This is not one of those books that takes place in a world where the trials of being queer happen in a vacuum, and I appreciate that. One of the things I like most about the book is that all of the characters (save one, who seems to be pretty much a plot device) are real people with real troubles, things other than their sexuality. The two of them and the rest of their group of friends deal with loads of academic work, various family drama, and their attraction to each other. Our protagonist, Nic (short for Nicola) meets and quickly develops a crush on a girl named Battle. The book takes place over the course of a summer, at an academic summer camp similar to the one I went to. But that said, I quite liked Empress of the World, and I especially like how Sara Ryan handles her characters’ sexuality. And I like lots of denouement, with all of my loose ends neatly tied in, while very uncertain endings seem to be in these days. The past few books I’ve read have just felt like sketches rather than novels, without the level of character and plot development that I look for. I’m starting to wonder if I’m getting too old for YA fiction, especially the kind that takes place in high schools (as opposed to the speculative fiction kind.) I realize some people never get too old for YA fiction, but I might be.
I borrowed it from a friend, and really enjoyed it. In one of those feats of coincidental timing that the world is so good at, I read an article about YA fiction (in the newest Bitch magazine) that interviewed Sara Ryan, just after I posted my last book review here and several people recommended Empress of the World to me.
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