Marisa Calin

It's easy take a gimmick and make a book out of it. It's hard to make it work. Marisa Calin's debut, BETWEEN YOU AND ME, is told in the form of a screen play. A screen play in first person that addresses the protagonist's best friend only as "You." And the best part is: it works.

High school theater student Phyre is thrilled for the new semester. And as soon as her new theater class starts, her whole world changes. At least that's what it feels like. Their student teacher, Mia, is unlike show more anyone Phyre has ever met. And although she's only dated boys before, Phyre soon finds herself not only intrigued by Mia, but infatuated. She's thinking about her all the time -- at home, hanging out at the coffee shop with her best friend, in class, and, of course, at the theater. She gives up her lunch period to do an extra study with Mia. And all the while she thinks she might be getting an in. But Phyre's world is bigger than Mia. She just isn't seeing it. Soon her best friend is not only worried about Phyre, but about their friendship. This is not only the story of first love, and it's bigger than it's soon-to-be-classification as an LGBTQ book. It's ultimately a story about friendship, the tunnel vision that is an epic crush, and finding one's identity. It's a lot to fit in this narrow volume, but it's all there. And I can't recommend it highly enough. show less

Phyre is an outgoing teen who loves the theater and wants nothing more than to be a famous actress. Her new school year starts out great; she is taking a theater class and she spends most of her time with her lifetime best friend, you. This book is written as a screenplay; each scene is set and you are a part of the story. As Phyre’s best friend, you harbor a secret crush on her, but you have no idea how to tell her this. Mostly because Phyre has a crush on the new theater teacher, Mia. show more All bets are off in this fast paced read about two teens and their first loves.

Between You & Me is an interesting spin on the traditional story of first love. The story is written in screenplay form, with the main characters being Phyre (Me) and You (The reader). Because the main character is interested in theater and ends up as the lead in the school play, there is a “play within a play” aspect to the story. The play the students perform mimics the plot of the book. While the style is intriguing and fresh, the plot leaves something to be desired. It felt as though the author wrapped up the story a bit too soon, tying up loose ends in a messy knot. Also of note is the focus on gender (or lack thereof) throughout the book. Phyre has a crush on another girl for the first time in her life, and most of the story she tries to come to terms with this. The other main character (You, the reader) is genderless. The author leaves hints throughout the text as to your gender, but in the end she leaves you guessing. This definitely adds dimension to the story. I would recommend this book to middle grade and older teens, as it is comforting to those experiencing their first love, and nostalgic for those who have been there before. show less

This is a definite novel with a twist here, and I enjoyed the different way that the story is presented to you.

What immediately struck me about this novel is two things. First of all, it’s written like a script, rather than a conventional story, so the dialogue takes front and center and the rest of the story is written as if its the setting of a play. I found that very interesting, especially sometimes as it delves more into screen-play than a theater piece.

The other thing is the fact show more that You are a character. You is Phyre’s best friend (Phyre being the person telling the story and constructing the whole script in her head). Phyre is a theater freak who wants to be famous, You is her best friend who has always been there for Phyre. And from some hints here and there, You might have a pretty big crush on Phyre.

But Phyre is crushing on their new drama teacher, Mia.

The LGBT part of this novel is pretty obvious – Phyre’s obvious crush on Mia is so blatant and there’s no way that she even tries to hide it at all. She fantasizes about Mia. She wants to spend time with her. She embarrasses herself in front of Mia. It’s adorable.

(And I have to admit, as a person who teaches high school English myself, I do see Phyre’s exact behaviour around Mia sometimes reflected in how some of my students act around me and it is so fucking cute.)

The story takes place over a semester or so of high school, and how Phyre deals with her crush, how the play is set up and how well it goes, and through Phyre and You’s relationship. It’s quite an entertaining quick read – really nothing more than about two days of broken up reading.

What I really liked is just the You makes it feel like you, the reader, are the You Phyre is talking to. It’s never specified what gender You is, but I always do get the feeling it’s a female best friend who’s just been running after Phyre this entire time. It’s quite fun to see how things develop.

All in all, it’s pretty good for a debut novel! My final rating is a 3.5/5, because I can see where Calin can do better with it next time, but for a short pleasant read, it’s right up anyone’s alley. show less

Review originally posted on my blog http://hobbitsies.net/2012/08/between-you-me-by-marisa-calin/

Between You & Me by Marisa Calin is a kind of a ballsy book. There were a lot of risks taken with Between You & Me – and a lot of subjects discussed – that are usually overlooked in young adult literature and I really admire Marisa Calin for that.

The screenplay format of Between You & Me was definitely a change from the typical novel and felt very refreshing to me. It was a risky move, but I show more thought the screenplay format worked very well with the story of Between You & Me.

The storyline in Between You & Me touched on a lot of different issues, including sexuality, coming to terms with it, feelings for teachers, and just the ups and downs of relationships and unrequited love altogether. I loved how Marisa Calin touched on female sexuality in a way that we so rarely see in young adult literature and the genderless YOU just helps to push it further.

Phyre was an interesting protagonist and I loved seeing her process of coming to terms with herself (and the screenplay format really helped to visualize that). It’s not easy figuring out who you are, especially when you’re conflicted with feelings you never thought you’d feel. The fact that Phyre’s feelings were towards a teacher never really bothered me – the story really felt more about the struggle with her feelings than anything, at least to me.

I loved YOU. I just did. I thought YOU was a fantastic character, even though we know next to nothing about YOU’s identity on paper. But we got such a strong sense of who YOU actually is and I thought YOU was brilliant.

Overall I thought Between You & Me by Marisa Calin was a beautifully written contemporary that touched on important issues. I applaud Marisa Calin for the way she decided to write her story and for the way she addressed female sexuality. If you’re a fan of contemporary and you want to try something a little different, I definitely recommend Between You & Me by Marisa Calin. show less