From Hollywood to Your Bookshelf: Taylor Swift

Estelle and I were having one of our random discussions about young celebrities (a.k.a.  Zac Efron), when we realized that his real life and the lives of other young celebrities would make the perfect material for a YA novel. Inspired by our idea, we've both decided to tackle the celebrity of our choice in our posts today! So after reading my post, pop on over and check out Estelle's post!

I chose to write about the unmatched Taylor Swift. I'm a fan, mostly because I think she writes really awesome and catchy songs, and has a personality that comes across as authentic and awkward and real in spite of her celebrity status. Basically, it's my theory that she and I would be instant BFFs if we ever met and hung out in real life. I've been following her life and relationships for a long time, and there's plenty of stuff that would be good material for a novel!

Generally, Swift's rise to fame is already pretty story-worthy. She was passionate about music at an incredibly young age, dabbling in learning instruments and writing songs. Her sheer determination brought her to Nashville and gave her the courage to go door-to-door with record labels until she found one that would take a chance on her. Her first album was moderately successful, with a vibe that was 3/4 country and 1/4 pop. But it was her second album, particularly the single Love Story, that shot her to fame! She's sold many records, won a ton of awards, played sold-out concerts in so many places since then, as well as dabbling in acting on the side. 

Then, on the other hand, there's Swift's relationships, which are a messy variety of affairs indeed. The sheer number of relationships is not surprising, honestly, as Swift is young and still in the phase of discovering what she wants from a relationship. Obviously, her experimentation is a little more public than most as she's a celebrity, but I consider her different relationships pretty normal. The variety makes for a great story though, since everyone loves a romance! 

There's Joe Jonas, who infamously broke up with her in a 27-second call. He was followed shortly by Taylor Lautner, who appeared to be a good match for her so it shocked everyone when she broke it off. Then there's John Mayer, the older bad boy who she connected with musically, followed by another older guy, Jake Gyllenhaal, whom she had a brief fling with. Then came Conor Kennedy, who was a nice, all-American boy and seemed to be a steadier relationship than the others. Eventually, they parted ways as well. Swift was last known to have dated Harry Styles, one of the members of boy band One Direction. And these are just the confirmed romances!

With the different boys she's been involved with (for different lengths of time, I might add), it's no surprise that I'd consider each relationship fodder for a good story, or even just a chapter in one. It totally makes sense that Swift would capitalize on them to write a song, as that's kind of a form of storytelling too.

While Swift's story has yet to inspire an actual novel, here are some suggestions for books that would be similar. Some of the similarities are fairly obvious, while others are more subtle. Still, each suggestion gives off the Taylor Swift vibe!

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

Invisible by Marni Bates

Lovestruck Summer by Melissa C. Walker

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (my review)

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg (my review)

YOUR TURN - Which celebrity lives or stories do you think would be inspiration for a YA novel? Do you have other thoughts on Taylor Swift's life + relationships as a novel? Any other Taylor Swift-vibed suggestions for books?