Awhile back, I read The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton and fell in LOVE! I ended up signing up for a tour of her next book, Smoke & Key, and asked Kelsey is she’d be willing to do a Top Ten Addictions post. Enjoy!!
The Lonely Ones by Kelsey Sutton
Published by Philomel Books on April 26, 2016
Genres: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Verse, Contemporary Fantasy
Pages: 240
Source: Library, Purchased
When your only friend is your own endless imagination, how do you escape your mind and connect to the world around you?
With parents too busy to pay her attention, an older brother and sister who would rather spend their time with friends, and peers who oscillate between picking on her and simply ignoring her, it’s no wonder that Fain spends most of her time in a world of her own making. During the day, Fain takes solace in crafting her own fantastical adventures in writing, but in the darkness of night, these adventures come to life as Fain lives and breathes alongside a legion of imaginary creatures. Whether floating through space or under the sea, climbing mountains or traipsing through forests, Fain becomes queen beyond – and in spite of – the walls of her bedroom.
In time, Fain begins to see possibilities and friendships emerge in her day-to-day reality. . . yet when she is let down by the one relationship she thought she could trust, Fain must decide: remain queen of the imaginary creatures, or risk the pain that comes with opening herself up to the fragile connections that exist only in the real world?
Told in breathless and visual verse, THE LONELY ONES takes readers through the intricate inner workings of a girl who struggles to navigate isolation and finds friendship where she least expects it.
This book is the epitome of verse novel perfection as far as I’m concerned. First of all, I absolutely adore the blend of fantasy and contemporary and how seamlessly Sutton integrates the two. The book also displays a wonderful balance between poetic language and a storyline you can easily follow (though the plot mostly involves an emotional journey, as is true with most verse novels). And Sutton does a fabulous job of making us truly care about Fain. We experience her intense loneliness right along with her and rejoice when she starts to make connections in the real world (instead of just in her fantasy world).
This is one of those few gems that bridges the gap between MG and YA. I think it was technically marketed as MG, but Fain is a high school freshman, and I think the book would be equally enjoyed by YA readers who want substance without the darker, edgier content that’s a staple in a lot of YA these days. (And that’s not a complaint about that sort of content—it’s just nice to have other options as well.)
Fain is in that precarious in-between time where she feels too young to relate to her older brother and sister but too old to whine about it. She feels her family slipping away from her in many ways (often fearing that her parents are headed for divorce), and she doesn’t have a solid foundation of friendship to fill that gap. So she escapes to a fantasy world at night, where beastly creatures are her companions. The poetry in the fantasy sections of the book is particularly beautiful, and the fantasy storyline reminded me a lot of an aged-up version of Where the Wild Things Are. The story follows Fain as she learns to let go of her fantasy and make connections in the real world.
I don’t know what else to say except that you should read this beautiful book. I got my copy from the library but immediately purchased the book after I was finished so I can read it again and again.
About the Author:
Kelsey was born in Tucson, Arizona. Shortly after this her mother moved them to Minnesota, where she’s remained ever since. There has never been a time when Kelsey was not writing. As a child she would come home from school, pull out her plastic bin full of markers and paper, and arrange everything around herself in a circle. She would then fold some paper in half, staple the side three times, and proceed to fill the white spaces with words and pictures.
The first novel Kelsey ever finished was so thick it could have served as a doorstop. The story was about Victorian vampires. It was 2008 and she was sixteen years old. Kelsey did research on how to get a book published and discovered what a literary agent was. She promptly sent a query to one.
Understandably, that awkward, snail-mail query received no reply. As the days turned into weeks, Kelsey reconsidered her approach. She concluded that maybe this manuscript wasn’t the one she wanted to show the world. So she took another year and wrote a completely new suspense novel. It was 2009. Kelsey was seventeen and on her own.
By this time she had realized that agents accepted e-mail queries and there wasn’t only one of them in the world. Kelsey sent off a new query to several agencies; Beth was among that list. After a long, enlightening journey, she again shelved a manuscript. Time passed. Kelsey graduated high school in 2010 and immediately afterwards ran off to California. She wrote another novel. Then she came back to her beloved Minnesota and got responsible, enrolling in college and finding a job.
And in the beginning of 2011, Kelsey queried Beth again. She was eighteen years old with a story that was new, strange, and exciting. She had written it during a time when she was living with people she didn’t know that well, in a place that was a little frightening, during a time when absolutely nothing was certain. Beth quickly got back to her. The subject of the e-mail read, RE: Query: SOME QUIET PLACE.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Check out Kelsey’s Top Ten Addictions! I loved getting to know Kelsey a bit more, and I hope you do too! (Her addiction to her dogs makes my heart happy!)
Kelsey Sutton’s Top Ten Addictions
- Pacific Chai Vanilla Latte
There was a time in my life where I was trying every single Chai brand the grocery store sold. That’s how I came across this. I can’t tell you how many cups I’ve had since then—the number probably rivals the numbers of stars in the sky—but it’s safe to say I have an addiction.
- Urban fantasy
This is a more recent addiction, but when it comes to my reading choices, I’ve been inhaling every urban fantasy title/series I can get my hands on. I’ve discovered some of my favorite authors because of it. Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, etc.
- Parks and Rec
I have now seen every episode so many times that I really shouldn’t still be laughing at the jokes, but I do. This is probably my favorite TV show of all time, and to say I’m addicted to it would be putting it lightly. I have this show on in the background constantly.
- Red lipstick
There must be some kind of magic or science behind this, but I can be having the worst day ever or feel like the most unattractive person ever, but one coat of bright red lipstick changes everything.
- Jordan
It may seem weird to refer to your partner as an addiction, but I thought he probably belonged on this list. He’s one of my favorite human beings on the planet. Spending time with him doesn’t feel like expending energy to my introverted self. He’s been there through so many of my highs and lows, and I know he’ll support me no matter what. (You know, short of murder or something.)
- Dogs
I have more pictures of dogs on my phone than I do of anything else. I own a pet sitting business, I foster for two rescues, and I have two fur babies of my own. I live and breathe dogs. They are not an addiction; they are a way of life.
I spend way too much time on here. Way, way too much time. I run four accounts. There are so many stories to watch, pictures to see, people to talk to. It’s become a sad reality of my life where I have to deliberately try to reduce my screen time every time, or I’d just be on Instagram every free moment. So, yes, this is definitely an addiction.
- Being home
I am very much a homebody and an introvert. There’s nothing I love more than coming home after a trip, or after a long day at work, or after an outing in which I talked to a lot of people. Home is safe and warm. Home doesn’t expect anything of me. Home is where my books and my laptop are. Home has two sweet dogs and a man I love. I know getting out is good for me, but yes, I’m addicted to being home.
- A clean house
Is there any better feeling than having a clean house? It feels like I am constantly cleaning. We also have a wonderful woman who comes over once a week to help us manage the mess. (Typing this, I honestly have no idea how we’re such disasters. I’m sure the parade of dogs doesn’t help.)
- Saving
This may seem a weird “addiction”, but it’s such a rush for me to save money. I love the feeling of logging into my bank account and seeing that I’m okay, and I will be okay if anything were to happen. This may just be a normal thing for a person, or it could be a result of someone who was once homeless as a teenager. I have no idea.
Thank you so much for having me on Feed Your Fiction Addiction!
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