I just finished reading WE WERE LIARS by E. Lockhart
and IMAGINARY GIRLS by Nova Ren Suma. Both books were fantastic and I highly
recommend them to any reader, especially to those who enjoy suspenseful twisty
novels with a surreal edge and beautiful writing. As a writer, I totally lucked out because they also
ended up being perfect companion novels for studying first-person point of
view.
Both stories are about damaged girls who can’t totally recall a traumatic
past experience. This event is slowly revealed by skillful and meticulous use
of first-person point of view. The reveals at the end come across as twists,
but an extremely careful reader can see them coming or at least make a gut
level guess at what will eventually be discovered. However, despite these
similarities, main characters’ points of view in these two books are uniquely
their own and don’t resemble each other—which is why I recommend studying them
as companion novels. It’s cool to see
how two highly skilled authors create totally different novels from the same
core and several similar elements. For example: water and swimming are
important elements in both stories but they are interpreted and experienced differently
by each of the main characters—aka different POVs.
Actually, I had
purchased IMAGINARY GIRLS after taking Nova Ren Suma’s workshop on crafting
first-person voice at this year’s NESCBWI conference, so I did have an idea it
was good for this specific study topic.
I read the book slowly, noting what the main character experienced as
shown through her senses, how she recalled and interpreted the past, and how
she reacted to those things, basically how the world of the story was revealed
through a prospective that was uniquely hers.
I did the same thing as I read WE WERE LIARS. Both books have a surreal bend and that made
slow reading particularly vital. The nuances could have been easily
overlooked. Well, that is pretty much what makes the books work: pace drives
the reader forward and makes it easy to not see specific details as significant
until they come up again at the story’s end.
I also resisted reading the end ahead of time, not an easy feat for me.
I’m not going to say anything more because I don’t want
to ruin the stories for people who haven’t read them. But, if you’re interested
in studying point of view (more specifically first-person), then read these
books slowly, soak in the word choices, the tiny details of the world and other
aspects that make the point of view unique to their main characters. Or read them fast, enjoy the ride and the
jolts when the twists hit—then go back and reread. Just don’t miss WE WERE
LIARS or IMAGINARY GIRLS. They’re wonderful.
