Stacked

On Blogging: An Unconventional Blog Tour

2012-05-27T00:00:00.002-05:00

One of the best parts about blogging is getting to know other bloggers and not only getting to know them, but actually learning from them. Every blogger brings something different to what they do, be it by the way they approach writing or reviewing or by virtue of having a background or experience outside of blogging that influences them.

It's from that thought where Liz and myself starting thinking: wouldn't it be neat if a bunch of bloggers tackled a topic about blogging -- ethics, politics, practices, etc. -- that allowed them to really share the knowledge or background they have on those topics?

Welcome to an unconventional week of bloggers talking about blogging!

Over the next five days, ten bloggers will be tackling a host of different topics through the lenses of their own expertise. We're hoping this is not only helpful for new bloggers, but also seasoned veterans and anyone who interacts with bloggers or wants to be better about interacting with them. Check out the schedule below for participants and the topics they're talking about. As posts go live this week, I'll come back and link them up here.

We hope this is an opportunity for an open and honest discourse on blogging, but we also hope it's educational and enlightening. Feel free to jump into discussions this week. We're all eager to talk about these issues and share our knowledge as best we can.

Monday, May 28

Pam Coughlin (MotherReader) on Playing Nicely

Colleen Mondor (Chasing Ray) on Author-Blogger relationships

Tuesday, May 29

Kate Hart (Kate Hart) on Giving Credit Where Credit's Due: Citing Your Sources

Ana and Thea (The Book Smugglers) on Maintaining Independence and Integrity

Wednesday, May 30

Sarah Moon (Clear Eyes, Full Shelves) on Finding Your Voice

Kelly Jensen (STACKED) on Leveraging Your Blog as Professional Experience

Thursday, May 31

Sarah Bean Thompson (Green Bean Teen Queen) on Conference Professionalism

Kim Ukura (Sophisticated Dorkiness) on Objectivity vs. Transparency

Friday, June 1

Sarah Andersen (YA Love Blog) on Community and Accountability

Liz Burns (A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy) on Audience and Writing for Readers

The Great YA Blogger Meetup @ ALA Annual in Anaheim

2012-05-26T00:00:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to join us at ALA next month (so soon!) for the YA blogger meetup. We had a slight change in time for the event from the original announcement, so note we're starting at 8 pm now. This is a casual meet up, so feel free to drop by for a short time or hang around until it's over.

Thanks to the amazing and talented Kate Hart for our great and official invite.

Cracked by K.M. Walton

2012-05-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

Bull doesn't let up on Victor. As his name might suggest, Bull is the bully here and Victor is his target. It's been this way since elementary school: Bull lets out his aggression and Victor lets him. Doesn't fight back. Although KM Walton's debut Cracked sounds like a standard story of bullying, readers learn there is a lot more going on beneath the surfaces of both boys. That both Bull and Victor are the bully and the bullied in their own ways.

Bull comes from a poor family, with parents who are angry and abusive toward him. When I say he's poor, I mean, he's poor. Unlike many books that try to portray poor characters through simply calling them poor (something which bothers me to no end), Walton actually depicts a boy who is growing up in a lower income bracket. I don't know if I'd characterize him as living in poverty, but his home is infested with insects, there is hardly any food at home for him, and he really has nothing. All of this, along with his award-winning parents who regularly remind him that he was an unwanted child, cause him to seek out a way to feel better about himself. From very early on in his life, Victor was an easy target. Everything that Bull has pent up from home he lets loose on Victor who, rather than fight back, takes it. Because of this, Bull continues being a bully because, well, it helps him feel like he has some sort of power and control in his life.

Victor is almost the complete opposite of Bull -- or at least, that's what we're lead to believe about him. Victor comes from a home where there is money. Both of his parents work hard and he lives in a big house and has everything he could possibly want at his fingertips. Of course, that's all superficial; his parents are never home and his parents aren't happy he exists at all. He's a burden to them. Victor's lonely and frustrated and while he never wants to be the victim of bullying, it offers him a kind of attention he's not getting anywhere else. There's not a suggestion bullying is good for him because it's not, but as readers, it's easy to see why he doesn't fight back. Aside from being afraid, of course, it's just part of the reality he's accepted and it feels like something he thinks he deserves, given everything else in his life. There is one good thing in Victor's life, though, is his mother's dog Jazzer. But Jazz is really old and, well, I won't spoil what happens, even though it's obvious.

Cracked is written from the perspective of both boys, with alternating chapters. In setting up the story this way, Walton shows us that despite the external differences between Bull and Victor, they're actually very similar. They're both hurting and aching, and they're both seeking some sort of validation that their lives are worth something because neither feels like it is. In fact, both boys are so down on their lives that they each end up attempting suicide -- even if it's not through the same means or with the same goals in mind (one is much more direct in his attempt while the other goes about it as a way to protect himself from other harm). When the boys wake up from their hospital treatment, they find themselves in the same room. In the same psych ward. And now, they have to face one another and face their own demons at the same time.

While both boys are now forced together in space and in time, they do a great job of avoiding talking to one another, even when they're in the same group therapy session. Bull has physical injuries that limit his mobility, and Victor, well, he just hides. Although they do eventually talk and find out the things about one another that we as readers figured out long before, I had a little trouble with the believability here. The therapy/recovery period is very short -- four days -- and in that time, both boys seem to make pretty hard turnarounds. Moreover, and maybe the only real troubling part for me as a reader, is that both boys in the story are "saved" by girls they meet in therapy. The message here about love and sharing love is excellent, and it's what the boys both needed; however, the place from which it's coming -- others who were in the same short treatment/therapy group -- didn't work for me. I didn't quite buy that those girls had themselves gained as much wisdom as they did from such a short recovery period (given they, too, were assumed to be in this psych ward because they, too, had hit rock bottom like Bull and Victor). I hoped for a little more between Victor and Bull, too. The girls almost got in the way of that.

What I did like, though, was another character who shows up and supports Bull in a way he wasn't expecting. There was another person looking out for him for a long time, and when he realizes who it was, his outlook on life changes a lot. The same could be said for Victor, who has a family member step in and offer him the sort of love he was missing out on from his parents (who, I should note, went on a European vacation and when they heard Victor had tried to kill himself, continued their trip anyway). Although this felt almost a little too happy-ending, particularly when it came to Bull's after-care recovery needs, because I wanted a good ending for both of these boys, I accepted it.

Cracked is fast-paced, and both boys have great, believable voices. The alternating perspectives work here, and Walton offers up two distinct characters. Even though a lot of their personalities shine through their differences in class and in experience, internally, they're struggling with their own problems in a way that makes them individuals. Walton's novel came out earlier this year and didn't get a whole lot of attention, but I think it's one that deserves a lot more. It doesn't necessarily tread anywhere entirely new, but what it does cover is well-written and engaging and will be a great read alike to a number of other strong contemporary titles (and more stories with authentic male voices never hurt). I was reminded quite a bit of Swati Avasthi's Split, as well as Andrew Smith's Stick. I also think fans of Amy Reed's books -- particularly Clean and her forthcoming Crazy, both of which depict teens struggling with recovery and with pain and mental illness -- will want to check this one out. Walton's debut impressed me, and I'm really looking forward to her sophomore effort, Empty (January 2013), which also explores bullying.

Finished copy purchased for me from Lenore. Cracked is available now.

What I'm Reading Now

2012-05-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater:
I received an ARC of this last summer, but never got around to it. When The Scorpio Races won both a Printz Honor and an Odyssey Honor (for outstanding audiobooks) this past year, I figured that I'd try it on audio, especially since I've heard nothing but rave reviews from numerous bloggers and friends that I know and trust. The result so far....meh. I just started Disc 7 out of 10, and so far, it's a bit dull. Maggie's writing is, as usual, stellar, lush and atmospheric, with phrases that linger in the air after being voiced. But that atmospheric quality may be the problem. The gorgeous writing overwhelms the slow-moving plot so far. Regardless, I'm continuing on, as I heard it picks up in the final two discs.

Princess Academy: Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale:
I just started this on my eReader after being approved by NetGalley. I listened to Princess Academy on audio, so it's a bit different reading it in print. I particular liked how the audio sang the traditional chants and songs at the start of each chapter. Miri is as charming as ever, and I'm eager to read more from Shannon Hale, one of my absolute favorite authors.

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection: by A.J. Jacobs:

I just finished this one, and I absolutely loved it. As in his previous two books, where A. J. basically transforms himself into a lab rat while investigating certain areas of human nature (The Know-it-All and The Year of Living Biblically dealt with reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and living according to the Bible for a year, respectively), the author delivers a unique mix of facts, humor, and self-deprecation while attempting to become the "healthiest man alive." Chapter by chapter, he examines health in the context of a specific body part: the lungs, nervous system, stomach, butt, immune system, nose, fingers, etc. Absolutely fascinating, hilarious, and quite a quick read.

Endlessly by Kiersten White:
I got about 100 pages into this when I put it down. I enjoyed the first two in this trilogy, but I just wasn't in the mood for this right now. I usually avoid paranormals, due to the many derivative books flooding the market, but White's characters and plotlines have been unique and carefree enough to let me push past my aversion. What I did read was clever; I've just been leaning more towards contemporary fare lately.

Guest Post: Melissa Walker on Unbreak My Heart

2012-05-23T00:15:00.002-05:00

So we're doing something new and wild today. Something we don't think we've ever done before. Something we probably said we wouldn't do before. But we're doing it.

We've got a vlog for you.

It's not us, though. It's Melissa Walker -- she's here to talk about the romantic inspirations behind her latest book, Unbreak My Heart, available now. It's a story about a girl who falls in love with a boy during her family's summer boat trip but it's much more than that. It's a story of a girl who also learns what it means to be a friend and what it means when you maybe screw that up, too. It'll appeal to readers who like sweet romances, and the setting, which is aboard a boat, gives it a unique twist.

Now I know what you're thinking about now. I'm a self-professed non-vlog viewer. It's true. For the most part. Once in a while I do watch them, and this one? It's worth it. Melissa will let you in not only on the books that inspired her story, but also some of the music.

Unbreak My Heart will be a great book to hand off to those readers looking for a summer story full of heart and even a little adventure.

Giveaway: The Letter Q

2012-05-23T00:00:00.001-05:00

We've got a giveaway today, courtesy of Big Honcho Media and Scholastic's This is Teen campaign. Two readers will win a finished copy of the anthology The Letter Q: Queer Writers' Notes to Their Younger Selves, edited by Sarah Moon.

About the Book:

In this anthology, sixty-four award-winning authors and illustrators such as Michael Cunningham, Amy Bloom, Jacqueline, Woodson, Terrence McNally, Gregory Maguire, David Levithan, and Armistead Maupin, make imaginative journeys into their pasts, telling their younger selves what they would have liked to know then about their lives as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people. Through stories, in pictures, with bracing honesty, these are words of love, messages of understanding, reasons to hold on for the better future ahead. They will tell you things about your favorite authors that you never knew before. And they will tell you about yourself.

Here's the trailer:

You can also find more information about the book on Facebook.

Want a copy? All you have to do is fill out the form below, and we'll pick two winners for a finished copy of The Letter Q on June 6.

<p>Loading...</p>

Truth: Blogging is Hard

2012-05-22T10:24:00.002-05:00

This morning I sat down to start writing reviews of a few books I've finished lately that don't come out for a few months. Usually, I try not to read too far ahead of pub dates for books for a number of reasons, but one of the big ones is that I end up sitting on pre-written reviews for months. That isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but sometimes it means that something being published soon or something published not too long ago doesn't get my attention right away.

I think I've mentioned before that I don't review everything I read. If I did, my reviews would be much shorter. But more than that, I like to write about books that spoke to me in some way -- either because I really liked something about the book or because something really didn't work. I find, too, I get way more satisfaction writing a lengthy, critical review over a few things, rather than writing a bunch of smaller reviews of many more things. So yes, sometimes things get overlooked and yes, sometimes I read something everyone else has read. I just don't feel like blogging about it. I blog for me, first and foremost.

But as much as blogging is something I do for myself, it is something I also do knowing full well I am blogging for an audience. And let me tell you: I appreciate the fact people actually read this and people care. It's amazing and fulfilling in a way that's not easily expressed. So thank you.

There are times, though, I find myself wondering why I put in the effort or whether it's worth it. Blogging sometimes feels like work. I sat down today to catch up on a handful of reviews I want (note: want -- not need) to write, but I couldn't make myself do it. I really liked a couple of these books, and I really want to express that here. But I couldn't make myself put words to my thoughts. Instead, I caught myself rereading some of my older reviews and thinking about why I write them in the first place. I put the pressure on myself to write them and I'm pretty adamant about the fact I will review what I want to review and how I want to review them. No one is pressuring me. Even when I take on review copies, I don't force myself to write a review if I don't want to. I don't see a reason to because this is my blog and if it means that someone doesn't want to provide me a review copy in the future, so be it. It doesn't change the fact I can acquire the book when it comes out.

Writing a review can take me hours. I do it because I like to think about what's at the heart of the book and what makes it work or not work. I've got a mental list of things I go through when I write a review, too, of certain elements I want to touch upon. I don't hit them all in a review, but I do think about each one of them. A good review can take me two or three hours to write, and it can take me another hour to reread, revise, and prepare (and sometimes, to be honest, that is in and of itself draining when you're looking for images, saving them, fighting with Blogger to format them correctly, and so forth). And except for that very last part, I love the process. I love thinking about how to construct a review, how to speak about what the book does or doesn't do well, how I can convey it best with my own words. It's a huge mental challenge. It's writing. I've been writing my whole life. Blogging has just been one of the best means of doing it and doing it regularly.

I don't compare myself to anyone else who is blogging because it's just not my style. I don't really care what other people "are getting" from blogging. I know what I get out of it, and that's good enough for me. When I write a good review or a good post, it makes me feel good. I get satisfaction knowing I've expressed physically what I've been bouncing around mentally.

But as I sat down to review today I found myself completely disinterested. And it wasn't just today. I've been putting off some of these reviews for weeks. Over the last couple of months, I've put off writing reviews for books for weeks, too (in one instance, I put off writing the review for 6 months, even though it was a book I loved and wanted to talk about). As much as blogging is for me, I know I blog for a readership and an audience, too.

There's this competing voice in my head that also reminds me of that when I sit down to write a blog post. It's not just for me, or I'd not use blogging as a platform for my thoughts and then promote it. It's also for readers (of all shapes -- I don't know exactly who reads STACKED). There is a level of interaction and engagement that comes from blogging, and I find myself thinking about this when I do write a review. I've talked before about how I think stats are a load of crap because they don't tell you anything about a blog other than it gets a lot of traffic. It doesn't show or tell you anything about effort or about heart or about passion.

If you go through the first page of STACKED, you can see what gets people talking. It's not book reviews. That's not to say people aren't reading book reviews or thinking about them. They just don't interact with them the same way they interact with sexier content. And writing that sexier content -- posts about covers, sharing amazing interviews and guest posts, posting the lines I've been reading -- is fun to do. It only becomes further reinforced as fun, too, when you see people are talking about what you're writing or sharing. Seriously. It's FUN.

Writing book reviews, as fulfilling as they are, though, sometimes feels like work. Like a job. Even if I'm setting my own limits and making my own decisions about what I am and am not reviewing, it still can feel like work. And I always wonder if they feel like work for readers, too. I know it's not the case. I know intellectually that devoted readers read everything (or at least skim it). The reviews are there for those who are here for book reviews. They're the perennial readers who are going to be there no matter what. These are the same readers who often don't comment. And that's okay.

But it still sometimes makes sitting down to write a review so, so hard. Because the response sometimes just isn't there. There's not a payoff at the end of it except for whatever it brings me personally. But it doesn't make it any less hard.

I say all of this but I also own this: I am a terrible blog commenter. I read a lot of blogs, and not just book blogs. I read a number of excellent author blogs, a number of excellent publishing-related blogs, and an excessive number of food blogs. But I'm terrible at commenting or at interacting with them. It's not that I don't care -- I do or I wouldn't read them -- but it's that I don't always think to do it or I mean to do it and click out of the browser or, really, I don't have much to say. But then I have these moments when I'm doing my own blogging and I remember just how much work and effort goes into blogging, no matter what the topic. I know I'm much better at commenting off-blog than I am on-blog: on Goodreads, I can click "like" easily and let someone know I read and appreciated their book review. On Pinterest or on Facebook, I can do the same or I can leave a quick comment with a "thanks." I don't know why it is that when I'm reading a blog, I don't stop to drop a thanks or I don't stop back by and follow up when I've read/cooked something recommended there. I think the internet "like" has made me lazy.

The truth of it all is that blogging is hard. It can be fun and fulfilling -- and it is both of those things -- but it is so much work, too. I put the pressure on myself to do what I'm doing, but that's just because I am who I am. That doesn't change the fact, though, it's hard and at times draining. That doesn't change the fact I get burned out or tired or wonder why I put in the effort at all. Because blogging both is and isn't for me at the same time. I stress about little stuff (never the big stuff) and lately, it's been reviews and why I write them or how I write them or if anyone even reads/cares about them at all. Are they for me? Are they not for me? I'm still not sure sometimes.

Just like an author worries about how their book will do when it's out in the world, I worry about what I write and post right here. It's not the same but it is the same. It's sharing a part of yourself and your thinking and even if it's something you're passionate about and love doing, it's still work. It takes effort and sometimes you wonder and worry about whether it's worth it at all.

I'm not going to quit blogging or quit writing reviews. I find satisfaction in it. But I know I speak on behalf of a lot of bloggers who get to this point. This burnout, this worry about whether or not it's worth the effort happens, happens to every single person who ever spends the time to write and share what they write. It's just hard to talk about.

All These Lives by Sarah Wylie

2012-05-22T00:00:00.001-05:00

Dani and Jena are fraternal twins, and they spent most of their lives pretty close to one another. When Jena is diagnosed with cancer, her life is turned upside down, right along with Dani's. Dani finds it unfair her sister has to suffer with endless rounds of chemotherapy, with losing her sense of self, with the possibility of losing her life all together. See, Dani feels like she's been granted 9 lives, given that she herself has survived near-death experiences more than once. It's unfair -- beyond unfair -- her sisters one life might end so soon before she's had the chance to live it.

So Dani makes it her mission to die so her sister doesn't have to suffer.

All These Lives by Sarah Wylie is the kind of cancer novel I appreciate because this isn't a book about cancer as a disease. It's not a novel about the things cancer does to a body. It's a novel instead about how cancer can be a means for people to find a reason to live and to survive.

Dani's a sarcastic narrator, and she's hurting deeply because of her sister's illness. At times it feels like she may be a tiny bit envious of her sister because she's getting so much attention and special treatment because she's sick, but the truth is, Dani is grieving heavily. For her, sarcasm, coldness, and distancing herself from the present help her cope with what her sister is going through. She doesn't want to remain close to anyone because she's struggling with guilt in being the sister who is okay. The one who isn't sick. More than that, though, Dani feels like she's been unfairly blessed with the ability to keep on living, despite numerous brushes with death.

Throughout the book, Dani attempts more than once to die -- having survived more than one near-death experience, Dani believes she's been blessed with nine lives, rather than just one. She sees her own death as her way of letting her sister live. Because they're twins, she believes they have a special sort of connection to one another and by giving up one of her lives, Jena can live. The problem, of course, is that in Dani's attempts to end her life, she only hurts herself more, not to mention she hurts her family more than she could imagine. It would be easy to call what she's doing selfish, but it's not. Dani aches, and this is her release. Each time she made an attempt to die, I hurt for her because she was doing what she thought was good and right. As the reader on the outside, you know it's not the case, but she is unable -- not unwilling, but unable -- to realize that. At least immediately.

Although this is a novel about Jena's cancer, never once did it feel like a drawn out book about an illness. In fact, very little page time is devoted to the illness and what it was doing to Jena. Instead, the book focused more on what cancer did to the sister who didn't have it. I felt this made the issue of illness more powerful than had the story focused on Jena. Cancer stories have a way of being manipulative sometimes because they put the onus of emotion on the reader, who always brings their own experience to the story. While writing this story from the perspective of the sister dealing with someone else's cancer certainly will pull upon the reader's own experiences, Wylie successfully develops a whole story without requiring the reader to face the cancer and implications head on. We're not forced to feel sympathetic toward a character because they're battling a disease they have no power over. We're allowed instead to develop sympathy toward a complex character who may or may not be all that likable. She's more than a disease. This is a book where illness plays a role in the story, rather than the story playing a role in the illness.

All These Lives is literary, and the story and characters never falter beneath the prose. They work together, and in doing so, the pace stays steady throughout. But more than being literary, what I loved was the message Dani and the reader walked away with -- that living is the greatest thing you can ever do for someone else. It's a realization that emerges after one of the close brushes with death Dani has, and when she has that moment, I understood just how much pain and grief she'd been dealing with and how heavy it truly weighed on her. It was almost easy to believe Dani's defensiveness and believe that she was sarcastic through and through. The truth was, it was her way of letting herself be dead. That wasn't what Jena would want from her at all. Some of the lines made me a little teary eyed, as Dani wrestled with the pain of knowing how she'd behaved and the pain of knowing it wasn't at all what she should be doing to support her sister.

This paragraph's spoiler-ridden, so proceed with caution. Maybe the thing I appreciated most about this book was that no one dies, but there's also no miracle cure. Instead, once Dani wakes up and decides she needs to live and to love to the best of her capability, the story comes to a satisfying ending. We're not made to suffer as Jena's life withers, nor are we forced to believe that she's suddenly all better. For me, this was the way a story like this is best handled because it really wasn't Jena's story. It was Dani's through and through.

All These Lives will appeal to readers who are looking for a good sibling story, and even though this is fully contemporary, I think it'll appeal to readers who loved Imaginary Girls for the sibling relationship aspect. Readers who liked Before I Die or Gayle Forman's If I Stay will find the same emotionally connection with Dani as they did with Tessa and Mia in those two stories. Writing-wise, this one reminded me of Ilsa J. Bick's Drowning Instinct, and despite being less edgy (even though Wylie's book is certainly edgy), All These Lives should appeal to fans of Bick's novel.

Wylie's debut impressed me more than I thought it would, and I'm eager to see where she goes next. She's earned my trust and respect as a reader by taking a subject and twisting my expectations. I also give bonus points to this book for developing a story without a romance in it, which is a rare find, and I think the story is stronger because of that choice.

One of the trends I'm noticing in YA this year is that of survival, of living despite feeling like there's reason not to, and it's been fascinating to see how this theme plays out across genres. I'm thinking there's a great potential book list sometime in the future on this very topic.

Review copy received from the publisher. All These Lives will be available June 5.

So You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Sarah Andersen

2012-05-21T00:00:00.003-05:00

This week's "So You Want to Read YA?" guest post comes from Sarah Andersen.

Sarah teaches high school English in Clio, MI. She's passionate about reading and hopes to foster this same passion for reading in her students. You can talk books with Sarah on her blog Y.A. Love or on Twitter @yaloveblog. (I'd like to note the lovely photo of Sarah there cuts off the person she's next to, which is Lisa McMann).

I’ve been avid reader of YA for six years and a high school English teacher for five years. Connecting my students with great books is one of my passions, but I also love introducing YA to teachers, librarians, parents, etc. YA has grown in popularity since I started teaching, which is really exciting because it continues to provide books for every reader.

I love reading YA, and I have my favorite topics and genres, but I read it with my students in mind. I’m constantly trying to balance what I read and make sure to include books dealing with sports, problems at home, relationships, fantasy, etc. because I have readers with diverse tastes in my classroom. Since this is how my brain works when I’m picking out books, it made sense to me to focus this post on the most popular titles in my classroom right now. I’m breaking it down according to what the guys and girls are reading. These titles are often big hits with my reluctant readers as well. If you’re a teacher/librarian/parent or even a teen, and you’d like to start reading YA but don’t know where to start, these are the titles I recommend beginning with.

What The Girls Are Reading:
**Many of these books deal with love and relationships, but it’s what my girls are usually looking for.

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers (Goodreads): I positively love Courtney Summers. Cracked Up to Be and her other books, Some Girls Are and Fall for Anything, have grown in popularity just this year. Parker, the main character, is suffering and feeling responsible for something horrible, but she hasn’t told anyone about it. Consequently, she’s been acting out and her personality has completely changed. Quite a few of my students look for edgy reads about characters with real problems. They also want a character they can connect with emotionally and personally. Almost every single one of my girls that’s read Cracked Up to Be enjoyed it and went on to read the rest of Courtney Summers’ books.

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler (Goodreads): Personally, my favorite book by Sarah Ockler is Fixing Delilah, but my girls (my reluctant girls in particular) love this book. They like the romance, the first love, and the friendship between Anna and her best friend Frankie. Even if readers haven’t experienced a loss like Anna or Frankie, they’ve most likely had a best friend that’s helped them through a problem or that they’ve gotten into a big argument with. The summer atmosphere gives the book a light-hearted feel while dealing with big issues.

Forever by Judy Blume (Goodreads): Forever is classic YA originally published in 1975. It’s an excellent example of first love and the ups and downs of relationships. There’s quite a bit of sexual activity in Forever, but my girls always tell me that yes, there’s a lot of sex, but that it teaches girls that relationships don’t always last forever. Many of my girls in class are head over heels in love with someone. I like knowing that there’s a good book out there for them to read after a break up, or if they’re in one of these relationships. I don’t hand them this book to burst their bubbles. I hand them this book because the characters feel the same way they do. Forever by Judy Blume is almost always a winner for my reluctant girls in class.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder (Goodreads): Novels in verse are becoming increasingly more popular in my classroom. Many of my students start with Ellen Hopkins, but Lisa Schroeder’s novels are quickly gaining popularity. I Heart You, You Haunt Me is the most popular choice. Many of my girls will walk into my room telling me how quickly they read this book and how much they loved it. One of my students is in my YA Lit class right now because she wants to enjoy reading. She was at a complete loss for where to start and which books to read. I Heart You, You Haunt Me was one of many books I set aside for her, and she ended up reading three of Lisa Schroeder’s four books in a week! The imagery in this novel is beautiful, and for so few words, readers really connect with the characters and the story.

**Other Popular Titles: Hold Still by Nina LaCour, Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal, The Boy Book by E. Lockhart, Exposed by Kimberly Marcus

What The Guys Are Reading:

Right Behind You by Gail Giles (Goodreads): This has been a “homerun” book for so many of my boys. It’s usually the first couple pages that hook them because we learn that Kip set another child on fire when he was nine. We don’t know all the specifics right away, but it’s enough to keep my students reading. Kip has lived a rough life after this incident including a name change, moving out of state, etc. He’s a vulnerable character with a tough shell. The boys in class can relate to him for a variety of reasons including being angry for one reason or another, being afraid to open up, living a rough life, and more. also gives readers a chance to understand a character unlike themselves and learn to empathize with people like Kip.

Trapped by Michael Northrop (Goodreads): Many students have imagined what it would be like to get trapped in school, but Trapped actually allows the reader to experience it. Many of my reluctant boys enjoyed Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, but they haven’t read or enjoyed a book since. Trapped has been a winner for these boys. They enjoy the suspense and wondering whether anyone will survive. Plenty of my girls in class have enjoyed Trapped as well.

Paranoid Park by Blake Nelson (Goodreads): The mystery in Paranoid Park really grabs my guys in class. I guess it doesn’t hurt that the main character is responsible for killing someone, even though it was self-defense. The story revolves around the character’s guilt and his indecision whether or not he should turn himself in. Paranoid Park has grown in popularity this year because many of my boys in class have been sharing it and discussing it.

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach (Goodreads): I’m always searching for books with humor because I’ve been told that I don’t have enough “funny books” in my class library. Stupid Fast is a gem of a book that’s humorous, but also tackles family issues and fitting in. Felton is authentic and easy to relate to. He’s trying to handle his mom checking out and falling into a deep depression, his annoying little brother, becoming a good football player, and falling in love for the first time. It’s an all-around fantastic book that I can’t recommend enough.

**Other Popular Titles: Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick, Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn, Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson, Gym Candy by Carl Deuker

You can like what you like

2012-05-20T11:35:00.000-05:00

No one has the right to tell you what you read. What you choose to read is your right and yours alone.

One of the things I love about reading is how much it allows me to connect with other people who also enjoy reading. But more than that, I've discovered the more that I read -- and not just books, but blog posts, newspapers, magazines, comics -- the more I'm able to think about the things I'm reading and the more I'm able to draw connections among different stories and worlds. The more I'm also able to help other people connect to the things that would give them a great reading experience.

I read with a critical eye, even when I'm reading "fluff" material. But never for one second does that mean I think everyone reads with the same level of intensity that I do nor that I can't separate the critical portion of my brain from the part that wants to enjoy a story. I can find satisfaction in reading a story at the story's level.

Sometimes -- like right now, actually -- I find myself reading through books that have made gads of lists for being poorly written, for spreading terrible messages about any number of topics I'm passionate about, for being nothing but bad books. And you know, sometimes the joy is in that exactly: dipping into what is little more than junk.

Sometimes, too, I find myself connecting to a story on a level I never expected to. Earlier in the year, I read a book that tapped into something I'd packed away a long time ago, and I found myself revisiting some pain I thought I'd never think about again. It wasn't a book about that issue at all. It was a book about something else entirely.

I love to pick up a literary tome periodically, too. But not because I'm trying to balance out the YA reading I do or because I'm trying to make myself smarter or a better person for doing so. I pick them up because I'm interested in the reading experience.

Because I am interested in reading.

I have a huge problem with the notion of a guilty pleasure. If something brings you pleasure, there should be no guilt associated with it. The reason people find themselves talking about guilty pleasures is because someone has taken their right to enjoyment from whatever it is that they like doing. It's because someone has asserted themselves as an authority, as a person with privilege, and cast judgment upon an activity.

No one has the right to tell you what you should or shouldn't like.

Regardless of what your education level, your financial status, your job, your haves-and-have-nots in life, what you choose to spend your free time doing is your choice and your choice alone. But more than that, it's your responsibility to respect that for yourself and respect that for others, too. You should never feel guilty for what you enjoy, and you should never make anyone else feel guilty for what they like, either.

We all go to reading for different reasons, be they for entertainment, for information, for understanding craft and story, for escape from the world, for connection to the world (your own, pop culture, or any other definition of world). Sometimes a book can bring all of these things at once and sometimes, a book does one and does it really well.

Let me say this because I think it's important and essential and gets missed in many discussions of reading and the power therein: I believe there are people who don't like reading. And I do not, even for a second, think they're wrong. I think there might be books perfectly tailored for them, but if someone is not interested in reading, I'm not going to force them to be a reader. That puts me in a position of power and privilege, suggesting to someone that their interests and disinterests are wrong.

They're not wrong. Their interests aren't any less valid than mine.

They're just different.

When someone in a position of huge trust -- such as a librarian -- suggests that there is a right way and a wrong way to read or that there are right things or wrong things to read, they're exerting false authority. They're using their opinion and their belief to belittle and shame someone else. They're saying that it's not okay to like what you like.

These people are abusing their power.

But more importantly, it doesn't matter what your background is. There is never an okay time to shame someone for what they're reading (or what they're not reading). There's never a need to make an argument about whether what someone is reading is good or not or whether it aids in their intellectual development. That doesn't matter. Reading is an activity sought out because it brings something to someone. That we become obsessed with trying to define what that something is is in and of itself the problem.

This goes to a bigger issue worth touching on: we live in a world where the louder you are and the more you talk, the more perception of power you have. Where the more you produce, the more you're valued. It's unfair, but it's true. We're a world that focuses heavily on the notion of product and of end result and one that shies away from thinking about or exploring process in and of itself. We want a tangible outcome, a defined start and finish. In being this way, so much of the beauty in the act of doing something is overlooked and devalued. So often we chide ourselves if our process to do something takes a long time or requires more than we expected. Rather than allowing ourselves or others to allow the pleasure in the act of doing, we reward based on the result.

Reading is a process, not an end result.

While we can walk away with something from what we read, what matters to those who are readers is the act in and of itself. There are no better options when it comes to reading. There are only other options. There is no shame in liking what you like and there is no shame in enjoying reading for what it is: an action.

Want to read more about how it's okay to like what you like? Spend a little time with Liz's post and Sarah's post.

Links of note

2012-05-19T00:00:00.006-05:00

Let's call this edition of interesting links something to the tune of "everyone's got covers on the mind" because there are a lot of posts about cover trends lately. Of course, that's not the only thing that has been talked about. There's been a lot of good things to read in the last couple of weeks. I'm serious in saying there is a good day's worth of reading here.

So let's start with cover pieces. First, the incredible Kate Hart has a breakdown of the 2011 YA cover trends, which includes everything from the percentage of covers featuring girls drowning to the percentage of covers that feature people of color. There are pie charts and graphs. This is the kind of post you have to read in chunks because there is so much here.

Once you spend a little time there, check out this post by Justina Ireland in defense of the girl in the pretty dress and the post by Jennifer Hubbard about extreme cropping and headless models. I know I've talked about the messages these book covers send (especially when you look at them all in one place, at once), and I don't disagree with either Ireland nor Hubbard about how sometimes these covers DO work or ARE done well.

Here's a collection of YA covers out this spring, rounded up by the folks at The Enchanted Inkpot and categorized. Not much in terms of reading but take a gander at them.

And once you read those posts and look at those covers, you absolutely need to check out Sarah Andersen's post about what her high school students like and don't like on YA covers.

But wait, there's more! Salon has an article that borders on defending the practice of whitewashing covers. I'll leave it at that, but I am really fascinated by an experiment that Saundra Mitchell is trying with a book she's put up on Amazon and Barnes and Noble called Breathkept. Note this was a free download on her blog, so the sales here are from those who didn't know. The original cover features a girl of color, but now Mitchell's switched it up to a shadowy couple. She wants to see if there's a sales difference. Bonus: she has a few more links about whitewashing worth checking out.

The Salon piece above talks about a study where people had different perceptions of gay people after reading a novel featuring one (especially when they didn't know the character was homosexual). It's an interesting psychological phenomenon called "experience taking." There's a longer piece about that over at MSNBC's website worth reading. I tend to have this happen to me a lot -- but most of the time, that change in perception is short lived. I can probably count on one hand the number of books that have truly changed my thinking on a grand level. Not that I don't think it's possible. But I wonder how much has to do with the quantity of what you read, too. Are those who don't absorb literature more likely to be impacted or maybe are those who read a lot less likely to notice as much?

Ever wonder how books end up on the New York Times Best Seller list? Veronica Roth will tell you eight things you probably did not know on YA Highway. I didn't realize how little impact pre-ordering had, and I have to say I now feel a little less like I'm as supportive as I try to be by doing pre-orders.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is going to become an ebook. But that wasn't really what I was most interested in here. It was the little nugget at the bottom about how there will be a rerelease of Capote's In Cold Blood. I wonder if they'll change the cover (which I love so much).

Speaking of my man Capote, he and I have the same cocktail preference with our mutual love for screwdrivers. Here's a fun piece on 10 authors and their favorite drinks. I'm, of course, bummed only one woman is represented.

I'm really tired of the entire 50 Shades of Grey controversy/phenomenon/obsession/discussion, but I had to post this. Without doubt, Becky's round up and thoughts on the issue are the best I've read and also the most important for any librarian dealing with challenges on this book to consider, too. The last paragraph made me cheer: "My final comments are for those libraries out there who are pulling the book. You are an embarrassment. Stick to your guns people. If you bought the book, you had your reasons. Don't pull it off the shelf. Stand up for yourselves. If you don't have enough respect for yourself to do it on your own, use the arguments in my post to help you. And if you are someone who is pulling the book, you might as well quit. You are not upholding your end of the bargain as a public librarian anymore."

The website's reputation is questionable, but the post was interesting enough to merit a mention. Here are the top 50 most influential books of the last 50 or so years. Note these don't mean the best, but rather, they were among the most influential for one reason or another. I think I've only read six of these titles.

Teens are so freaking smart and well spoken, especially when they're treated with respect by adults, aren't they? It's amazing how the second they're given the chance to say what they're thinking that sometimes they are way more intelligent than any adult, too. Here's a great example of a teen blogger talking about books and reading and why he blogs from the Huffington Post.

Are libraries a feminist issue? I left after reading it wondering if the writers were too limiting in their perspective of the role of libraries, and since this was a piece centered on UK libraries, they didn't talk about how the bulk of public libraries in the US were founded by women or women's groups. I thought about those two things for a long time, and I was pleased when I went back to see they'd commented about how this wasn't an exclusive issue of feminism but one thing feminists should think more about. I'd say then they hit the nail on the head.

Ever thought about the different types of reviewers there are? Here's a funny post about book reviewed nomenclature. On a more serious note, another piece that hit the rounds this week was about book reviewers and what value they serve. The claim is that Amazon's really leveled the playing field for reviews and probably in a good way. Hey, look. The Atlantic also talked about the internet and book reviews. This was a tl;dr for me, but that's because it's The Atlantic, so I didn't try too hard, either. I guess part of me doesn't CARE about these sorts of things as someone who does write and share book reviews. I do it because I like doing it and not because I feel like I have to prove anything to the industry.

Separately, I'm going to plug this gem of a blog post from Sarah Moon about what value she gives to the book world through her reviews. I know I write with my experience and knowledge as a librarian at heart, but I have huge respect for so many of the bloggers who aren't doing this with any professional goals in mind but rather because they simply love books (and I love books too, but I can't separate my own experiences from what I do, either).

It's possible there's a lack of religion in YA fiction, and I know I've seen this topic pop up a number of times recently. But I'm pointing to this one specifically because it sure seems to make the problem look more troublesome than it is. The issue is this: the challenge of religion and spirituality is in a lot of YA books, but just because it's not the central force doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I can think of a number of books off the top of my head not on this list that highlight the issue of religion and faith in YA fiction (including one of my all-time favorites). Religion hasn't and isn't disappearing in YA. It's just being explored in much different ways and in ways that work toward showcasing how many Things make up a Character. They're way more than simply their beliefs in a higher power, even if it is a huge part of who they are.

The New Yorker is starting a book blog. I've typed and erased commentary a few times, so I'm just leaving it at that.

Any author trying to pitch to a book blogger needs to read this great post by Steph Su. It's geared toward self-pubbed authors specifically, but many of the things she lists are things even traditionally published authors do in their pitches that are automatic turn-offs for me.

Just how is a book born? The snarktastic infographic here.

It's killing me not to sign off this post with "that'll cover it."

Black Heart by Holly Black

2012-05-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

Holly Black's Curse Workers series is such fun. I love stories about cons and I love stories about magic, and these books have both of those things, plus a narrator with such an engaging, unique voice it should make other writers envious. Because I'm reviewing Black Heart, the third book in the series, there will be spoilers for the first two here.

At the end of Red Glove, Cassel had teamed up with the federal government to use his powers as a transformation worker in the legal way. Since he's still a minor, he's supposed to shadow his older brother, Barron, who has also gone over to the government side. There are a few problems with this: Barron is still a sociopath, conning comes as easy as breathing to Cassel, and Cassel isn't quite sure what the government is asking him to do won't get him arrested or killed.

Meanwhile, Lila starts to be drawn further and further into the life of crime as her father prepares her to take over the family business one day. Cassel still carries a major torch for her, naturally, but if he let her know what side he was working for now, it would be the end of him.

There's a lot going on in Black Heart, and I'm very impressed by the way Black handles it all. In fact, all of this stuff - including two pretty major subplots - is a big reason I enjoyed the book so much. Aside from the job the Feds have for Cassel, he also has to deal with a vengeful mob boss and his threats against his mother, a female classmate who needs his help getting out of a blackmail plot, and the tension between his two best friends since it was revealed Daneca is a worker. Frequently in stories like this, where the author juggles multiple plotlines, they all tie together in some way, but that's not necessarily the case here. I appreciated that - it made for a more complex read. Furthermore, all of the plotlines were compelling. I didn't want to skim past any of them to get to the good stuff.

Like Red Glove, Black Heart builds upon the events of its predecessors. Cassel's actions have consequences here, and not always good ones. The characters also grow based on their previous experiences, and not always in a good way. All of this may make the book difficult as a standalone, but again, it makes for some very satisfying reading

Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach

2012-05-17T00:00:00.002-05:00

Last year I met Felton Reinstein in Stupid Fast and fell madly in love with his character. Then, of course, Herbach's book went on to win the Cybils award in YA fiction. The combination of a great male lead who was able to tackle the tough issues of family, love, small town life, and friendship with humor and with depth stood out. So when I heard there was a continuation of the story, I was beyond excited. And Nothing Special lives up.

After we left Felton in Stupid Fast, he was making a name for himself, and now, he's being recruited by some of the top colleges in the country for his athletic prowess. It's stressing him out -- as it would -- because he wants to make sure he's making the right choice. If the attention he garnered last year made him crazy, the attention he's getting on the national level now is making him downright insane.

Things at home aren't as bad as they were last year, but they're also not exactly great. Especially when Andrew, his brother, goes missing. Turns out Andrew's taken an impromptu trip to Florida and now Felton has to go rescue him and bring him back home. Without his mother finding out. He pulls off this wild road trip in a strikingly similar way his brother pulled it off: with a few little lies to his mother about where he was going for a week. Whereas Andrew said he was heading to a camp in northern Wisconsin, Felton tells his mom he's heading to a recruitment camp in another state. And Jerri, their mother who has never quite had herself together, buys the story. It's then Felton sets off to Florida with Gus. Gus who used to be his best friend. Gus who now Felton feels he has little or nothing in common with anymore.

Let me back up a second and explain how the book is set up. It's a letter to Aleah, Felton's girlfriend/not a girlfriend, and it's written at the end of the summer between airport trips down to Florida. He's explaining the road trip with Gus in the past, since it had already happened. By framing the story this way, Herbach not only leaves readers wondering where Felton is heading now, but he complicates it further by making us wonder what happened between the initial road trip and the flights because in both instances, we know Felton's going to Florida. This works well not only because it pushes the story forward but also because it mirrors how the first story was set up. We know Felton's the kind of guy who needs to work his problems out by paper. It would be inauthentic to his character for this to be a straightforward narrative.

Nothing Special is Felton's story, but it's just as much about Andrew, even though he doesn't once have an opportunity to tell. We're wondering right along with Felton why his brother skipped town and lied about it, and as he pieces together the story, we start to get a real image of who Andrew is and why he would make this decision.

If your brother were getting so much attention at home, you wouldn't blame Andrew, either. If you were constantly living in the shadow of a guy being recruited by so many big name schools, you would look for a place where you could earn some attention. But Andrew's reason for his trip to Florida are much more than about finding a place where he could stand out and be special. It's about reconnecting with his family. With family who his mother has essentially divorced herself from and never told her boys about. If you'll remember in the first book, Felton helps reconnect with a long long family member, this is what is going to happen through Andrew. Except -- and maybe this is pretty bold -- I think Andrew's much more successful in his quest and helps both himself and Felton reconsider what it means to be family and to love one another.

The family relationships and family dynamics in this story ring true. Where I could see some readers suggesting that maybe there's too much mess in Felton's family, I buy every moment of this story. Families are tricky things. It's not always clear where people stand with one another, despite being connected by genetics. I'm not sure in the end that things are resolved, either, and that's a huge part of what figuring out family is all about. It constantly shifts and changes and it's not always comfortable. At times, I found myself getting a little welled up because Felton's experiences with family hit close to him. Fortunately, Felton's trademark humor brings levity to the situations he works through. They don't become heavy issues nor do they become messages or lessons to learn. They just are.

Herbach's writing is easy to read and he nails voice. Felton still remains one of the most authentic males I've read in YA. He had feelings and thoughts, but he doesn't necessarily act upon them in the most logical manner nor in the way we would want him to. He makes mistakes and he does stupid things. But he has to in order to get to the heart of things. He's selfish and self-absorbed, but it doesn't make him the kind of character you dislike because of it. Instead, he's able to gain the reader's interest and sympathy because of these qualities. The thing is, you know deep down he is a great guy and he knows deep down he's a great guy too.

As much as this is a story about family, Nothing Special is also a story about friendship and about love. Where Felton found himself lost without Gus the summer before, he's learning that maybe he and Gus aren't meant to be the kind of friends who stick together to the end. Relationships are dynamic, ever-shifting things, and Felton learns to deal with this head on while in the car with Gus. They've both changed and their lives are going separate ways. Part of it has to do with Felton's character and his selfishness, but part of the blame lies squarely on Gus for the same reasons. Then there's Aleah. We know this entire story is a letter to Aleah, but what makes it more powerful is knowing how much of himself Felton gives her through it. He's raw and broken, and he is absolutely unafraid of being that way with her, even if he's not entirely sure of what their future together is. That Felton has this sort of person in his life made me cheer because, even if she's not right there with him in person, she's there with him in the way he really needs her. She's there to listen.

As soon as I finished the book, I wrote down a quote that stuck with me and that I think nails Felton's character and his story: "If you act out of love, whatever you do is both perfect and right. It doesn't matter if you're a deep thinker or a squirrel nut if you act out of love. Crap starts getting seriously screwed if something else gets in the way, something like fear or revenge or even victory or being famous or some other dumb thing. The only thing we need to do is figure out what we really love." Even though things suck sometimes, even if things suck a lot of the time, and even if things make no sense whatsoever when they're happening, all that matters is acting out of love. Felton, for all his faults, is ultimately a likable because as readers, we know this is precisely why he does the things he does.

Nothing Special will appeal to the same readers who fell in love with the first book, and while it's possible to read this one without having read Stupid Fast, I wouldn't recommend it. To come to the conclusions Felton does, readers need to stick with him throughout. My only qualms with this story are that at times it feels it runs a little long and at times it takes on a lot of heavy issues at once. It's not that they're not relevant or important to the story, but it can feel a bit overwhelming to the reader. Herbach, though, has a gift for voice, and I am beyond excited to see what sort of story he offers next. If you like funny, thoughtful, and authentic male characters, this book and its predecessor are essential reads.

Review copy received from the publisher. Nothing Special is available now.

May debut novels at The Hub

2012-05-16T17:00:00.000-05:00

I'm over at The Hub, YALSA's book blog today, talking about May debut novels. I'd love if you stopped over there and checked it out.

Kill You Last by Todd Strasser

2012-05-16T01:00:00.000-05:00

In Kill You Last, Shelby's comfortable existence has just ended. Her father, who runs a photography and modeling business, has been connected to three missing teenage girls, and the evidence pointing toward his guilt just continues to pour in. She's also started to receive threatening emails from a person who promises vengeance for her father's actions. When it seems like everyone has already decided her father is guilty, Shelby decides to do a little investigating of her own.

I quite enjoyed the first two books in Strasser's "Thrillogy," but I think the shine has worn off a bit for me. This go around, I was much less forgiving of the thin characterization and somewhat juvenile writing style. The little snippet he gave the reader at the beginning - present in all the books - was also a little tiresome this time. The reason for that is that this prologue isn't actually any new material: it's simply an excerpt from a later portion of the book with a few bits edited out to avoid spoilers. When I reached the part of the book the prologue had been taken from, I felt cheated rather than illumined. As a hook, it falls short.

All that said, the mystery itself is quite good. Strasser is excellent at dangling several possibilities before the reader, making them all equally plausible, and then making the big reveal at the end seem as if it should have been obvious all along. And despite the lackluster writing, this book is a surefire page-turner. I even read it in the car, something I almost always avoid due to motion sickness, because I wanted - needed - to know whodunnit.

I also have to give Strasser credit for not pulling his punches. Shelby starts out steadfast in her defense of her father, but she slowly grows to realize that he is a lot worse than she knew. In fact, he's a downright dirty creep, and as Shelby learns more, her picture of him just deteriorates. I appreciated that Strasser made her father this creepy guy who is perhaps innocent of murder, but certainly not innocent of other awful things. In too many stories, the end of the book tidily resolves the parental issues to show that it was all a misunderstanding or the person isn't as bad as they seemed. Not so here. Shelby's father isn't the only one, either - her other friends, family, and acquaintances have dirty secrets too, even if they may not be murderous.

In all three books, Strasser writes from a female point of view. I'm always curious to see how male writers do this (and how female writers do a male point of view). Due to the almost complete lack of character development, though, I can't really judge how well Strasser succeeded in capturing the female voice. This is especially apparent in the last chapter, when Strasser quickly wraps up the story in what might as well have been a series of bullet points describing what happened to each character. It's a prime example of the kind of telling, rather than showing, that is used to develop character - and pretty ineffectively. It's a flaw for sure, but if you're a fan of this type of story, it won't prevent you from enjoying it.

Display This: Sibling Stories

2012-05-15T00:00:00.002-05:00

Over the last year or so, there have been an exceptional number of YA stories about siblings published (or ones that will be published soon). Besides just stories of brother-sister, brother-brother, and sister-sister relationships, there have also been a number of stories about twins published/to be pubbed soon. What makes these stories engaging is that, despite tackling sometimes similar subject matter, they still show the differing dynamics that occur within these family bonds. These sorts of stories fascinate me to no end because I didn't grow up with my siblings so these are stories about experiences I've never had nor never will have.

The bulk of these stories explore somewhat standard sibling relationships, so I would love any suggestions you might have of stories about siblings which aren't as common. I'd love stories about step/half siblings, about sibling bonds that don't necessarily form naturally or smoothly. Some of these books tackle the sibling relationship as the plot while others make use of that relationship as a major subplot -- it's more than just a relationship that exists but one that advances both the character and the story in some way. All descriptions are from WorldCat and all of these are titles published/publishing in 2011 and 2011 (I snuck in a couple late 2010 titles, too). These are YA titles only, as I think the sibling relationship trend is much less prominent in YA than it is in middle grade or younger titles. I know I'm missing a bunch, so as always, feel free to add any others you can think of in the comments.

For extra fun, I've starred titles that feature twins.

Irises by Francisco X Stork: Kate, eighteen, and Mary, sixteen, must make some adult decisions about the course their lives should take when their loving but old-fashioned father dies suddenly, leaving them with their mother, who has been in a persistant vegetative state since an accident four years earlier.

Sisters of Glass by Stephanie Hemphill: When a new glassblower arrives to help in the family business, the attraction Maria feels for him causes a web of conflicting emotions to grow even more tangled.

Split by Swati Avasthi: A teenaged boy thrown out of his house by his abusive father goes to live with his older brother, who ran away from home years ago to escape the abuse.

Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma: Two years after sixteen-year-old Chloe discovered classmate London's dead body floating in a Hudson Valley reservoir, she returns home to be with her devoted older sister Ruby, a town favorite, and finds that London is alive and well, and that Ruby may somehow have brought her back to life and persuaded everyone that nothing is amiss. (Review)

The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt: Although they have never gotten along well, seventeen-year-old Levi follows his older brother Boaz, an ex-Marine, on a walking trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. in hopes of learning why Boaz is completely withdrawn. (Review)

Never Enough by Denise Jaden (July 2012): Sixteen-year-old Loann admires and envies her older sister Claire's strength, popularity, and beauty, but as Loann begins to open up to new possibilities in herself, she discovers that Claire's all-consuming quest for perfection comes at a dangerous price.

*All These Lives by Sarah Wylie (June 2012): Convinced that she has nine lives after cheating death twice as a child, sixteen-year-old Dani tries to forfeit her remaining lives in hopes of saving her twin sister, Jena, whose leukemia is consuming their family.

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown (July 2012): Seventeen-year-old Kendra, living in the shadow of her brother's obsessive-compulsive disorder, takes a life-changing road trip with him.

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John: Sixteen-year-old Luke Dorsey is sent on a cross-country tour to promote his bestselling spiritual self-help guide accompanied by his agnostic older brother and former girlfriend Fran, from whom he learns some things about salvation. (Review)

* Happy Families by Tanita S. Davis (May 2012): In alternating chapters, sixteen-year-old twins Ysabel and Justin share their conflicted feelings as they struggle to come to terms with their father's decision to dress as a woman.

* Bumped by Megan McCafferty: In 2036 New Jersey, when teens are expected to become fanatically religious wives and mothers or high-priced Surrogettes for couples made infertile by a widespread virus, sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony find in one another the courage to believe they have choices. See also Thumped. (Review)

Brother/Sister by Sean Olin: Told in alternating perspectives, Will and Asheley relate the events of the summer and explain how their lives became violently out of control.

Rock On by Denise Vega: High school sophomore Ori Taylor, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter in a nameless rock band, has always been known as the easily-overlooked younger brother of Del, a high school sports star, but when Del suddenly returns home from college just as Ori is starting to gain some confidence in himself, Del expects everything to return to the way it used to be.

Stick by Andrew Smith: Thirteen-year-old Stark "Stick" McClellan's brother has always defended him against those who tease him for his thinness and facial deformity, so when Bosten, having admitted he is gay, must leave home and their abusive parents, Stick sets out to find him.

Without Tess by Marcella Pixley: Fifteen-year-old Lizzie Cohen recalls what it was like growing up with her imaginative but disturbed older sister Tess, and how she is striving to reclaim her own life since Tess died. (Review)

Zen and Xander Undone by Amy Kathleen Ryan: Two teenaged sisters try to come to terms with the death of their mother in very different ways.

* Pretty Bad Things by CJ Skuse: When they were six years old, twins Beau and Paisley were famous for surviving on their own after their mother died of a drug overdose, and now, at sixteen, they escape from their abusive grandmother to look for their father, who is out of prison and, unbeknownst to them, has been writing them letters since he was put away.

Pieces of Us by Margie Gelbwasser: Four teenagers from two families--sisters Katie and Julie and brothers Alex and Kyle--meet every summer at a lakeside community in upstate New York, where they escape their everyday lives and hide disturbing secrets. (Review)

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott: When her older, "perfect" sister Tess has a car accident that puts her in a coma, seventeen-year-old Abby, who has always felt unseen in Tess's shadow, plans to bring her back with the help of Eli, a gorgeous boy she has met at the hospital, but her plans go awry when she learns some secrets about both Tess and Eli, enabling her to make some decisions about her own life.

The Space Between Us by Jessica Martinez (October 2012): Seventeen-year-old Amelia feels like her life might be getting back on track after a bad break-up when her younger sister's pregnancy gets them both banished to Canada, where new relationships are forged, giving Amelia a new perspective.

Personal Effects by EM Kokie (September 2012): Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, seventeen-year-old Matt Foster feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, and the worst part is, there’s nothing left of him to hold on to. Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on T.J.’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death.

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma: Sixteen-year-old Maya and seventeen-year-old Lochan tell, in their separate voices, of their confusion and longing as they fall in love with one another after years of functioning as parents to three younger siblings due to their alcoholic mother's neglect. (Review)

I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler: Brainy Tess Smith is the younger sibling of the beautiful, popular, volleyball-scholarship-bound Kristina. When Kristina is diagnosed with bone cancer, it drastically changes both sisters' lives. Sometimes the things that annoy us the most about our siblings are the ones we'd miss the most if we lost them.

Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso: Summer Stetson has always lived in the shadow of her dead sister, knowing she can never measure up in any way, but on her seventeenth birthday her aunt gives her Shannon's diary, which reveals painful but liberating truths about Summer's family and herself.

Sass & Serendipity by Jennifer Ziegler: Unlike her romantic sister, Gabby is down-to-earth and does not put her trust in relationships, but when the richest boy in school befriends her, she discovers that emotional barriers might actually be getting in the way of her happiness.

Saving June by Hannah Harrington: After her sister's suicide, Harper Scott takes off for California with her best friend Laney to scatter her sister's ashes in the Pacific Ocean.

The Summer of Firsts and Lasts by Tera Elsa McVoy: When teenaged sisters Daisy, Violet, and Calla spend their last summer together at Camp Callanwolde, the decisions they make--both good and bad--bring challenges to their relationship as well as opportunities to demonstrate their devotion to one another.

Friends with Boys by Faith Erin Hicks: After an idyllic childhood of homeschooling with her mother and three older brothers, Maggie enrolls in public high school, where interacting with her peers is complicated by the melancholy ghost that has followed her throughout her entire life.

* Gemini Bites by Patrick Ryan: When their parents announce they are taking in a fellow student for a month, 16-year-old twins Kyle and Judy sit up and take notice. Kyle has just come out of the closet to his family and fears he'll never know what it is like to date a guy. Judy is pretending to be born-again to attract a boy who heads a Bible study group. And Garret Johnson is new in town-- a mysterious loner who claims to be a vampire. Both twins are intrigued.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood: In an alternate New England of 1900, where the Brotherhood dominates and controls society, sixteen-year-old Cate Cahill has struggled since her mother's death to keep secret that she and her younger sisters are witches, but when a governess arrives from the Sisterhood, everything changes.

* Beautiful Lies by Jessica Warman (August 2012): Eighteen-year-old identical twins Alice and Rachel have always shared a very special bond, so when one is abducted the other uses their connection to try to locate her.

So You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Victoria Stapleton

2012-05-14T00:00:00.008-05:00

We're changing it up a little bit this week and have invited someone from the other side of the book world to share her picks for our "So You Want to Read YA?" series.

Victoria Stapleton gets to be Director, School & Library Marketing at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, which she modestly thinks may be the very job in all of publishing anywhere, in all times. She likes 2:25 AM, Hendricks Gin, and fat novels. She prefers not to think about puppies (unless it's corgi's), vampires (still doesn't get it, don't try to explain it to her), and suede (impossible to keep nice). She asked Kelly to pick out a lovely shoe to represent her -- does it get better than flamed-out, sparkly Louboutins?

So You Wanna Read YA Do Ya?

I came to YA through my job. When I was a chronological teen we had few books: Flowers in the Attic (gack), Sidney Sheldon (urp), Scruples (BRILLIANT!!!!!). Hah! None of these are YA books, though the combined maturity level of all the characters in all these books does not exceed that of a four-year-old, much less an actual teen. The point is, there was not a lot out there. Also I was a strange child with unhealthy fixations on Nixon, Canadian Mounties, and acquiring the power to achieve total clothes closet security.

So I understand, you're interested, but you don't have a history with YA. Also you might feel a bit shy of being seen with a dreaded "teen book." But YA is one of the most interesting places to explore psychology, morality, sexuality, spirituality. A good YA novel, whatever its window dressing, really gets at those moments when individuals begin to become fully realized autonomous beings. Since this is truly a ginomongous topic, there are so many paths to explore. A good YA novel does this bravely, passionately, and truthfully. Here are a few and, believe me, I had a very, VERY hard time narrowing it down. That's how rich this field is now.

Diana Wynne Jones. Holy Toast with Marmelade this woman, such an amazing writer, over so many titles. There might be a few "less good" ones, but I defy you to find a bad one. Not gonna happen. One of my favorites is Conrad's Fate. Is Conrad a person or a tool? Does he have a choice or a program?

Sara Zarr. I was finally able to write this post by thinking about Zarr, who is one of the keenest observers and explorers of teen morality and psychology. I'm going to suggest Sweethearts because it goes straight to the heart of the teen need to hide and be noticed at the same time by the same people. Personal expression or camouflage?

Nancy Farmer. One of the single most fascinating women on the planet. A dinner at a Portuguese restaurant in Toronto lives in my memory. Also she uses the word "cathouse" in casual conversation. Try The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm. Holy Canoli.

For my final pick, Darren Shan. Yes, Darren Shan. If you think his books are only about grossing you out, you are not paying attention. Loyalty, Revenge, Family, The State, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Faith, Honor, Courage, Cowardice. This is what Darren Shan is writing about. Teens reading his books are thinking about these issues while someone's head gets lopped off, but they're thinking about them nonetheless. If you don't want to commit to one of his series, I strongly encourage you to read The Thin Executioner. I hated Huckleberry Finn in high school, so tiresome, but I loved The Thin Executioner, which is a mediation on Twain.

I could go on and on and on and few on's after that. Sherman Alexie, Paolo Bacigalupi, Libba Bray, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, David McGinnis Gill, M.T. Anderson (author of the single best book of existentialism ever), Laurie Halse Anderson, A.S. King (truly a boss lady), Barry Lyga, Holly Black (oh my GOD, so good), Laini Taylor, Michael Lawrence, Catherine Fisher, Walter Dean Myers (bow down to the man).

You get the idea. I am almost metaphysically certain I will never read Johnathan Franzen and I have no regrets for I have these voices, these stories, to flat out smack me in the gob.

Dammit! I forgot the Antipodeans: Garth Nix, Karen Healey, Margo Lanagan, Marcus Zusak...

Congrats, giveaway winners

2012-05-13T13:19:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who joined us in celebrating our three year blogging anniversary (and for entering our contests -- that was our biggest turn out to date!).

Congrats to Sophie, who won a copy of Pete Hautman's Obsidian Blade and Alexandra O., who won a pre-order of Courtney Summers's This is Not a Test.

Don't forget, we've got a giveaway of Blythe Woolston's Catch & Release and audiobook version of The Freak Observer running through the end of the month.

Here's to at least another three years of blogging!

Binky Under Pressure by Ashley Spires

2012-05-11T00:00:00.000-05:00

I was introduced to Binky the Space Cat last year and was utterly charmed. As a space cat, it is Binky's job to protect his family from the "aliens" (bugs) that threaten the "space station" (the family's home). It's a tough job...but somebody's gotta do it. In Spires' third installment, Binky must contend with an interloper in the space station - a foster cat named Gracie who is more than she seems.

I quite enjoyed the story. The first two books were were pretty solitary - Binky interacted with his family (only a little, and they never understood him) and his best friend Ted (who is a stuffed animal), but no one on his own level. With the addition of Gracie, he's given another animal to socialize with, and they get up to some fun hijinks.

Although the gimmick of Binky being a "space cat" is no longer new, each additional book in the series has maintained the same high quality as the first. The stories are clever and fun (with just the right amount of farting) and the art continues to delight. While Binky himself doesn't talk, he does make some hilarious noises. His facial expressions are probably my favorite - Spires communicates so much with just a little re-positioning of the mouth or narrowing of the eyes. There are enough details that a second reading is just as enjoyable as the first.

Previously, on Binky the Space Cat...

Since much of the story is told through captions rather than dialogue, thought-bubbles, or pure action, I think these books work well as read-alouds, which can't be said for most comics. Of course, the art is still wonderful - those expressions on Binky's face kill me - and adds so much to the story, meaning it's best shared with one or two little ones so they can each get a good look. (Or you can have your grown-up boyfriend read it and giggle with you, whichever.)

Binky isn't sure how he feels about the new addition to the space station. Look at his expression in the last panel! Precious and sassy.

Three debut reviews

2012-05-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

I made it a goal to read 35 debut novels this year, and as of the time I'm writing this post, I've already finished 23. Rather than settle on reading my favorite genre, though, I've been pushing myself to read outside my comfort zone with debut novels. Here are three of the recent debuts I've read and I think you'll see what I'm talking about. All three of these novels also share an element of government conspiracy to them.

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock is a paranormal featuring werewolves -- something way outside my usual fare. But this story is so much more than a paranormal werewolf novel; it's a mystery full of heart, with a great main character who doesn't fall into the trappings I find to be too-common in these sorts of stories.

Mac's best friend Amy died, and it's believed her death is related to the outbreak of the werewolf disease hitting the town of Hemlock. The town's under surveillance, and even though Amy wasn't the first to die, the circumstances relating to her death are suspicious enough that the government wants to get to the bottom of the disease. They want to protect their citizens and put an end to the fear once and for all.

Kyle and Jason are Mac's other two friends -- Kyle had always been her closest friend, the one everyone thought she should get together with romantically and Jason is the guy who had been dating Amy before she died. There is a love triangle developing, but the way Peacock handles this is fantastic. Never once is Mac the girl figuring out which guy she should be with. Instead, this is a story where the male leads are the vulnerable ones, where their feelings are the ones we have to sort out. Mac has great agency and a brain in her head; this allows her to pursue things as she wants to pursue them. All three of these characters are flawed, and when the mystery surrounding Amy's death amps up, with Mac at the helm, these flaws become more apparent.

Maybe what I appreciated most about this, aside from the mystery woven through the werewolf lore, was that these characters have no super powers. These are your average teenagers, and because of that, they're so limited in how they can behave and act. They aren't going to solve the mystery easily and part of that is because the truth is there is a political conspiracy afoot.

The biggest weakness to Hemlock for me was that the secondary characters were challenging to keep apart and when one of them ended up playing a pretty significant role in the story, I kinda had forgotten who he was. Hand this one off to readers who like paranormal stories but are looking for something fresh, as well as those readers who are looking for a different kind of mystery. Obviously, this one will also go over well with your werewolf fans. I give Peacock some major props for sliding a great reference to Ginger Snaps into the book too. Hemlock is available now.

SD Crockett's After the Snow hooked me with the dialog, which reminded me a lot of Moira Young's Blood Red Road (which I really liked) but ultimately, this post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel left me somewhat unsatisfied.

Willo, a half-wild, nature-driven teen, comes home after a day of trapping to discover his father and his father's wife have disappeared. They've resided deep in the wilderness, far away from the city where the government has strapped down control and power over the citizens. The entire world is very, very cold (figuratively and literally). Willo wants to find his family so bad, and so he takes off on a journey away from his home, in hopes of tracking them down. Along the way, he stops at another home, where he finds Mary, and together, they are going to survive and find their families.

Of course it's not that easy, and they end up being transported right into the city where the government has taken control. They're lucky to make it inside, since they don't have papers to identify them. Once there, though, Willo ditches Mary in hopes of being able to seek out his father (he's gotta look out for number one). People here are not nice, and they all want to steal the coat off his back because it's a luxury none of them have seen in a long time. But he's taken in by an older man and woman who put his creation skills to the test, and they're able to sell apparel with his talent. The woman who has been buying his creations, though, knows where his father is and when she begins to tell him how he can get to safety, all hell breaks loose.

The problems with this story were two-fold: Willo as a character was very hard to follow. His dialect isn't problematic because it gives us a great sense of his education, his class, and his wildness. He's very much nature-driven and very much about the survivalist method employed by wild animals. Except his heart is driven in finding his father and that's where it becomes challenging to connect with him or understand what he's doing. We don't get a sense of what's going on in Willo's mind, and when he makes choices, they aren't logical to us as readers. This in and of itself wouldn't be a challenge, except it is made that way because readers are not given a sense of what is at stake in the city. It's never clear what the government is doing that's so bad. We're never clear why Willo or anyone should be fearful. We don't know what it is they need to escape from. Part of this has to do with Willo's lack of knowledge, since the story's from his perspective, except since we don't know much about Willo, the tactic falls flat. It leaves the reader confused and unable to emotionally connect with him.

The ending was also unsatisfying. It was too obvious from the beginning and made the journey -- the long and frustration journey -- even more a question of why? Why did we follow it?

That said, After the Snow has earned three starred reviews from readers who figured out the world much more than I did, but browsing non-professional journals, it appears many others had the same challenges I did. Hand this over to readers who are ready for a challenging read that's more about style than about world-building. It's at heart a survival story. After the Snow is available now.

Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14 is another post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel and it hooked me from the premise alone: 14 kids, ranging in age from elementary school students all the way through high school students, are on their way to school when the sky opens up and starts destroying everything. They have to take refuge in the nearest safe place, which is the Greenway store (think big box, like Walmart). The employees from the store have died because they went outside and were crushed by the massive hail. Their bus driver -- arguably the most interesting character in the story -- goes out and never comes back. Now they've got to fend for themselves in a world that is falling apart before their own eyes.

All of these kids are trapped in what is probably the best place to be stuck during a catastrophe. They've got everything they could possibly need all in front of them. They have things they can sleep on. They have food they can eat. They have electricity (which they have to conserve). I guess it stunk they didn't have water, but they did have it in bottles, and they figured out how to handle the bathroom situation (in far too much detail, I think). They can't communicate with the outside world because the Network is down.

Apparently, there is some sort of government conspiracy going on in this story, too, but it is never explained. There are snatches of it -- the knowledge that something being released into the system causes people to exhibit certain physical problems, based on their blood type -- but it is so minimal. The story focuses much more on the minutia of life inside this store. That's to say there's no apparent external threat in this story. For a moment, there's a crazy guy outside who wants to get in, and when the kids choose to allow two men come in from the outside, there are small moments of wondering what could go wrong. But otherwise, Monument 14 suffers from being boring because there's not really anything worth worrying about. Likewise, this is also a future world, but never once did it feel like that was the case because that plot line was never explored.

More than that, though, what Laybourne's story doesn't offer us is any good character development. There are 14 characters, and most of them get little to no page time. The teen characters get a little more time, as they should, but they offer us no reason to worry about them. Two of the main female characters are depicted in very problematic ways, too: one is given the reputation and storyline of being a slut (and it's done in a very disturbing manner, in a scene that made me very, very uncomfortable to read because it objectified her terribly) and then she's raped later on in the story but the characters don't necessarily buy this from her because of her reputation; the other girl, who we get to meet in a very intimate moment (one where she ends up hurting a boy pretty bad) we find out is expecting a baby. There is a third girl, but she's given so little time it's hard not to walk away wondering what the message about females and males was in this story.

Monument 14 is the first in a series, and I am pretty certain I won't be picking up the next title. This one didn't offer me any reason to because it didn't offer me compelling characters or a world worth caring about. The ending is very much first-in-a-series in terms of being a cliffhanger, but it was more disappointing than hooking. If characters in the story aren't going at this with their whole heart, I can't either. I left this one feeling bored, disinterested, and deeply unsatisfied as a reader. Other books have taken this concept of teens trapped together and offered up not only strong characters, but also great external threats. Monument 14 will be available June 5.

Review copies provided by the publishers.

Chained by Lynne Kelly

2012-05-09T01:00:00.000-05:00

When ten-year-old Hastin's younger sister becomes ill and his mother must borrow money for her care, the only way to pay off that debt is for his mother to leave her family and become an indentured servant to an indifferent rich family. Rather than having his kindly mother suffer this indignity, Hastin agrees to become an assistant elephant keeper for a circus master, but he must travel far away and leave his family for many years in order to free his mother. But while Hastin doesn't know what to expect from this position, he is not prepared at all for the difficulties he encounters. The circus owner is cruel, malicious, and money-hungry, and Hastin is forced to trap and ensnare a kindly young elephant that he names Nandita. Even worse, the head elephant trainer savagely beats the elephant in an attempt to 'teach' her, and Hastin's term of service keeps getting extended on the circus owner's whims. Yet Hastin also encounters kindness--from Ne Min, the cook with a difficult past who becomes a mentor of sorts, and from Nandita herself. But when Nandita's future becomes more endangered than ever, Hastin must craft a plan to save both himself and his friend.

In her debut novel, Lynne Kelly has crafted a beautiful book that tugs at the heartstrings while simultaneously spinning a marvelous plot. Hastin is a strong hero whose love for his family, including Nandita, who becomes both a best friend and a sister of sorts, shines through. This is a story about sacrifice, bravery, and compassion, but most of all about friendship. About how human/animal friendships can often be the strongest of all, and how Hastin and Nandita help each other, even as both are suffering themselves. It is also nice to see a friendship that crosses generations in the bond between Hastin and Ne Min, and the character development of Ne Min, along with the revelations about his past, is well-paced and realistic. Chained is a lovely and touching story that will find a home in public, home, and school libraries.

Readers looking to find more sensitively drawn, multicultural works like Chained should seek out Mitali Perkins' Bamboo Summer and works by Linda Sue Park.

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) for review.

The Princesses of Iowa by M Molly Backes

2012-05-08T00:00:00.003-05:00

At the end of last school year, Paige Sheridan, along with her two best friends Nicky and Lacey, were in an accident after a late night drinking party. Because Paige's mother is obsessed with keeping her daughter's reputation flawless, she ships Paige overseas to au pair for the summer, thinking that by the time summer's over, the accident will be out of the minds of everyone in their small Iowa town. Paige has to maintain her image as one of the popular, pretty, perfect girls.

When she gets back from her summer away, Paige is ready to see her boyfriend Jake and she's eager to see Nicky and Lacey. The time apart was meant to heal their wounds, except when Paige returns, things are anything but peachy. Nicky and Lacey aren't interested in being kind to Paige and Jake, who promised to take a creative writing class with Paige, has suddenly changed his schedule to take a film class with Lacey instead. Now Paige is alone and has to figure out who she is and where she now fits in at the school where she'd once reigned supreme. Thankfully, she's got a lot of time to do it and a lot of opportunities to figure herself out via this creative writing class she hates being in.

Princesses of Iowa has all of the elements of a book I love: complicated characters, complicated situations, and a lot of unrest and insecurity between the two. There's also great voice in this novel.

First and foremost, we're dropped into the story at the beginning of the new school year. We aren't forced through the car accident that created the rift between the girls, and we're not forced through the summer after. Instead, we're left to figure things out right along with Paige. And she has a lot to wade through. Where we should have some sort of sympathy for her, especially because it seems everyone has turned against her, Paige is not at all easy to like nor is she all that sympathetic. She's very much a princess, and she's egged on by her mother to be so. Paige has made a ton of mistakes in her past, including the drunk driving accident (easily forgotten, given the story's set up) and she doesn't feel an ounce of remorse for how she's behaved. Moreover, she has further made unlikable because of her affluence -- it's not just that she's wealthy in an area where wealth isn't all that common, but it's that she unabashedly flaunts it. She's really had everything handed to her in life, and she's not afraid to talk about it. There's a scene in the story where she runs into Ethan -- a new kid in town who has been the source of some relentless teasing -- and he's working at the local coffee shop. Paige even says to him that she can't believe he has to work while he's in school because, well, she's never had to. She's above him in this moment, and this interaction is just one of the many moments when she pivots herself as better than her peers because of her privilege.

Paige doesn't act much better at home, and in fact, it's probably her family and home life that contribute directly to her being the less-than-pleasant girl she is. Her mother is obsessed with maintaining an image of perfection, both for herself and for Paige. Without doubt, her mother uses Paige as a way to achieve the vapid glories she, too, longs for. Then there's Miranda -- Mirror -- who is the younger sister and with whom Paige hasn't necessarily had the greatest relationship. Mirror is envious of the attention her mother gives to her sister, and I think it's fairly telling that she prefers to be called Mirror. Then there's the father in the story, and even though he and mom are married, dad is never around. I suspect had he been around a lot more, we'd have an entirely different mother. It's pretty obvious from the start that mom is bored and restless with her own life and she uses Paige as her way to find excitement and meaning. She's lonely, much like Paige is. Need I mention her sister prefers to be called Mirror?

Nicky and Lacey are characters who are hurting a lot, but they also don't garner a whole lot of sympathy. Nicky has taken on the role of advocate for an anti-drinking and driving campaign at school, right before Homecoming and she's recruiting others to help her push the case. Lacey is dealing with being physically injured from the car accident, and while her pains are real, she uses them as a way to get attention and sympathy. Although we're getting that reading of her behavior from Paige, I don't doubt it's true. Jake, who used to be involved with Paige, has essentially dumped her in order to "help Lacey out." As much as it sounds like it's out of the goodness of his heart, I don't for a second believe it. He's in it for the attention it brings him. For the honor of being close to tragedy.

Although the heft of storytelling falls in developing characters who are really unlikable and rather terrible people -- my favorite kind to read about -- one of the biggest plot points is about Paige's journey of self-discovery through creative writing. She takes the class because she thinks it will be easy and because Jake will be in it with her. But when he chooses to take a different class with Lacey instead, Paige is left on her own. And this writing class isn't easy at all. Paige doesn't have anything she believes to be worth writing about. More than that, though, the classroom is a battlefield of everything she's ever fought against. She has to deal with people who are different than her and who challenge her reputation of perfection. It's in this class she first meets Ethan (the coffee shop boy) and has to confront the notion of what she's been led to believe about a person isn't necessarily the truth about that person. Along the same lines, Paige has to figure out how to work with her teacher, Mr. Tremont. Rumor is he's gay and being gay in a place like small town Iowa isn't cool. It's scary and makes Paige uncomfortable when she buys into the rumor. . . and maybe spreads the rumor herself.

This creative writing class not only helps Paige learn about other people and how it's okay to be different, but it helps her discover who she is. It forces her to confront all of the ugliness she carries and use it in more meaningful ways. Although it's effective in the story and at times it's great to read (because when you read or when you write, you confront those very same things about yourself and getting that affirmation via reading is always neat), I felt like it sometimes bordered on didactic.

The Princesses of Iowa is a long book, and when I was reading it, I felt the length more than once. That's not to say this isn't well-paced or well-written because it is. There is certainly great character development and I appreciated watching these terrible characters get what they deserve, but because of the length, the power of the creative writing element made me question whether the characters were really great characters or whether they were props supporting this Great and Meaningful Message about the way writing can change your life. That's not to say I ever believed that was the purpose of the story or the characters, but it felt like a little too much. Combined with a few plot points that felt over-the-top and slight (including a scene where the anti-gay coalition shows up at the high school to protest their hiring of a teacher who may or may not be homosexual which was over and done in just a couple of pages, despite being a huge and important thing worth digging into), the story became heavy within itself. It took on more than it could support when it had so much going for it already. A little less could have made this even stronger.

Backes's book reads like a love letter to writing, and the real story behind it here is that of how writing can change a person. Paige definitely has an ah ha moment in the book, but I think she got off much too easily. For being as terrible a person as she was, she comes to some hard and fast realizations through making new friends and through realizing that opening her mouth when she shouldn't isn't always the smart thing or the right thing to do. She works through 450 pages of story and walks away way more unscathed than she should. I'm a big believer in terrible characters getting their fair share so it was a little bit of a letdown.

Princesses of Iowa will have nice appeal to teen readers who are interested in writing themselves, and I think it'll appeal to readers who like stories with complex and downright unlikeable characters. This book is set in small town Iowa, so it'll appeal particularly to readers who want stories in a rural setting. There were a lot of interesting cross-over themes between Backes's story and Geoff Herbach's Stupid Fast, particularly in terms of social class, small-town life, social norms, and the whole host of -isms which box and label people, and I could see those who liked Herbach's story liking this one, too. Fans of Catherine Gilbert Murdoch's Dairy Queen series who are looking for something a little more mature will likely appreciate this one as well.

Review copy received from the publisher. The Princesses of Iowa releases today.

So You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Lee Wind

2012-05-07T00:00:00.004-05:00

Today's guest for our "So You Want to Read YA?" series is Lee Wind.

Photo by Rita Crayon Huang

Lee Wind is a Blogger, Author and Speaker. He has a masters degree in Education and Media from Harvard and is widely seen as an expert in GLBTQ Teen Literature. His award-winning blog "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" gets over 200,000 page loads a year, and he's the official blogger for the Society of Children's Books Writers And Illustrators. His articles and interviews with luminaries in the world of Children's Literature have been published on-line and in print, including the 2011 and 2012 editions of "Children's Writer's And Illustrator's Market." He speaks to thousands of students and educators a year, conducting Smashing Stereotypes workshops and presenting Safe Space: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture... and at YOUR School programs. You can find out more about Lee at www.leewind.org.

I often joke that for writers of kid lit, we have these ages of arrested development - these times in our childhood when colors seemed fiercer, tastes exploded in our mouths, and our memories seem so real that we can go back there in an instant. And those are the times we go back to when we're writing a six year old in a picture book. An eleven year old in a middle grade work. Or a fifteen, sixteen, or seventeen year old in a Young Adult novel. We can write all those ages because we've been all those ages, and art and craft and inspiration fill in the rest.

For adult readers, there's something truly exciting about being able to go back inside ourselves to those same ages through reading, and nourish (and sometimes heal) our inner child. Our inner teen.

When I was growing up, I knew I was attracted to other guys, but I didn't even know the word for it. When I learned the word (and a bunch of other not-so-nice versions of it) there wasn't even a single book that showed me a positive, happy gay teen character. The only "gay" characters were adult pedophiles and predators (like Baron Harkonnen in Frank Herbert's otherwise brilliant "Dune") and that wasn't helping me claim my authentic identity. So I read between the lines. Voraciously. I even figured out a loophole in the mating ritual of the dragons and dragonriders of Pern, and felt maybe there was a place for gay me in the fantasies of Anne McCaffrey. But it was never stated on the page.

Which left me feeling that if there wasn't a place for me in the world of fantasy and fiction, how could there be a place for me - as a gay guy - in our real world?

It was a cold lesson. And it kept me closeted for years.

But as I grew to be an adult and came out as a proud gay man, that lack of representation in teen fiction made me determined to become a writer myself, and write the damn stories I had yearned to read.

In time, the world and children's publishing started to change, and in the last decade, there's been an explosion of books for teens with gay characters. Lesbian characters, too. There are even a handful of bisexual and transgender titles. There are books with gay parents and uncles and caretakers, and even picture books with two dad and two mom families.

"Annie On My Mind" by Nancy Garden - the first teen lesbian love story with a happy ending - made me cry when I read it in my 40s, because even though they were so different from me, at their core, the humanity of Liza and Annie spoke to me so deeply. "Boy Meets Boy" by David Levithan and "Freak Show" by James St. James and "The God Box" by Alex Sanchez and "Absolutely Positively Not" by David LaRochelle rocked my world with great gay teen characters and hopeful and even happy endings. There were so many GLBTQ teen titles that I started a blog to list them all and let teens and other readers review them in a safe space. ("I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" at www.leewind.org)

Every GLBTQ Teen book I read - most recently "Zombies Vs. Unicorns" - an anthology that included three stories with queer main characters, rocks my world. And I think, wow, just one of these books would have changed my life. If I could have seen a gay "me" in fiction when I was a teen, I would have known that there IS a place for gay me in reality - and that's a lesson I hope EVERY teen, no matter who they are, understands today.

And for us adults, we can time travel back to our inner fifteen year old, and say, I have something you have to read. And it's gonna rock your world. And in nourishing and healing our inner teen, we nourish and heal our adult selves as well.

So read YA for your inner teen - and let it rock your world!

***

Where to find great GLBTQ Teen Books:

Every year since 2008 the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered Round Table and the Social Responsibilities Round Table puts out the "Rainbow List" of the best books for kids and teens with GLBTQ characters and themes published. Check out their lists here: http://glbtrt.ala.org/rainbowbooks/rainbow-books-lists

Daisy Porter has excellent reviews of Queer YA on her blog, http://daisyporter.org/queerya/

And of course, my blog lists of over 450 books in these categories:

Gay Teen characters/Themes,

Lesbian Teen characters/Themes,

Bisexual Teen Characters/Themes,

Transgender Teen Characters/Themes,

Questioning Teen Characters/Themes,

Books with Queer (Gender Non-Conforming) Teen Characters/Themes,

Books with an ensemble that includes GLBTQ Teen Characters,

Books with a GLBTQ Parent/Caretaker,

Books on Friends and Family of GLBTQ Characters,

Books with Homophobia as a Theme,

GLBTQ YA Graphic Novels and Comics,

Easy Reader/Chapter books with GLBTQ (and Gender Non Conforming) Content,

Picturebooks I wish had been read to me when I was a little kid,

Books with surprise gay (GLBTQ) content,

Cross Over Adults Books of GLBTQ Teen interest,

The GLBTQ Middle Grade Bookshelf,

The Gay Fantasy Bookshelf,

The GLBTQ Teen Short Story Bookshelf,

GLBTQ Teen nonfiction, and

GLBTQ Biography and Memoir.

You can check them all out at www.leewind.org.

Links of Note

2012-05-05T00:00:00.003-05:00

Sometimes it blows my mind how much stuff I read in a week, let alone two, especially about the book world. Consider these links some required (and not-so-required) reading from the last couple of weeks. There's a lot here, so get comfortable!

Publisher's Weekly shared their "Galleys to Grab" article for BEA. None of us are going this year, but we caution everyone reading this and getting really excited about these books that we've been led astray by this guide both years we've gone. Not all of these books will be available at BEA to grab -- sometimes, they're just books that'll be buzzed, rather than books that'll actually be there. Also, if your only goal at BEA is to grab books, then you're probably doing it wrong.

Brevard County Libraries in Florida pulled Fifty Shades of Grey from their shelves because it doesn't fit their collection policy. I'm thinking it's time they reconsider their policy, particularly for a book that has a high patron demand. Also, if the book somehow made it through the selectors and onto the shelves before they realized it was erotica, then there might be bigger problems in your library than this book.

Related: Jessica's YA Lit Pro tip makes me laugh every time I think about it.

The Atlantic Wire's YA for adults series is still annoying me for some reason (I wish I could pinpoint why but I can't). This week, they talked books that taught us about sex and offered up virtually nothing current. I get this one is meant to be much more nostalgic but perhaps a foray into the great books out there today that are tackling this topic would give the story a little more relevancy. But maybe that's just my bias. I wish they'd talked a bit about the updating/new forward in Judy Blume's Forever because maybe that's the most interesting part of that book today.

I have a thing for James Patterson stories. I mostly skimmed this one, but I thought the interesting nugget in this one was that since 2006, one out of every 17 books books sold in America has his name on the cover (I hesitate to use the words "written by him"). Anyway, this is why Patterson cares about kids reading.

I didn't want to share this one because I'm pretty sure it's simply link bait, but this blog post on YALSA's official blog has made me ten kinds of angry this week. The suggestion that adults being fans of YA books impacts collection development in libraries makes me question then what YALSA's standing for here. First, suggesting that only books with great teen appeal go in the YA section seems to say to me that YALSA's award books -- most of which do not use "teen appeal" as a factor in their selection -- shouldn't be added to the teen collection. Second, why then does YALSA have its own book blog written by adults? Then let's talk about some of the comments about adults reading YA somehow being indicative of a problem in and of itself. Remind me again why I am linking this? The message here is nothing new. It's librarianship 101. It's insulting to think this is getting time on the YALSA blog when they didn't bother blogging about locking down their awards lists until after enough people complained.

The Wall Street Journal talks about the secret online lives of tweens in this interesting, but not too surprising, story. I think it's fascinating how in the US, we're finally realizing how much mobile technology is allowing this sort of thing. But it's not new at all -- this has been going on for years in more tech-developed countries, including Japan and in Scandanavia. There's a fascinating, though slightly dated, book worth reading if this thing interests you called Smart Mobs by Howard Reingold. The first chapter (if I remember correctly) delves into youth and the mobile tech world and how it's become one of their private social spaces.

I didn't want to bring up the plagiarism issue again, but this is absolutely, positively the best blog post on the entire topic. It gets to the heart of why we blog and what blogging is (spoiler: this is writing -- it's not practicing writing but the thing itself) and it talks about women and communication. I can't really say more than read this, please.

io9 offers up a bunch of recommendations for summer reading that have a science fiction or fantasy bent to them. I've added a bunch to my to-read list. Also, I love how these books are considered "beach reading," because this is about what I'd consider beach reading too. I like my beach adventures mostly filled with other worlds. And little beach.

In honor of Stephen King's 62nd book, Vulture went ahead and ranked all of his books. I'm a little bummed Rose Madder is at the bottom of the list, though!

Electric Monkey Books asks why female characters in YA can't get by without a man. Interesting to think about. While we're at it, Flavorwire had a piece about 10 great books about young women a couple weeks ago. I tried reading The Dud Avocado no fewer than six times and was bored each and every time.

Is YA killing itself? There's a thought-provoking piece over at Fuel Your Writing about this very topic. While I think there are some really good points made, I think it might be conflating the "genre" of YA with the marketing of YA.

While we're at it, is there a recipe for writing a best seller? If there is, how easy is it to do, anyway?

Something light hearted. Kim sent this one to me knowing how much I have feelings about American Girl dolls (in short: growing up as a poor kid and never getting to have one of these dolls sucks). But anyway, here's a creepy gallery of girls posing with their American Girl dolls. Some of these girls make me angry, even as an adult who is recalling what it was like to be envious as a kid.

How about the 5 depressing lessons we learned from Highlights magazine? Thanks, Cracked. This one is pretty much spot-on.

This one's not necessarily book related, but it always brings a smile to my face. My friend Brian has been working on his Iowa Backroads project for years -- it's a website that focuses on small-town Iowa and the stories behind these places. One of his regular features is that of libraries, and he not only includes a photo, but a short blurb about the history of the library. If you're into libraries as places, spend a little time checking out his great photos and stories. I particularly liked this week's library -- they have their own front porch!

Madapple by Christina Meldrum

2012-05-04T00:00:00.000-05:00

I've written about Madapple a bit before, but I actually just finished it a couple of days ago. (My commute is all of five minutes, so it can take a while to get through an audiobook.) The listening experience was a positive one, although I found myself murmuring "This is such a weird book" more and more as the story progressed.

Aslaug lives with her mother in a rural area of Maine. Her mother has told Aslaug for years that she was conceived of a virgin birth, but Aslaug isn't quite sure she believes that. In fact, Aslaug's whole upbringing is strange: she's kept isolated on the land with no interaction with other people, and her mother seems obsessed with religions (all of them) while claiming to ascribe to none of them. Her mother also teaches Aslaug about the wild plants that grow around their home and how they can be used - for good or ill.

When Aslaug's mother dies, she goes to live with her mother's sister, Sara, and things get even stranger there. Sara is a preacher with two children - Susanne and Rune. Aslaug grows close to them both, and they examine her mother's old papers and explore the possibility of Aslaug's virgin birth. Things soon take a turn for the worse - the relationships grow twisted, Sara begins drinking, and Aslaug's stay with them culminates in an act of violence - maybe.

Interspersed with Aslaug's first-person present-tense narration are excerpts from a court transcript set a few years later. We learn quickly that Aslaug is on trial for something, and the nature of the trial is revealed as Aslaug tells her story.

This is a heavy book, despite the dreamlike quality of its writing. It's a novel that explores, among other things, teen pregnancy, incest, child abuse, and the nature of religious belief and miracles. It's full of very messed up people who do very messed up things. Aslaug is caught up in all of it, and Meldrum does a tremendous job of portraying these events through her eyes. Throughout the novel, Aslaug is unsure if what has happened is real or a dream, and as readers, we are unsure too. I think part of what makes the novel so strange is Aslaug's reaction to it all: we expect her to either lash out or withdraw, and she does neither. Instead, she seeks to understand the meaning behind it.

The writing is very, very good. I don't think many readers would dispute that. That said, Madapple is not a book with wide appeal. To enjoy it, a reader must appreciate thoughtful, dark, and somewhat twisted stories. I'm no stranger to bizarre things in my genre fiction, but this is realistic fiction, and it's bizarre in a completely different way. I think it might appeal to fantasy readers as long as they're aware that this is not a fantasy, since the writing lends itself to an otherworldly feeling. In fact, it's been shelved as fantasy on Goodreads by many people, which I find pretty amusing.

If you're looking for something a bit different and don't mind a leisurely-paced book with more than a shake of darkness, you might enjoy Madapple. It's a book that makes you think the entire time you read it, and long after too. I would definitely recommend it on audio; Kirsten Potter's narration was excellent throughout and enhanced that otherworldly feeling that was so essential to the tone of the novel.