New Releases Tuesday!

ALL MERMAIDS ALL THE TIME.

Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown--Delacorte Books for YR

Barnes & Noble     Powell's

That's right, folks, it's summer, and that means mermaids. You thought we covered mermaids two weeks ago? Ohhhh, no. These are murderous mermaids that seduce land-walking folk and live in freshwater lakes. Take that, peaceful sea creatures. 

This is the story of Calder White, who is a merman, and whose family kills people in order to absorb their energy. They also hate Jason Hancock who has a fear of water. (Please don't go into M. Night Shyamalan territory again, books. I just can't right now.) 

There seems to be a fair amount of swimming, intrigue, star-crossed lovey-dovey ness, and fish/humans that murder people, which is really all I look for in a book.

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham--Simon & Schuster Books for YR

Barnes & Noble     Powell's

As someone who has read/watched The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants more than anyone should ever admit to, I can say I am pretty excited for this book. It follows three friends who have had a falling-out after their favorite band, Level3 (for the love of God, could we get authors to vet these names with actual teens?) broke up. The band is getting back together for a reunion tour, and it might be the perfect time for these three friends to find their way back to each other.

Aside from the awful band name, this sounds like a fun story of friendship, growing up, and moving past differences. (I wonder if they are going to realize that their friendship is more important than the band?)

Flirting in Italian by Lauren Henderson--Delacorte Books for YR

Barnes & Noble     Powell's

This books has a one-line description: "Four girls. One magical, and possibly dangerous Italian summer. Family mysteries, ancient castles, long hot nights of dancing under the stars...and of course, plenty of gorgeous Italian boys!" 

True story: when I was in Italy three years ago, I had a waiter try to kiss me when I really just wanted the check, and then the man selling train tickets from Venice to Paris gave me a free upgrade because "your eyes. Oh, your eyes." I found it more creepy than gorgeous, but to each his own. I still kind of want to read this in a "I hope it's a B&N special of the day" kind of way. 

Re-reading: The Giver

THIS ONE IS REALLY MESSING WITH MY HEAD YOU GUYS.

The Giver was one of those books that was assigned to me in class, but that I really ended up liking. Loving, actually. It was my introduction to dystopia, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

I first read this book in eighth grade, and I clearly remember not only having to write a paper on it, but also having to choose from a list of projects that would help us analyze the book. I chose to make a mix tape--on my boom box, natch--and I know for sure that Fiona Apple’s “The Child is Gone” was on there, but I can’t remember what else. (Shout out to Mrs. Van Doren who was doing multi-modal before multi-modal was A Thing!)  Basically this paragraph is just here to show you how cool of a kid I was (Eighth grade? Fiona Apple? Come on.) even though no one in middle school seemed to catch on. I was way ahead of my time.

So now that we’ve established that Eighth Grade Mallory was awesome, let’s talk about how Eighth Grade Mallory had her mind blown. Upon finishing the book, I thought “Oh, what a happy ending. He found a sled. He’s going to Christmas dinner. This is nice.” Then I went to class and the aforementioned Mrs. Van Doren got all critical think-y on us and was like, “Do you really think that he found a sled? Don’t you think that’s just a little too perfect?” And then I realized: Oh God, he died. He died and the baby died and this is not happy this is horrible and I need Fiona Apple now.

So this is what I’ve thought since eighth grade. And when I re-read the book, I thought it again. Yes, the ending is too perfect. There’s no way a sled is just waiting at the top of a hill. Some kid wants to go sledding, brings a sled to the top of a hill and then his mom calls him for dinner and he’s like “Ok, guess I’ll leave the sled here instead of going for one last ride,” and then trudges back down the hill? NOPE.

But then I started doing some research on Amazon, and I found this in the description of the sequel to The Giver: “Under the gentle guidance of Leader, who arrived in Village on a red sled as a young boy and who has the power of Seeing Beyond…” Wait, what? So he did live. And now he’s helping disabled children? I feel like my entire life has been a lie! Well, not really, but I do think this is a good example of when not to do a trilogy, which The Giver eventually turned into.

There were a few other things that surprised me about the book. I hadn’t realized it was so short. I wanted to know more about everything, and I especially wanted the relationship between the Giver and Jonas to be fleshed out a bit more, but with YA books that skew younger--The Giver may even be classified as middle grade now--those are the kinds of things that we, as adults, miss.

I still think it’s a wonderful book, and a great introduction to the genre of dystopian literature, but I also wish that there was no trilogy, because even if the ending was not entirely clear, open-ended is better than cheesy, and an actual sled waiting at the top of an actual mountain to take Jonas and Gabriel to an actual Christmas dinner—well, that’s just a little too easy for me. 

Grade I would have given this book as a kid: Tidal

Re-reading Grade: Extraordinary Machine

Status: Sometimes I choose to ignore things that ruin my perception of art (see: unnecessary sequels and When the Pawn…)

New Releases Tuesday (In which pretty girls ride on boats.)

It's time for another round of New Releases Tuesday. This week brings us psychological intrigue and girls riding on boats--a perfect summer combination.

Shift, by Em Bailey--Egmont USA
Barnes & Noble     Powell's Books

I know what you're thinking: "This girl isn't on a boat!" No, she's not, but hold your horses (horses really shouldn't be on boats, either). This is the story of Olive Corbett, a once "crazy" girl who got back on her meds and stopped being "crazy" right around the time that "creepy" Miranda Vail rolls into town. Miranda takes over the popular crowd, despite being somewhat mousy and kinda icky and gets a little Single White Female on the queen bee of the high school.

Can Olive break her normalcy-enduced silence to bring Miranda's deceit to light? Will Miranda go after Olive next? Will anyone in this book's intended audience get my Single White Female reference? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Alice on Board, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor--Atheneum Books
Barnes and Noble     Powell's Books

Now THIS girl is on a boat! And she's feeling pretty nautical in her J.Crew sweater standing next to her l.l. bean tote bag. This is an Alice McKinley book--the 24th in the series, actually. (If you want to see something hilarious, go here and look at the evolution of YA book covers. We've come so far, and yet...) The book follows the popular character for the summer between high school and college when she gets a job on, you guessed it, a BOAT. There's drama, there are friends and enemies and that other word that combines those two words, there's T-Pain.* How can you go wrong, really? Summer reading funtime go!

*There is no T-Pain.

Unbreak My Heart, by Melissa Walker--Bloomsbury USA
Barnes & Noble     Powell's Books

More boats! More hair blowing in wind! Let me be alone with my sadness and the sea! Ok, no but seriously. This is all I can think of. I can't write. I can't get it out of my head.

Something about a girl who has her heart broken in sophomore year and then goes sailing with her parents, alternating chapters, blah blah blah Toni Braxton. I'll never be able to read this without breaking into song and no one wants to hear that.

Of Poseidon, by Anna Banks--Feiwel & Friends
Barnes & Noble     Powell's Books

Ok, so she's not on a boat, but she can talk to fish, so that's something, right? Of Poseidon is the story of Galen, a Syrena prince and someone who really needs to talk to fish but can't, and Emma, a girl who can talk to fish.

The description doesn't give you much of an idea why Galen needs to talk to fish in order to save his kingdom, but it doesn't really matter because mermaids.




And just in case it wasn't already in your head, here you go:

New Releases Tuesday! (In which the Dawson Crying gif is far too representative.)

Sorry for the radio silence last week. I've been busy writing things that make money (what?) and reading Insurgent (disappointing) and Bitterblue (Ahhhhh! So good so far!), both of which will be getting their own posts soon. Here are some highlights from last week's and this week's new releases:

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Hyperion


Set in WWII, this historical novel tells the story of "Verity" a young British spy who is captured and interrogated by the Nazis after her plane crashes in enemy territory.


This book has been getting amazing reviews, and I've been looking forward to it for a while. I always find it interesting how enthralled with Nazi Germany teenagers are, and how much YA literature is devoted to the Nazis and the Holocaust. I've maintained the interest, and I will be very glad to see a war story told from a female perspective, especially since the major themes here seem to be friendship, trust, and bravery.


You can pick it up here and here.

See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles
Candlewick Press


This book trends a bit younger, with the main character being only 12 and the appropriate reading age listed as 5th grade an up. Sometimes, that would make me discount a book, but this is what Kirkus has to say about it: "Sit back in a comfortable chair, bring on the Kleenex and cry your heart out... Prescient writing, fully developed characters and completely, tragically believable situations elevate this sad, gripping tale to a must-read level." 


Ok, Kirkus, maybe I will. Maybe I will.

Buy it and cry. 

37 Things I Love (in No Particular Order) by Kekla Magoon

Henry Holt and Co.

Ahhhhh, summer. Doesn't this cover just scream popsicles and pools and swimming and carefree days under the sun? You may be surprised, then, to find that this is a coming-of-age novel in which the main character's dad is in a coma. Yup. 

Check it out if you want to look like you're reading a book about pool parties but you're actually reading a bildungsroman about dealing with family tragedy! Summer fun for all!

Buy it? And...

THE GREATEST NEW RELEASES TUESDAY EVER

Ok, Insurgent is definitely going to get top billing here (and maybe even a nice big picture), but there are so many books coming out today that I want to read, I pretty much can't contain my excitement.

Insurgent (Divergent Series #2), by Veronica Roth

Katherine Tegen Books

Divergent sets up a world in post-apolcalyptic Chicago where everyone is forced to choose a faction to live under at the age of 16. The factions are based on virtues (humility, bravery, etc.), and when you live under them, you become a kind of one-dimensional person, giving up everything that doesn't represent your virtue. But not our Tris. She leaves the faction she's been raised in and starts to uncover all the dirty, underhanded things that the factions are doing to each other, and to their citizens. 

Insurgent picks up where Divergent left off, and it sounds like the factionless are going to play a huge role in this sequel, which I'm so happy about since they are only really hinted at in the first book. The second books in trilogies always seem to lag a bit in the action department since they have to reestablish the characters and plot lines, and then set-up for the finale, but Roth's writing is so crisp and fast-paced, I will be incredibly surprised if this book is at all boring.

I have huge hopes for this book, but mostly I just really want to see if Tris and Four get to Do It. Priorities: I have them.

Buy it here or here. SERIOUSLY. DO IT.

Wait, there are other books? Ok, here you go.

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore
Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Teen)

The sequel to Graceling, the only reason this didn't get top billing is because I was a big fan of the way Graceling ended because Feminism and Independence and all that, and I was almost hoping that Kristin Cashore wouldn't write a sequel? But then I found out she was writing one and I squealed? So, yeah, this is next up after Insurgent.

In this book, we fast-forward eight years--Bitterblue is queen of Monsea, but the legacy of her crazy Dad with the mind control Grace who made people do horrible things still lingers, and she can't get her kingdom to move past it. What will she do? Fall in love with a super hot guy, of course.

Bonus: We get to catch up with Katsa and Po, who are my almost favorite YA couple. (Katniss and Peeta are disqualified because, well, duh. It's like when Oprah said, "Stop giving me Emmy's." We all know she's really the winner.) If you haven't read Graceling, I highly recommend it. If you come across a companion called Fire, I highly recommend you stay away.

Buy Bitterblue here or here. I'll join you.

The Drowned Cities, by Paolo Bacigalupi

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

This is the companion (NOT sequel) to Ship Breaker, a book I absolutely loved. Because it isn't a sequel, though, it doesn't have the compulsive must-read-now attachment, so it will have to wait a week or two. 

The Drowned Cities focuses on the wars surrounding the dystopian future that Bacigalupi established in Ship Breaker. Mahlia and Mouse are escaped "war maggots," or assassins recruited and trained by the warring factions. Publisher's Weekly says it's better than the first book, so I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on this. 

Buy it here or here, and pick up Ship Breaker if you haven't yet here or here. 

Wentworth Hall, by Abby Grahame

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Ok, I don't want to get too excited about this, but it definitely looks like Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl, and I don't know what could be wrong with that, unless Blake Lively tried to do the movie, in which case I really don't want to hear her attempt an English accent. The product description uses the word "secrets" three times (PAMUK!), and even throws in a "facade." And, oh my God, the family's name is Darlington. DARLINGTON! Pip pip cheerio and what-not. 

 This is the author's first book, so we'll see if the writing holds up (it might sway a little into What American People Think British People Are Like territory), but this could definitely be making a plane ride seem not so long in my near future.

Buy it here or here. 

Don't worry, guys, I wrote this post on Monday so that my Insurgent reading wouldn't be interrupted. What are you reading? If it's not Insurgent (or possibly Bitterblue), I don't understand you, but I still like you. 

Further proof that M.T. Anderson is awesome

Someone wants to ban his book, Feed. And not because it challenges the media-frenzied, social networking, consumerist robots that we will all turn into one day (or that we have already turned into), or because of its overt environmental message, but because, “‘Page 239 had a lot of F words [and] had a lot of B words.’”

Now that’s some high-level critical thinking.

I’ve been meaning to write about M.T. Anderson for a while now, because his level of writing is so incredible, and because he is able to write two award-winning books from the perspective of a slave in the Revolutionary War and then—seamlessly—switch to a futuristic world where we live in plastic bubbles and purchase things through microchips embedded in brains. (The OMG I love M.T. Anderson so much post is still coming, don’t worry.) But when I saw this article yesterday, I just couldn’t help myself.

I understand that this is just two people making an insignificant stand, and let’s give full credit to the teacher, superintendent, and school board for not doing a damn thing about this complaint. But this brings up a problem that I have with American culture in general, and that is the complete overreaction to profanity in every artistic setting. We bleep out words on TV, we give R ratings to movies that use the f-word more than ONE TIME. (From mpaa.org: “A motion picture’s single use of one of the harsher sexually-derived words, though only as an expletive, initially requires at least a PG-13 rating. More than one such expletive requires an R rating, as must even one of those words used in a sexual context.” What?)

What happens as a result of this is that young people are discouraged from reading or watching high-quality art because of a few words. And, spoiler alert to all you over-protective parents: Your kids have not only heard those words, but they use them. Just like everyone else.

What’s even more ridiculous about this complaint is that I would make the argument that Anderson’s use of profanity in Feed is actually used to highlight the lack of self-awareness and critical analysis in the characters’ lives. The way the characters speak is indicative of their lack of responsibility and ability to make independent decisions, which, obviously, is a bad thing.

We shouldn’t tell kids that they can’t read a book because the f-word is in it, we should let kids discuss why they thought the author chose to use the f-word and what it says about the characters and their relationships with their friends, parents, and authority figures. Because that critical analysis is what will help young people make good decisions later in life, like talking to their own children intelligently about a book that uses profanity instead of turning to page 239 and throwing it down in disgust. 

What do you think about expletives in YA? When are they appropriate, and when are they not? 

New Releases Tuesday!

I think this blog is going to be hazardous to my bank account. Here are a few books that come out today that I will most likely find myself buying sometime in the near future.

The Story of Us, by Deb Caletti

Simon Pulse

Aside from the title instantly bringing to mind that terrible Bruce Willis/Michelle Pfieffer movie (just realizing that they probably didn't worry about this because the target audience is too young to remember that movie and oh my god I'm old) this is the book that I'm most excited about this week. 

Cricket's mother is (finally, after three tries) getting married to someone Cricket adores, but his children--Cricket's future step-sisters--don't feel the same happiness towards the union. Throw in some teenage lust, a Grandpa "revealing a secret" (what?), and an ex-wife crashing the wedding, and we've got ourselves a party. 

You can purchase the book and read some serious reviews (like, from PW and stuff) here.

Thumped, by Megan McCafferty

Balzer + Bray

The power and fragility of reproduction is a theme that I gravitate to (thanks mostly to The Handmaid's Tale), but Thumped (a sequel to the earlier Bumped) seems to take this idea and turn it on its head. In McCafferty's futuristic world, getting "bumped" (that means pregnant. Get it?) brings status and accolades, and can only happen to teen girls. Twins Harmony and Melody (ugh, those names) are separated at birth, living separate lives, and set to give birth--on a very public stage, it would appear--to two sets of twins on the same day. 

The story sounds intriguing, but I'm also getting a bit of a creepy 16 and Pregnant fangirl vibe from it, and the cutesy names for everything might be a bit much for me. I'd also have to read the first book, which sounds much less enticing. I'm not really selling this one, am I? (But Holy Cover Design, Batman! This book is gorgeous.) 

Buy it from your friendly independent internet bookstore here!

It's Our Prom (So Deal With It), by Julia Anne Peters

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

This is one of those YA books that has little chance of gaining an adult audience, but I think it sounds pretty fun. There will most likely be wacky hijinks, teen angst, and some references to teen fashion that are hilariously misguided (as they always are). But I know Julie Anne Peters is funny, and the idea of telling the story from two different perspectives is a tried and true tactic in the YA world. I'll give this one a shot.

Pick it up here!

As always, check out YAlit.com  for more recommendations, and don't forget that Insurgent comes out next Tuesday! Work and sleep will most likely elude me that day. 

Re-reading: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

I might be cheating on this one because I’m not exactly "rediscovering" this book. I’ve read it, oh, hundreds of times over the years—I used to flip to the scene where they dig for coins in the fountain and read from there if I couldn’t fall asleep—and it is my go-to answer for the “what’s your favorite book” question.

If you aren’t familiar with the story, it’s about a 12-year-old girl, Claudia, who runs away with her little brother Jamie. But she doesn’t like doing things halfway and she really likes learning (I wonder why I identify with this book?) so she plans everything out in minute detail, and chooses to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Claudia and Jamie join up with school tours to learn everything they can about the museum; they try to solve the mystery of a possibly-carved-by-Michelangelo sculpture; they make a budget and go to automats. Basically, they are awesome in a way that I want to be awesome, and I fundamentally don’t understand how anyone can dislike this book.

The first time I visited the Met, I dragged my companion to the furniture room to see if there was a canopied bed like the one Claudia and Jamie slept in. We stumbled on a dark mahogany bed with intricate carvings, and it was all I could do to keep from crawling in. (He hadn’t read the book and didn’t get why I was so excited.) And I think that’s what I love about books so much—how they can change the way you perceive everything. To anyone else, that was just a pretty bed, but for me it was the musty-smelling retreat that Claudia wanted to be so much more comfortable than it actually was.

There’s something to be said for a book that follows you throughout your life, and I haven’t had anything that comes close to this one. Everything about it—the story, the characters, the voice—is just so perfect to me. One thing that has changed, though, is that I now live in New York, and every time I walk down Fifth Avenue, I think of Claudia, carrying a violin case packed with clothes and thinking about how to be important. Which is, I think, what we’re all doing here (minus the violin case, maybe).

Grade I would have given this book as a kid: Macaroni and Cheese

Re-reading grade: Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon

Status: I love this book, but now I'm hungry

New Releases Tuesday!

If you're a book nerd like me, Tuesday means Yay New Books! Every week I'll highlight a few of the new YA titles you might want to check out and links to buy the books. I'll do my best to have a good representation of genres and publishers to keep it fair. Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see here!

The Last Echo (Body Finder series #3) by Kimberly Derting
HarperCollins

I'm much more drawn to dystopia than the supernatural, but if you're into ghost whispering and the like, this series might be for you. The third book comes out today, and the reviews from the first two books look pretty good. I might have to give this one a chance. If you've started on this series, let me know what you think!

You can buy the book from B&N here, or from Powell's here.

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad, translated by Tara Chace
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

It isn't every day you see a YA book in translation, so I think this one might be worth a second look. A sci-fi and horror mash-up, Publisher's Weekly has this to say about it: "Creepy and bleak, Harstad’s story is both psychologically and atmospherically disturbing." Sign me up.

Buy it from B&N or from Powell's!

The Springsweet by Saundra Mitchell
Harcourt Children's Books

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we find a "Paranormal historical romance" (according to Kirkus) about a 17-year-old water-finder trying to get over the loss of her fiancee. The cover copy might not do it justice, as the reviews seem to be pretty favorable. A companion to The Vespertine, this might be just what I need to come back after the bleakness of 172 Hours on the Moon.

B&N / Powell's

If nothing here strikes your fancy, you should visit yalit.com, a great resource for new and recent YA book releases. In two weeks, Insurgent, the second book in the Divergent trilogy comes out. I'm obsessed, so I'll go ahead and put a preemptive pre-order link right here. Can't wait!

What are you reading this week? Any recommendations for me?

Re-reading: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

I’ve heard many friends talk about the books that define them—books that, for some reason, stuck with us more than most. For me, many of these books come from my youth, and in this recurring feature, I want to go back and read these books from an adult perspective, and assess how my attitudes toward the books have changed. In the best scenarios, I’ll discover more to love about the books than I remembered; in the worst, I’ll find that some books I hold so dear and loved so much maybe aren't that good after all. (I really hope that doesn’t happen too often.) Let me know if you have any suggestions for books to re-read!

I was walking up Broadway on an unseasonably warm Saturday in March, trying to delay the end of my lunch hour by perusing the used book tables on the sidewalk. (Sidenote: The existence of these tables is, and will remain, my absolute favorite thing about Manhattan.) After two tables and no luck, I started to head back to work, almost altogether skipping the last table. But something stopped me in my tracks. It was a cover—well, half of a cover, actually—with a young girl in a poufy blue dress with some seriously 80’s-influenced bangs. It was Charlotte Doyle: sailor, childhood hero, and ultimate bad ass.

I bought the book for $4, and didn’t even try to haggle.

I can’t be sure, but I think this book made me a feminist. Or a tomboy. Or, most likely, a feminist tomboy. It is action-packed, with sailing, betrayal, murder, and a clearly psychotic captain, all rolled into 226 pages. As a kid I loved the adventure, but the book is much more than that. It teaches young women to speak their minds and stand up for themselves, it portrays a strong, intelligent female character who throws away the frivolity of her upper class society life for something that makes her feel important, and it has a dash of racial issues to boot.

And then there is this passage. Before rereading, I remembered almost nothing about this book except for this one image of Charlotte, climbing rigging on a ship during a storm:

Though I was in fact climbing into the air, I felt as though I were swimming against a rising river tide. But more than rain or waves it was the screaming wind that tore at me. I could hardly make out where I was going. To make matters worse my wet and heavy hair, like a horse’s tail, kept whipping across my face. I might have been blindfolded. 

Desperate, I wrapped my legs and one arm about the ropes. With my one free arm I pulled my hair around, grasped it with the hand entwined in the ropes, and pulled it taut. I took the knife and hacked. With a shake of my head my thirteen year’s growth of hair fell away.

I still remember how I felt reading that--almost feeling the knife catching on tough strands of hair, and the lightness of it when it falls. I wanted to do something, anything, that would feel like that. I wanted to wrap my toes around wet rope and slice through sails. I wanted to travel. Really, I wanted to be Charlotte.

Seriously, is there a female character badder ass than this? (No, really, tell me. I want to read about her.)

Grade I would have given this book as a kid: A-

Re-reading grade: A+

Status: My childhood dreams remain in tact. 

The Case for YA

 

Roughly half of the books that I read are categorized as Young Adult, and I am most decidedly not a Young Adult. To some, this means I’m reading books that are meant for kids, which is fine. Kids are more fun anyway. But this categorization means that many adults—especially those in the literary community—automatically discount the importance of these books. They don’t carry the literary heft that something like a Jonathan Safran Foer novel does, but the distinctions between “literature” and “YA” are often arbitrary. (I would, in fact, argue that Everything is Illuminated could be marketed as YA as easily as The Book Thief was, but then we wouldn’t have created a literary darling in Foer.)

All this is to say that I’m not asking you to put down your A.S. Byatt, but I’m asking that you look past the marketing and the categorizing—and the fact that you’ll have to go into the section of the store with the tiny stools and the stain-resistant puzzle carpet—and give YA a chance. And if you are, in fact, a Young Adult: Congratulations! You were born at the right time, and you’ve got some pretty kick-ass books being written for you right now.

So here is a list of reasons why YA is awesome. You, like me, can pull from this list whenever someone wrinkles their nose and says, “I mean, I read The Hunger Games, but I’m not, like, a YA person, you know?”

Why YA is awesome:

1)    Teenagers are some of the most complex characters that can be written, and YA gives the author the freedom to put them in ridiculous situations, like throwing them in a ring where they have to kill each other, or sending them to an old guy that passes along the memories of an entire people. They are resilient yet ever evolving, which is more than you can say for most adult characters.

2)    Reading should be fun, yes? For the most part, I simply want to enjoy what I am reading. YA is fun. Spending 5 minutes on one page trying to decipher what the hell the author is trying to say: not fun. Also, I have a degree in English and an MA in Publishing. If I have to get out a dictionary more than once a page, you are trying. too. hard. Don't get me wrong, I love learning, I just think there is a fine line between challenging and overtly difficult.

3)    Here is a short list of things that have gotten a little boring coming from an adult perspective: cheating, divorce, guilt from cheating, guilt from divorce, estrangement, alcoholism, drug use, loss. I get it; we’re all guilty, we’re all sad, we’re all Dealing With It. Now go rebel against your fascist government that pumps plague into slums and we’ll talk.

4)    YA is one of the only publishing markets that is growing—exploding, in fact. If your livelihood depends on people buying books, you should probably get behind this.

5)    Avi.

6)    The Hunger Games.

7)    Pretty much every dystopian trilogy ever.

8)    Did I say Avi yet?

9)    E.L. Konigsburg.

10)  Harry effing Potter, y’all.

And that’s just the short list.

From here on out, I hope this blog gives you a thousand more reasons to love/discover/discuss YA, whether you are solidly in the adult category, or you are actually young enough to be the true target audience. 

Please feel free to send me any book recommendations or any ideas you’d like to see discussed here. Let’s do this!