The Misfit Interviews: Jasmine Warga

Hello there Misfit Booknerds! It is indeed my pleasure to interview the amazingly talented Jasmine Warga and talk to her about her quirks and most especially her debut novel My Heart and Other Black Holes! Alright! Let's get it started!

SOME DEETS

If you can be stuck in another country or any city in the US besides your hometown, where would you like to be?

• Right now I’m going to say St. Lucia because it is freezing here and I’m desperate for some sunshine and warm weather.

Who is your fictional crush?

• Most recent fictional crush? Maven from Victoria Aveyard’s RED QUEEN. All-time? Pacey from Dawson’s Creek.

What is your guilty pleasure?

• I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I’m not embarassed of any of the media I enjoy, but I probably watch too much TV so I’ll go with binge-watching TV.

If you have a TV show you’d like to come back on the telly (not Netflix of course) then what will it be?

• Dawson’s Creek! I don’t know how that would work, but I want it. Also, I want a Sons of Anarchy prequel.

How was the #EpicReadsTour in the Harry Potter World? 

• MAGICAL. AMAZING. It was seriously the best. 

Who is the author you wish to work with if you are given the opportunity?

• Victoria Schwab or Nova Ren Suma. Both are brilliant and they write such genre-bending stories and I’d love the opportunity to get a glimpse into how their genius works.

AUTHOR Q'S

Again, congratulations! My Heart and Other Black Holes is a literary success and my friends are starting to go crazy for it. As always, I want to ask, what initially made you write this story?

• Oh, I’m so glad to hear your friends are enjoying it! I initially started to write the book after the unexpected death of one of my closest friends and I woke up with Aysel’s voice in my head. But while my grief served as a chief inspiration, I think the book is ultimately about love (in all its forms, self-love, friendship, etc) and the true saving power of human connection.

Aysel is such an amazing but distraught character. And she has such an unusually honest voice. What would you say makes her different from YA characters that go through these stages of depression?

Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Title: My Heart and Other Black Holes
Author: Jasmine Warga
Publication: February 10th 2014, Balzer + Bray
Format: e-ARC, 320 pages.
Source: From publisher (HarperCollins! THANK YOU!!!)
Buy it on: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | The Book Depository | Kobo | National Book Store / Fully Booked (PH)

SYNOPSIS:

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There's only one problem: she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel's convinced she's found her solution—Roman, a teenage boy who's haunted by a family tragedy, is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other's broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together.

Misfit Review:

It takes a lot of courage and willpower to gut your way out of sadness, especially when it seems like it's planning on staying there for a bit of a vacation. But with My Heart and Other Black Holes, an attempt and a spark may actually give you that push you need to get that sadness to take a hike home.

So the story starts with Aysel Seran, a 16 year old girl who is trying to find a way to off herself without having to do it alone. She stumbles upon Smooth Passages where people are looking for Suicide Partners. Aysel finds interest in FrozenRobot who wishes to die in a specific date: April 7. From then on, the two of them try to go through every day, dealing with the people they love, the prejudices of people and the growing black holes in their hearts.

Stacking The Shelves: New Babies

Stacking The Shelves is a feature hosted by Tynga’s Reviews where bloggers share what books (both physical and digital) they received, won, bought, and borrowed.

Hey there Misfit Booknerds! January is upon us and well, did you do a bit of book shopping. I certainly did at least and my mock bookshelf is definitely happy to have these new babies under its wing. 

BOUGHT

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

GIFTED

Summer on The Short Bus by Bethany Crandell (Signed)

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord

FOR REVIEW

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Liars, Inc. by Paula Stokes

Solitaire by Alice Oseman

Thank you so much to Bethany Crandell, life and soul of The Flail Hesitations for the signed copy!!! Twas the best Christmas! I think we still need new band members, coz 2 ain't cutting it. LOL. Also, my biggest thanks to Jamie of The Perpetual Page Turner for also giving me the best Christmas present of Open Road Summer!

Many thanks to Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again and Kai of Amaterasu Reads for lending me Noggin and to HarperCollins International for the e-ARCs! I LOVE YOU!

So that's it for my book haul! Tell me what you got last Christmas or this month in the comments! Also, recommend a book to me if you want! :)

All the best Misfit booknerds!