Girls Writing Boys - Top 4

So I love boy POV books. Like, really love them. Heck, I've even had a go at writing one (although that was m/f dual POV, so I took the easy option!).
It's pretty cool getting a look into boys minds, whether they're troubled or in love or in hate - it totally changes the story, the POV. Books by authors like John Green and the author I'm reading at the moment, Albert Borris, are brilliant, but they knew what it was like to be a boy anyway. It's even better, IMO, when a boy POV book is written by a woman. And if the boy isn't just like a girl with different *ahem* bits.
So here are my top four - read them, and love them, people! They were really hard to choose between but I did my best

4) K.M. PEYTON
She was going to be on there somewhere. The woman that wrote Jonathan Meredith. Oh, and Patrick Pennington and Peter McNair, and a ton of others. She's got a talent in writing characters that are polar opposites. Jon and Pat, if they met, would probably despise each other. But each rings true, and she manages to make them current even though the majority of her books were written 40-50 years ago.
Book you have to try: Prove Yourself a Hero, for Jonathan and Peter.

3) HANNAH MOSKOWITZ
Nearly my no.2, for good reason. Jonah McNab is a heartbreaking character, and I love the fact that she writes in boys POV almost all the time. And I can't wait for Gone, Gone, Gone....
Book you have to try: Break, for Jonah and Jesse.

2) GAIL GILES
Aside from the boys POV, Shattering Glass haunted me for weeks. Especially since I did that thing I always do, and 'assigned' the characters faces (if a description sounds like, say, Justin Bieber, then the character is JB in my head). If anyone knows about Brit boyband One Direction, then you'll know Harry Styles, the annoying lead singer (who can't sing) - I assigned his face to evil Rob, and now I can't disassociate the two :/... But anyway, Young's voice is so real, and although he's an anti-hero, I still really feel for him and his plight.
Book you have to try: She's written other great books, but for me it's Shattering Glass all the way.

and....dun dun duuuuuuh.....

1) GILLIAN PHILIP
I may not be in love with him like K.M. Peyton's Jonathan, but Nick Geddes is one of my favourite characters ever. Smart, funny, tough and vulnerable at the same time, he's a great character. As are her other characters, male and female.
Book you have to try: Crossing The Line - ooh, and I love the little romance too!


So that's it, people! What do you think? Has anyone read any really well-written boy POV books by women (or men) recently? And do you think it's harder to write boys as a woman, or girls as a man?

Fit Lit Boy Friday: Jonathan Meredith (ask your mothers)

Just to qualify, "fit" is Brit slang for hot, sexy, babeliscious, handsome, etc. Just in case anyone thought I was complimenting these characters on their health ;)

As Jonathan Meredith isn't probably that well known to the American audience, or anyone under forty (except for me because I used to buy a lot of my books from car boot sales and church fetes), let me sum him up.

Vital Stats:
Age: Seventeen
Looks: Black curly hair, dark eyes, tall and slim.
Height: Around 6ft
Likes: Horse racing, show jumping, rock climbing, sailing and writing bad poetry
Dislikes: Cramped spaces (he has severe claustrophobia)
Personality: Polite, quiet with people he doesn't know and his overbearing mother, but has a dry sense of humour and a quick wit with people he likes.
Where can you find him: The Essex countryside, in The Team, Prove Yourself A Hero, A Midsummer Night's Death, The Last Ditch/Free Rein, by K.M. Peyton.
Your type if you like: Sam Roth, Mr Darcy, Mr Tilney, Dan in the first Gossip Girl book.

Jonathan was my first YA lit boy crush. Never mind that the only images of him I can find are the illustrations from The Team (see above for my favourite). He's troubled, good looking, funny, and he's dashing on a horse. Basically, Mr Darcy, 1970s style.

Has anyone read any of K.M. Peyton's books? What do you all think of Jonathan? And who was your first book boy crush?

Memory Monday - Prove Yourself A Hero by K.M. Peyton

PROVE YOURSELF A HERO REVIEW

photo credit

Author: K.M. Peyton

Published: 1977

Summary:

'A lot of rough hands thrust him uncompromisingly into a very small box. He was forced down by the back of his neck till his forehead touched his knees; the sides of the box pressed against him, and when they put the lid down it was hard against his back.'

Kidnapping is always an unpleasant business, but in Jonathan Meredith's case it is positively
barbaric. Kept for hours on end in claustrophobic confinement, he remembers that he used to imagine suffocation as an innocuous death. He would never think that again.

A taught and chilling story, set in the tough world of
horse racing.'

[Summary taken from the back cover of the Puffin Plus 1982 version]


This is probably one of my favourite books ever, for three reasons.


1) Jonathan, the main character. Mentioned in my 'about me' section (because I love him), he is such a vibrant, real character, who if he was real would be just the sort of person you'd want to hang out with. When Jonathan is out on deck (read and you'll know which bit I'm referring to) it's so beautifully and emotively written that it made me tear up a bit. And unlike many books with male main characters, K.M. Peyton's main characters show their emotions, and that makes them all the more 3-D.

2) The kidnapping theme. I love reading books about kidnapping, don't know why (maybe it's something about the danger?) and this one does it so well, that it's a bit of a thriller.

3) K.M. Peyton's writing. There's a reason why she's a real favourite. Plus, plenty of her books are excellent 'cross-over' reads - I know plenty of 40+ people who still read them and love them.

So basically, if you're looking for a good read that makes you think while still being exciting, sad, and hopeful at the same time, read this book. It's not in print at the moment, but very easy and cheap to buy on Amazon UK.

Who else has read this, or another of Ms Peyton's books? And does anyone have any old faves from childhood (or that they discovered on their mum's bookcase, like me), to recommend?