First Friday - Five Favorite Things - Debut Novel Day

by Dave Amaditz and

Marcy Collier

Happy Fourth of July Readers! Independence Day typically means that summer is half over, but we optimists at Route 19, say the summer has barely begun. If you haven’t made your summer reading list yet, don’t fret. Marcy and I have a great lineup of summer books for you to enjoy on this long holiday weekend. Check out today’s post as well as past First Friday reviews.

Welcome to July’s version of - First Friday - Five Favorite Things - Debut Novel Day. In this monthly series, we ask five simple questions about a debut novel that will hopefully entice anyone reading this post to pick up the novel and read it themselves, and/or give them at a glance some insight into the author's writing style and voice as well as how some of the characters might think or act. We do this by presenting, first, answers to our Five Favorite Things, followed by the author's answers in a follow-up post.

This month we're pleased to highlight debut YA novelist, Lynn Matson and her novel, Nil, a compelling story about a girl who’s transported from the Target parking lot to an unknown land called Nil. It’s packed with adventure, love and heartache as the young people living on Nil try to escape – the catch – they only have 365 days to get out. The book is told from alternative points of views (Charley and Thad), which gives the reader a terrific perspective into these two complex main characters.

1) What is your favorite line or paragraph from the novel as it relates to the main character's development and/or growth?

Dave – Charley has not been living on the island long in terms of days, but she grew quickly to understand its force, its power… and perhaps more importantly what she believed were the secrets needed to escape. The following section gives some of that insight.

And now that I'd seen the Woman in the Maze for myself, I was more convinced than ever that the carvings provided not only the start of the gate wave, but something deeper, something more personal. Something each person had to figure out before he or she could leave.

Marcy –Thad is a veteran on the tropical island of Nil. He leads the people on the island, but he never stops working long enough to get close to anyone, that is until Charley arrives. This paragraph shows Thad doing something he typically wouldn’t.

It was a serious WTF moment in my own head.

I couldn’t believe I’d just offered to comb her hair. But she did look ready to take a header any second. Make that another header. She still had a nasty lump from yesterday. Her coloring had paled, or maybe that was because I’d just offered to comb her hair. Seriously, Thad, WTF?

Charley’s eyes were glued to the comb, like she was weighing whether to say yes. Like she was wondering why the hell I’d asked.

Maybe she thinks my post-Nil plan is to become a professional hairstylist.

2) What is your favorite chapter ending or cliffhanger?

Dave - I picked this chapter ending from early in the book. To me, it set the scene and described so well in so few words what the main character was feeling at that particular time.

The noise intensified, then stopped. Silence rushed in, louder than before. Pressed tight to my rock, I listened. A twig cracked, then another, snapping as crisply as the break of dry bones. A whoop, guttural and plaintiff, reverberated through the night air.

Something was moving through the trees behind me. Something that didn’t sound human.

Something that just might be as hungry as me.

Marcy – I will let this scary chapter ending speak for itself.

I took another step, and my toe hit something hard. My sandal caught and stuck. I looked down, and when I realized what I’d kicked, I screamed.

It was a human skull.

3) Who is your favorite secondary character and why?

Dave - One of the younger residents of the island, Jason, is my favorite. He’s quiet and unassuming but he’s always there for Thad, and for everyone for that matter, giving unselfishly of himself as a spotter, the person with the vision needed to search for the wave that would take them home. Although he could’ve hopped a number of waves himself and left the island earlier, he respected the rules of “the city”. He allowed those there the longest the opportunity to leave first.

Marcy – I would choose Natalie as my favorite. She befriends Charley when she needs a girlfriend the most. She takes her into her cabin as a roommate. In this scene, Natalie is doing a makeover on Charley.

Using two thin sticks, she’d swept part of my hair into what Natalie assured me was a very fashionable ‘do. The rest trailed down my back. Then she smudged my eyes with charcoal and glossed my lips with something that tasted like pomegranate. Stepping back, she looked at me like a painter studying her canvas. 

“You look amazing. I’d kill for your coloring, not to mention your legs. There’s just one thing missing.” She raised one finger and grinned. “Got it.” Reaching over, she broke a single white blossom off a wreath by her bed and tucked it behind my ear. “There,” she said, nodding. “No bunches of flowers in the hair, too fussy for you. “But this” – she adjusted the flower – “is perfect.”

4) What is your favorite line or paragraph of description?

Dave – I believe this short paragraph describes perfectly the life they faced living on the island of Nil. (And once again I picked the exact same quote that Marcy has chosen. Usually, when we do something like that I'll choose another. But this paragraph of description is so right-on that I think I’ll leave it.)

Nil’s like that girl you spot in the Lodge after a full day of kick-ass boarding, when you’re stoked and high on life.

She looks good, freakin’ hot. Long hair, tight body, killer smile. Has a name like… Mallory.

But once you really get to know her, the truth rips your guts out. The truth is, she’s cruel. Heartless. The kind of girl who sleeps with your best friend when your back is turned. And once the mask falls off, so does the glamour. That’s the island of Nil in a nutshell. Blow-your-mind gorgeous, until you peel away the façade and see who she really is.

Marcy – Nil is paradise with a catch. It’s as if it’s a breathing, living person who can give and take away from each of its inhabitants. Thad’s description of Nil is powerful.

Nil’s like that girl you spot in the lodge after a full day of kick-ass boarding, when you’re high on life.

She looks good, freakin’ hot. Long hair, tight body, killer smile. Has a name like...Mallory. 

But once you  really get to know her, the truth rips your guts out. The truth is, she’s cruel. Heartless. The kind of girl who sleeps with your best friend when your back is turned. And once the mask falls off, so does the glamour. That’s the island of Nil in a nut-shell. Blow-your-mind gorgeous, until you peel away the façade and see her for who she really is.

5) What is your favorite line of dialogue?

Dave – This particular line of dialogue was used often throughout the story as both internal thought and dialogue. I chose it because I believe it aptly describes the thought everyone who ever lived on the island would have. It’s the perfect dilemma that pretty much sums up everything about the island of Nil.

“I’m glad you’re here, even though I’m sorry you’re here.”

Marcy –  I won’t ruin the line with backstory, but Johan has strong beliefs and doesn’t hold back telling the others the right thing to do.

“No offense, but you two should leave. Thad makes three, and right now we need all the luck a trinity can bring.”

To read more about Lynn Matson’s debut YA novel Nil please go to:

Website:  http://lynnematson.blogspot.com/ 

Blog:  http://lynnematson.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynneMatsonBooks

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LSMatson

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Nil-Lynne-Matson/dp/0805097716

GoodReads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6883551.Lynne_Matson