ALL THE APRIL: Guest Post by Indigo from Adventures in YA Fiction

Hello, lovely readers!

Welcome to another day of ALL THE RAGE APRIL! Today on the blog, I have the wonderful Indigo from Adventures in YA Fiction talking about reading Courtney Summers for the first time. Check it out!

All the Rage was my first Courtney Summers book. Now, when I admitted this to a bookish friend, I swear to god I thought she was going to either slap me, or pass out in front of me. For so many, Courtney is such a staple in their YA library, but for some reason I just hadn’t gotten around to reading any of her books. But for some reason, there was just something about All the Rage that I knew it would be special. And even though Romy’s story is hard hitting and raw, and so very real, I think that it’s Courtney and her fantastic story telling that made it so special.

While I knew All the Rage was going to be special, I was still nervous that maybe the subject matter wouldn’t be conveyed properly. It was a real fear of mine, and I had no idea what to expect going into it. But I was so happy when I read that first chapter. From those first few pages, I could tell that Courtney was not in the business of telling a cliched story, or writing something that could be tossed aside. No, she was going all in. I got the impression that no matter what, if Courtney was going to tell this story, she was going to tell it right.

One thing that really stuck out to me, was Courtney’s use of minimalistic, simple sentences. These were the ones that packed such a punch, I had to put the book down for a minute. Her lines and her words had nails as sharp as Romy’s and were unforgiving and raw and just so, so captivating. I am so used to being torn apart by poetic and detailed books, and I just wasn’t expecting to be hit so hard with these simple lines.

I think that’s what really hit me hard - the fact that I had no idea that it was coming. I had no idea how hard this book would hit me, or that I would still be thinking of Romy and her story almost a month later. I will only ever read a Courtney Summers book for the first time once, and I’m so glad that I got to read All the Rage. This woman slayed me with her words, and I just loved every minute of it. And now I'm just waiting till summer so that I can read the rest of her books! - Indigo

Thanks so much for your awesome post, Indigo! I think All the Rage is such a great one to start with. And you have so many amazing books in your future!

Stop by tomorrow when I try to put into words why I loved All the Rage!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)