Blog

I enjoy all YA books–paranormal, urban fantasy, dystopian, coming of age, novels in verse, romantic comedies, and contemporary. But within any sub-genre, my favorite stories are First Person Dual Character POV.

Falling in love with characters, while you watch them fall in love, deal with obstacles, and overcome them–while being told from both main characters point of view, so you can really grasp all sides of the story . . . ahh. I just CARE more about them. I feel more invested in their outcome. I root for them more. I’ve been in both characters heads and know where they’re coming from, how they think and how they feel. Well, needless to say, Two-Way Street is one of these stories. In fact, it’s probably my biggest inspiration for my current work in progress.

My AMAZING Husband asked me to give him 3 books that are similar to the type of story I am trying to tell, so he can read in advance before seeing any of my work. He felt he could then understand the genre better–since he does not read YA himself–and get an understanding for what’s the norm and what’s expected. I gave him Susane Colasanti’s When It Happens, Simone Elkeles’ Rules of Attraction and Barnholdt’s Two-Way street.

All of these books are First Person Dual POV, and also give different takes on how they are done. He first read When It Happens. He thought it was . . . okay. Again, he doesn’t read YA, so I wasn’t expecting him to really like it or anything–I just appreciated his efforts. (Yes, honey, I know I still have to read Discipline in return!) 🙂

Then he read Two-Way Street. While it would still be a stretch to say he ‘enjoyed’ it, I did see him laugh out loud at one or two parts, and he was impressed with how the male character–Jordan–was crafted. He felt the author was able to capture how guys really think and act–and I agree.
I first read it–and reread it–in June when I checked it out from the library. Then I bought it in July and read it again. Then last month, I read just Jordan’s chapters, taking notes of certain phrases and descriptions that I really liked, to use as inspiration when I am writing from my own male main character’s POV. And since then, whenever I get stuck and need inspiration–or just want to get in the right mindset when writing my male character–I thumb through a few chapters.

I love the concept of this book! Two characters who are still in love but recently broke up, are stuck on a cross-country road trip from their home in Florida to Boston University where they will be freshman. Without giving any spoilers, let’s just say that while Jordan broke up with Courtney, it is not for the reason she thinks–and he will do anything to keep her from finding out the real reason.

The story goes back and forth from present day road trip to the past when they met and fell in love. You get “real time” in the last fifty pages. You also go back and forth between the two characters, and from chapter to chapter, you never know where you’ll be–in Jordan’s head or Courtney’s head, in the past or in the present–BUT it works! Of course, she gives that information at the top of the page to ground you, too.

I’ve talked a lot about how well crafted Jordan is, but Courtney is a fun protag, too. She is the right mix of snarky, insecure, funny and sexy. Together, they make for a fun, believable couple that seem very true to life. And the story itself reels you in. They have a lot of funny parts, a lot of swoony-romantic parts, a lot of tension and a lot of witty banter. If you can’t tell, I highly recommend this book!

Happy Writing . . . and Reading!