My dear book buddies, there are novels that really linger in our minds long after we turn the final page. THE V GIRL is one of those stories that caught my imagination with the premise, fascinated me with the narrative and then just stayed with me. It will stay with me. Because it's impossible to forget.
I am impressed by the novel that Mya Robarts has penned for all its ideas, messages, emotions and wit. I am also grateful that I could read it and review it, and then had the chance to sate my never-ending curiosity with an interview with the author. This is the kind of things that makes all the hard work a blog entails so completely worth it.
All my emotions are poured into
my review here, though I've been able to read the final ending to the story a bit later. This novel keeps pulling at all my strings. Its raw emotion shines through all the grit and grim of abuse, fear and hostility of this not-too-far-from-reality kind of world. I've enjoyed getting a rewarding closure to this intensely gripping story. I cheered for Tristan and Lily, I was aghast when I thought their time would never be and I felt horrified at all the violence and cruelty depicted because it's sadly too easy to believe. I highly recommend it to anyone who craves a dystopian story for a mature audience full of plot, true emotions, action, wit and gritty romance.
The V Girl by Mya Robarts
Publication date: June 20th 2014
Genres: Dystopia, Young Adult
ROMANTIC DYSTOPIA FOR MATURE YA READERS YOUNG NA READERS
In post-apocalyptic North America, rape and sexual slavery are legal. Lila Velez, desperately wants to lose her virginity before the troops visit her town, and can take it away by force. She makes plans to seduce her only friend, Rey, the most attractive man in her town. Lila does not love him, but he is the only man who has shown her true affection, an affection she is willing to take as a substitute of love.
Lila’s coping mechanism to her mother’s violent attack is her secret. A secret that will bring her closer to Aleksey Fürst, a foreign, broody man that she distrusts because his links to the troops and his rough, yet irresistible appearance. He offers Lila an alternative to her plans, a possibility that terrifies her…and tempts her in spite of herself.
All the while Lila will have to find a way to live in the constant company of death, slavery, starvation, sexual abuse and the danger of losing the people she loves the most.
Due to strong language, violent scenes and sexual content,
this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.
INTERVIEW WITH MYA ROBERTS
What was the first seed that sparked the story that
would become The V Girl?
I was doing
research for another novel, when I came
across testimonies that made my skin
crawl because they described the cruel reality of mass rape. The one that
disturbed me the most came from a woman whose country was invaded by several
foreign armies. She was fourteen or fifteen at the time. When the Army of her
own country was about to regain the control of her town, her mother made provisions
so both of them could avoid rape, even though the girl didn’t think this was necessary.
Mother and daughter prepared themselves for the
soldiers’ arrival by shaving their heads, and the girl acted the role of a very
sick girl, hoping the soldiers would spare her.
When the soldiers
finally came, it turned out the mother had been right all along. Their schemes
worked and the soldiers didn’t rape this girl,
but they raped other girls. How did the mother know that certain precautions
were needed? It was clear to me that abuses from the troops were not only
known, but also expected. The fact that the mother
knew that this would happen; the fact
that they did not make these provisions around the soldiers of the foreign army,
but around the soldiers of their own country, had an impact on my emotions.
I thought, Wouldn’t the girl try to lose
her virginity to a guy of her choice as part of her preparations? That was a
story that deserved to be written, and I
wanted to write it myself.
Did you have trouble writing any of the scenes
(the
action scenes or the most emotional ones)?
Writing the
action scenes is extremely hard and I’m rarely satisfied. I write them,
discard them and rewrite them repeatedly.
Another challenge is putting my characters through such dramatic events and situations.
I’m emotionally attached to all of them,
even the antagonists, and writing their suffering becomes uncomfortable. During certain scenes, their
level of anguish and pain is so high that their emotions rub on me. I also had
trouble writing Chapters forty-eight and forty-nine.
At the same time writing those chapters was cathartic because I had a similar
experience when I was ten years old. I
never told anyone until I became an adult, and by writing a scene like this, I
was able to have some kind of closure.
How did you manage to balance the disturbing themes
with the romance
or the dystopian sense of pushing for freedom in an unjust
society?
The romance
wasn’t central in the earlier drafts of the book. But my readers, my editor and
my own heart responded well to it, so I ended up increasing the time for the
romantic storyline. I love YA dystopian books that present a romantic subplot,
but more often than not I finish the book thinking: I need more romance. The first draft was brutal and violent, and there wasn’t a romantic
counterpart to create balance. But I added more pages of the romantic and
emotional attachments. That allowed me to develop the characters more, and to add
a bit of humanity to this disturbing world. I like it better this way. I had
the chance to add swoon-worthy moments and a little bit of comic relief, by presenting
a love story limited by the circumstances of the war,.
How long did it take you to get the plot rounded and
what kind of message did you want to convey?
It took months
to get the plot rounded. Lila’s storyline ends in The V girl, but the political
context was so intricate that I’ll need
more books to develop the world building and give resolution to the war storyline.
The ending was extremely difficult to write because the book was going to be published in two parts, and I took out
around fifty thousand words from the original draft.
I tried to
convey the feeling that even under the darkest, most difficult circumstances we
can allow ourselves to hope and love. No matter how dire the situation is,
there’s always some level of hope. The V girl world is so bleak and at times it
seems that everything is lost, but if we don’t lose our humanity, we can find
the motivation to hope and love.
Did you have to do any research and what kind?
I looked “rape
during war” up in Google,
and found eighty-seven million results. I had plenty of material to read. Besides,
I read plenty of books and saw documentaries about the topic. Mass rape is something
that if you don’t see it, you don’t believe it exists and yet it has been an
unfortunate occurrence since forever. I also found useful information in RAINN.org,
a site for rape survivors. I dedicated
the book to them.
Do you plan
to write more stories based in the same world,
maybe continue the timeline?
I’m writing more
books based on this world featuring different characters as we speak. Some of The V
Girl characters are secondary characters in them. What I’ll write first
will depend on the readers feedback. I want to know what they’d love to see in
future books.
Can you see yourself as not being a writer in the
future?
No. Reading and
writing are part of who I am. I'll always
write stories even if I decide to keep those stories to myself and never
publish them.
Mya, thank you so much for this wonderful interview! :o)
Oh, my gosh, that face! Those eyes...
Purchase Links
US
Kobo
UK
Canada
http://www.amazon.ca/Girl-coming-age-story-ebook/dp/B00L6MFXWG
Germany
http://www.amazon.de/The-Girl-coming-English-Edition-ebook/dp/B00L6MFXWG
Australia
http://www.amazon.com.au/The-Girl-coming-age-story-ebook/dp/B00L6MFXWG
Spain
France
Italy
India
ABOUT THE MASTERMIND
I am a bookaholic and regret nothing.
I spent years trying to become a contemporary dance choreographer.
Eventually I realized that I enjoyed writing my stories rather than creating dances
for them.
I am obsessed with books that present damaged characters, swoon
worthy guys, controversial topics and happy endings.
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Good luck, book buddies. And don't forget to read this amazing book ;o)
