Selective Collective: A Little Something Different Discussion

This month we are discussing the contemporary romance “A Little Something Different” by Sandy Hall, the first book published by Macmillan’s new crowd-sourced imprint, Swoon Reads. The book is a multiple perspective take on a meant-to-be romance that everyone else can see forming except for perhaps the super smitten but super shy couple themselves. Everyone from the creative writing professor, Chinese delivery guy, and Starbucks baristas to the diner waitress, college roommates, even a squirrel, and a bench weight in on their thoughts about Gabe and Lea. So what did we think of the book? Read on and see. Many thanks to Macmillan for sending us all copies of the book.

The creative writing teacher, the delivery guy, the local Starbucks baristas, his best friend, her roommate, and the squirrel in the park all have one thing in common—they believe that Gabe and Lea should get together. Lea and Gabe are in the same creative writing class. They get the same pop culture references, order the same Chinese food, and hang out in the same places. Unfortunately, Lea is reserved, Gabe has issues, and despite their initial mutual crush, it looks like they are never going to work things out. But somehow even when nothing is going on, something is happening between them, and everyone can see it. Their creative writing teacher pushes them together. The baristas at Starbucks watch their relationship like a TV show. Their bus driver tells his wife about them. The waitress at the diner automatically seats them together. Even the squirrel who lives on the college green believes in their relationship.

Surely Gabe and Lea will figure out that they are meant to be together…

1. Clearly the premise of this book is that “even the bench and the squirrel know these two belong together.” What are your thoughts on the multiple points of view — including super unconventional ones. Which points of view worked best? Did any feel extraneous or unnecessary? For example, as someone who took lots of writing and literature classes in college, I struggled with the depiction of the professor.

I’m all for multiple POVs and don’t usually have an issue with it (if I can get a handle on all of the characters in A Song of Ice and Fire, I feel like I can handle anything!) but I felt like 14 POVs was a little too much. The squirrel and the bench weren’t my favorites since it made the book feel a little TOO cutesy (and trust me, I love cutesy) and I had a hard time taking them seriously. I also didn’t really see a need for the bus driver’s POV… I wish there were a few less so really spend more time both with the main characters in one POV and with the narrators themselves to really get to know them a little better as well! –Brittany, Book Addict’s Guide

I usually like books from alternating POVs. This one, for me, was overload. Usually, the POVs are the two people most invested in the story and the romance. It makes it fun to hear the different conversations and misunderstandings from each side. In this case, it was overwhelming. There were too many people weighing in, often unnecessarily. In some cases, it was almost creepy (when it was probably meant to be funny or cute) because people who shouldn’t have given more than a fleeting thought to this couple were invested and yet they were never fully developed as characters. Perhaps it would have been best to tell this story from a single omniscient narrator’s POV (like I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan does so well). I think, at the very least, a reader should care about the person whose point of view their reading (enough to like or dislike them) , but I never felt I got enough of any single character other than the fact that they wanted Gabe and Lea together. That wasn’t enough for me. –Tammy, YA Crush

First, I’m generally a fan of multiple POVs since we get to see a story from more than one person and don’t feel as invested in just one character. At times some of the POVs seemed unnecessary but as the odd woman out here I actually liked the more out of the box POVs because they broke up the book and were the most entertaining for me. Squirrel actually had me chuckling a bit from time to time. The professor did seem a bit pushy at times but considering we were seeing mainly what she thought (she was a bit too invested in the relationship) and not her actual actions I wasn’t as bothered by her as others might be. With that being said, I think it wouldn’t have hurt to cut one or two and have a bit more time with the actual characters we are all talking about. –Kristina Viator, Gone Pecan

2. I’m a big fan of slow-burn romance, and you might say the theme was taken to an extreme here. What are some other books in which the payoff is excruciating and there’s a “finally” moment?

Anna and the French Kiss! That is THE ultimate “finally” moment for me! The tension just builds THE. WHOLE. BOOK. and it’s amazing when things finally start to come together in the end! –Brittany, Book Addict’s Guide

Two books that come to mind that achieve that cute, contemporary YA note I believe ALSD was going for, are Anna and The French Kiss, and it’s follow up, Lola and The Boy Next Door. Here, Perkins let’s her heroines shine, makes the reader fall in love with St. Clair and Cricket, and allows us to feel–even if the circumstances aren’t truly that difficult to overcome–that deep emotion of will they or won’t they? Another great example would be in film. Take Sleepless in Seattle, a movie where the leads barely have but a moment or two of onscreen time together, and yet it’s SO romantic. You’ve waited the whole time for it and it’s so very satisfying to watch them hold hands and get on an elevator together (and they don’t even kiss! Not once!). –Tammy, YA Crush

I also love Stephanie Perkins’ first two couples who took their time to get together, but other “finally!” couples for me are Cath and Levi from “Fangirl,” Todd and Viola from the “Chaos Walking” trilogy, and of course, Ron and Hermione from “Harry Potter.” I wanted to add a few more, but they would be spoilers. –Sandie

3. The cast of characters was actually really diverse without the book being “about” any of those issues (cross-cultural romance, disability, sexual orientation). I didn’t mind that, though, because it’s not like the author went into some backgrounds/issues and ignored others. Do you consider this a diverse book — why or why not?

Yes I do. I think if you dig into any book you can find something diverse since to be diverse it means something is different from what you know or are. I’m 100% for branching out and reading/learning about something different but different to me can be something else to others which is a great thing! To me a diverse book can have parents that are divorced (since mine aren’t) as much as it can also be about someone in a same-sex relationship or someone of another race. ALSD has a full array of characters that are diverse and treats them all equally as if this is the norm which is the way it should be and a great way to showcase diversity in a book about a “light” love story. –Kristina Viator, Gone Pecan

4. Do any of you have a sweet college romance story to share? It can be yours or one you “witnessed” in college, like everyone around Lea and Gabe.

I always thought I would find my big love in college after things didn’t work out in high school (I didn’t, but now I know that’s a good thing!) but two of my roommates did! One met her now-husband in college and they’ve been married since April and another JUST got engaged! They’ve actually known each other all throughout high school as well, but they didn’t start dating and dating seriously until college. –Brittany, Book Addict’s Guide

My husband and I did meet in college — my freshman year and his sophomore year, but unlike Gabe and Lea, we actually did speak to each other — but we also didn’t date right away or experience love at first sight. We worked together in our work study job and then ended up in the same popular poly sci class, and the only seat available when he walked in was the one right next to me. We didn’t date for more than a year, though. We spent a lot of time becoming close friends, going to movies, shows, museums, and eating out together. It was great that we were friends first, because we already knew each other really, really well before we finally became a couple. I obviously highly recommend falling in love in college. –Sandie

5. What do you think of Swoon Reads’ “YA meets The X Factor” (as Sandy Hall put it in the acknowledgements) approach to crowdsourcing books? If you’re interested in writing a book, would you be willing to participate in a contest to get it published?

I think it’s an interesting concept… But I don’t know if I’d want my (totally hypothetical) book to go through that process. I’m very picky about what books I choose to read so I feel like my book would get looked over both by readers and by other potential publishers. I really love the opportunity that Swoon Reads provides, though! It is an interesting and new way to allow readers to sort of pick what books they want published. –Brittany, Book Addict’s Guide

Make sure to check out everyone else in the Selective Collective’s features, especially the Author profile and giveaway if you want a chance to win a copy of the book!

Brittany @ The Book Addict’s Guide | A Little Something Different Playlist

Tammy @ YA Crush | Page to Screen: Casting Call

Candice @ The Grown-Up YA | Freebie

Daphne & Kristina @ Gone Pecan | Author Interview & Giveaway

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Selective Collective: A Little Something Different Discussion

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