Follow along the whole rewatch here!

Last week, on Gilmore Girls...

We're on Week 8 of our Rewatch Project, and that means we've reached Season Two! Now, I know what that means for a lot of you, but simmer down. No floppy-haired rebels have rolled into town just yet.

So let's dive in, but first! A reminder of our drinking game rules: 

The Gilmore Girls Drinking Game Rules

Drink once every time:

Lorelai or Rory drinks coffee.

Emily gets flustered by Lorelai's bizarre sense of humor.

Sookie is controlling about food.

Paris is controlling about anything.

Michel snubs a customer.

Luke is crotchety.

Taylor has an absurd scheme for Stars Hollow.

The girls acquire massive amounts of food and then fail to take even one bite.

Drink twice every time:

Kirk has a new job.

You see a town troubadour.

And a new rule, in honor of Season Two: Emily gets a new maid. 

On to the episodes!

2.01 "Sadie, Sadie"

The entire town of Stars Hollow is drenched in daisies thanks to Max's proposal, and Lorelai's ostensibly still making up her mind, but she's looking at wedding magazines, so. Miss Patty, Town Magistrate of Everybody Else's Business, tells Lorelai she needs to tell Luke before anyone else does, and Lorelai pretends that it's no big deal. The entire town disagrees, and they all follow her to Luke's to spy through the window, because this town is adorable. She tells Luke and he plays it so perfectly, shrugging it off with utmost nonchalance, and then casually asking Lorelai a few questions perfectly pitched to create panic. Where will they live? Does Max want more kids? Lorelai wigs a little at first, but then she tells Max yes, and she, Rory, Max and Sookie are all over the moon.

Sookie's reaction in particular kills me, as she immediately starts celebrating and planning the wedding menu, and then she just tears up. When Lorelai asks her why, she says, "You raised that little girl all alone, and she is so great, and you work your butt off here and you go to school and you put up with me. You just really deserve this." TEARS. You can watch that scene here. 

Less over the moon? Jackson. Homeboy is freaking out about Lorelai and Max's engagement, thinking Sookie will want him to propose soon. Lane is also not having the best week ever, as her parents have packed the world's biggest suitcase and are sending her to Korea without a return ticket. Come back, Lane! Rory needs you!

But at least Rory has Dean back, and he comes over for movie night and they all watch The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story together. Lorelai is so happy to see Dean again. 

Dean looks extra hot this episode, all tan and tall, and two nights ago I actually said the following sentence and meant it, to my husband's horror: "That puka shell necklace really brings out his collarbone."

Emily and Richard are incredibly excited that Rory's in the Top 3% at Chilton (a truly impressive feat considering how behind she was when she started the schoolyear), and they decide to throw her a party with homemade Twinkies. Rory brings Dean, and Emily is actually very sweet to him, but Richard is a class-A asshole, grilling him about college and telling Dean he's not good enough for Rory. Rory, to her credit, totally stands up for Dean, and poor Emily is crushed that her little party's been ruined.

Afterwards, as Richard is ranting and raving about Dean, Emily gets a phone call from Sookie inviting her to a surprise engagement party for Max and Lorelai. Emily is stricken that Lorelai hasn't told her that she's engaged. She tells Richard that he will call Rory tomorrow and apologize for his behavior, because "Our daughter is getting married. She's getting married and she didn't tell us. When Rory decides to get married, I'd like her to tell us." MORE TEARS.

How many times do I have to drink?

9.

How many cups of coffee do the Gilmore girls drink?

2.

Flirtation quota:

Dean and Rory are majorly flirty this episode - they're just so happy to be reunited! Max gives Lorelai a gorgeous, vintage, art deco engagement ring, so I'd say that counts. Luke plays it extra cool when he hears the news about Lorelai and Max, and my heart jumps a little when I note how bummed that makes Lorelai. And all three guys have gotten a haircut, and are thus looking much better this season. Bonus!

Best/most dated pop culture reference:

After Rory and Dean cutely decide that breaking up is not for them, Dean: "I'm sure some people like it." Rory: "Oh sure, Cher, Greg Allman, bet they'd give it a big thumbs up."

Sookie's best dish of the episode:

In discussing what will pair well with champagne for Lorelai's wedding, she says scrambled eggs may not seem very festive, but "when you put them in a little quail's egg shell and you put caviar on top, they are quite a crowd pleaser." OMG THAT SOUNDS INCREDIBLE. Eggs on top of eggs inside egg!

Lorelai's craziest outfit:

Hello, embroidered jeans and dog-face t-shirt. Lorelai's S2 wardrobe will not disappoint in the crazy factor. 

Kirk insanity:

When all of the townies are crowded outside of Luke's to spy on Lorelai, Kirk passes out. He's so fragile!

Best Gilmore Gal witticism:

As Rory's planning Lorelai's wedding, saying she'll walk down the aisle to Frank Sinatra carrying something that smells really good, Lorelai replies, "Pot roast!" 

Random observation:

One of my favorite moments of the entire episode is when Lorelai, Emily and Rory are all teasing a terribly nervous Dean at Rory's party. Lorelai tells Emily that Dean will have a beer and he panics, all "I don't drink! I'll have soda, water, whatever!" Emily tells him to relax and that Lorelai's just torturing him, and then when she asks Rory what she'll have, Rory says, "Oh, I'll have a beer." All three Gilmore ladies crack up at poor Dean's expense. Cutest! 

2.02 "Hammers and Veils"

Paris is still trying to freeze out Rory, and during some Hands Across America-type volunteer work, she succeeds in intimidating her by rattling off all of the extra-curricular work she's done to put her over the top when she applies for Harvard. Rory has a massive panic attack and sort of tells Dean she can never see him again because she's going to be too busy, and they fight a little because they just got back together and already she's splitting. Dean makes up for it really well when he later tells her that it was stupid of him to get mad and, "I love that you're going to Harvard." Rory chills a bit and realizes she doesn't have to do every extra-curricular activity ever today. 

Henry and Lane are still circling around maybe sort of dating, but Henry is appropriately terrified of Mrs. Kim and Lane's being shipped off to Korea anyway. Lane brings over all of her contraband to hide at Rory's during her trip, as well as the "Lane Kim retrieval packet" containing all travel information, a copy of her passport and a mock-up of what she'll look like in a few months. 

Richard and Rory have made up quite sweetly. Richard says of their fight, "I must say, I didn't care for it." Aww. But now Lorelai and Emily are fighting, which means everything is back to normal. Lorelai tells Emily that she's engaged, and Emily responds, "I certainly hope we'll be in town for it, but if not I promise we'll send a nice gift." Lorelai is FURIOUS, not understanding that Emily already knew and is hurt it took Lorelai so long to tell her. Lorelai gets a little tipsy and heads over to confront Emily, asking her tearfully "Why have you never cared? No matter what has happened to me my entire life, you've never been happy for me, and that hurts!" Emily finally loses her cool and tells Lorelai that she'd already heard about the engagement from "a complete stranger," and Lorelai realizes this fight is not only Emily's fault. A couple of days later she goes over to try on veils for Emily, and Emily eventually thaws, telling her that she should wear Emily's tiara instead. A slight truce and some serious emotional breakthroughs with these two. 

Sookie's engagement party for Max and Lorelai is amazing. It's in the town square, all of Stars Hollow attends, they sit on thrones and Miss Patty has her little dancers dress as tiny brides. Lorelai goes to Luke's where he's studiously avoiding the party, and they share a nice moment where she tells him she'd like him to be there, and he agrees. He heads to the party just in time to see Lorelai and Max slow-dancing, and of course he's crushed. 

Oh and Jackson tells Sookie he's not ready to get married, but he'd be willing to move in with her, to which she responds by cracking up and calling him hilarious. 

How many times do I have to drink?

9.

How many cups of coffee do the Gilmore girls drink?

3.

Flirtation quota:

Dean offers to watch Rory browse for hours at the bookstore, and that is all I ever really wanted out of a boyfriend in high school. Luke and Lorelai's chemistry is OFF THE CHARTS in the last scene, and that is why it's totally inappropriate for her to invite him to her engagement party. They're even making love-eyes over Max's shoulder at one another while she and Max dance.

Best/most dated pop culture reference:

Lorelai, rambling to cut the tension with Emily: "Hey, whatever happened to Xuxa?"

Sookie's best dish of the episode:

She bakes macaroons and chocolate pralines for Lorelai's engagement party, and attempts to force poor calorie-obsessed Michel to try them both.

Lorelai's craziest outfit:

She makes this amazing newspaper veil! Also that t-shirt with a built-in necklace is weird.

Kirk insanity:

He's so vintage Kirk at the engagement party: yelling at people through the megaphone, awkwardly slow-dancing with Patty, sniffily asserting, "I don't tap dance anymore."

Best Gilmore Gal witticism:

After Luke rants for five minutes about weddings, Lorelai: "You know, the Gettysburg Address was only one page long, and that was about a war."

Random observation:

This is a big episode for Lorelai and Emily. Lorelai opens her heart up to her mom about how hurt she is, only to discover that Emily's capable of being hurt by her, too. I am so invested in their relationship, so passionately rooting for them to get along even though I know that it's such an uphill battle with all of their history. 

1.03 "Red Light on the Wedding Night"

The wedding is two weeks away and Lorelai's busy making plans and sampling cakes she knows she's not going to buy because Sookie is making hers. (Diabolical genius.) Max is sleeping over, and Lorelai finds that a little weird but Rory is shockingly cavalier about it. Everything seems to be going well, and that's how we know disaster is about to strike. Dean, Rory, Lorelai and Max have a double date, and it becomes clear how much better Dean knows the Gilmore girls than Max does. Max is starting to get a little clingy and demanding, although to his credit, Lorelai can't even remember to make him a damn key to her house, so his insecurity is founded.

Taylor's installing a traffic light outside of Luke's, and Luke is SO crotchety about it, which means drink! Luke's also super ranty and grouchy about the institution of marriage, and it's starting to weigh on Lorelai. He realizes he's being a jerk, so he makes her a FREAKING CHUPPAH and it's gorgeous and I cry and I love him so much. 

Sookie throws Lorelai the greatest bachelorette party ever: Lorelai, Sookie, Rory, Miss Patty, Michel and Emily go to a drag club! (No Babette? That seems her speed.) They have a totally adorable night, and Emily starts fondly remembering how anxious and thrilled she was before her wedding, trying on her dress every night and imagining scenarios where she'd spontaneously run into Richard. Lorelai realizes she doesn't feel that way about Max, and she drunk-dials Christopher at her bachelorette party. Chris wisely interprets this means that she's not too jazzed about her upcoming nuptials.

Lorelai breaks it off with Max (offscreen, I guess), and then tells Rory they're taking a road trip. She's crying and frantic, and when Rory asks her why she called off the wedding, she sadly replies, "Because I didn't want to try on my wedding dress every night." Rory is the best daughter ever, immediately packing her suitcase and feigning enthusiasm for this crazy trip to cheer up her heartbroken mom. They head out of town, chatting non-stop to keep their spirits high, when they're stopped by Taylor's damn traffic light. (Right outside of Luke's, ah-hem.) They stare at the red light into the credits.

How many times do I have to drink?

10.

How many cups of coffee do the Gilmore girls drink?

2.

Flirtation quota:

Oh god, Luke and Lorelai when he brings over that chuppah. They sit on the porch together and speak volumes with their eyes. Luke admits that he's been too hard on marriage lately, and he says the following, to which I (and Lorelai) melt: "I guess if you can find that one person, you know, who's willing to put up with all your crap, and doesn't want to change you or dress you or you know, make you eat French food, then marriage can be all right."

GAHHHH.

Best/most dated pop culture reference:

Lorelai, about Max: "We've been completely in sync, without the slightly gay boy band affiliation."

Sookie's best dish of the episode:

No Sookie food this week, so Fran's cakes will have to take the cake.

Lorelai's craziest outfit:

I'm a fan of the pigtails, but this comic shirt is nuts: 

Kirk insanity:

He's decided he wants to be a photographer (drink!), so Lorelai hires him for the wedding. His portfolio includes a nude photo of himself and also this picture, as if he took it. Oh, Kirk. 

Best Gilmore Gal witticism:

Emily is so delightful at the drag club. When Miss Patty asks what she's drinking, she replies, "Manhattan. Good too. Not too sweet. I ordered it from that nice fellow dressed as Joan Crawford." Mandy was right last week when she said that Emily is so fun when she gets to be included!

Random observation:

Within three episodes Lorelai has gotten engaged, had an engagement party and then broken off the engagement. Oh, Lorelai. 

--

So next week we're tackling "The Road Trip to Harvard," "Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy," and "Presenting Lorelai Gilmore," and yes, you guys, that means JESS. So meet us back here next Wednesday morning to swoon or scowl, depending on your Jess affiliation!

And I leave you with a question, dear FYA readers: I just don't know how to feel about Lorelai this week. She's kind of a jerk - she never should have said yes to Max in the first place. She spends the entire engagement flirting with Luke, and that's unfair to Luke and especially Max. She gets a bunch of presents at her engagement party and then dumps Max four days before the wedding. And yet...I kind of can't be mad at her! How does she do it? How do you feel about her behavior these episodes? Lay it on me downstairs!

BOOK REPORT for You Look Different In Real Life by Jennifer Castle

Cover Story: Depressed Big Face
BFF Charm: Eventually
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Dessen Disciple
Bonus Factors: The Up Series, Diversity
Relationship Status: I'm Here To Make Friends

You're just one click away from reading the rest of this review over at our series on Kirkus!

Welcome back to the YA Movie News Roundup, in which I deliver the dirt on all of your fave young adult adaptations.

In news most relevant to FYA readers' interest...Choose Your Own Adventure is going to be a movie! Somehow? I can't quite figure out how this will work. Will we yell at the screen? Will we vote via electronic boxes like the audience on America's Funniest Home Videos? Will it be sorta like the end of Clue? Who knows! Read it.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones has a new UK trailer out for your perusing pleasure.

Chloe Moretz is in final negotiations to star in If I Stay, the RJ Cutler-helmed adaptation of Gayle Forman’s 2009 novel. MGM has recently picked up the rights. Cutler is the dude responsible for The September Issue, Freshman Diaries and Nashville, so we'll allow it. 

Veronica Mars starts filming TODAY, and you can stalk the cast at these locations if you live in L.A.

Since last week, the rest of the cast has been announced. Most importantly to my own personal happiness, Tina Majorino is reprising her role as Mac and Daran Norris is returning as Cliff the sleazy lawyer! Plus we'll see Amanda Noret as queen bitch Madison Sinclair and Sam Huntington as steroid-smuggling Luke Haldeman, and also Brandon Hillock as oft-mustachioed Deputy Sacks, Kevin Sheridan as asshole butler's son Sean Friedrich and Jonathan Chesner as ultimate pothead Corny. In what I think is quite an impressive get considering her recent stardom, Krysten Ritter will return as Gia, and finally, OF COURSE we'll see Ryan Hansen as Dick.

Of those announcements, only Cliff and Dick made videos, which you can see below. Cliff's is pretty cute and Dick's is HOLY CRAP AMAZING PLEASE WATCH IT RIGHT NOW. Ryan Hansen can dance! Also there's a tiny blonde cameo you may recognize.

Jeffrey Reddick is the creator of one of the greatest series in all motion picture history, Final Destination, and no, I'm not kidding. So fans of Ty Drago's Undertakers series should be very pleased to know that Reddick has been tapped to take over the adaptation. Reddick says about the hire, "When I read Ty’s book I knew this was the one. It’s a unique concept with compelling characters and a fun mixture of adventure, cool sci-fi and intense horror.” I've never read these books, but they are evidently described as "Spy Kids crossed with The Walking Dead," which is a concept I...can't quite picture, somehow.

YA Queen Emma Watson has landed a cushy role in the adaptation that's already been secured for Erika Johansen‘s as yet unpublished fantasy trilogy The Queen of the Tearling. The series is supposed to be sort of Game of Thronesy, and Watson's arc is described as thus: 

Set three centuries after a small portion of the human race has populated a landmass that mysteriously emerged in the wake of an environmental catastrophe, the series follows nineteen-year-old princess Kelsea Glynn, who must reclaim her deceased mother’s throne and redeem her kingdom, the Tearling, from forces of corruption and dark magic of The Red Queen, the sorceress-tyrant of the neighboring country, Mortmesne.

Here's Watson looking a little Khaleesi-esque, if you require a visual aid:

Louisiana FYAers! If you are a strong man, or if you know a strong man, first, I congratulate you. And also, The Maze Runner is looking for military types to be extras in the Baton Rouge shoot. Here's the scoop.

Samantha Shannon is 21 and last year scored a six-figure book deal with Bloomsbury Publishing, so we should either be proud of her or hate her, depending on whether you're a Hufflepuff or a Slytherin. The first book in her "dark and chilling" seven-book series, The Bone Season, comes out in August, and Andy Serkis' (!) production company, The Imaginarium Studios, has already optioned the film rights. She's doing okay for herself, this Samantha Shannon! You can read the synopsis for the book and watch the book trailer below. 

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant, and in this world, the voyants commit treason simply by breathing.

But when Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinister even than Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city - Oxford, erased from the map two centuries ago and now controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly - as soldiers in their army.

Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden, who will be in charge of her care and training. He is her master. Her natural enemy. But if she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

YA authors Amber Benson (also of Buffy fame) and Neil Gaiman created a successful Kickstarter campaign for a feature-length noir film called Blood Kiss, in which Benson will play a sexy jazz singer (we already know she can sing!) and Gaiman will play...wait, what? Yes, Gaiman is starring in the film, playing a director. Blood Kiss is written by Michael Reeves, who co-authored the YA books InterWorld and The Silver Dream with Gaiman. You can find more details here. 

And finally, HRH Lauren Graham is adapting her novel into a TV series, news that doesn't quite fit this column in two ways because her book isn't really YA and a TV series is not a movie (I am full of bracing insights like that), but I figured you might find it interesting, regardless. I certainly do! She signed the deal with Warner Bros. and with Ellen DeGeneres' A Very Good Production company (Graham and DeGeneres are friends), and Graham will write the series. Maybe she'll cast Alexis Bledel in it! (Probably not, but oh man, would I die of joy.) Read it!

Here's a cute video of Lauren Graham's recent appearance on Ellen:

That's all the YA news that's fit to print today - tell me what you think about Graham's TV show, the new Mortal Instruments trailer and MOST IMPORTANTLY DICK'S BACKFLIP in the comments!

BOOK REPORT for I Swear by Lane Davis

Cover Story: Giant Teen Faces With Gags
Drinking Buddy: You Are All Terrible People
Testosterone Level: No
Talky Talk: It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Sits In Her Garage All Night With the Car Engine Running
Bonus Factors: Cast of Thousands, Internet Mistakes are Forever
Bromance Status: F*ck Off and Die...Wait, I Totally Didn't Mean That!

Cover Story: Giant Teen Faces With Gags

Giant teen faces again, only their mouths are blocked out because they're all like keeping a secret.

I don't care for this cover because it does not let us paint our own mental pictures of the characters. There's Beth, Katherine, Macie, Jillian and Josh. No imagination required.

Beth's kinda cute, though.

The Deal:

You know how kids are, one minute they're friends, the next they're fighting. Popular Macie just doesn't care for Leslie, and she makes sure that none of the other 'cool' kids do either. She gives Leslie the business, snubbing her, writing spiteful things on her locker, sending her e-mails saying how she's a whore who should die...ah, teenage drama.

Until one night, Leslie locks herself in the garage and cranks up the engine of her mom's car. Leslie is dead. And her parents want to know why. So does Josh, the boy who desperately loved her. And now Macie and her friends are going to have to think of a way to shift the blame, and fast. Luckily, Macie is the daughter of a politician. She knows how to work the crowds and manipulate the media. If anyone can make this go away, it's her. And of course, she'd never throw her friends to the wolves to protect herself. No way.

Drinking Buddy: You Are All Terrible People

Macie is the epitome of the mean girl: spiteful, vengeful, hurtful, beautiful, and a lot of other -fuls. When Leslie winds up on her shit list, Macie makes sure her friends help ensure that Leslie's life is a living hell.

Aside from Macie, these are not 'bad' kids: Beth is afraid her deepest secret will come out if she doesn't participate. Jillian likes being one of the in crowd, the popular kids. Katherine knows that Macie's father can help her get into an Ivy League school. And really, they're just little harmless pranks. Those eggs will wash right off. But when all is said and done, Leslie is dead. Was that letter of recommendation and a chance to go to go to Paris really worth it?

Josh was the only character I truly liked in this book, though now that Leslie is gone, all that's left is a lot of impotent rage.

You're all awful people, and I hope your dreams never come true.

Testosterone Level: No

This is not an action-packed book. It opens with the suicide, then there's a whole lot of finger pointing, court depositions, and cat fights.

Talky Talk: It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Sits In Her Garage All Night With the Car Engine Running

Bullying is big news these days, and the powers that be seem to be finally taking it seriously. But for a lot of people, it's still a matter of kids will be kids, sticks and stones, adults doing something will only make things worse. And often, sadly, it takes a dead body before people realize how miserable it can be to be the odd one out.

I especially liked this book because Leslie wasn't awkward or nerdy at all. She was beautiful, intelligent, and had the personality to be one of the most well-liked girls in school. But she offended Macie, and that's all it took. Bullying can happen to anyone, not just the weird kids, and I Swear does a good job of showing that everyone has their breaking point.

Bonus Factor: Cast of Thousands

This book is told in the first person, alternating POVs between Josh (the zombie movie buff who loved Leslie), Jillian (Josh's twin sister, a born follower), Beth (the awkward gymnast with a secret), and Katherine (the Southern-born African American beauty queen). Clark does a great job of making each voice distinct and each character arc unique. Unfortunately, it took me several chapters to get a real sense of who was who. Also, we're deliberately kept in the dark over everyone's relationship with Leslie until much later in the book, so we know that everyone is guilty, but are unsure why.  Things could have moved along just slightly faster.

Bonus Factor: Internet Mistakes Are Forever

Macie and the girls tormented Leslie via social media channels. But when Leslie wound up dead, the police subpoenaed all of her Facebook and e-mail records. The girls' nasty little comments are now public knowledge.

As a former junior high computer teacher, I found myself repeatedly trying to drum into their thick little skulls that anyone can see anything you put online forever. Naked pictures, confessions to criminal activity, ugly clothes...once it's out there, you can't take it back.

A cautionary tale...

Bromance Status: F*ck Off and Die...Wait, I Totally Didn't Mean That!

As far as I'm concerned, this book can go slit its wrists.

Shit, sorry, didn't mean that. Seriously. You're okay, dude. It's all good. Really. You okay, man?

BOOK REPORT for Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood

Cover Story: Have We Met Before?
BFF Charm: Still Yay
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Strong Second
Bonus Factors: Alternate History, Espionage, Diversity
Relationship Status: Going Steady

Spoiler Warning: This book report contains spoilers for the first book in this series, Born Wicked, which shouldn't matter because you've all read that by now anyway, right?

Cover Story: Have We Met Before?

This cover looks exactly like several other YA book covers (most notably the one for Harbinger), but it really makes me think of the vision in the mirror in that freaky Disney movie Watcher in the Woods, where Bette Davis's character's daughter is blindfolded in a secret ceremony gone wrong, and gets sent to another dimension, so maybe it's kinda cool after all.

The Deal:

Cate Cahill thought the hardest thing she'd ever done was ditching Finn for the Sisterhood in an effort to keep the prophecy about her and her sisters from coming true, only to discover he'd joined the Brotherhood so she'd be protected when they married. After arriving at the Sisterhood's convent in New London, Cate faces immense pressure to come into her powers as the prophesied one who will save women from the Brotherhood's draconian laws that make this guy look like Gloria Steinem. Her sisters soon join her at the convent, despite her misgivings, and suddenly everyone is taking sides. Wait and plan, or go to war against the Brotherhood? To make matters more complicated (and also more swoony), Finn is working in New London with the Brotherhood, and he and Cate soon find it impossible to hide their feelings from each other.

BFF Charm: Still Yay

It took me a little while to warm up to Cate in the first book, but once we did get to know each other, we've been fast friends. She's got a huge load on her, and I liked seeing her turn to others to help share it. The character I really want to see more of, despite (or because of?) her heinousness, is Maura. The middle Cahill sister has some nerve, but also some major issues to work through, and I think she's fascinating.

Swoonworthy Scale: 5

I love how Spotswood keeps the romantic tension going between Cate and Finn without resorting to introducing a new love interest. There's no feather scene (SA-WOON), but there's a pretty nice interlude in a greenhouse. My favorites for tension, though, are definitely Maura and Elena. Maura, stop being an ass and forgive her already! WTF, girl, learn to let go!

Talky Talk: Strong Second

I don't mean second place here; I'm talking about a strong second book in a trilogy. Most second books suffer from what I call "Two Towers Syndrome", which means they exist mainly just to collect all the major players in one place, and all the action is postponed until the third book. With TTS, most characters just end up wandering aimlessly in the forest, or wandering aimlessly with the forest, and the only action is obstacles on their journey to the big battlefield. BORING, and books with TTS are best put aside until the third one comes out, so they can just be read together.

Anyway, this middle book doesn't have TTS; the tensions and trouble introduced certainly will add to the drama of book three, but they can stand alone here, and while the final battle is saved for the end of the series, there's no shortage of action -- and purposeful action. Additionally, Spotswood keeps up the delicious, secret-sharing tone she established in the first book, and doesn't short the swoon, either. The secondary characters start to really get their own time stage as well, especially Rory, Maura and Tess. Also, she writes one fucker of a cliffhanger.

Bonus Factor: Alternate History

Like I said in my review of Born Wicked, this alternate New England, where the witch hunts of the 17th century resulted in total subjugation of women and witchcraft is real, reads like a cross between Edith Wharton, The Handmaid's Tale and The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and that's still AWESOME.

Bonus Factor: Espionage

Any good war needs a few good spies, amiright?

Bonus Factor: Diversity

Immigration is handled in an interesting fashion here. The old families of New England react to the Italian and Irish waves of immigration just as they did in the real late 19th and early 20th century -- that is to say, abominably (and just as many people react to immigration today …), but the old families themselves include non-whites, like the Ichidas. While the Cahills are white, many of the girls surrounding the sisters aren't, and it both is and isn't NBD.

Casting Call:

I already cast a few of the characters last time, but I'll throw in Emma Stone as Maura and Thandie Newton as Elena, because I've never actually cared much when adults play teenagers onscreen (and Elena's not a teenager anyway).

Relationship Status: Going steady

We started out as a summer and holiday fling, but this series and I are now going steady. Call me a pushover for falling for its ultimatum, but I really am willing to do just about anything to find out how it ends (and also for more sexy Finn+Cate and Maura+Elena scenes).

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my review copy from Putnam.  I received neither money nor cocktails for writing this review (dammit!). Star Cursed will be available June 18.

BOOK REPORT for Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff

Cover Story: Snapshot
Drinking Buddy: Um, Is That Iocane Powder I'm Not Smelling?
Testosterone Level: Third Testicle
Talky Talk: Tears of the Damned
Bonus Factors: Secret Agent Man, Nerdy Sidekick
Bromance Status: Watch Where You're Pointing That Thing

Cover Story: Snapshot

New York City skyline at dawn, lone runner, cross hairs. Makes me want to open this book. Note to cover designers: Less is more.

The Deal:

We all know how much high school jobs suck: You have to close on Saturday. You have to work with that idiot, Dwayne. Your quasi-government masters order you to assassinate the mayor of New York City. Dicks.

Our faceless, sixteen-year-old hero (he goes by 'Ben' on this mission) has one job: He infiltrates a wealthy private school, befriends a certain student, and after a couple of months, kills that student's parent. And it's not like he does it for kicks. These are bad people, spies, terrorists, traitors. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. At least he doesn't have to wear a hairnet.

Ben has never disobeyed The Program, since they adopted him four years ago after killing his family. Now, Ben faces his most difficult mission. In five days, he must befriend Sam, the daughter of the mayor of New York, and then kill him.

Not easy in the best of circumstances, but now the unthinkable is happening. Ben is questioning his orders. Sam is awfully sweet, and seems to like him (or the boy he's pretending to be). His Honor is a nice guy, kind of reminds Ben of the father he lost. And when Ben has a chance to arrange an untraceable 'heart attack,' he chokes.

His controllers are not pleased.

Drinking Buddy: Um, Is That Iocane Powder I'm Not Smelling?

Ben pretty much has no moral compass. The mission is everything. He avoids killing civilians; not because it's wrong, but because that would bring undue attention to himself. Ben is a phenomenal bass-ass, but since his entire job involves befriending people in order to kill their families, I'm not exactly eager to have a beer with this guy.

Testosterone Level: Third Testicle

Seriously. You'd need one to produce this much testosterone. For Ben, being jumped by a trio of trained Chinese assassins is just another Friday night thing. He knows how to hurt, how to maim, how to kill. Fending off a gang of Arab terrorists on the subway, while not drawing attention to himself and getting his drunken date home safely? Yeah, he does that.

Talkly Talk: Tears of the Damned

We all know that there are people out there whose job it is to kill. Perhaps out of patriotism, or belief in a cause, or for money. It doesn't matter. But what goes on in their heads? Do they ever question what they are doing? Does it keep them up at night? What do they do for fun? Do they date? Hang out with friends? What makes them tick?

This book does an interesting job of answering those questions.

Bonus Factor: Secret Agent Man

How do all those Jame Bond gadgets work? Science! Boy Nobody does a better job of explaining this side of things, without being too technical. Ben kills his targets with a ballpoint pen that is equipped with a deadly poison, a coma-inducing drug, and--get this--ink. His dossiers appear as normal Facebook profiles, and his orders come through disguised iPhone apps. His e-mailed instructions seem to be nothing more than communications between a kid and his parents. I like the fact that the author took time to think out these details, it makes the book more believable.

And next time some jack-off on Yahoo! is going on about gay rights or politics, I can fantasize that his comments are actually disguised orders for someone to take out a sleeper cell in Atlanta.

Bonus Factor: Nerdy Sidekick

Ben befriends a computer geek named Howard in order to get information about Sam. Ben has been trained to never get involved. Other people are tools, to be used when needed, discarded when finished, and disposed of when inconvenient. But the newly-sensitive Ben develops an affinity for the little dweeb. When he happens upon some bullies beating up Howard, things proceed in a predictable manner.

"What sport do you play?"

"Soccer."

I'm feeling magnanimous. I break his wrist.

Bromance Status: Watch Where You're Pointing That Thing

Look, I didn't see anything, okay? You do what you got to do, it's none of my business. I swear, I'll keep my mouth shut. Seriously, I know what that pen does, you don't have to do that. But, um, just between you and me, you're awesome, dude. Stay safe. I know we can't talk anymore after this, but...next time some foreign industrialist dies in a 'car wreck', I'll think of you.

I can neither confirm nor deny that I received a free copy of this book from Little, Brown and Company. Okay, I can confirm it. You are ordered to pick up a copy of Boy Nobody when it is released this June.

Ever since I finished When You Were Mine, I've been DYING for Rebecca Serle to publish another novel. So you can imagine my level of spazz out when, during our BEA slumber party, she told me that she's got a new book coming out! FINALLY! THE WAIT IS OVER! I can't wait to read it... on March 18th, 2014? What? Dammit!

Fortunately, her publisher provided a little something to tide us over-- a synopsis of the book, and the glorious cover!

I'd like to take a moment to point out a few important details of this cover:

1. There are no big faces.

2. There are no headless girls.

3. There is no PDA.

These three facts alone make this cover the equivalent of Fine Art on YA shelves. But even more, the color scheme is FANTASTIC. And those red shoes! I COVET THEM. I don't say this often-- in fact, I'm not sure when I've ever said it-- but seriously, Simon & Schuster, well done.

Now that we've sufficiently appreciated the cover art, here's the synposis for The Edge of Falling:

What if you saved someone’s life…and it changed yours forever?

Caggie never wanted to be a hero, but some things are decided for us. Growing up among Manhattan’s social elite, Caggie always had everything a girl could want, including a storied last name. But after saving a girl from the brink of suicide, Caggie becomes famous, and now all she wants is to be left alone.

After all, she’s still reeling from the death of her younger sister last January, the subsequent destruction of her relationship with high school boyfriend Trevor, and the way in which her family has since fallen apart.

So when mysterious Astor appears on the Upper East Side, he just might be the rescue she needs. But what is he hiding? As life as she knew it begins to unravel, Caggie realizes Astor’s past may be as dark as her own. And in a world in which she’s been branded a hero, Caggie will soon discover that no one can save you…not until you save yourself.

Um, I thought the synopsis would ease the wait, but instead, I'm pretty sure it already gave me TEABS. March 2014, GET OVER HERE NOW.

(Hopefully, Rebecca will keep giving us tidbits until then. You can follow her on Twitter @RebeccaASerle.)

The year is 1984. As the world eagerly awaits both the inevitable presidency of Walter Mondale and the highly anticipated New Coke, a lone boy named Winston Smith languishes at Oceania High. Depressed at not being neckless enough to join the Gay Bondage Bricklayers' Club, Winston spends his afternoons jamming on his synthesizer and watching The A Team.

Then he meets Julia. Julia is a rebellious sort of girl who opts to wear a blouse unzipped to her naval rather than leg warmers and enough hairspray to damage the earth's atmosphere.

Winston is smitten. Unfortunately, his attempts to woo her with his Mr. Mister cover songs go horribly awry, leading Julia to join the anti-sex league (or so she tells our hero).

Realizing he'll have to do something amazing to win Julia's love, Winston--despite the every watchful of of the principal, Mr. B--spray paints a bunch of anti-establishment graffiti all over the gleaming white facade of Oceania High. He is promptly shipped off to the Anita Bryant Reform School for Free Thinkers.

Totally tubular to the max.

HEY HEY, who else is excited for this week to be over?  Raises hand high into the air....ME!  Me, me!  How’s about we get to our weekend a little sooner by passing the time with some links?  Sounds good to me too!

Book Related Things

NPR talks about required reading in high school and how its changed.  (Also, check out this chart of the most frequently assigned reading for different decades.)

Find every library in the United States using this map!  And speaking of libraries, this man’s personal library puts my sad bookshelf to shame.

The amazing Kate Beaton will be illustrating a YA novel!

Movie Related Things

The first trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is here!  And with 100% more Legolas than the last Hobbit movie.

The Veronica Mars movie has been announcing a steady stream of old characters who will be returning for the film.  So far, we’ve received confirmation on Wallace, Weevil, Mac, Cliff McCormack, Madison Sinclair, Luke and Piz.  Piz is by far the most contentious of the announcements so far, especially considering he is the first (and only) exclusively Hearst era character to get cast so far.

Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters has began filming, and you could win a trip to the set.

A Choose Your Own Adventure movie is happening and yet no one will explain to me how that can even work?!

FACT.  If you are a movie franchise based on a bestselling YA series, you are now REQUIRED to license a makeup line.

M. Night Shyamalan tells the internet he ghost wrote the script to She’s All That and, ridiculously, acts like that’s the thing in his life he should most be ashamed of.  And then it turns out he was lying anyway.  Go home M. Night, nobody likes you here!

TV Related Things

This article on the Whedonverse came out LAST WEEK and SOMEHOW I MISSED IT.  All sorts of neat history on Much Ado About Nothing, its actors and how it came together!

Your first peak at next season's The Legend of Korra (if you can stomach the rest of this obnoxious video.)

The Baby-Sitters Club is now streaming on Netflix and one fan has realized she’s now entirely confused by the series’ whole premise.  Speaking of Netflix, it looks like they may be rolling out multi-user accounts down the line!

Lauren Graham’s YA debut might become a television show.

One dad tries to name all of the Game of Thrones characters and this is the result.

BBC’s The White Queen is coming to Starz and here’s a trailer.

Miscellaneous Things

Is blond Taylor Kitsch a sign of the apocalypse?  You tell me. 

A makeup artist shows off her skills by styling herself different characters from Mulan.

Scandal!  George Takei doesn’t write all of his jokes.  I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised...but still.

What else did you see on the internet this week?  Share with us below!

Welcome back to Heck YA, Diversity!. In this edition, FYA resident dude Brian talks about the response he received about the visible and sexual minority characters in his novels, Playing with Matches and Almost Perfect.

Diversity in YA
by Brian Katcher

It's always something I have to be very aware of, being a straight white guy from the Midwest. If I have all white characters, that's a poor reflection on America, and if I only have one POC (person of color) character it smacks of tokenism. If a minority character acts 'white,' then there's no point, but if I make them be 'ethnic', I risk falling into the worst kind of stereotyping.

I have a bad habit of giving my main characters two close friends, a serious POC and a goofy white guy. I worry that if I make a POC too silly, readers will think I'm playing him for laughs. A blogger once ripped me a new one of the character of Tim in Almost Perfect. He was both Asian and overweight, and the blogger accused me of making fun of him.

On the other hand, it's a lot of fun to create characters who are very different from myself. When writing Playing with Matches, I was working with a writers' group. About halfway through the book, someone asked me "Is Rob supposed to be black?" (this was mentioned, but not frequently). I answered that he was. "Well, that doesn't add much to his character, why not just make him white?"

I was kind of offended. True, I could have performed a race change without losing much of his character, but why? That was the way I'd always pictured him, and I didn't see the point of having an all-white cast. Rob was Rob, the cranky, sarcastic kid who could crack his joints. And he was black. End of story.

When I won the Stonewall Children's Book Award in 2011 (a prestigious LGBT award from the ALA), I think I may have been the only heterosexual speaker that day. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. But there are people out in internet land who disagree that a straight guy should get an award for writing about the struggles of a transwoman. Ironically, many of the complainers are either straight or cisgender (non-transgender) themselves.

I'm not sure how to respond to that. If I were a gay man, or a transman, would Almost Perfect be a different book? Should we only write characters that reflect ourselves, or should we challenge ourselves as authors and create people who aren't anything like us?

Another issue that we have discussed at FYA is the habit of assuming that if a character's race is not specified, then they are automatically white. To me, that's just lazy writing. A good author should be able to paint a mental picture in the readers' heads. If you read a character description and have no clue as to their race, then maybe this needs to be rewritten.

Also, as a teacher, it amuses me when I read illustrated versions of old stories and the characters suddenly undergo a race change (like Nate the Great or Ramona Quimby's teacher). It's funny, they were people I always pictured as white, and were white in the original illustrations, but the author never specified a race, so why not?

What do you think, readers? When authors write about a different 'diverse' than what they themselves are, does that influence your opinion of a book? And until otherwise stated, do you picture characters as white by default?