Preston Smith
Marina Diamandis, formerly Marina and the Diamonds and now stylized as MARINA, is on the cusp of her fourth album’s release. Well, half of it, Love from the collective Love + Fear, has been released, with Fear coming out on April 26, 2019. Each of her four albums can be described as sonically-distinct eras – all of them equally phenomenal in vocals, lyrics, and overall sound – and to celebrate this new era, we are here to describe these eras as another thing we love – books!
Without further ado, here are MARINA’s eras as YA novels:
The Family Jewels
The Family Jewels is what started it all, and today we are relating it to Neal Schusterman’s Scythe. This may seem like a strange comparison, but stick with us. In her debut album, MARINA employs metaphors and allegories to discuss not only her own life and struggles (“Seventeen” and “Hollywood”), but also societal struggles (“Girls” and “I Am Not A Robot”). Through her tracks, like Schusterman’s Citra and Rowan, she undercuts and slays with her lyrics while also learning the beauty in love, life, and humanity.
Electra Heart
Of MARINA’s four albums, Electra Heart was the hardest to assign a YA novel. However, we ultimately landed on Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Electra Heart is an emotionally-complex album, much more than it may seem on the surface with its poppy beats and soaring vocals, and this is something to which Fangirl can relate. In Rowell’s novel, Cath uses Simon Snow as an escape, and the novel discusses mental health in a beneficial way. Likewise, MARINA uses the character of Electra Heart to comment on society and mentalities. It might not be the best novel assignment, but we think it’s one of the most fitting right now!
Froot
With this album, we can see Froot identifying with Becky Albertalli’s Leah on the Offbeat. On the surface, we see very basic symbolism with the name Froot and the rainbow theme and the novel centering around Leah’s bisexuality and falling in love with her friend, Abby. However, the similarities go deeper, with Leah often presenting cynical yet interesting points of view similar to tracks such as “Savages” and “I’m A Ruin.” Ultimately, Leah knows and understands herself like how Froot stands on its own two feet.
Love + Fear
Finally, we would equate Love + Fear to Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End. Much like the name of MARINA’s album, Silvera’s novel highlights not only the death in the title, but also love, hope, and optimism. MARINA’s track titles on this album range from the thought-provoking “To Be Human” and “End of the Earth” to the delightful “Handmade Heaven” and “Enjoy Your Life.” Both the album and the novel are a tasty dichotomy that we cannot get enough of (and we don’t have to with half of the album still to come out this week).
There we have it: four eras as four YA novels. Do you agree with our choices? Also, make sure to check out these novels and albums, and be sure to support MARINA with her album, Love + Fear. All of her music can be found on iTunes, Spotify, and Apple Music, and all of the novels mentioned throughout can be purchased everywhere you normally get books!
What is your favorite YA book, and what is your favorite MARINA song or album? Comment below and tweet us @Fuzzable with all of your love and opinions!
