Waiting on Wednesday (98)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin
(August 4, 2011!)

Is Aggie’s high school ready for a pregnant Goth Prom Queen?

Sixteen year-old Aggie Winchester couldn’t care less about who’s elected prom queen—even if it’s her pregnant Goth-girl best friend, Sylvia Ness. Aggie’s got bigger things to worry about, like whether or not her ex-boyfriend wants to get back together and whether her mom will survive cancer.

But like it or not, Aggie, soon finds herself in the middle of an unfolding prom scandal, largely because her mom, who is the school’s principal, is rumored to have burned prom ballots so Sylvia won’t be elected queen. Compelled to investigate, Aggie finds out more than she bargained for and wonders if the election could be dirty on both sides.

I absolutely loved Lara Zielin's debut novel Donut Days becasue it was the perfect mix of light and serious topics. So, ever since I first heard about this one, I've been dying to read it! It sounds like it's going to be amazing and touching! Plus, I love the cover.

Donut Days by Lara Zielin

Summary/Cover Image taken from Publisher's Website:

Emma has a lot going on. Her best friend’s not speaking to her, a boy she’s known all her life is suddenly smokin’ hot and in love with her, and oh yes, her evangelical minister parents may lose their church, especially if her mother keeps giving sermons saying Adam was a hermaphrodite.

But this weekend Emma’s only focused on Crispy Dream, a hot new donut franchise opening in town, where Harley bikers and Frodo wannabes camp out waiting to be the first ones served. Writing the best feature story on the camp for the local paper might just win Emma a scholarship to attend a non- Christian college. But soon enough Emma finds the donut camp isn’t quite the perfect escape from all her troubles at Living Word Redeemer.

In a fresh, funny voice, newcomer Lara Zielin offers up a mesmerizing, fast-paced narrative full of wit and insight.

Review:

Donut Days is just like a donut, because it's filled with the good stuff and it's easy to eat (or read in this case) it right up. Though, the good part of this one is that's it not filled with bunches of calories. ;)

Donut Days tells the story of the compacted life of Emma. Not only has her preacher mother just announced to everyone in their congregation that Adam was a hermaphrodite and is facing the consequences from that, but her best friend isn't talking to her and she's still dealing with the whole Jake-problem. Though, now is not the time for that. Instead it's the time for her to focus on the scholarship Crispy Dream is offering to the student with the best written story about the opening of its newest store. And the thing is she needs this badly, but as it seems fate doesn't want her to have it because of all the newest dilemmas it's throwing in her way. So will Emma get the scholarship? Will she repair her friendships? And will her parents fix the problems her mom has created? Only time and more pages, as well as donuts, well tell.

Emma was such a lovable protagonist, definitely one of my favorites out of books I've read so far this year. I loved the fact that while she made mistakes she learned from them as well. Also, not only was she really funny but she had a heart of gold as well. Another favorite character of mine was Jake, the boy who has a past with. He was the typical swoon-worthy college boy. And I also enjoyed the friendships she made with Harley bikers and saw that you can't always judge people by first appearances.

While the plot of this was predictable, I never once stopped enjoying it for one second. I especially loved the way that Lara Zielin tended to foreshadow past events because it made me curious at what would occur next. Further more, I enjoyed the different questions and discussion this novel sparked about sexism in the church and about the creation of the world  to what exactly makes you a 'religious' person. It was intriguing, insightful, and something that I truly think sets this apart from the typical teen read, and I also have to add that I loved the fact that while it talked about faith (which you can probably infer from what I previously said) it was never preachy.

And this review wouldn't be complete if I didn't talk about Zielin's writing. It was like addicting, sugary goodness, something that I'm most definitely looking forward to reading more of in the future.

In all, Donut Days is a fabulous novel that I can't help but highly suggest.

Grade: A-

Donut Days is now out!

Source: Author. Thanks, Lara!

Inspired Friday with Lara Zielin

Lara Zielin is a 2009 Debutante and author of Dount Days a fabulous novel that was published yesterday!

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“You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” – Talking Heads

The Story Behind DONUT DAYS

I grew up in a small Wisconsin town, with a fairly typical family, attending a fairly typical school. As we say in the Midwest, “It was fine, just fine, thanks.” But by the time I was a teenager, I couldn’t help but feel something was missing, that I didn’t have some of the answers I was looking for.

I hoped that falling in love for the first time would help answer some of my questions. It did, for a while. Then I got my heart chewed up and spit out, and that was the end of love for a bit. I partied for a while but that didn’t really work either. It made me sick and, worse, made me look ridiculous.

Then, when I was seventeen, I joined the church. The evangelical church, to be specific, which, in case you don’t know, is the really loud, really boisterous kind of church with really friendly people who want to tell you all about their experiences with God.

It was cool. And actually, for a while, it was really cool. I got some answers—at least for the time being. I don’t believe everything now that I believed then, but I at least found people who were willing to talk to me about stuff. What happens when we die? Is there really a god? What is the meaning of life?

It was deep stuff. But it was good. It was exactly what I needed at that time in my life.

When I graduated from Carleton College, I moved to Minneapolis and that’s when things changed. I joined a new church where I saw a completely different side of the evangelical community. Instead being focused on helping people and being kind, the church I attended was focused on money and status. Deceit and corruption were rampant. When questions were raised, the congregation was told to “have faith” and to “trust God.” All this while our donations to the church were misspent, and the pastors lied.

I stopped going to church and eventually moved away from Minneapolis to Michigan. I went to a new church for a while, but I never really became a member. I had a sour taste in my mouth that wasn’t going away. Once again, I was riddled with questions. Why did some people use the church for their own gain? Why did politics and religion seem to always go hand in hand? Was god really as dogmatic as evangelicals made god out to be?

Writing DONUT DAYS became one of the ways I tried to come to terms with what happened at that Minneapolis church. My experiences there became the inspiration for Living Word Redeemer in the novel, because I saw that corruption, deceit, and greed can infiltrate a Christian community as easily as hope and love.

I believe in God, and I believe in the church, but I wrote DONUT DAYS because I also believe that it’s okay to question absolute power, and that no pastor is infallible.

Many teens—and, I’d argue, people in general—have doubts about what they’re seeing, about what they’re being asked to believe. The process through which they figure it all out should be embraced, should be acknowledged. Instead, it’s all too often labeled as doubt, and the person doing the questioning becomes a pariah—not just in the church, but in a variety of contexts. This happens with friendships, with love, with families—all of which are themes in DONUT DAYS. The book might take place against the background of the church, but it’s about topics that are much bigger and broader than that.

I’m still looking for answers, which is a good thing. And it brings me to my last point, which is that, in general, my great hope is that DONUT DAYS encourages people to thoughtfully question what they believe, and why, about everything. Everything. And I hope it makes them crave donuts too, at least a little. Because donuts are fun and yummy and they go good with a glass of milk and a book.

Happy reading!

xoxo

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Thanks so much Lara!! Everyone else be sure to check out Lara's novel. :)