The Fangirl Recommends

The Fangirl has been lacking on interviews lately, but I promise that there will be more coming!  I have a few questions lurking out there to authors in cyber space and you all will be the first to know when I get them!

So, I guess you’re expecting something of the Fangirl since I have this nifty new banner, so I decided to help you out with your Christmas shopping this year!  The Fangirl is going to list for you the best books to get for those oh-so-picky friends and family members on your list.  Pay attention and you may even have some new titles to Fangirl over yourself!

The Recipient:  Your hopeless romantic friend-  The girl that always drags you to those cheesy chick flicks that you almost always know the ending to, but she insists on seeing every one of them.  She may not have a serious boyfriend, but if you need a shoulder to cry on she is always there to give dating advice!

Recommended:  PERFECT CHEMISTRY by Simone Elkeles.  It’s your high school Romeo & Juliet love story with the boy from the wrong side of the tracks and the blonde cheerleader whose struggling to be perfect.  She’ll laugh, she’ll cry, and she’ll cheer for these characters.

The Recipient:  The pre-teen/teenage boy- He finds the world of his video games a lot more entertaining than the real world and rolls his eyes whenever an adult asks him if he’s trying out for the basketball team with his recent growth spurt.

Recommended:  THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY By Suzanne Collins.  You could start out with just the first one, but you may have a very angry young man on your hands when he’s eagerly awaiting for the conclusion in the series.  A dystopian series with two teenagers in the center of a battle for survival that sparks a revolution.  Your pre-teen friend will be asking you to join the revolution with him in no time!

The Recipient:  The Un-Reader- Your friend hasn’t picked up a book since the required reading you had for Senior English.  She has no idea where to start, but would like to start actually reading for enjoyment instead of assigned reading.

Recommended:  THE TWILIGHT SERIES  By Stephenie Meyer.  Okay, so we all know my feelings towards this series, but in all honesty it’s the series that got me reading again.  Yes, my tastes have changed in the past few years, especially with trying to write a novel of my own, but it’s definitely a start.  With a page turning romance and the YA style of being a fast read, your friend will have it done within a few hours and can start moving onto other novels.  Your friend will probably either love or hate this series.  If they love it you can point them in the direction of other paranormal romances, and if they hate it you can point them in the direction of other paranormal romances and tell them how GOOD these other ones are compared to this one.

The Recipient:  The pretentious friend.  The guy/girl who seems to own everything and things they are a gift to humanity.  Speaking of which, why are you actually friends with pretentious friend?  Something about high school loyalties and the like...

Recommended:  THE FIRST FOREST by John Gile and Tom Heflin.  The author and illustrator are both from my hometown (the illustrator actually lives within a mile of parent's house), so of course I would pick this one.  It's a story of not being selfish, the beginning of pine trees, and has beautiful art work.  Your friend might put it in a drawer, or might display it on their coffee table.  But do you really care what they think as long as you get to see these beautiful pictures?

The Recipient:  Everyone and anyone else extra that you need to buy for (Family, co-workers, etc).

Recommended:  Cake Wrecks:  When professional cakes go hillariously wrong.  If you don't read the blog, you need to check it out.  At least once a week I stare away from my usual work and go read through cake wrecks and giggle loudly at my desk, so that co-workers glare at me.  It's likely to put a smile on anyone's face!