Yall West Santa Monica - May 2024

 May 4th, 2024 

If you haven't been to YAll West before, and are at all interested in YA Fiction, this event is probably the cream of the crop. A healthy mix of debut authors and industry leaders gather in Santa Monica to meet, collaborate, and discuss Young Adult fantasy, thriller, and contemporary romance. This has been my third year in attendance, and my first time actually putting pen to paper about my thoughts and the experience. 

Parking: Usually, the parking structure right across the way (also cheapest in the area) fills up by 9:00AM. Unfortunately, it's not usually attended so when it fills up, you are left climbing to the top for nothing. We got there just after that time, and had to go looking about for different parking options. Recommend getting there early, or be willing to walk. 

Wristbands: The rules for wristbands change each year, and thankfully I felt they really had it down this time! You pick up your wristband sometime before the designated time slot, but you line up for it about 30 minutes prior to the wristband time-- however, the amazing leadership team enforces safety policies, including you can't sit in the line up area early. This means you have to circle the area until the line up time, and those caught trying to cut or camp aren't given wristbands.

Authors: There were two people specifically I was excited to see at this event.

     Hafsah Faizal, author of Tempest of Tea and the Arawiya Duology. 

     Bethany Baptiste, author of The Poisons We Drink. 

Additional honorable mentions I was pleasantly surprised to see: 

     Marie Lu, author of Legend. 

     Ava Reid, author of a Study in Drowning

     Aiden Thomas, author of Cemetery Boys

     Danielle Paige, author of Wish of the Wicked

Panels: Generally, it was easy to navigate and attend the panel conversations. I brought a friend along who didn't know anything about these authors, and they said they felt like they learned something new! The conversations are definitely designed to facilitate conversations for young adults, but the authors also touch on their experiences writing, how they got to this point, and what to expect from them in the future. 

The panels this year around were some of the best: we got to explore authors past, present, and future. Making connections and sharing experiences. Here were some new book titles dropped at the event for highly anticipated upcoming releases.

 A Steeping of Blood, Hafsah Faizal's sequel to A Tempest of Tea

 Fable for the End of the World, new by Ava Reid  

 Gay Titanic in Space, a work in progress title for Aiden Thomas, in addition to (separately) teasing the sequel to Cemetery Boys. 

Lets talk about the Monster High Novels

"One of them smelled like chemicals, the other like sweet flowers... Together, they smelled like love." 

Monster Why?

Now I don't mean to present myself as a Monster High expert-- I have like, one doll and I certainly haven't watched every piece of media out there. I've so far gotten to the Monster High movies (the songs slap!), some of the generation 1 mini-episodes, and we're working our way through the 3D animated movies. Its fun, it's quirky, and a little queer-- watching the different versions manifest into the doll line that exists today is a interesting niche I hadn't expected to enjoy. So, why not add the books to the list? 

Oh boy did I open a can of worms... Reviews for the books are really mixed, where the classic 'main cast' characters from Monster High are squeezed into watered down versions of themselves. We also have a new character, Melody Carver, is either the author's self insert, or supposed to be ours. Its a bizarre saga of high school drama told through the cringy voice of a 40-year-old author desperately masquerading as a teen. Monster high was already littered with monsterfied interjections and punny slang, these books took it a bit further than anyone asked for... 

But damn are they fun. I was laughing pretty much the entire time, sending out of context screenshots to my friends and blushing from second hand embarrassment. It's written similar in prose to Wattpad fan fiction, with parents written a little too chic and luxury items described with fantastical excitement-- of course their parents drive the top of the line BMW, or they have the most designer handbag ever! If not in Monster High, then where? 

I'd say, if you weren't looking for B-grade Monster High characters pretending to be human at a painfully-2010's High School, I don't know why you'd pick these up. 

Monster High: Book 1

Initial Thoughts: This is a "fall in love with the same guy" kind of book, and the whiplash between family-friendly fun to jealousy-fueled nonsensical angst has left me in a neck guard. 

Plot: Both Frankie and Melody, our two main characters for the books, are new to Monster High. We spend a hefty beginning third of the book establishing these characters and their very cool (wealthy) families. Most of them become completely obsolete when we get to school, which is called Merston High for some reason, and we're swept into a whirlwind of ditzy, toxically-teen drama.

Cast: Forget what you know about your favorite characters-- you don't need it. Cleo, "Claudine" (Clawdine), "Laura" (Draculaura), and "Blue" (Lagoona) are the it-girls here, and they're here for about 12 seconds total... I'd say as far as representation goes, this book is really about Melody and the world revolves around her. Its giving... Wattpad y/n... 

Melody's not like other girls.... she has asthma. 

Review: I'd say, for the start of a saga, this book is by far the rockiest. Pacing is all over the place, and you're jumping between two love-obsessed teen girls who are willing to make TONS of excuses for toxic masculinity. The sheer amount of nonsensical events and quotes was a circus of entertainment, with both the good and the ugly. 

Monster High 2: The Ghoul Next Door TBD

The LA Festival of Books - April 2024

The Los Angeles Festival of Books is a massive, free event hosted by the LA Times on the West Coast. Over two days, over 100,000 attendees and thousands of volunteers come together to celebrate the reading and writing of all kinds of genres-- poetry, cooking, young adult fiction, children's literature, and so much more!

This year, I was both a volunteer and attendee (Saturday and Sunday respectively). This was my first year volunteering, but fifth year attending-- and the experiences have only ever improved over the years. Growing bigger and bolder, the Festival of Books features vendors and panels discussing modern topics, writing tips, and up-n-coming debuts.