It's been a long time since I've posted one of these, so it's really a 9 Degrees of Separation. If you're new to the feature, this is where I look at some of the books I've read in the past month - this time December and January - and make connections between them. The similarities are spoiler free. This time the list is split down the middle with four contemporaries and then five fantasy/paranormal books. I prefer to mix them a bit more but, alas, I couldn't finagle them in a different way.
Ready?
Both Mallory in Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt and Carmella in Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye by Shari A. Brady are list writers, and we are treated to some of their lists in their stories.
In Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye by Shari A. Brady and Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill, the heroines love The Beatles. The band - and especially John Lennon - is also a connection point with the guys in their lives.
In Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill and Just One Day* by Gayle Forman THINGS HAPPEN at Stratford-upon-Avon, while the main characters are traveling in England. Shakespeare is a big theme in both stories as well.
One of my favorite scenes in both Just One Day by Gayle Forman and Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi takes place between a guy and girl on a boat on the river. Both scenes are significant for the deepening of their relationships - one is romantic the other is plutonic.
In both Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi and Altered by Jennifer Rush, tattooing is tied to identity for the main male characters, Perry and Sam.
Roses are a significant flower in both Asunder by Jodi Meadows and Renegade by J.A. Souders, and the cover of each book highlights that theme.
In Renegade and Boundless by Cynthia Hand the heroines each take a train ride near the end of the book and end up in very scary places. Although the destinations are different, neither is a place I'd like to go. These girls also seem to like to wear fancy dresses and stare at the ground.
See any connections that I missed?
Have you read any of these books recently? Which were your favorites?
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*I have yet to review Just One Day - it is coming! So I've linked to my friend Heather @Flyleaf Review's awesome thoughts on this amazing book.
Oh, I LOVE these! I do not know how your mind puts it all together (I have tried and just get all twisted up and headachey!) but I am so glad YOU do. I love reading them! So much fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for the link, chica!
I have a Just One Day review working in my head, but I haven't sat down to write it yet. And I'm definitely learning that my mind doesn't work like anyone else's sometimes.
DeleteI just busted out laughing at the fancy dresses and staring at the ground!
ReplyDeleteI am forever in awe of these posts. I love it so much when you do them! These are so original to YOU and they are the best.
I CANNOT SPELLL. I switched stair to stare. UGH.
DeleteThanks, friend. That means a lot. I think they're so fun to write. I'm glad others enjoy them too.
DeleteThis is a great feature! It really is funny how many links you can find between all the books you read :D
ReplyDeleteSo true! Sometimes they come to me and sometimes I have to think a little harder, but they're always there.
DeleteHaha, I love that you said the girls in Renegade and Boundless like to wear fancy dresses and stare at the ground! ;) I love this feature and the connections you form are so subtle, but true. I never even realized that both TtEN and JOD had that river scene connection! Great post, as always, Lauren! :D
ReplyDeleteIf only I could spell the word...
DeleteThanks, K. I love those river scenes so much in the books. They are very different, but significant in different ways. I just love Aria and Roar's friendship!
DeleteThis is such an amazing post. Do you keep track of similarities as you read, or just start from scratch when you're ready to put this together? Either way, brava! (And apparently, as someone named Anna, I should be dating a Sam? Hmm.)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I don't actively look for similarities as I read, but sometimes they just come to me. Otherwise, I write a list of the books I read in the past month and start thinking through it that way. It's not a scientific process, but I have so much fun doing it. And usually the connections aren't hard to find. Yeah, Anna and Sam seems to be a popular name combination. :)
DeleteI always love these posts! Hehe, though I'll admit the connections in this one were a little more...shallow than they've been often in the past. :P STILL AWESOME THOUGH. Particularly the fancy dresses staring at the ground, hehe. Actually, it'd be fun to see one of these all based on covers alone.
ReplyDeleteWell I can't always predict how these posts are going to go. They all seem to have different flavors, and sometimes they're deeper than others. I'll try harder for you next time ;). That last one about the dresses was more of a joke, but people seem to be enjoying it! One based on covers would be great! Tho not sure I could do it within a month. It would probably have to be a larger pool of books. For instance, Pantomime and Perfect Scoundrels have very similar covers. Though the content is vastly different.
DeleteI'm high-fiving the covers idea. :)
DeleteA lot of the books you've read this months I've read too but I think the one that definetly took the cake for me was Altered! It just wasn't what I was expecting and it surpassed all my expectations and I just LOVED it! Boundless was also a pretty good ending to one of the best LOVE TRAINGLES IN YA ever! but the last ten pages were ultmately a pain and some of the stuff that did happen in it down right disapointed me.!
ReplyDeleteAltered was a lot of fun! And it definitely surprised me. I wouldn't have predicted how good it would be when I started it. Glad you enjoyed it too. Oh Boundless, I'm not sure I'd agree about the triangle. Definitely one of the most difficult! I wasn't as happy about the way it progressed in the final book, and I agree that the end was tough for me. Though I do hope that Clara and her choice are happy together.
DeleteThis is such a fun feature! I also am dying to read some of these books (but I have read Through the Ever Night!). Love the post :)
ReplyDeleteSunny @ Blue Sky Bookshelf
Thanks, Sunny. I LOVE Through The Ever Night too. FANTASTIC book and series.
DeleteYou need to make this an official meme and I'll join it. I love coming up with book connections!
ReplyDeleteOk, this is sort of brilliant! Yes that train ride in Boundless was quite scary, but also really cool. I need to read Renegade! Love this feature, this is so fun :-)
ReplyDelete