current trend in YA? I thought I'd do a comparison of the upcoming releases of some major publishers and make a sort of tally to see if there is a trend at this moment.

I decided to start out with Harper Collins. All the information I have is through HarperTeen.com. I've decided to omit sequels in series, because they can't just change genres halfway through. Or can they? (Well, they shouldn't.)

Looking at the books

This book came out already, but only a few days ago so it's new enough. Undercurrent is a thriller! It has some guy waking up to find his life has completely changed. He's now a jock, his brother is paralyzed, and people are trying to kill him for some reason. Definitely a high action read. 

Asylum is described as horror and thriller. It's supposed to be action packed with photos, a la Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Dan is an outcast at his high school so he takes a summer program. His dorm ends up being located at the site of what used to be an asylum. 

The Beginning of Everything is contemporary. It's said to be witty and heart-wrenching and it's supposed to appeal to fans of John Green. It's about Ezra, a guy that believes that everyone has to deal with one tragedy at some point in their lives, and what happens after his tragedy. 

I think I would consider The Chaos of Stars to be paranormal, since it takes place in our world, although there are a few supernatural twists. The story is about Isadora, daughter of ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris, who is a little tired of her family's craziness, so she jumps at the opportunity to move to California with her bother. 

3:59 is supposed to be a sci-fi horror about Josie, who's life is spinning out of control. One days, when she looks into the mirror, she sees a blonder, prettier version of herself called Jo. The girls are doppelgangers and their universes overlap every twelve hours at 3:59.

The Burning Sky has all the makings of a good fantasy, with lots of action and adventure. Iolanthe Seabourne, an elemental mage, is thought to be the one that's prophesied to save the Realm by defeating the Bane, a tyrant mage. 

Find Me is considered to be a thriller, with action, mystery, and romance. Wick Tate, teen hacker, searches for her murdered classmate's killer after she finds their diary on her front steps. Things get worse when it becomes clear the Wick's sister is the next target. 

The Paradox of Vertical Flight is a total contemporary, once again hoping to appeal to fans of John Green, as well as Chris Crutcher and Jay Asher. It's about a high school senior that's seriously considering suicide when he gets a call from his ex-girlfriend telling him she gave birth to their son. What happens next is a crazy road trip with the baby, his best friend, and his ex-girlfriend. 

Not A Drop To Drink is the first dystopia of this list, something I find a little shocking. It's about a world where water is more valuable than gold and a girl, Lynn who is responsible for protecting her pond no matter what. 

Hideous Love is the story of the girl that wrote Frankenstein, so I think maybe it's best described as a historical novel. It's about how Mary Shelley became one of the better known authors in all of history. 

Blackout is another thriller. There's a virus spreading across America that infects teens with superpowers and they're being rounded up by the government and forced to be part of an army that fights terrorism. It's a story comparable to Legend by Marie Lu.

How to Love is a contemporary about falling in love twice. Reena falls in love with Sawyer and he leaves her when she's pregnant. Years later, Sawyer comes back and although Reena is still angry about the way he left her, she can't help but be drawn to him.

The Brokenhearted is supposed to be a take on the superhero story. Anthem, a ballerina, falls her to her death and wakes up again with a bionic heart, after having met the mysterious Gavin. It's hard to place what genre this book is- perhaps sci-fi or thriller? Or dystopian?

My Tally

For the sake of fairness, I decided to allow books to fit inside multiple genres, although I tried (and succeeded) to keep them all in the genre I thought they fit most. I also decided to list titles instead of simply leaving a number so if someone disagrees with a genre they can let me know why in the comments. I haven't read any of these books although I know a few lucky people have ARCs so they should have a better grasp on the books. 

Paranormal

• The Chaos of Stars

There were many books that could be paranormal, but I think The Chaos of Stars is the only one that you can classify as straight up paranormal. 

Fantasy

• The Burning Sky

I think this is one of the easier books to categorize on this list. Nothing else has a truly fantasy feel. 

Contemporary

• The Beginning of Everything
• The Paradox of Vertical Flight
• How to Love

All three are contemporary but they all approach very different subjects. 

Sci-Fi

• 3:59

Many books on this list could be sci-fi, but it's very hard to classify them that way because they almost seem to better fit other genres. 

Historical

• Hideous Love

Another easy to categorize title. 

Dystopia

• Not a Drop to Drink
• The Brokenhearted 

I had to think a lot about what to include or not to include for dystopia. The Brokenhearted made it because it's about a place that doesn't exist, somewhere comparable to Gotham, whereas Blackout didn't because it takes place in America and there's not enough context there for me to decide what type of America. 

Thriller

• Undercurrent
• Asylum
• Find Me
• Blackout

Asylum was a little hard to place, but the description said thriller so I placed it there. Every single one of the books on this list had "thriller" or "thrilling" in their description. 

Recap

1 Paranormal

1 Fantasy

3 Contemporary

1 Sci-Fi

1 Historical

2 Dystopia

4 Thrillers

This shows just how far paranormal has fallen, as well as dystopia. Contemporary does seem to be on the rise, but I was most surprised at thrillers. So many of these books seem to be high action with major conspiracies caused by the government, or simple mysteries. I guess people now want to read about excitement in the modern world. Either way, I thought this was interesting. 

Extra

I also wondered, while looking at the titles, how many were narrated by female protagonists vs male vs multiple (or unknown). 

Female

• The Chaos of Stars
• 3:59
• The Burning Sky
• Find Me
• Not a Drop to Drink
• Hideous Love
• How to Love
• The Brokenhearted

Male

• Undercurrent
• Asylum
• The Beginning of Everything
• The Paradox of Vertical Flight

Mixed/Unknown

• Blackout

I guess it's pretty obvious that mostly females narrate books, but what I found interesting were that male narrated books were of two genres: contemporary and thriller. Anyway, I promise this is all. I'll do another post for another publisher soon. Just looking at this list of books, there are way too many books I need to add to my TBR. 

Were you surprised at anything you found here? Do you disagree with how I categorized any book? Let me know in the comments!

-P.E 

Author:Melina Marchetta
Date of Publication: March 1, 2010
Pages: 328
Source: Library

The award-winning author of Finnikin of the Rock and Jellicoe Road pens a raw, compelling novel about a family’s hard-won healing on the other side of trauma.

Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it’s Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.

AMAZON / GOODREADS

Review:

The Piper's Son has no linear plot because it's a story of character. The book revolves around Tom dealing with his issues. Many of his issues have something to do with his family, and I was personally very surprised to see Tom's aunt Georgie also have a POV. I very rarely read from the adult perspective so it was all fascinating.

Anyway, this lack of plot has some issues because it's very easy to get lost in the story. This story isn't one that is impossible to put down. Combined with Melina Marchetta's unique writing style that I have always thought jumps around a little bit, the story isn't always clear. The reader is completely immersed into Tom's world with very little explanation so in the beginning it was hard to keep track of who is who.

The relationships are highlighted throughout the novel. They seem to be the basis of the story. Tom lost his uncle Joe, and his family completely fell apart. Tom also left in a sense and this book shows the family starting to heal. There are many issues to resolve. For example, Dominic, Tom's father, is an alcoholic and he left Tom alone at some point. Tom also has some unfinished business with Tara Finke, the girl he had a short of one night stand with. It's all very messy.

Georgie also has her share of issues. She's a compelling character just because she is so different. She is pregnant with Sam, the guy she broke up with seven years ago after he slept with another woman during their "break". Georgie is also grieving the loss of her younger brother, Joe. Family is so important to Georgie and she's not a typical character.

In fact, none of the characters are typical. They all feel intricate and complete. There isn't a clear, definite link between all the events that take place (not a cause and effect type of story). This can be interpreted as both a strength and weakness. A strength because of the resemblance of life, especially considering the little details present that make Tom's story a real one. A weakness because sometimes I'm not sure what's the point or where the story is going.

The Piper's Son felt very realistic what with the background and there were certain scenes that hit hard. All the same, I'm not sure what to make of this story. I like some plot and for me the ending was nice, but there wasn't much of a sense of completion.

I'm not sure if The Piper's Son is entertaining. It's not meant for light fun; I'm not sure what it is for exactly. It's the type of story maybe I'll chew on until, finally, it magically all makes sense. Hence, 3 stars.

 

-P.E.

Hi guys,

It seems that there was an issue with the Cover Wars poll for this week. We're sorry for the inconvenience but everything is up and working now. Thank you to everyone who brought the issue to our attention and for your patience and your enthusiasm in  Cover Wars!

Head on over to the Cover Wars Post and vote for your favourite cover!

May the best cover win!

-Mari

Cover Wars is a weekly showdown of two of YA's most beautiful covers. The winner, as voted by you, goes on to face a new cover, and wins bragging rights. This is basically a fun way to discuss what we like in YA covers.

Last week, Cruel Beauty pulled out another convincing win. This week, it's Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge up against a new cover: Asylum by Madeleine Roux.

Cruel Beauty has been steamrolling the competition. Will that trend continue against Asylum? Asylum is creepy and dark, with some beautiful gothic elements. Cruel Beauty is a seductive: from the colour red, to the rose, it's a cover meant to draw people in. 

Which cover do you find more beautiful? It's your turn to vote now!

Author: Cassandra Rose Clarke
Date of Publication: October 2, 2012
Pages: 298
Source: Personal Copy
 
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to another pirate clan. But that only prompts the scorned clan to send an assassin after her. When Ananna faces him down one night, armed with magic she doesn't really know how to use, she accidentally activates a curse binding them together.

To break the spell, Ananna and the assassin must complete three impossible tasks--all while grappling with evil wizards, floating islands, haughty manticores, runaway nobility, strange magic...and the growing romantic tension between them.

AMAZON / GOODREADS

Review: 

Pirates and assassins are two of my absolute favourite fictional occupations in books, so it's a wonder I waited so long to read Assassin's Curse. In my experience when a book promises pirates or assassins, you are almost guaranteed a nice action packed read. But when you get both of them jammed into one book it isn't far from a perfect read. Saying this, Assassin's Curse was a great read although not a perfect one, but perfection is not necessary for enjoyment.

The story surrounds Ananna of Tanarau. As the daughter of a pirate Captain, all Ananna knows is the sea and her desire to roam it with her own crew and ship under her own colours. Her dreams come to a stop when she is set up to be married to Tarrin of the Hariri, the son of a pirate clan that spends more of their time on land than the sea. Faced with a life as the wife of a pirate and nothing more, Ananna decides to flee, leaving behind her family, Tarrin and her life of pirating. But no one flees the Hariri's without having to deal with their hired help, the assassins. When Annana accidentally activates a curse, she and Naji, the assassin, are sent on an adventure traveling to the far reaches of their world, on land or ship in search of a cure.

Personally, I really enjoyed the book. I found it to be gripping and interesting. I was looking forward to learning about what happened next. The assassin/pirate match up was another interesting aspect of the story. Through their journeys, Ananna and Naji were placed in environments that was ideal for one but not the other and this allowed us to see a little bit of each of their lives, as they both came from two completely different yet similar backgrounds.

I quite liked Ananna. I found her to be very strong, committed and loyal, despite the little hitch with her running away from her intended. Throughout the story she proved herself as an independent young woman who wasn't afraid to fight for what she wanted out of life. She won some brownie points from me on this, as there is nothing that annoys me more than a damsel in distress, especially in a fantasy/action book.

I also liked the male lead Naji, he was just as dark and brooding as you would expect an assassin to be. Although, at times I felt like his quiet demeanor kept us from learning much about him. Throughout the story he kept a lot of secrets from Ananna which did get annoying, as it was hard to understand him and his actions, sometimes because of the lack of information. Still, I found the bits that we did learn about him fulfilling (for now) and interesting. In the next books, I'll definitely be looking for more character development on his part.

The world Clarke created in these books was so enchanting from the night markets that sold all types of magical ingredients to Mists and the Confederation Pirates. With all these things, there is a need for world building. I think Clarke did a good job introducing them but I'm looking forward to getting more in depth explanations of everything.

Overall, The Assassin's Curse served as a nice blend of action and adventure. It didn't have much or any romance but the plot more than made up for it. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series and recommend it to those looking for a nice fantasy read with a lot of action and adventure.

 -MARI

Best of Saturday is a new feature on The Sirenic Codex about highlighting YA blog posts. It's a way to showcase the best of the blogger community. You can read more about the rules, and the idea behind this feature here.

Remember, post other people's awesome posts. The second linky is the one to use for awesome links, the first is if you wrote a feature post about their post.

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My BoS

Book and Reading Quirks

By GillyB @ Writing of Wrongs

Why I Enjoyed It: 

I read to get a peak into another's life and I blog to make sure I'm not the only weirdo on the planet. Therefore, posts on quirks are among my favourite as they are quick, fun and relatable, the epitome of an ideal blog post read for me!

In this particular one, GillyB's writing is hilarious and I can never refuse GIFS!

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Author: Kresley Cole
Date of Publication: October 2 2012
Pages: 369
Source: Personal copy

She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side….

AMAZON / GOODREADS

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole impressed me. It was an entrancing and mysterious story that refused to be put down. I started the book with the intention to read it slowly just for fun. I was not expecting Poison Princess to demand my attention like that.

One very strong aspect has to be The Arcana. The mythology was completely original and so fascinating. While I do enjoy the vampires and werewolves in YA, I sometimes long for something different but just as entertaining. I got that here. There's a lot going on between the apocalypse, voices, and visions, but everything is well meshed together. I would love to go in depth on why I enjoyed the mythology but that would inevitably spoil some important plot twists and I think part of this book's charm is trying to decipher the truth and learn of the mythology.

I also ended up enjoying a lot of the characters. Evie started out a bit clichéd but what I love is that the author slowly expanded Evie's character. It was all too easy to relate to Evie considering what she was going through. I understood Evie. I loved some of her quirks like the way she used acronyms sometimes or when she swore. It's genuinely interesting to read about Evie and her character had this awesome, unique voice that just grows on you. Evie is stubborn as hell; she's impulsive; sometimes she doesn't makes the best decisions because she doesn't know what to do, but all in all she's a memorable character.

Judging by the cover of this book you're probably expecting there to be a love interest for Evie who's supposed to be hot. You'll love meeting Jackson. But sometimes you'll also hate him because he isn't very good at communicating so he's sometimes a jerk. The thing about Jackson is that he challenges Evie and he's so resourceful. He protects Evie all the time. They both have chemistry and their relationship is slow but so much fun to read about. They're a couple that is so easy to like. Also, Jackson is Cajun so he speaks French and has an accent. He was able to win me over... most of the time.

The way the story is told is very interesting. It starts in the future with Evie recounting how she got to that point. I was very impressed with the storytelling and the plot's pace. Frankly I was never bored and at the 50 page mark (a useful indicator for how well the plot is moving) it seemed like a ton of stuff had already happened. There is something nicely circular about the story and it ends up being satisfying while remaining very clearly the first in a series (hopefully a long one). There were many elements that appealed to me personally like the inner conflict Evie was battling through and in the end I was very happy with this book.

Ultimately, Poison Princess is the first in what I hope to be a new favourite series of mine. There was so much good stuff like an intriguing mystery and a likable cast that this series is definitely one to watch for. 4 hearts,

-P.E.

I'm a little different from most readers because I don't actively seek out romance books anymore. I don't know why but I'm so sick of reading about romance. It's not that it's awful- I can enjoy it. I hate however that it's beyond a norm, almost like a rule in YA. It's almost impossible to find a book without the main character having some sort of love interest. I thought I would do an "experiment".

Procedures 

Look at the last 10 YA books I read and discern whether the main character had any type of romance going on. I'll categorize what I find into four groups. All groups are chosen based on the "end state" of the novel. Everything here is subjective.

• Crush 
• Relationship
• Angst (they broke up, etc.)
• None

Hypothesis

I don't seek out romance so I'm expecting 70% of the books I read to have some sort of romance. 

Observations

Book	Romance Level
The Color of Rain	Relationship
Boy Nobody	Angst
Seizure	None
Black Heart	Relationship
The Madness Underneath	Angst
White Lines	Relationship
Sanctum	Relationship
The Piper's Son	Relationship
Prophecy	Relationship
Pretty Girl 13	Crush

Conclusions

90% of the books I read had some sort of romance in them. The only one that didn't, had a 14 year old main character. There's nothing wrong with romance; it's like sprinkles. Even if there's a lot of them, they can be enjoyable. However, I think 90% is a way too high figure. 

There's a lot more to teenage life than crushes and relationships. Sometimes I get so fed up with romance because it's unrealistic: why can't characters be single, and enjoy being single? Looking at this list, most YA books end off with the characters in a relationship. I can only speak from experience and looking around at my school, but 60% of the teens there don't have relationships. More like 10-20%. There's nothing wrong with being single and enjoying it.

The reason I did this was to say that not every book needs a romance. They're not necessary. Why not have a super strong parental bond? A sibling relation? How about a variety of friends? Epic Reads hosts an event called #TeaTime and they were talking a little along these lines yesterday, about womances (girls that are BFFs) or the lack of womances. It's obvious that most people would enjoy a focus on other relationships.

Would you? Do you think there's too much romance?

-P.E.