Emily O'Beirne

DISCLAIMER: I was given a digital ARC copy to review from Ylva Publishing.

Recensione in italiano qui: http://thereadingpal.blogspot.it/2016/10/recensione-20-heres-thing.html

Here is the thing: there's nothing,
nothing, better than the feeling you get when you discover you managed to
capture exactly what you wanted to capture.


Here's The Thing is a book that I didn't like, at first. Yes, the summary was interesting and the premise good, but Zel wasn't a person I would have talked to, to be honest. I hated Prim, and I wanted Zel to be with Stella.
Zel complained too much about how she missed New York and that she didn't like Sydney, but in the end the only link she had to NY city was Prim... With whom had endend badly.
In Sydney she instead found a group of friends made of Stella, Michael, Anthony, and Ashani.
During the reading I had to change my mind on everything. The characters got better and in the end I kind of pitied both Zel and Prim. It is difficult to understand one own's feelings, even more if one is LGBT and consequently "out of the norm". And that's kind of what the book is about: the desire to love and be loved, without being forced, without labels.
You can enter in the story because it's like if Zelda was in front of you, telling you her story: a thing that I enjoyed quiete a lot, because then you enter better in the character's head, and you understand much more Zel's conflicting feelings... And, going on with the story, you see the other characters as she sees them, the good and the bad.
All in all I think it was a great read, and I recommend everyone to read it. I would willingly read another book by this authoir, as I liked her writing style!… (lisätietoja)

It seems like every new Emily O'Beirne book is better than the last, which is saying a lot considering how much I liked the first ones I read. This book follows on from Future Leaders of Nowhere and shows how Finn and Willa's relationship continues to develop after they leave camp and return to the real world. They both have a lot going on - family issues, responsibilities at school, concerns about their friends, a campaign to save a local queer community centre - but, far from becoming strained, their relationship is a great source of strength and stability for them both. They're the kindest, most supportive girlfriends ever. I love the way Willa reacted when someone suggested she should be insecure about Finn's bisexuality, just refusing to dignify that nonsense with a response. I love the fact that their choice not to have sex yet is presented positively: they enjoy kissing and touching without pressure, their solid boundaries make them feel safe, and when Finn worries Willa might be getting impatient, she assures her "I don't feel like I'm waiting for anything. I just want to be with you, and I am." I wish I'd had a book like this when I was a teenager. It's wholesome, heartfelt and engaging, and reflects my own high school experience more closely than any other YA book I remember reading.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)… (lisätietoja)

This is the kind of book I really wish I could have had when I was a teenager. It's wholesome and grounded and realistic, and I kind of want to snuggle it to my chest.

Finn and Willa are the kind of girls who get chosen by their teachers to go on an interschool leadership camp, and once there get elected by their classmates to lead their groups. They feel like real, nuanced people, and a lot more relatable to this former nerd than your average YA protagonist. I loved getting to know them, from their own perspective and from one another's. Finn looks at Willa and sees a serious girl who's devoted to her family and her studies, wants to win, can be terrifying when she wants to be and has hot long legs. Willa looks at Finn and sees someone talented and idealistic and amazingly kind with cute freckles. Like, those are the qualities that attract them to each other. As I said above, so wholesome.

The relationship they build in snatches of time lying on the grass, hiking in the bush and inspiring each other to be the best leaders they can be is warm and comforting to read about.

"Listen, I'm perfectly happy to help you out with difficult concepts. Like that time I explained anaerobic respiration to you, but I do not have the time or the energy to explain really basic stuff. Especially when the meaning is in the actual word. Bisexuality. Hear that? Bi." An issue I've had with a lot of wlw fiction, including previous Emily O'Beirne books, is the way characters dance around the word 'bisexual'. The constant repetition of things like "It's complicated", I don't like labels", "I like who I like", "I can be into girls too", gets demoralising for the bisexual reader, since we so rarely get to see our identity actually acknowledged on page. So this passage had me pretty much jumping for joy! It's exactly what I wanted. Thank you.

I also loved the Australian setting. So many YA stories are set in America, it was super refreshing to read a story that actually felt like my own high school experience, where I could recognise the snacks and the scenery and the way everyone talked to each other.

Loved it. I'm so glad this book exists.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)… (lisätietoja)

At the start of this book, it seemed like it was going to be a standard slice-of-high-school-life thing. Well, not quite standard, since for one thing, lesbian heroine, and for another, set in Australia (even though I am Australian, America still tends to be everywhere in fiction). But really, it ended up mostly being a story about art. I'm not an arty sort of person, but I still loved the journey Zel's projects took me on.

"Here's the thing: I've never really got dance, but I also didn't know until now you don't really have to. You just watch it. And if it's good, it makes you feel it."
That's what Zel said after the first time she saw Stella dance, and it sums up my experience with this book too. I don't really get dance or photography, but when I leaned into the story, it made me feel it.

I felt a connection to Zel's tendency to be drawn toward difficult people and become their friend through patient stubbornness. Both because I am a difficult people (I'm very quiet, like Stella and Antony), and because I'm drawn to them as well (I tend to befriend people who are loud and 'annoying'). I like what she had to say about friendship and romance and awkward collisions of need between people.

I also loved the bit about refugee rights. That's a cause I've been passionate about for a long time.

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review)… (lisätietoja)