Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Art of French Kissing
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://briannashrum.com/
CITY: Denver
STATE: CO
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; children: two sons.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
AVOCATIONS:Reading, gaming.
WRITINGS
Blogs at A Shortcut to Shrums.
SIDELIGHTS
Colorado young adult author Brianna R. Shrum has penned three novels, including the Peter Pan-inspired Never Never, and two romantic comedies, How to Make Out and the 2018 work, The Art of French Kissing. “I’m a lover of words, Shrum notes on her author website. “Sometimes weird ones. Sometimes bloody ones. Sometimes kissy ones. I try not to discriminate. Also, all things nerdy. Odds are, if they talk about it on The Big Bang Theory, I like it.” A fan of gaming, Shrum is married to her high school sweetheart and has two sons.
Speaking with a contributor in the online YA Book Traveler, Shrum remarked on her inspiration for finally deciding to give professional writing a try: “I fantasized about it when I was tiny, writing poetry with my grandpa in 2nd grade. But I never saw it as attainable. I thought it was a total you-must-know-someone impossible career, until I decided to go for it (and learned that I was quite mistaken) after I saw The Hunger Games in theaters for the first time, and left inspired to write a book.”
Never Never
Shrum’s debut novel, Never Never, is, as the author explained on the Vanessa Barger Blog, “basically the origin story of Captain Hook–how he came to Neverland, why he and Peter are locked in this dark rivalry, who he is, who he loves (oh yes, there is looove), and how the story would have been told through the eyes of a pirate, and not a Pan.” In her novel, Shrum presents the thirteen-year-old Londoner James Hook, a youth eager to become an adult. However, at night he still engages in the childish indulgence of dreaming of becoming the captain of a pirate ship. Quite by accident, James meets Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, and James falls under the spell of this eternal youth and his tales of the magical Neverland. He agrees to travel with Peter to this charmed land, but soon is disabused of his sense of charm when Peter blithely slashes the throat of a pirate. Neverland is a dark and brooding place and now Peter will not let James return to London for his boarding school, and over time James discovers that even as he begins to mature into a man, the children around him do not age. Ultinately James Hook accepts his fate and become a pirate, eager to revenge himself on Peter Pan.
School Library Journal reviewer Amy Nolan had high praise for Never Never, calling it a “masterful debut novel that delivers a unique and striking perspective on J.M. Barrie’s beloved world of Neverland.” Nolan added, “Shrum’s retelling is a deeply satisfying dark fantasy that just might change readers’ perception of Peter Pan and Neverland itself.” A Star Crossed Book Blog website contributor similarly commented: “Never Never was extremely imaginative and was such a fun take on the original story that we all know. I enjoyed hearing Captain Hook’s side and rooting for him!”
How to Make Out
Shrum’s second young adult novel, How to Make Out, features sixteen-year-old Renley who is desperate to raise three thousand dollars for her math club’s trip to New York. She decides that she will start a how-to blog to raise the money, and as she does not know much about anything but calculus, she enlists the aid of her best buddy, April, and next door neighbor Drew to help her with the more mundane questions, such as how to do cat-eye make-up, how to flirt, and yes, how to make out. Drew, smitten with Renley, is only too eager to help out in the last query. Soon Renley is going from the bottom to the top of the popularity charts in her school, and even gets the attention of Seth, whom she has ogled much of the year. In the process, however, Renley loses sight not only of her original goal, but also of who she really is. Soon she must make a choice between the sudden popularity of her new life and the friends she has left behind in her former one.
A Kirkus Reviews Online critic was unimpressed with this second novel, observing, “An unlikable character in a predictable romantic predicament makes for a miss.” Others found more to like. Reviewing How to Make Out in Voice of Youth Advocates, Sarah Phillips noted, “Readers will find themselves unable to put this book down until they reach the last page.” Debbie Wink, also writing in Voice of Youth Advocates, added further praise, commenting: “This is a story with an obvious lesson to it, but the lesson is delivered in an entertaining manner and will be an easy sell to teen girls.” An online Reader Lines writer also had a positive assessment, terming the novel a “fast-paced read about self-discovery and overcoming your fears.” A Here’s To Happy Endings website contributor similarly observed: “How to Make Out was a realistic look at the life of a girl who was torn between two loves and earning money to get to New York, as well as facing a lot of things at home, such as feeling somewhat neglected by her father and unloved by her mother. It had its heartbreaking moments, but the book was so good, I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages until I reached the very satisfying conclusion. Also, if you need a smile, pick this one up.”
The Art of French Kissing
In Shrum’s 2018 novel, The Art of French Kissing, Carter Lane has a chance to attend a premier culinary school if only she can do well at a summer scholarship competition. However, she faces stiff competition from good-looking and arrogant Reid Yamada, who even stoops to sabotaging Carter’s dishes in order to win the competition. However, this mean-spirited competition between the two takes a turn toward romance when Carter and Reid are teamed up together in a final competition which could win it all for both of them.
“This meet-cute romance stands out thanks to the nuanced characters and subtle treatment of bigger issues such as race, gender, and money,” noted Kirkus Reviews critic of The Art of French Kissing. Writing in School Library Journal, Karen Alexander similarly observed: “Culinary students will enjoy the competition among the characters and may find the romance to be a bonus.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2018, review of The Art of French Kissing.
School Library Journal, November, 2015, Amy Nolan, review of Never Never, p. 122; June, 2018, Karen Alexander, review of The Art of French Kissing, p. 94.
Voice of Youth Advocates, August, 2016, Debbie Wenk, review of How to Make Out, p. 68; October, 2016, Sarah Phillips, review of How to Make Out, p. 68.
ONLINE
Book Insider, http://www.ashtonmariesmith.com/ (June 4, 2018), review of The Art of French Kissing.
Brianna Shrum website, http://briannashrum.com/ (July 31, 2018).
Here’s To Happy Endings, http://www.herestohappyendings.com/ (September 18, 2016), review of How to Make Out.
Kirkus Reviews Online, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/ (July 15, 2016), review of How to Make Out.
Nice Girls Read Books, http://nicegirlsreadbooks.com/ (September 4, 2015 ), review of Never Never.
Ramblings on Readings, http://www.ramblingsonreadings.com/ (September 30, 2015), review of Never Never.
Reader Lines, http://thereaderlines.blogspot.com/ (September 1, 2016), review of How to Make Out.
Serendipitous Reads, https://serendipitousreads.com/ (May 24, 2018 ), Alyssa Grace, review of The Art of French Kissing.
Shortcut to Shrums, http://shortcuttoshrums.blogspot.com (August 3, 2018).
Star Crossed Book Blog, http://starcrossedbookblog.com/ (September 15, 2015 ), review of Never Never.
Vanessa Barger Blog, https://vanessabarger.com/ (August 6, 2015), author interview.
YA Book Traveler, http://theyabooktraveler.com/ (September 13, 2015), author interview.
Hey guys! I'm a YA author living in Colorado with my high-school-sweetheart-turned husband and two little boys. I love all things villainous, magical, and strange, and when I'm not writing, am usually buried in someone else's words in a book. You can usually find me drinking chai and reading by my Harry Potter Christmas tree, which I will probably never take down.
QUOTE:
I'm a lover of words. Sometimes weird ones. Sometimes bloody ones. Sometimes kissy ones. I try not to discriminate. Also, all things nerdy. Odds are, if they talk about it on The Big Bang Theory, I like it.
About Me
I'm a lover of words. Sometimes weird ones. Sometimes bloody ones. Sometimes kissy ones. I try not to discriminate. Also, all things nerdy. Odds are, if they talk about it on The Big Bang Theory, I like it. Star Wars, superheroes, gaming (BIOWARE. Bioware forever), you name it. Much to the dismay of my much cooler younger sisters.
I live in Colorado with my high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband, two boys, and dog named Sevro, all of whom are pretty great.
Sometimes, I blog about writerly things. I'm an author of YA fiction, and I LOVE what I do. I am represented by Steven Salpeter at Curtis Brown.
QUOTE:
is basically the origin story of Captain Hook—how he came to Neverland, why he and Peter are locked in this dark rivalry, who he is, who he loves (oh yes, there is looove), and how the story would have been told through the eyes of a pirate, and not a Pan.
INTERVIEW WITH BRIANNA SHRUM
By Vanessa | August 6, 2015 | Comments 0 Comment
Picture
The Serious Questions
What made you want to become an author?
I have always loved writing, and dug reading (though the book that propelled me into ERMAGERSH BOOKS OBSESSION was The Outsiders in 7th grade), and mostly stuck to writing poetry and songs with my grandpa when I was young, because I viewed “author” as such a fantasy dream career. Like…it felt so unachievable. Then I grew up, watched The Hunger Games in theaters, got an idea (which will never see the light of day), and decided to try. Because there’s no sense in not giving your absolute DREAM a shot. And the rest is history. 😉
Tell us about your current work in progress.
I have 2 projects going right now, one a very dark, gritty YA contemporary about a fight club. (I know, I know. I totally just broke the first rule of Fight Club. ;)) The other is a high fantasy I’m co-writing with my brother, revolving around my absolute *favorite* kind of character: a bad to the bone villain. *evil grin*
What do you do to cure writer’s block?
That’s one reason I have 2 wips going at all times, to try to circumvent that. If I’m stuck on both? I completely ignore my computer. Usually, if I’m blocked, I can read something awesome, or binge watch Breaking Bad or The Bachelorette or something, or play through Dragon Age, and that little break where my brain doesn’t have to work on anything creative, but can still *experience* creativity acts like a jump start.
Are you a plotter or a pantster?
Usually I’m a plotter, but lately I’ve been pantsing a lot more. I think it depends on the book for me, really.
Do you have any writing rituals?
Hmmmmmm. Not strictly, because with 2 tiny kids, I just kind of steal writing time whenever, however, wherever it comes. My preference is to write on my couch, though, with a cup of iced chai, curled in the dark in this awesome afghan a writer friend made me.
What is your favorite book? What about favorite book to movie adaptation?
Oh gosh. ONE?!? I’ll go The Outsiders, because it was the first book I ever truly ADORED, and that really shredded my heart. (Shout out to more recent faves—Red Rising, Shadow and Bone, Wrath and the Dawn, and Jellicoe Road). Hands down, my favorite ever book to movie adaptation is GONE GIRL. That was freaking masterful.
What was your favorite fairy tale as a child (or maybe it still is!)?
Oh, I LIVED for Beauty and the Beast. (Is Princess and the Goblin a fairy tale? Wikipedia thinks maybe. I adored that too.)
What is the best piece of writing advice you NEVER followed?
“Don’t revise while you draft.” I love to re-read and revise mid-draft, and if I didn’t, I’d never get through writing a draft. Write how you want to write, and THAT is the right way for you!
Your bio hints that you like the Big Bang Theory. Which character do you think you’re most like and why?
Oooooh, that’s a fun question. I’m *definitely* married to a Howard. You know what? Probably Howard. He’s pretty chill about things in general, and has a great sense of sarcasm and humor (my best and worst trait. SOMETIMES THINGS REALLY SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY, ME), and is very close to his family. Plus he’s more of a realist than a theoretical guy, which is very me. Yep. We’ll go Howard.
Tell us about NEVER NEVER – it sounds so cool!
Aw, thanks! NEVER NEVER is basically the origin story of Captain Hook—how he came to Neverland, why he and Peter are locked in this dark rivalry, who he is, who he loves (oh yes, there is looove), and how the story would have been told through the eyes of a pirate, and not a Pan.
Picture
The Random Questions
Chocolate or vanilla?
CHOCOLATE.
Dinos or dragons?
Dinosaurs, baby!
What psychic power would you want?
Telekinesis. (You can do EVERYTHING with telekinesis)
Favorite Disney character?
Oh geez, do not judge me for this. Scar.
Dream vacation?
Scotland. A vacation filled with castles and a crap ton of Outlander.
Tomatoes:
Fruit or veggie? Fruit! (But a manipulative fruit)
Morning Person or Night owl?
Night owl
Favorite Book Ever:
The Outsiders
Favorite Movie Ever:
Meet Joe Black (or Braveheart or Jurassic Park or also maybe Gladiator)
Music Earworm of the Moment:
4 Chord Song by Axis of Awesome
About Brianna
Picture
Brianna Shrum lives in Colorado with her high-school-sweetheart turned husband and her two little boys. She’s been writing since she could scrawl letters, and has worked with teens since she graduated out of teenager-hood, either in the writing classes she taught, or working with the youth group. Brianna digs all things YA, all things geeky, superhero-y, gamery, magical, and strange.
Her debut YA, Never Never, releases on September 22nd of this year. Her second YA, How to Make Out, releases in Fall 2016. She is represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary. She’d totally love to connect with you, so come say hi on her website or Twitter!
QUOTE:
I fantasized about it when I was tiny, writing poetry with my grandpa in 2nd grade. But I never saw it as attainable. I thought it was a total you-must-know-someone impossible career, until I decided to go for it (and learned that I was quite mistaken) after I saw The Hunger Games in theaters for the first time, and left inspired to write a book.
SUNDAY STREET TEAM INTERVIEW: NEVER NEVER BY BRIANNA SHRUM
September 13, 2015
NEVER NEVER
by Brianna Shrum
Synopsis (GR):
James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.
But grow up he does.
And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.
This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.
Except one.
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS:
1. What made you want to write a retelling about Captain James Hook?
I’ve always had a real soft spot for the villains in stories. *coughs in the general direction of Loki, The Darkling, Scar* And really, who doesn’t love pirates? 😉 So I got to thinking about him and wondering what on earth a sophisticated, powerful man like that was doing in a world full of children he hates? What possibly could have happened to make his life turn out this way? And BOOM. Never Never was born.
2. What kind of research went into developing this book and the world behind Never Never?
I read Barrie’s Peter Pan…a LOT. I also re-watched some of my favorite Peter Pan retellings (oh no! and excuse to watch HOOK over and over again!). Beyond that, it was a whole lot of sitting there, staring off into space, trying to come up with as many bizarre dream-like things as I could that would fit into the dream world of Neverland.
3. What message do you want your readers to know about Never Never?
I’d like people to know that it’s about magic and pirates and adventure, yes. But above all, Never Never is about childhood. About what happens to a person when it’s stolen, what happens when you stay there forever, what happens to magic and dreams when you’re small, and when that childhood is gone.
4. If you could live in Neverland, what would you want to be?
A pirate, for SURE. I could plunder and pillage chill on the ocean AWAY from Peter Pan, and occasionally try to steal James from Tiger Lily. 😉 (Though if that wasn’t an option, I’d totally settle for his first mate, Starkey.)
5. What was most challenging or most fun about writing Never Never?
The most challenging thing was staying *very* close to the original story when the book moves from origins story to a direct retelling. Painting James as the protagonist when he’s doing all these pretty objectively dastardly things was…tough, particularly because I didn’t want to skip past any of the nastiness J.M. Barries has him do in the original. I wanted it to be the ACTUAL Pan story, with all the events Barrie gave us, just from a different angle. Tricksy.
6. How long did you take you to write this book?
It took me about 8 weeks to draft. (Good old NaNoWriMo giving me a kick in the pants.)
7. What does your writing process look like?
A lot of it looks like this: *sits at computer, stares* I dream up characters and a situation for a while, let them kind of run about in my head, and then I’ll draft a chapter to get a voice. Then I do a rough chapter-by-chapter outline and go back and draft! (Drafting is my FAVORITE. Death to revising.)
8. Are there any songs that inspired this book, or you, while writing it?
I actually have a terrible time listening to music while writing (though when I was revising, I lived off the 2003 Peter Pan soundtrack). The two songs I think sum up the book, though, and that I’ve listened to a lot, are “Brightly Wound” by Eisley, and “Bad Blood” by Bastille.
9. When did you want to become an author?
I fantasized about it when I was tiny, writing poetry with my grandpa in 2nd grade. But I never saw it as attainable. I thought it was a total you-must-know-someone impossible career, until I decided to go for it (and learned that I was quite mistaken) after I saw The Hunger Games in theaters for the first time, and left inspired to write a book. (Thanks, Suzanne Collins!)
10. What is your next project?
I’m co-writing a dark, villainous fantasy with my brother right now, actually! It was originally VERY loosely inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, but it’s moved pretty far away from that now. Now it’s just villain-y. And magicky. 🙂
~Thank you Brianna for stopping by my blog! Sarah~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brianna Shrum lives in Colorado with her high-school-sweetheart turned husband and her two little boys. She’s been writing since she could scrawl letters, and has worked with teens since she graduated out of teenager-hood, either in the writing classes she taught, or working with the youth group. Brianna digs all things YA, all things geeky, superhero-y, gamery, magical, and strange.
PART ONE
BIO
So first, a little about yours truly. I am Brianna Shrum. I’m a YA author from Denver, Colorado. I’m totally obsessed with gaming (tabletop and video games) and superheroes, and I love all things dark, magical, and strange. My first novel, NEVER NEVER, a YA crossover retelling of Peter Pan from Hook’s POV, came out in September of 2015 from Spencer Hill Press. My second, HOW TO MAKE OUT, a YA contemporary romantic comedy, came out from Sky Pony Press September 2016! I am repped by Steven Salpeter at Curtis Brown. ^_^
MY EDITING STYLE
I will give you in-depth critique, honesty (but not brutal honesty; I don't think you have to be brutal to be honest. I WILL tell you in no uncertain terms exactly what I think needs to be done and why, and will not shy away from any of that stuff big or small, but I’ll also gush over everything I love) and ideas on the big and little things in your book. My specialty is CHARACTER, RELATIONSHIPS, and TENSION. These things are my greatest loves, and the things I’m best at! Though I’m always down to help you with atmosphere, world, and plot if that’s what you need! I’ve had success with contests in the past, so I’ll bring that experience to the table to help make your entry shine!
PART TWO ~aka~ THE GOOD STUFF
My Wishlist!!
So this year, I’m mentoring YA, and I’ll be looking for TWO THINGS within that category: Fantasy, and Contemporary. Nothing outside of YA fantasy or contemporary this year, folks! There are some amazing mentors who are looking at those other things!
SOOOO, within YA fantasy and contemporary, there are several things that I just LOVE, cross-genre, and I will die of happy if I see them in my inbox.
*GIVE ME YOUR “TOO MUCH"
If you have written something and said to yourself, “Oh lord. This…this might be too much” I want it. If it is TOO edgy or your characters are too unlikable or this is a topic that is just TOO wild or controversial or...any number of things. I want it.
*ANTI-HEROES, VILLAINS, BAD BOYS, BAD GIRLS, like yes. Puh-lease.
I loooove, more than anything, characters who are conflicted, who are bad, who want to be good but don’t know how to be, who are straight-up wicked. Give them all to me, please. I love me a good hero, too! So don’t count them out, but delicious villains, and anti-heroes, and grey morality are my crack.
*TENSION
Give me TENSION. Sexual tension, friend tension, stakes that have the world at its end—what I want, ultimately, is something that makes me feel breathless. Where it’s tense enough I can feel it on my skin.
*SEND ME YOUR QUEER TEENS PLEASE OK
That is all. Please to send them
*ROMANCE IS AWESOME
(The world I like to live in is one in which the 2016 election never happened and ZUTARA SAILED)
I’m just a sucker for it. That is all. PARTICULARLYYYYYY UNLIKELY/IMPOSSIBLE ROMANCE. I’m super into hate-to-love, also. Or forbidden romance. Or slowwwww burrrrnnnnn. WHEW. SLOW BURN. Honestly most kinds of romance I love. PARTICULARLY if that romance has some tEeTh. And by that, I mean figuratively, I love all kinds of romance, but do have a particular soft spot for those with an edge. (I mean. Literal teeth are also fine though. Just putting that out there.)
(P.S. do you see what I did there? With the word "have"? That is perhaps an important word for a certain scavenger hunt and you should probably mark it down but hey I don't know your life and can't just tell you how to live it.)
NOOOOOTE, WRITER HUMANS, THAT UNDERLIES EVERY SPECIFIC GENRE REQUEST/TROPE LOVE/ETC.: DIVERSITY IS IMPORTANT TO ME
I have a very hard time believing worlds (in ANY genre) that are all white, all allocishet, all abled. Like. That just doesn't feel real to me. I would love to see casts that are culturally, racially, ethnically diverse. Representation of any number of genders, disabilities, sexual orientations, underrepresented religions, everything. Authentic experiences of marginalized people, be it *about* a specific marginalization or about a marginalized character and/or cast where that marginalization does not drive the plot, are always extremely welcome and wanted here.
SPECIFIC GENRE WANTS
YA Contemp
I adore contemp of a million different types, and tend to gravitate toward it when writing. This year, I’m looking particularly for contemp on the edgy side of things. I like things that ask hard questions, that draw out deep emotion, that aren’t afraid to just smash through politeness and boundaries and hit hard with authenticity. Characters with grit and heart and lots of voice, whether they’re prickly or loveable, I love. YA that deals with major social or political issues, I am super here for as well. So, I am all about the lighter side of YA too, especially if there’s a stellar romance at the core. And grittier, older, edgier YA is my bread and butter BUT THAT BEING SAID: IF YOUR BOOK IS QUEER, I DO NOT CARE if it’s edgy or not. If you’re telling a story about an ace kid or a bi kid or a non-binary kid or two girls falling in love or or or—I want it. Legit, I am thrilled to read anything, edgy and gritty or light and sweet or dark and emotional, if it’s a contemp about queer kids.
YA Fantasy
Fantasy was my first love, and we’re, like, basically in a committed relationship now, so.
I am NOT LOOKING FOR: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, or Contemp Fantasy unless that contemp fantasy involves time travel ORRRRRR a totally kickass setting. Somewhere weird or cool or, idk. Something with the atmosphere of Maggie Stiefvater a la The Raven Boys or The Scorpio Races, or something set in Alaska, possibly. Because I love Alaska. SO YEAH, contemp fantasy ONLYYYYY if the setting is super kickass or it involves time travel. The rest of these things are great, just not in my wheelhouse!
PLEASE SEND ME YOUR:
*Epic fantasy
*Crossover YA fantasy
*Historical Fantasy
-Side note: If someone sent me a fantasy set in the French Revolution I would FLIIIIIP
*Monsters
*People
*Fantasy with humor
*Time Travel
*MAGICCCCCC
*MAYHEM
I’ll list specific comps down below, but basically, give me yo fantasy, lovelies!
BOOKS I LOVE-slash-SEND THINGS LIKE THIS TO ME PLEEEEASE
EITHER GENRE: A contemp OR fantasy that felt like Stranger Things in any way would be kickass. Man. How great was Stranger Things tho
Fantasy
*A Darker Shade of Magic/ A Gathering of Shadows/A Conjuring of Light
*SIX OF CROWS/CROOKED KINGDOM
-oooh yaaaaaasssssss the antiheroes! The world! THE KAZ BREKKER
-A+++ multi POV too
*And I Darken
*The Scorpio Races
-The Atmosphere.
*Outlander
*The Winner's Trilogy—PARTICULARLY The Winner’s Crime (I believe that’s book 2)
-Fantasy does not necessarily need magic to be fantasy, yo!
*Shadow and Bone
-SPECIFICALLY THE DARKLING OK
*AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER
-Zutara is the ONLY SHIP FIGHT ME
*DRAGON AGE OMG DRAGON AGE THOUGH I am Bioware trash
*The Princess Bride
*Red Rising
-technically sci-fi I think, but the characters in this, particularly the side characters, are phenomenal
*Star Wars: ROGUE ONE
-GIVE ME REVOLUTIONARIES and people who change the world or are willing to fight for who and what they love.
Contemporary
* Literally ANYTHING by Carrie Mesrobian
-The VOICE in her books is unbelievably great
*Jellicoe Road
* The Hate U Give
* More Happy Than Not
-This is technically a spec fic but the voice and the feel is so contemp that I’m adding it here as an example of a feeling that I LOVE.
* Far From You
-The darkness in this was super well done, but I’m looking for anythingggg that can tell a story with as INTENSE emotion as the romance and relationship between these girls. MAN.
*Such A Good Girl
*99 Days
-Honestly anything by Katie Cotugno
*When Dimple Met Rishi
* Alex, Approximately
* Simon vs. the HomoSapiens’ Agenda
*Gena/Finn
*Breaking Bad (the show)
Random Facts About Me/My Interests That Might Help
*I am a Gryffindor or a Slytherin. I can’t currently decide which but I dunno, I’m pretty fighty.
*I play the violin (Both acoustic, and this badass electric viper violin). Music SLAYS ME.
*I will fall just DEAD IN LOVE with a character with realllllll power and relationships that play with that idea. Destroy me with power dynamics.
*I love twisty politics and intrigue.
*I LOVE FIGHTY CHARACTERS. Prickly, harder to love at first but WONDERFUL characters like Ronan Lynch, Cassian Andor, Starbuck (girl Starbuck). LOVE. THEM.
*If I could invite 7 characters over for a fictional dinner, 1 being seated to my left, 7 being to my right, and all the places in between being situated around the table, I would invite: 1. Nina Zenik 2. Uncle Iroh 3. Zuko 4. Starbuck (in the newer Battlestar Galactica. I’m completely in love with her.) 5. Mad Sweeney 6. Sevro 7. Cassian Andor
*I like spiders, and snakes, and monsters, and worlds with claws.
*My fave scenes to read and write are one-on-one murder, fist fights, and the moments just before a kiss. Because they are intimate and reveal character like whoa.
That’s about it, friends! Feel FREE to ask me any questions over on Twitter (my username is @briannashrum) and HAPPY PITCH WARS-INGGGGG!
I will leave you now with some gratuitous gifs of Cassian. May the Force be with you.
QUOTE:
this meet-cute romance stands out thanks to the nuanced characters and subtle treatment of bigger issues such as race,
Shrum, Brianna R.: THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING
Kirkus Reviews. (Apr. 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Shrum, Brianna R. THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING Sky Pony Press (Young Adult Fiction) $8.99 6, 5 ISBN: 978-1-5107-3205-6
Carter Lane is one step closer to her dream of attending the nation's top culinary school when she is accepted into its prestigious summer scholarship competition, but arrogant and handsome Reid Yamada isn't going to make winning easy.
In fact, he is deliberately sabotaging Carter's dishes--but two can play at that game. Carter, who is Irish-American, and Reid, who is biracial (Japanese/white), have their sights trained on one another as competitors begin to be eliminated. But an obsession that starts out as revenge soon turns romantic when the two are paired up and must work together to win it all. Despite the cliched premise and the implausibility of sending eliminated teens to the airport at all hours to wait for standby flights home, this meet-cute romance stands out thanks to the nuanced characters and subtle treatment of bigger issues such as race, gender, and money (Carter's family flirts with poverty). Carter's insecurities about her culinary skill will resonate with any girl who has aspirations in a field dominated by males, and a sensitive sex scene models for readers what a consensual relationship looks like. A full cast of diverse characters, including Indian-American competitors, Carter's lesbian best friend, and Reid himself, who identifies as queer, are portrayed three-dimensionally, but Shrum's (How to Make Out, 2016, etc.) greatest accomplishment may be the intricate and mouthwatering descriptions of each dish.
A thoughtful and delicious romance. (Romance. 14-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Shrum, Brianna R.: THE ART OF FRENCH KISSING." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A534375165/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a3689b71. Accessed 27 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A534375165
QUOTE:
Readers will find themselves unable to put this book down until they reach the last page.
Shrum, Brianna R.: How to Make Out
Sarah Phillips
Voice of Youth Advocates. 39.4 (Oct. 2016): p68.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
Shrum, Brianna R. How to Make Out. Sky Pony, 2016. 284p. $16.99. 978-1-5107-0167-0.
Many teens can relate to needing to make money, wondering how something is done, and worrying about fitting in at school. Renley's money-making journey comes with complicated relationships, difficult decisions, and ultimately self-discovery. As tempting as it is to try to be like the popular kids, it is often best to stay true to who you are and appreciate the people who care about you. Readers will find themselves unable to put this book down until they reach the last page. 4Q, 4P.--Sarah Phillips, Teen Reviewer. **(This is a teen review that is a supplement to an adult review of the same book, which ran in our August 2016 issue.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Phillips, Sarah. "Shrum, Brianna R.: How to Make Out." Voice of Youth Advocates, Oct. 2016, p. 68. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A467831125/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=37c78fee. Accessed 27 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A467831125
QUOTE:
This is a story with an obvious lesson to it, but the lesson is delivered in an entertaining manner and will be an easy sell to teen girls.
Shrum, Brianna R.: How to Make Out
Debbie Wenk
Voice of Youth Advocates. 39.3 (Aug. 2016): p68+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
3Q * 3P * J * S
Shrum, Brianna R. How to Make Out. Sky Pony Press, 2016. 240p. $16.99. 978-1-51070167-0.
Fifteen-year-old Renley is urged by her best friend, April, to raise funds for a Math Club trip to New York City--coincidentally where her estranged mother lives. Being a self-described math nerd, Renley decides a blog where questioners pay for answers to math questions would be the solution. She finds herself answering questions that have nothing to do with math; how to flirt, how to make out. She insists on being authentic, so she decides she has to experience the things she answers before she posts. This leads her into a relationship with the hottest guy in school, Seth, but away from her next door neighbor and lifelong friend, Drew (who wishes to be so much more to her). It also pushes her into being someone she is really not. Her newfound popularity even causes a rift in her relationship with April.
The story is a rehash of stories already told--invisible teenager suddenly popular and doing anything to stay popular--but Renley is an endearing character with a lot of baggage. Her father's infidelity, which led to the breakup of her parents' marriage, eats at Renley and keeps her commitment-phobic. Her mother's aloofness stings more than Renley can admit. Readers will immediately recognize that Renley feels more for Drew than she is admitting and will root for them to find their way to each other. This is a story with an obvious lesson to it, but the lesson is delivered in an entertaining manner and will be an easy sell to teen girls.--Debbie Wenk.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Wenk, Debbie. "Shrum, Brianna R.: How to Make Out." Voice of Youth Advocates, Aug. 2016, p. 68+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A461445168/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=14074b8d. Accessed 27 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A461445168
SHRUM, Brianna R.: The Art of French Kissing
QUOTE:
Culinary students will enjoy the competition among the characters and may find the romance to be a bonus.
Karen Alexander
School Library Journal. 64.6 (June 2018): p94.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
SHRUM, Brianna R. The Art of French Kissing. 256p. Sky Pony. Jun. 2018. pap. $8.99. ISBN 9781510732056.
Gr 9 Up--Carter Lane gets the opportunity to attend a Chopped-style cooking competition in Savannah for a full ride to one of the best culinary schools in the country. While the cooking proves to be demanding, the real obstacle is Reid Yamada, who is not only cocky but wants to win at all costs--even if it means throwing in a bit of unfair play. Carter gets her revenge only to find herself having to partner with Reid later. While the two are at each other's throats, they can't deny their obvious chemistry. Carter is smart and has good instincts--especially when it comes to Reid. Reid is sensitive and remorseful, easily forgiven after his transgression. Readers will cheer when Carter and Reid finally confess their love as the romance is a long time coming, but some may feel that their physical relationship progresses too quickly. Minor characters, Rija and Will, are one dimensional, leaving teens wanting to know more about them. VERDICT Culinary students will enjoy the competition among the characters and may find the romance to be a bonus.--Karen Alexander, Lake Fenton High School, Linden, MI
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Alexander, Karen. "SHRUM, Brianna R.: The Art of French Kissing." School Library Journal, June 2018, p. 94. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A540902975/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1c3befc6. Accessed 27 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A540902975
Shrum, Brianna R.: Never Never
QUOTE:
masterful debut novel that delivers a unique and striking perspective on J.M. Barrie's beloved world of Neverland.
hrum's retelling is a deeply satisfying dark fantasy that just might change readers' perception of Peter Pan and Neverland itself.
Amy Nolan
School Library Journal. 61.11 (Nov. 2015): p122.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2015 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Full Text:
* SHRUM, Brianna R. Never Never. 368p. ebook available. Spencer Hill. 2015. Tr $9.95. ISBN 9781633920392.
Gr 8 Up--A masterful debut novel that delivers a unique and striking perspective on J.M. Barrie's beloved world of Neverland. The focus is on James Hook, a 13-year-old Londoner who cannot wait to be an adult. His only childhood indulgence is at night, when he dreams of being the captain of a pirate ship filled with ruffians and scallywags. When he happens upon Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, James is bewitched by the lad's description of a magical world filled with mermaids and adventure. Unable to resist, he agrees to visit as long as he is back before boarding school begins. The Neverland he encounters is a dark and dangerous place, and James is shocked when Peter gleefully slits a pirate's throat. Pan refuses to return James to London, and the boy's initial admiration turns to hatred for this callous creature. Anguished and homesick, he is sickened to discover that while those around him do not age, he is rapidly maturing into a man. Hook embraces his destiny as a pirate and vows vengeance on the Pan. Filled with familiar characters such as the Lost Boys, the Darling children, and a bewitching and sensual Tiger Lily, Shrum's retelling is a deeply satisfying dark fantasy that just might change readers' perception of Peter Pan and Neverland itself. VERDICT A must-have for all young adult collections.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI
Nolan, Amy
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Nolan, Amy. "Shrum, Brianna R.: Never Never." School Library Journal, Nov. 2015, p. 122. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A433878144/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=047ded93. Accessed 27 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A433878144
QUOTE:
How to Make Out was a realistic look at the life of a girl who was torn between two loves and earning money to get to New York, as well as facing a lot of things at home, such as feeling somewhat neglected by her father and unloved by her mother. It had its heartbreaking moments, but the book was so good, I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages until I reached the very satisfying conclusion. Also, if you need a smile, pick this one up –
How to Make Out by Brianna R. Shrum
Posted in Contemporary, Reviews, Romance, Young Adult |
Book Title: How to Make Out
Book Author: Brianna R. Shrum
Publishing Date: September 6th, 2016
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Date Read: September 17th, 2016
Source: I received a copy from the publisher - Thank you!
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Renley needs three thousand dollars for the math club’s trip to New York City, and she knows exactly how to get it: she’s going to start a how-to blog where people pay for answers to all of life’s questions from a “certified expert.” The only problems: 1) She doesn’t know how to do anything but long division and calculus. 2) She’s totally invisible to people at school. And not in a cool Gossip Girl kind of way.
So, she decides to learn to do . . . well . . . everything. When her anonymous blog shifts in a more scandalous direction and the questions (and money) start rolling in, she has to learn not just how to do waterfall braids and cat-eye makeup, but a few other things, like how to cure a hangover, how to flirt, and how to make out (something her very experienced, and very in-love-with-her neighbor, Drew, is more than willing to help with).
As her blog’s reputation skyrockets, so does “new and improved” Renley’s popularity. She’s not only nabbed the attention of the entire school, but also the eye of Seth Levine, the hot culinary wizard she’s admired from across the home-ec classroom all year.
Soon, caught up in the thrill of popularity both in and out of cyberspace, her secrets start to spiral, and she finds that she’s forgotten the most important how-to: how to be herself. When her online and real lives converge, Renley will have to make a choice: lose everything she loves in her new life, or everyone she loves in the life she left behind.
My Review
I feel like I’ve been really reading a lot of contemporaries lately, and with the great quality of some of the books that I have been picking up, it isn’t really a bad thing. I’ve really been into reading contemporary YA novels because of their tendency to be quick reads and fun. And let me tell you, How to Make Out was pure fun. Sure, my husband looked at me funny when I told him that yes, I was indeed reading a book titled How to Make Out, but the book just had a light air about it that made it catch my attention.
Renley is a sixteen year old girl who has two best friends, April and Drew, and lives with her father and stepmother, Stacey. Her mother left them several years ago to move to New York after catching her father cheating on her with Stacey, who is a lot younger than her mother. Renley misses her mother, who remarried and had another child, and who never even bothers to call Renley or send her a birthday card. Although she is crushed by this, she tries her best to move on with her life as best as she can, and that involves spending time with her friends.
When April and Renley, who are in math club together, find out that their club is going on a trip to New York at the end of the school year, they are super excited – until Renley finds out that she needs at least three grand to make the trip happen, and her father and Stacey won’t be able to contribute all that much. So Renley gets this idea to start a blog giving advice and answering questions. At first, she figures that she will start it off with simple, easy to answer questions, and as she gets more readers, she will start to charge for answering the question, and then for each person who wants to view the answer. She plans on noting that each answer will be sent in by a “certified professional,” which will of course make it sound legitimate and entice people to actually pay for answers. Of course, she plans on doing this anonymously, so that no one in school knows that it is her.
At first, she starts off with questions like “How to boil an egg” and “How to do a waterfall braid.” She spends hours figuring out how to braid her hair properly or apply cat eye makeup, and eventually, she starts getting questions like “How to make out,” which causes her to seek out Drew and ask him for his…expertise. From there, the questions end up taking a bit of a more…intense route…and in the name her blog and earning the money, Renley goes through with quite the task list in order to get more readers and more money.
When her crush on a boy named Seth, who is in her cooking class, turns into more than just a crush, Renley thinks that she has everything she wants – and then she and April get into a bit of a spat, and instead of apologizing or talking to her, she just keeps dating Seth, going to parties, and being introduced into a world that isn’t really her. Drew is obviously concerned about her, and since he is absolutely in love with her, watching her date Seth isn’t easy on him.
How to Make Out does have a love triangle, and while it’s a bit frustrating at times, it kind of really works in this book. Renley likes Seth but loves Drew and knows she can’t be with him (because of her issues with her mother leaving her), but Drew is so madly in love with her he would do anything for her. Seth likes Renley and she likes him, and together they make an interesting couple, but something about them together felt kind of wrong to me…you can tell the chemistry between them was pretty much nonexistent. But Drew? He really cared about Renley.
“‘I promise all those other girls one night. And I give it to them. And I promise you that I will never stop loving you. And I won’t. Because I don’t break my promises, whatever they are.”
Drew is in love with Renley, and Renley knows this, but feels as if she can’t return his feelings, although deep down she is incredibly confused about them. Even though Drew is in love with Renley, he still has one night stands with tons of different girls, and since Renley spends the night with Drew quite often, watching the Twilight Zone and sleeping with him in his bed (actually sleeping, nothing else), Renley’s father assumes that they are doing more than just “sleeping.” I think that was the part I found a bit unrealistic about this book…I mean, even if Renley and her father don’t have the best relationship (which they don’t), I highly doubt that he would let his sixteen year old daughter repeatedly spend the night with the boy next door, especially not if he believes they are having sex. Eighteen maybe…but sixteen? I guess I just found it a bit difficult to see, but I guess it’s probably something that does occur somewhere. I’m a mother of two daughters and I can say that I would NEVER let something like that go down, but whatever. I’m willing to get over that bit of weirdness for the rest of the book, because it was really good.
Watching Renley’s character change throughout the book from good girl to…whatever she turned into (not a very nice person, that’s for sure), to how she was at the end of the book was really interesting. While at times I found myself disliking Renley, I still hoped for the best for her, even though she was making crappy choices and pushing away everyone around her.
Drew was amazing, and I really liked him…he just cared so much about her, but he knew that he couldn’t have her, so he tried his hardest to let her go so that she could be with someone else. I found myself wanting to drag Renley in front of Drew and tell her how ridiculous she was being when she had the perfect guy right in front of her, but whatever. She made some stupid choices, but she seemed to really learn from them by the end (which brings me back to my love of character development and how awesome it was in this novel).
How to Make Out was a realistic look at the life of a girl who was torn between two loves and earning money to get to New York, as well as facing a lot of things at home, such as feeling somewhat neglected by her father and unloved by her mother. It had its heartbreaking moments, but the book was so good, I couldn’t help but keep turning the pages until I reached the very satisfying conclusion. Also, if you need a smile, pick this one up – I got quite a few laughs out of it, and for that, I absolutely loved it!
If you like YA contemporaries, you’ll probably like this one. It was light and all kinds of fluffy, and the chapters had titles that Renley was working on for her blog, which made it unique and even more fun to read.
REVIEW: The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum
Posted on May 24, 2018 by Alyssa Grace
The Art of French Kissing by Brianna R. Shrum
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Length: 256 pages
Release date: 5 June 2018
Amazon UK | Amazon US
Seventeen-year-old Carter Lane has wanted to be a chef since she was old enough to ignore her mom’s warnings to stay away from the hot stove. And now she has the chance of a lifetime: a prestigious scholarship competition in Savannah, where students compete all summer in Chopped style challenges for a full-ride to one of the best culinary schools in the country. The only impossible challenge ingredient in her basket: Reid Yamada.
After Reid, her cute but unbearably cocky opponent, goes out of his way to screw her over on day one, Carter vows revenge, and soon they’re involved in a full-fledged culinary war. Just as the tension between them reaches its boiling point, Carter and Reid are forced to work together if they want to win, and Carter begins to wonder if Reid’s constant presence in her brain is about more than rivalry. And if maybe her desire to smack his mouth doesn’t necessarily cancel out her desire to kiss it.
For me, romance is probably the biggest minefield out of all genres. At rough estimate, I DNF four out of five romance novels that I try to read, and that’s after scrutinising the synopsis to weed out all books with the many tropes that I don’t enjoy. I can count on my two hands the number of romance novels in total that I’ve liked, and on one hand the number of YA novels in any genre where I’ve felt the chemistry between the leads.
That’s frankly a big “it’s not you, it’s me” thing. Every reader simply has such different preferences that it’s nearly impossible to write a romance novel catering to even a majority of people. In contemporary romance, I basically look for two things: One, that the relationship has chemistry; and two, that I can root for the hero/heroine.
I’m saying all of this not because I love going off on tangents, even though I do have the tendency to do so often, but to point out that what I like and dislike about The Art of French Kissing may be the exact opposite of what anyone else likes or dislikes about it.
The good:
There’s chemistry between Carter and Reid. It’s an adorable frenemies who should just bang thing, and it’s been done in hundreds of novels before, but if it’s your thing it’s done well. There’s also platonic chemistry (is that a thing? I don’t know, I’m rolling with it) between Carter, Riya, Will and their friends, who are, God forbid, pretty entertaining. The banter is fun if forgettable, the kind of witty pop culture-charged talk that lots of YA contemporaries on the light side incorporate. The humour mostly isn’t of the slapstick variety, which is always a plus in my book.
The ok:
I’m not sure how plausible it is to throw 24 teenagers in a high-pressure Masterchef copycat and have them figuratively bludgeon each other to death for the prize of a full ride scholarship, but hey, cool concept. That said, the execution could have been a bit more detailed. After a while, all the cooking challenges were sort of glossed over, often addressed in just one sentence telling us the result.
I get that too many scenes of similar processes could get repetitive after a while, but for a book centred around a cooking competition, I wanted to read more about, well, cooking. It’s a common quality of romance novels that non relationship-related things get sidelined, but I would genuinely have been interested in seeing what made Carter such a great chef. Especially because the challenges that we do get to see in full are creatively devious and dramatic, just the kind of thing you’d expect from the juiciest of reality TV.
The bad:
Remember the second thing that I said I look for in a contemporary romance? That I want to be able to root for the leads? …Yeah. There’s a line between assertiveness and entitlement, and we often draw that line too harshly when we judge fictional heroines, but there’s nowhere I can justify drawing that line so that Carter Lane doesn’t at least sometimes cross to the wrong side of it. Yikes. At risk of sounding unfair, she makes certain choices/thinks in certain ways that are careless at best and entitled at worst.
Yes, Reid fires the first shot in their rivalry, but she responds with revenge that’s way out of proportion and, more importantly, harms Reid’s entire randomly assigned team. Anyone would want revenge after Reid’s initial unprovoked, asshole move, but most people would do it by, I don’t know, bringing it up to the organisers as flat-out cheating? (Or maybe even talking it out like adults, although if that happened, most of these slap-slap-kiss stories would run out of fuel pretty quickly.)
The worst part of this, if you ask me, is that Carter’s general attitude doesn’t change when their rivalry ends. Near the end, she still sort of expects it to all be about her, and never really realises that this is an issue or makes amends for it. It’s supposed to be “all’s well that ends well,” but Carter’s lack of sympathy prevented me from fully enjoying this book. Oh well; if nothing else, it’s preferable to yet another spineless incompetent character.
*Thanks to Sky Pony Press and Edelweiss for providing a review copy of this book! All opinions represented remain my own.*
QUOTE:
fast-paced read about self discovery and overcoming your fears.
The Art of French Kissing, by: Brianna R. Shrum (ARC Review)
6/4/2018
0 Comments
Seventeen-year-old Carter Lane has wanted to be a chef since she was old enough to ignore her mom's warnings to stay away from the hot stove. And now she has the chance of a lifetime: a prestigious scholarship competition in Savannah, where students compete all summer in Chopped style challenges for a full-ride to one of the best culinary schools in the country. The only impossible challenge ingredient in her basket: Reid Yamada.
After Reid, her cute but unbearably cocky opponent,
goes out of his way to screw her over on day one, Carter vows revenge, and soon they're involved in a full-fledged culinary war. Just as the tension between them reaches its boiling point, Carter and Reid are forced to work together if they want to win, and Carter begins to wonder if Reid's constant presence in her brain is about more than rivalry. And if maybe her desire to smack his mouth doesn't necessarily cancel out her desire to kiss it.
Click Here to Read More
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Another eARC, coming right up! I’m so glad that NetGalley has been giving me the opportunity to read the books on their site in exchange for honest reviews.
The Art of French Kissing is a great summer read if you love all things romance and food. (I love food…) While I didn’t find myself invested in the romance part of the novel, I did find some redeemable qualities. The Chopped style food competition is something I’ve never seen in a YA novel, and that storyline turned out great. I hope this book leads to more books that incorporate more “reality television” type storylines into their concepts.
I found the idea of a real competition for a college scholarship was great. People think about applications and scholarships as competitive, but not in the actual sense of the word. Since I am entering the stage of my life where I will be applying for colleges and scholarships alike, I enjoyed seeing the author put a unique spin on a widely known concept. It grounded the part of the story that felt like reality TV and kept the plot from seeming too absurd.
What I didn’t like about this book was the romance arc. I think throughout this novel, I have figured out that the “enemies-to-lovers” trope isn’t for me. At the beginning of the book, Reid is an absolute jerk to Carter, but throughout the book, they are forced to work together and end up falling for each other. I’m not sure if it’s my “strong and independent woman” personality bursting through, or my ability to hold grudges, but I can’t be happy for a girl falling for a boy that has been awful to her. Carter is a competent young chef, and shouldn’t let a boy like that into her life at all. I understand that as readers, we saw Reid’s more redeeming qualities come forward and that in the beginning, competition can get the best of some people, but that doesn’t give either character the right to be awful to one another, and then turn around and fall in love. Some people enjoy this trope, but it’s just not for me. I don’t think I’ll ever pick up another book that uses this idea.
So, if you like food competitions and the “enemies-to-lovers” trope, you will probably enjoy this book. It’s a great light summer read but wasn’t for me.
ARC Review: How to Make Out by Brianna Shrum
How to Make Out
by Brianna R. Shrum.
Source: eARC provided by publisher.
GoodReads/ Amazon/ TBD
Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Renley needs three thousand dollars for the math club’s trip to New York City, and she knows exactly how to get it: she’s going to start a how-to blog where people pay for answers to all of life’s questions from a “certified expert.” The only problems: 1) She doesn’t know how to do anything but long division and calculus. 2) She’s totally invisible to people at school. And not in a cool Gossip Girl kind of way.
So, she decides to learn to do . . . well . . . everything. When her anonymous blog shifts in a more scandalous direction and the questions (and money) start rolling in, she has to learn not just how to do waterfall braids and cat-eye makeup, but a few other things, like how to cure a hangover, how to flirt, and how to make out (something her very experienced, and very in-love-with-her neighbor, Drew, is more than willing to help with).
As her blog’s reputation skyrockets, so does “new and improved” Renley’s popularity. She’s not only nabbed the attention of the entire school, but also the eye of Seth Levine, the hot culinary wizard she’s admired from across the home-ec classroom all year.
Soon, caught up in the thrill of popularity both in and out of cyberspace, her secrets start to spiral, and she finds that she’s forgotten the most important how-to: how to be herself. When her online and real lives converge, Renley will have to make a choice: lose everything she loves in her new life, or everyone she loves in the life she left behind.
***
How to Make Out by Brianna R. Shrum is a fast-paced read about self discovery and overcoming your fears.
I have to confess I downloaded the galley of this book because I was looking for a light and funny read, and the summary of How to Make Out sounds exactly like that. But there are some parent issues I was not expecting.
This is the story of Renley, your average smart girl who wants to travel with her math club. The problem is she doesn’t have the money. So, she decides to open up a blog with “how to” posts and people have to pay for the answers.
This was a brilliant idea except for the fact that it didn’t seem that realistic. Her blog becomes too popular too fast and even though no one knows the person behind that blog is her, she also becomes very popular in real life.
Renley makes a lot of mistakes throughout the book, but I have to highlight that she’s still a likable character. She’s funny and… I don’t know, just really likable.
My big problem with this book was the love triangle.
And it wasn’t because I hate love triangles; it was because I didn’t feel anything about it. In one hand, there’s Drew, Renley’s best friend. It’s very clear since the beginning that he’s in love with her, but he sleeps with different girls every night and Renley doesn’t seem to love him.
In the other hand, there’s Seth, Renley’s hot crush. He’s the popular good boy.
Renley makes out with both of them, and I didn’t see a difference between her feelings for them. She liked them both. So, it was weird that I almost reached the end of the book and I had no idea who was the real love interest.
I didn’t hate or loved this book. It was enjoyable and fast paced. I liked how things ended, but I couldn’t connect because somehow I felt she deserved everything that happened and worse.
Yes, it had a good message about self discovery and overcoming your fears, but the whole plot and characters were meh. It could’ve been better.
QUOTE:
An unlikable character in a predictable romantic predicament makes for a miss.
HOW TO MAKE OUT
by Brianna R. Shrum
Age Range: 14 - 18
BUY NOW FROM
AMAZON
BARNES & NOBLE
LOCAL BOOKSELLER
GET WEEKLY BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
Email Address
Subscribe
KIRKUS REVIEW
To make money, Renley will discover who she truly is.
For the self-centered Renley, the math-club trip to New York City isn't just a trip with her friend April—it will let her reconnect with the mother who abandoned her after her father's affair. But Renley doesn't have the money for the trip, until she gets the idea to start an advice blog and charge readers for her responses. But to get the big money, she has to answer questions like how to make out, how to recover from a hangover, and more. Helping her is her friend Drew, “who can’t keep it in his pants.” He says he loves her, but Renley selfishly refuses to believe him even as she uses him—because she won’t take the risk of losing him as a friend. Muddying the waters is Seth, the cooking savant Renley is crushing on. Renley starts dating Seth and becomes part of the popular crowd—but as she changes, she loses not just April and Drew, but herself, too. Renley is less a well-rounded character and more a collection of abrasive flaws that provoke little sympathy in readers. While she becomes slightly more likable by the end of the novel, it's uncertain if readers would put up with Renley until that point. Renley, April, Drew, and Seth all appear to be white.
An unlikable character in a predictable romantic predicament makes for a miss. (Fiction. 14-18)
Pub Date: Sept. 6th, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5107-0167-0
Page count: 240pp
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Review Posted Online: July 2nd, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15th, 2016
Review: “Never, Never,” Brianna Shrum
September 4, 2015
I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Never, Neverby Brianna Shrum
Series: Standalone
Published by Greenwillow Books on September, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Re-Tellings
Pages: 368
Source: Netgalley
Book Depository | Bookworld | Booktopia
Goodreads
James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.
But grow up he does. And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.
This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan. Except one.
I feel quite awful saying that I didn’t enjoy this book all that much. Brianna Shrum clearly KNOWS her Peter Pan lore, adding in elements from the original book and movie incarnations, it’s just that the journey wasn’t all that thrilling to me. For the most part of the book I was left wondering where it was going, and why I didn’t feel connected to the characters as much as I wanted to.
I had heard mixed reviews about this one, but I decided to request it anyway because I am probably one of the biggest Peter Pan geeks around. I have, like many other readers it seems, been waiting, waiting, WAITING for the perfect Pan re-telling or ‘prequel’ and had pinned a few of my hopes on the fact that Never, Never could finally be that one. Sadly, however, I had a few problems with it and am having a really difficult time trying to gather my thoughts and pinpoint WHAT exactly troubles me about it.
Let it be known that I am more of a ‘Pan fan’ than a ‘Hook fan’, so seeing that this book was meant to be Hook’s backstory wasn’t really the angle I was hoping for when praying for my perfect Pan book. However, I decided to push on and pick up this debut novel from Brianna Shrum.
“At twelve years old, James was mostly happy with the state of things, in the way that all twelve year olds are – he had parents who loved him very much, a dog that loved him even more and a pantry that never emptied of sweet things for him to eat.”
The first thing I noticed about this book was that Brianna Shrum takes on the same tone and method of storytelling as the original Peter Pan by JM Barrie. There is a lot of ‘telling’, yes, but I think it works with this particular book (providing you’ve read the original and can recognise the similarities). The second thing I noticed was that I wasn’t a fan of young James Hook.
Hook as a child was incredibly… annoying? I found him to be an incredibly unlikable child, too cynical even at his young age. I did, however, love seeing where he came from and learning about his home life. It was interesting to see that the root of his pirate obsession came from his seafaring father, someone who was always absent.
Things began rubbing me the wrong way again as soon as we met Peter Pan. The meeting between he and James felt rather corny to me. Instead of being swept away as I usually get whenever Peter is introduced, I felt like rolling my eyes a little. Some of the lines felt copied and pasted out of the many books and movies based on Peter, and I found myself predicting what he was going to say before he said them. This continued throughout the book.
So without a magically, entrancing Pan, I kept on reading. It was with further disappointment that the book continued to feel like a middle-grade read. Neverland didn’t much impress me, either. It felt almost lifeless and way too fake. The characters that were introduced there didn’t strike me, either. I found that I didn’t connect to a single one, and that was disheartening.
“Every one of them had long flowing hair of all manner of bizarre colors that looked as though it was painted; it was too beautiful to be real. But, everything in Neverland seemed too something to be real. Too beautiful, too horrible, too fantastic, too savage.”
– James
Once in Neverland, Peter becomes a sort of vengeful pixie with powers that can manipulate the island according to his mood. I give Brianna Shrum a pat on the back here, though, for being the only person who has been able to make me root for Captain Hook over Peter Pan ever. It was quite eerie how quickly my love for Peter turned to unease. I think this feeling would/could have been amplified ten fold if she had written a Peter I had loved in the first few chapters.
A WHOLE LOT OF PLOT HAPPENS then, awfully fast. There’s some more action and even time skips. I feel like I’m getting somewhere in this novel, and then I look at the page number… I’m not even a third of the way through the book yet. What? It was here I started getting a little worried. What else could possibly be going to happen in this book? Where is it heading?
My interest in Never, Never wavered many times. I had to sit myself down and open up my e-reader, putting all distractions aside. It wasn’t an easy or fast read by any means. The book itself is split into three sections, all which climb a weird ladder of appropriate reading age:Â Part one – middle-grade. Part two – teen? Part three – young adult. I guess I liked it in the sense that we witnessed James growing up, but it was quite jarring to start off as a middle-grade novel and end up seeing this boy we met as a twelve-year old bedding numerous women on a pirate island.
“He took everything from me, Starkey. My family, my home, my childhood, the only woman I ever loved. He took it all, and he feels not an ounce of guilt over it. A child, a heartless child.”
– James
I didn’t quite connect to James at all during Never, Never, but I could understand his frustration throughout the book and was firmly on his side when it came to him vs. Peter. He was a boy/man that had been betrayed, his whole life stolen from him… and that was something tough to read. It did make me think a few times.
When it comes to the romance aspect, it was a bit weird for me. James constantly notices just how ‘unreal’ the pirates he dreamt up all those years ago are, yet he falls in love with the figment of another person’s dream? Tiger Lily herself never felt fully committed to James and their whole relationship just wasn’t believable to me. It felt very out of place with everything else going on, too.
It’s not really until the last 80 or so pages that we experience the Peter Pan story we know and love through James’s eyes. The first hunk of the book is his backstory and him ‘getting-to-the-way-that-he-is’. A lot of the things I would have loved to experience a bit more such as James’s first impressions of the island as well as his relationships with fellow Lost Boys were glossed over. I feel a lot of the ‘downtime’ James had in his cabin could have been cut out all together, because it made the book sluggish.
I really wanted to LOVE this book. Like I said before, it’s clear Brianna Shrum knows her Peter Pan facts and has been able to weave it all together into something that makes sense (I had a few ah! moments, such as when it was explained how the Neverland inhabitants got to the island in the first place) but the bulk of the story itself just wasn’t that interesting to me. She did a great job of painting Pan as the villain, and making me feel just as frustrated as James did when everyone else seemed to love him, but I wish more than anything we had seen that enamouring side to Pan just a bit more to begin with.
Recommended to: If you love Peter Pan as much as I do, no negative review is going to stop you from picking up Never, Never if you really are determined. Even though I didn’t love this book, you might, so why not give it a shot?
QUOTE:
Never Never was extremely imaginative and was such a fun take on the original story that we all know. I enjoyed hearing Captain Hook’s side and rooting for him!
BOOK REVIEW – Never Never by Brianna Shrum
September 15, 2015 / Jen / 4 Comments
Never Never by Brianna Shrum
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks,
Book Depository
Add to: Goodreads
Synopsis:
James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child - at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by children's dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never grow up.
But grow up he does.
And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a Pirate.
This story isn't about Peter Pan; it's about the boy whose life he stole. It's about a man in a world that hates men. It's about the feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.
Except one.
Review:
Never Never was an imaginative take on how Captain Hook came to be. But before starting, know that this definitely isn’t the story that we all grew up knowing. While there are some similarities, the differences are stark and bold! Shockingly, I came to loathe Peter Pan and to understand Captains Hook’s need for revenge. I desperately wanted him to fulfill that need for revenge! But as the story unfolded, there were parts that I struggled wrapping my head around. Parts where I slowly felt myself pulling away from Captain Hook and this made me sad because I was so ecstatic to read Never Never!
The darkness curled around him like a blanket, willing him to stay a while, whispering things to him that were at once comforting and terrible. When he could stand no longer, he covered his face with his hands. Then, he dropped to his knees in the dirt and wept.
Within the first few pages, I was fascinated by the world that had been created. Captain Hook, aka James Hook, was just a child who looked forward to growing up and becoming a man. His parents are loving yet stern, and he has a sibling that is on the way. I’ll admit, I never once thought of who Captain Hook was as a child. But I’m so glad we got to see that side of him, because I loved that strong yet needy child. He was imaginative yet knew what he wanted in life. After spending time around Peter Pan, he agreed to go away to Neverland. Temporarily. Or so he thought. But once in Neverland, he realized that he would never be going back home. And Hook grew up while Peter Pan and The Lost Boys didn’t. That changed him. It created a savage hatred towards Peter Pan and I rallied right behind that hatred!
He readied himself, as he always did when he expected a battle with Peter, and stood on the eerily quiet hull of the Spanish Main. Another crow, haunting and soft, and James steeled his nerves, preparing his mind to murder a child.
Oh, did I loath Peter Pan. He was such an unlikeable character. He was dark, sadistic, and a heartless killer. But at times, his emotions felt contradictory to me. One moment he would be happily laughing while acting like a child and in the next he would turn into this evil being that would slit the throat of a pirate who was sleeping. But make no mistake, I wasn’t upset about the fact that I detested Peter Pan. He was a far cry from the happy boy from the original story. So it was fun seeing him in a different light. But as the book trudged on, I started to get frustrated. His forgetfulness, his cruelty and his cold-heartedness was so intense and so shocking that I started questioning why he was that way and why he had so many followers. It felt as though I was missing some pieces of the puzzle. And eventually I tired of Peter Pan’s antics and looked forward to the scenes were he wasn’t present.
So of course I rooted for Captain Hook to kill Peter Pan. Who wouldn’t want to kill him?! But each time he got close, I felt let down. I understood Captain Hook’s weariness about killing a child, but he would set out to do just that, and then his plans would almost purposely fizzle. And this is how the majority of the book seemed to proceed and I struggled with that.
He caught her hand as she washed the blood away from his throat, and she looked up at him.
“Never apologize to me ,” he said, voice gravelly and tired. Older. “Thank you for your kindness. Now and years ago.”
One thing I did love in this book, well for a short while, was the relationship between Captain Hook and Tiger Lily. It was sweet, innocent and at times touching. I got excited that Captain Hook finally had a shot at peace and happiness. But sadly, I struggled with the direction they were taken. Tiger Lily’s decisions would leave me scratching my head and I don’t want to give away anything, but just know that I didn’t agree with a few “rationalizations” and those scenes left me feeling icky, mad and utterly sad.
So again, I found myself closing a book feeling conflicted and confused. Because on one hand, Never Never was extremely imaginative and was such a fun take on the original story that we all know. I enjoyed hearing Captain Hook’s side and rooting for him! But for me, Peter Pan was too dark, too evil and I could never find the why behind it all. And Tiger Lily’s relationship with Captain Hook left me in shambles at times. Oh, but the hardest part for me was the ending. After that last page I tried to click for more. I desperately wanted and needed an epilogue, yet there was none there. I would have preferred to know a little bit more about what happened to a few of the characters because I felt as though so much was left up in the air. But hopefully you’ll have better luck than me by being able to enjoy this story more fully than I was!
Book Review: Never, Never by Brianna Shrum
September 30, 2015 // No Comments
Never, Never by Brianna Shrum
Published by Spencer Hill Press on September 22, 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Synopsis:
James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of adventure created by childre...
more
I feel like the more Peter Pan adaptations and retellings I read, the less I like the boy who won’t grow up. I used to love him, and still do occasionally (the Disney incarnations of him, at least).
Never, Never is about James Hook, and I was intrigued to read the story from his point of view. Unfortunately, I found Hook to be whiny, incredibly childish (even though the entire point of the story is that he couldn’t keep from growing up) and wholly unlikable (except for the rare scenes in the middle that were sweet with Tiger Lily). I could understand his whininess at the beginning, since we start out seeing him as a child, but as the book went on he hardly grew at all. He only became more glum.
I think one of the main reasons I didn’t like this book was everything felt so terribly shallow. It was all on the surface. Nothing was developed enough. And the plot pretty much consisted of the following: Cool Neverland description, fight with Peter Pan, I love Tiger Lily, I hate Peter Pan, Fight with Peter Pan, Make out with Tiger Lily, fight with Peter Pan, I hate Peter Pan. It got old so incredibly quickly. And can we talk about how many of the scenes were almost exact copies of Peter Pan scenes from other adaptations, or even the original itself? I know that when you’re re-telling a classic, you want to keep many of the scenes the same, especially the well known ones, but there should have been a drastic difference, since we were seeing it from Hook’s perspective. Instead, it felt like the exact same scenes I’d seen or read many times before, except in this version, I didn’t like any of the characters.
Tiger Lily. Let’s talk about her for a moment. She was probably the closest thing to a likable character in this book for me (aside from maybe Smee or Starkey, but they were hardly important enough). I really liked the idea of her relationship with Hook. It’s sweet. But his whiny, sullenness ruined it for me. I didn’t really understand why she liked him. And Tiger Lily is extremely two-dimensional. She’s a pretty girl, who can like, hunt, I guess. We don’t really know anything else about her.
To be fair, I did LOVE the idea that because Tiger Lily is a creation of Peter Pan, she is irrevocably tied to him, no matter how hard she tries to not be. In fact, the whole island is like this. There’s no rhyme or reason as to why, except that Peter is truly the master of Neverland, and everything bends to him without reason. This made for some interesting conflict whenever Hook tries to hurt or kill Peter, there is always a force either holding him back or causing him to regret his plans. I found this to be a very interesting addition to the world building.
And that brings us to Peter. Poor Peter Pan. He is a little hellion. And so terribly unlikable. It makes sense, being a complete narcissist, and since everything in Neverland bends to him, as I said before, his ego is catered to without question. And I get it, Peter is the antagonist, we’re not supposed to like him. But if we’re not supposed to like Peter, you should make Hook more likable.
If you love Peter Pan retellings where Peter is painted as the villain, I think you’ll find this interesting. I just wanted more all around, and I found it to be lacking. I hope you have better luck than I.