#lonfya

[lonfya]

It’s already time to get ready for another book club! This month we’re reading Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova.

[fyasummershowdown]

And the (2017) winners are…

Y’all played a tough game this summer, with several teams swapping spots on the Scoreboard each week. Ultimately, though, the points ran out, and left our playing field thusly:

In 3rd Place, with a commendable 613 points, LONFYA!

In 2nd Place, barely scraping past London with 620 points, KCFYA!

And cinching the grand prize at last, with a runaway 661 points, LRFYA!

The rest of the Scoreboard can be found on the Hub in the dropdown menu (the permalink will change as 2018 approaches, so just look to the Hub!). 

Thank you thank you thank you all for all your amazing work!

[lonfya]

It’s book club time! See you today to discuss Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1746908545405331/

[lonfya]

Cover switch YA

Dumplin’ and Only Ever Yours both focus on body image issues. Willowdean feels pressured to be a Barbie perfect beauty queen, and Isabel rebels against her programming by gaining weight and refusing to be ashamed.

Rebel of the Sands and The Letter For The King have similar story lines with a kingdom in turmoil, a protagonist who keeps their identity secret, and a perilous journey.

This is a bit of a cheat since in Belzhar it is a notebook not a laptop but isn’t the Fangirl cover perfect? Obviously both these books are about the transformative power of literature to protagonists who are going through tough times.

[lonfya]

Alia and the Tiny Dictator in all their 90210 prom goodness. Materials: toilet paper, 1 black pashmina, 1 black blanket, great grandma’s costume jewellery, and one pair of knee high socks. Terrible hair model’s own.

[lonfya]

The Frankie Landau-Banks (Recipe)

Alia’s second entry take on our Round 4 Frankie Landau-Banks pick combined rose lemonade, fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, dried raspberry pieces, and a double dose of truth serum gin and prosecco. As Alia described it:

“On the surface, this is a feminine, girly drink: It’s pink, it’s fizzy, it has fruit, but it also has a lot of gin. Like Frankie herself, it can really kick your ass.”

Drinks were anonymously scored on taste, presentation and interpretation and Alia’s Frankie was our winner.

Make your own Frankie Landau-Banks 2 measures of Gin 2 measures of prosecco 3 raspberries 3 blueberries Top up with Fentiman’s Rose lemonade Sprinkle with dried raspberry pieces

Serve shaken, not stirred, drink, fall over.

[lonfya]

The signs as YA character tropes

aries: the action girl She’s badass and tough, no damsel here. Does she have other personality traits? Who cares! She can kick your ass, she can kick your dog’s ass, she can kick her own ass! She’s a strong female character(TM)

taurus: the girl who is not like other girls She just never fit in, all the other girls at her school like cheer leading, or make up, or memes; but not her. She likes tea and reading, she goes for walks or just stares wistfully outside. *sigh* Who will ever understand her?

gemini: the manic pixie dream girl She came into his life when he was at a low point and her quirky, charming ways help him learn an important lesson about himself and inspired him to follow his dreams. No, she doesn’t get her own story arc or personal development. Did I mention she’s quirky though?

cancer: the one with absent parents  It doesn’t matter if they’re dead, deadbeat or just mysteriously disappeared, their parents are long gone. In fact, it seems there are no competent adults in the book at all. Teenagers are the only ones who can get things done!

leo: the mean girl She and her clique rule the school and enjoy terrorising new girls for fun. She may be beautiful and popular but that can’t make up for her vapidness and cruelty. May or may not look exactly like the author’s high school nemesis.

virgo: the girl who doesn’t realise she’s pretty She always thought of herself as plain and clumsy but when she moved to a new school suddenly all the boys liked her? Her mousy hair was now chestnut, her pale eyes were now limpid pools. She’s still clumsy though.

libra: the one in a love triangle How could they possible decide between these two age-appropriate, stunningly attractive love interests? One is blond and the other is brunette, one is broody and the other is considerate. How to make a decision? How?!

scorpio: the mysterious loner dude He’s just arrived and no one knows anything about him, which somehow makes him even more interesting. He only speaks in monosyllables but you see him secretly reading the classics. You try to get close to him but he keeps blocking you out. You should definitely keep pursuing him, I’m sure he’s a gem.

sagittarius: the chosen one Only one person can save the world. One person who has suddenly developed powers, discovered their secret heritage or found the magical object. No one is more qualified, just this one person who is a teenager and definitely white.

capricorn: the one rebelling against a dystopia The future is terrible but there’s no way to change things. The government/corporation/system is tyrannical and only one teenager stops to think, ‘What if I challenged this?’ And amazingly that was all that was needed to rid the world of oppression.

aquarius: the one with a tragic backstory They may crack jokes or seem confident but that’s just a cover; underneath they are hiding some trauma. Maybe something happened to them or someone they love. Whatever the cause, falling in love will probably heal them.

pisces: the one who falls in instalove The moment their eyes met, it was true love. They’d never seen anyone so perfect, so attractive and funny and talented. No one else in the world could ever compare to the person they just met and know nothing about.

[lonfya]

Code Name

The rendezvous was set. With our trusty copies of the FT, Private Eye, and our red roses to identify us, LONFYA’s super-sleuths and secret agents met at Sophie’s Isle of Dogs safe-house. Well aware that this was American Agent Olivia’s last face-to-face meeting with the London Office, we prepared for an afternoon of cocktails and book chat. Full debrief follows.

Agent Elizabeth and Alia the Spy

L.A.U.R.A and Double-O-livia scope out the competition

Division Chief Sophie and Miss Tammi-penny discuss logistics for Tammi’s upcoming visit to the Hong Kong Bureau.

Oops. Wrong agent. But since Code Name Creda is undercover, we’ll just leave the dossier there.

The head-to-heads were at hand! But who would prevail? And would anyone fall victim to too much truth serum gin?

Round 1: The Big Lie: Elizabeth vs Tammi 

Elizabeth’s white chocolate and vanilla milkshake with cointreau and vanilla sea salt offered clues to a truly fantastic drink, but Tammi’s concoction of bitter lemon, vodka and mixed berries won this round and would ultimately take the runner up position. Had we been further into our cups, this one might have taken home the trophy.**

**The judges were possibly biased by the numerous ‘mixed berries’ innuendos offered.  There was a fair amount of mission creep on this round and all agents were so busy laughing, we forgot to get the photographic evidence.

Round 2: The Lightning Thief: Laura vs Alia

Laura gave us Olympian debauchery with prosecco with pineapple and golden berry juice but it was her inclusion of sugar flowers that made it one of the prettiest cocktails of the afternoon.

Alia’s offering made use of vodka and birch water (because lightning hits trees) topped up with soda water and ginger for a refreshing and electric drink.

Round 3: Grasshopper Jungle: Olivia vs Creda

We initially suspected actual grasshoppers died for Olivia’s entry, or that enemy agents had infiltrated our ranks. We tried shaking. We tried stirring. Nothing worked. It turns out edible glitter just doesn’t mix well with cacao and cardamom almond milk and spiced rum.

The verdict? “Not sure I’d want this as the first drink of the night, but three drinks in and I’d love it.” “It looks like someone spilled nail polish in it, but you know in a festive way.”

Creda’s mocktail was a melange of orange, carrot, mango and passion fruit juices and fresh berries, perfect for ravenous grasshoppers devouring everything in their path.

Round 4: Frankie Landau Banks: Sophie vs Alia

Sophie offered us the second mocktail of the party, a much need break for some agents at this point. A combination of elderflower cordial and elderflower tea with a sugar flower and sour cherry garnish, you never knew if you were getting sweet or devilish, just like Frankie.

Alia’s second entry (does this make her a 00 agent?) combined rose lemonade, fresh blueberries, fresh raspberries, dried raspberry pieces, and a double dose of truth serum gin and prosecco. As Alia described it:

“On the surface, this is a feminine, girly drink: It’s pink, it’s fizzy, it has fruit, but it also has a lot of gin. Like Frankie herself, it can really kick your ass.”

Drinks were anonymously scored on taste, presentation and interpretation and Alia’s Frankie was our winner.

Make your own Frankie Landau-Banks: 2 measures of Gin 2 measures of prosecco 3 raspberries 3 blueberries Top up with Fentiman’s Rose lemonade Sprinkle with dried raspberry pieces Serve shaken, not stirred, drink, fall over.

BUT WAIT!

What would an espionage themed party be without a MYSTERY ELEMENT: The Mysterious Loner Dude Cocktail

Our MLD cocktail embodies all of the elements of the perfect MLD:

Elements of the LONFYA MLD:

Sparkling eyes (edible glitter)

A wild side (wild blueberries)

There’s something dark about him (drizzled dark chocolate sauce)

He’s very sweet, even though he seems cold at first (vanilla milkshake)

Even though you love him, he’s probably really bad for your heart in the long run (whipped cream)

He has hidden depths that he’ll only reveal if you are patient (dark chocolate pieces at the bottom of the glass)

Something about him impairs your judgment (double dose of cointreau)

Overall, agents declared it a successful gathering with a rousing debate of the latest document from HQ, delightful refreshments and at the end we got to witness the reveal of Jodie Whittaker as the new Doctor Who which resulted in much jubilation and toasting.