2011 Inky Awards Long List Announced

The long list for the 2011 Inky Awards was announced yesterday. They make me want to be a teenager again because to be eligible to vote, you must be a teen!

From Inside A Dog:
The Inkys are international awards for teenage literature that are voted for online by the readers of insideadog.com.au. It recognises the fantastic home grown writing talent from Australia with the Gold Inky and also titles that come from across the ocean with the Silver Inky.


I'm really excited about this list because a lot of the books are absolute favourite's of mine! And other's are currently contributing to my insanely massive TBR pile :)

GOLD INKY LONG LIST
(Australian titles)

Pigboy by JC Burke
Good Oil by Laura Buzo
Just a Girl by Jane Caro
The FitzOsbourne’s in Exile by Michelle Cooper
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
This is Shyness by Leanne Hall
Black Painted Fingernails by Steven Herrick
Silvermay by James Moloney
The Comet Box by Adrian Stirling
All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield

As always, my vote goes to Graffiti Moon because I am such a Cath Crowley fan-girl. I would also be happy with Black Painted Fingernails, Good Oil or The Comet Box which are all titles I have read and enjoyed. I'm dying to get my hands on All I Ever Wanted and This is Shyness.





SILVER INKY LONG LIST
(International titles)

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
The Agency: The Body in the Tower by YS Lee
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
First Light by Rebecca Stead
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork
Violence 101 by Denis Wright

It's a really tough call for me between Where She Went and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. I loved both of them so, so much and really would not like to have to pick between them. I would also be happy if Anna and the French Kiss won because , well, le *sigh*. I have both Violence 101 and Clockwork Angel taking up space in my TBR too.




Congratulations to all the long-listed nominees!

The short list will be announced on September 1st and then the voting is open until October 18th. The award winners will be announced September 25th when we celebrate all things inky!

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went
Series: If I Stay Book 2
Author: Gayle Forman

Release Date: 1st April 2011

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life. And there years he's spent wondering why.

When their paths cross again in New York City, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night.

Adam finally has the opportunity to ask Mia the questions that have been haunting him. But will a few hours in this magical city be enough to lay their past to rest, for good - or can you really have a second chance at first love?

What I thought of If I Stay:
"This is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story that is not only about love, but also about what makes a family, the meaning of friendship and the magic of music."

My Review:
I'm warning you now, this is going to be a long review because I absolutely loved everything about Where She Went. It picks up three years after Mia awoke from her coma in If I Stay and, unlike If I Stay, Where She Went is entirely from Adam's perspective.

Adam is in pain. After his band became the biggest thing in the music biz, thanks to the songs he wrote about the hurt and confusion he suffered after Mia left, Adam is hounded day and night by reporters and the paparazzi. Everyone wants to know the story behind the music, but Adam and the band aren't talking. Adam just wants to be left in peace. His love of music has dwindled and he floats through life with the aid of prescription drugs and cigarettes to calm his nerves and anxiety. He's lost all connection to everyone around him, including the band and always feels alone, even when he is surrounded by people.

I can't help but think about how, when I was younger, I'd read about the legions of artists who imploded - Morrison, Joplin, Cobain, Hendrix. They disgusted me. They got what they wanted and then what did they do? Drugged themselves to oblivion. Or shot their heads off. What a bunch of assholes.

Well, take a look at yourself now. You're no junkie but you're not much better.

Adam is heartbroken and I found it really interesting to experience this from a male's point of view, as most YA's I read where someone is suffering, is from a female perspective. Throughout the book, we are given the opportunity to see back before Mia's accident and see some of Adam's memories, but also what has been happening with him, and how Mia's accident changed his life, up until the point where we meet up with him in New York. I was really pleased to see Forman explore the effect the accident had on Adam because while what happened to Mia was terrible, people often forget or don't even notice the effect an accident can have on those around the victim.

Where She Went is an emotional roller-coaster ride for Adam and I really wanted him to burst out with his feelings of pain and abandonment to Mia as soon as he saw her, but of course then we wouldn't have a story or the anticipation of waiting to find out what was going through Mia's mind when she left. When she does finally relinquish her reasons, everything comes crashing down around Adam and he has to face some truths he has tried to forget. Quite often I found I had a lump in my throat and towards the end I really had to stop myself from letting some tears leak out.

Mia's words rattle something loose in me and suddenly there are tears all over my damn face again. I haven't cried in three years and now this is like the second time in as many days.

"It's my turn to see you through," she whispers, coming back to me and wrapping me in her blanket as I lose my shit all over again. She holds me until I recover my Y chromosome.

I am totally and completely in love. Not only with this masterpiece of a sequel that Gayle Forman has written but also with Adam; oh how I fall for musicians! And yay for young adult novels with older protagonists (Adam and Mia are now twenty-one). Forman has also spoiled us by including lyrics from Adam's songs at the beginning of each chapter. Where She Went surpasses the brilliance of If I Stay, has a place on my all-time favourites list, and is my current favourite contemporary book of the year.

On a personal note, I love that now, having visited America, I get so much more out of a book as my own experiences help enrich the story. When Adam and Mia wander through New York and different places are mentioned, my own memories of those places come flowing back. I love reading books that are set in cities I have visited. I had the same gushy feelings when I read Anna and the French Kiss.

****SPOILER ALERT****
What I say next basically tells you what happens at the end of Where She Went so do not read any further if you don't want the ending spoiled!
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I would love to read another book in the life of Adam and Mia and have it called 'What We Did' but I have a feeling Gayle Forman has finished writing Adam and Mia's story. *sigh*