THE FANGIRL LIFE by Kathleen Smith - Quiz, Excerpt, and Giveaway

“In this witty and sympathetic debut, therapist Smith—a self-proclaimed fangirl and proprietor of the blog Fangirl Therapy—offers wise advice on being a devout but well-rounded fan and even turning obsession into inspiration for one’s own life.”

--Publishers Weekly praise for THE FANGIRL LIFE

THE FANGIRL LIFE: A Guide to All the Feels and Learning How to Deal published by TarcherPerigee, available July 5th is Kathleen’s guide on channeling amazing fangirl traits into moving forward in real life, too. Hilarious and down-to-earth, THE FANGIRL LIFE includes info like:

·         What a “fangirl” is, why being one is stigmatized, and how people who identify as fangirls can also direct those incredible traits into their own lives, too

·         How to avoid the myths fictional romance perpetuates

·         Real tactics based in mental health practice to decrease anxiety

·         Ways to utilize fangirl characteristics of devotion, attention to detail, and excellent memory for a stronger, more aware, and more kick-ass life

What kind of fangirl or fanboy are you?

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Read an Excerpt

Excerpted with permission from THE FANGIRL LIFE by Kathleen Smith, from TarcherPerigee/ Penguin Random House, July 5, 2016. Copyright Kathleen Smith 2016.

Please Reject Me

So we know that you’ve got the skill, but have you got the stomach? Professional success and extreme adulting mean being able to hear the word no and not holing up in your feels bunker. The most marketable skill isn’t a trade or specialized knowledge, it’s the ability to be rejected over and over and still stand up and show up. A few years ago, I decided to go on a failure crusade. It all started when I sent a story idea to a big newspaper, asking them if I could write about my work with therapy clients. They liked the idea, and I sent them the first draft, which was returned with encouraging feedback. I edited and sent in a second draft. And then I never heard from them again, despite many emails.

Eventually, however, I decided that changing the narrative was more effective than huffing and puffing down the newspaper’s headquarters. I couldn’t control their reactions, but I could edit my own story and try harder. This wasn’t a story about me getting rejected from a newspaper. It was a story of me getting better and better at hearing no and surviving. About developing an immunity that would serve me well in my career. My new mission was to get rejected every day by at least one publication. Sure it didn’t feel amazing, but I kept my cool over rejection emails and started composing new pitches. I thanked my rejecters for their quick responses rather than being a snarky crybaby. In a way, I had chosen to jump the shark on my own life. I was taking chances and trying something new, and I couldn’t care less what the critics said.

This book exists because I flipped my laptop open after a long day at work and took the time to try to get rejected by a literary agency. A few days later I was on the bus, stuck in traffic. As I checked my email, my eyes grew anime-size. I jerked the cord for the next stop and exploded out of the bus. I sprinted down the street screeching like a rapid giraffe. In my great rejection quest, I had gotten a yes—all because I had taught myself not to be afraid of a no.

What I want you to understand from this story is that the only no that can really do damage is the one that you give yourself. When you listen to Carl and don’t take the chance to do something brave, you’re risking more than when you throw an idea out or apply for that promotion. A no or yes doesn’t separate conquering fangirls from the ones who stay stuck. It’s the willingness to get that rejection and keep going. There are endless real people stories of those who heard no and kept going. Oprah was told she wasn’t right for television. Lucille Ball was told she was too shy to be an actress. Madonna was working at Dunkin’ Donuts in Times Square. Nobody noticed Jon Hamm or Harrison Ford for many years. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was rejected by publishers twelve times! The lesson here isn’t that people are idiots. It’s that rejection is part of the story, but it doesn’t have to be the end of it.

ABOUT THE ATHOR

KATHLEEN SMITH runs the website FangirlTherapy.com, where she answers questions submitted by fangirls struggling with their obsessions. She's written for websites such as Slate, Lifehacker, HelloGiggles, Bustle, and Thought Catalog. Kathleen is also a licensed therapist and mental health journalist, reporting for publications and sites such as Counseling Today, The Huffington Post, and PsychCentral. An out-and-proud fangirl, she read every Star Wars universe novel then in existence by the time she was 12 years old and was a blogger for the popular website What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear?, where she chronicled a year of not wearing pants, as inspired by the hit show Glee (before it was ruined beyond all recognition). She would never turn down a ticket to Comic-Con. She’s on Twitter @fangirltherapy.

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Review: Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains) by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Blaze (Or Love in the Time of Supervillains)
by Laurie Boyle Crompton
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: February 1, 2013
Pages: 309
Source: ARC provided by Author and 
           Purchased Copy







(from Goodreads)

Blaze is tired of spending her life on the sidelines, drawing comics and feeling invisible. She's desperate for soccer star Mark to notice her. And when her BFF texts Mark a photo of Blaze in sexy lingerie, it definitely gets his attention. After a hot date in the back of her minivan, Blaze is flying high, but suddenly Mark's feelings seem to have been blasted by a freeze-ray gun, and he dumps her. Blaze gets her revenge by posting a comic strip featuring uber-villain Mark the Shark. Mark then retaliates by posting her "sext" photo, and, overnight, Blaze goes from Super Virgin Girl to Super Slut. That life on the sidelines is looking pretty good right about now...

My Thoughts

I've been excited about reading this book since I first found out about in February 2012 when it was originally titled Fangirl. I had to wait almost a year for it, but it was definitely worth the wait and totally met and exceeded any expectations that I had. I am a complete and total fangirl of Blaze the book and Blaze the character, pun intended!

Blaze is the seemingly average girl who spends her days toting around her younger brother, playing soccer mom, wishing she spent more time with her friends, and trying to catch the eye of her latest crush. She has a passion for comics and drawing - creating her own superheroes with powers.  

What I love most about Blaze is how funny and sarcastic she is. She gives her younger brother and his friends a run for their money. The scenes of her driving them around in the minivan, not so lovingly nicknamed Superturd, are some of the most hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments of the book. 

Blaze does eventually catch the eye of her crush, Mark, and then things go farther than she ever imagined. In the middle of their make-out session, Mark asks her if she wants to stop and she says no. Blaze thinks to herself,

"Except that I don't think I entirely understand what answering no means. Or, more to the point, I don't know what I've said yes to . . ." (pg. 132)

I thought it was pretty realistic how Crompton dealt with Blaze's first sexual experience - sometimes it sort of does just happen. It wasn't unwanted or aggressive, instead just rushed, and awkward, and not what she imagined it was supposed to be like.

When Mark isn't the dream boy who Blaze thought he was and finds out that she is just one of the many girls in a long line of love-them and leave-them, she gets revenge in the best way she knows how - through comics. She creates her own comic - The Blazing Goddess vs. Mark the Shark which she posts online. While this seems like a great idea because she's telling her story and getting her aggression out, you just know it's going to end badly. As I read it, I kept thinking -have you forgotten about the half-naked photo Mark has if you?! It's moments like this - when I am talking to the characters - that made me love this story and the character so much.

I cannot praise this book enough. It was fun and entertaining and while Crompton does address issues like gossip and bullying and the repercussions of "harmless" (as if there is such a thing) sexting, she doesn't beat you over the head with it. She weaves her ideas into a character you want to cheer for and gives us a story of how that character deals with it, learns from it, grows from it, and moves on. I can already tell this is a book that I will be recommending for some time, will read again and again, and share from my bookshelves as often as possible. I LOVED IT!!!!!

OH AND THE ART WORK - how could I forget to mention it?! Throughout the book, you get to see what Blaze is drawing and can see her story of The Blazing Goddess getting the best of Mark the Shark. The artwork wasn't included in the ARC, so I went and purchased a finished copy the weekend that it came out. It is FANTASTIC!!!!!
  
Disclaimer:  I received this ARC from the author in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the book provided. Quotes were taken from the Advanced Reading Copy and may differ from the final published version. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: Freefall by Mindi Scott

Freefall

by Mindi Scott

Publication Date: October 5, 2010

Published by Simon Pulse

Pages: 315

Source: Purchased

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 (from Goodreads)
Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely. Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .


My Thoughts

I first learned about this book from The Contemps Challenge that I signed up for back in September.  Looking at the list of books and reading the synopsis of each book, I was looking forward to reading this book the most. It is the second book of the challenge that I've read, but it is the first I am reviewing.

Freefall is the debut novel of author Mindi Scott. Scott took me on the highest of highs and lowest of lows all throughout the novel. My heart still fluttered and my breath was still caught long after I read the last sentence.

 

It is the story of 16 year old Seth McCoy who is dealing with the aftermath of his best friend, Isaac's death. The book starts out 2 months after Isaac's death and at the beginning of the new school year. On the brink of not graduating with his class, Seth's guidance counselor overloads his class schedule and signs him up for tutoring classes and an experimental elective to help his GPA (among other things). 

From the very beginning, I was rooting for Seth. Mindi Scott has written a lovable character, from the wrong side of town, who is searching how to move on, or even if he can move on after the death of his friend. My heart broke over and over again for Seth and for Rosetta as they were learning about each other in spite of their own personal tragedies.

I loved this book so much and I will recommend it to anyone and everyone. It may even be the best book that I have read this year. I'm definitely a fangirl of Mindi Scott, and anxiously wait to see what she writes next.