I just found Blog30. I liked their questionnaire and thought I'd share my own answers:

Where do you look for inspiration?

Life. Truth. Music. Stories. Nature. People.

What's your favorite book?

I have favorite books in different categories. My favorite books include, but are not limited to:

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (fantasy classic)
The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende (fantasy)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (modern classic)
Body Bags by Christopher Golden (contemporary thriller)
The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden (contemporary horror)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (mystery)

What's your favorite movie?

As with books (and anything else you can categories), I have favorite movies in different categories. For example:

Favorite musical picture: Singin' in the Rain
Favorite film noir: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Favorite Hitchcock film: North by Northwest
Favorite screwball comedy: Bringing Up Baby
Favorite Barbara Stanwyck comedy: Ball of Fire
Favorite John Hughes film: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Favorite Cary Grant/Irene Dunne performance: My Favorite Wife
Favorite Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau movie: The Odd Couple
Favorite book-to-miniseries adaptation: Anne of Green Gables, 1986 version starring Megan Follows
Favorite Disney animated musical: The Little Mermaid

Again, give me a genre, theme, time period, director, writer, or actor, and I'll tell you my favorite film for that topic or person.

What's your favorite line from a play?

I just realized I don't have any lines from plays listed on my page of favorite quotes. I'm going to have to think on this and get back to you.

What play or production changed your life?

Since I've been on the acting/performing/writing/creating path since birth, I don't know that any play has changed my life, but many have touched me - either the script or the storyline really spoke to me, or the experience I had performing them. This includes but is not limited to Spring Awakening, The Polar Express, and the first school play I ever did. I'm also a writer - screenwriter, playwright, (hopeful) novelist, and poet, so I've performed original works, and had works published, and all of those experiences mean a great deal to me.

Is there anything you still dream of doing?

Everything I haven't done yet, but will: Have a great career, working regularly in television (including work as a series regular), film, and theatre (both musicals and straight plays) as an actress, writer, and director, creating and sharing roles and shows and songs that make me happy and inspire others.

I feel most like myself when I... am performing, singing or acting - or discussing something I'm really passionate about, or retelling the story of something I've experienced.

What is your best escape?

Performing. Writing. Reading. Watching films and TV.

What's the one thing nobody knows about you?

If I told you, then someone would know.

If you cannot read the text above, here it is, plain:

The best way to achieve the impossible is to endure it as you would an epidemic of beauty.
- Enigma by Erica Westcott

I found this piece in Austin Kleon's book Newspaper Blackout, which is a collection of poetry Kleon made by taking a permanent marker to newspaper articles and turning them into something new.  At the end of the book, Kleon included the winners of a newspaper blackout contest he held online in 2008. One of the winners was Erica Westcott, as seen above.

Check out Underdog by Austin Kleon, also published in Newspaper Blackout.

Learn more about Newspaper Blackout and read additional poems at the Newspaper Blackout blog.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

Theodora has a happy, busy life. She enjoys being a duck. She routinely visits the local library, the grocery store, the craft store, and the pond. She likes swimming, reading, and looking up at the stars in the night sky. When a new neighbor moves in, she greets him with a cake she baked herself. During their first conversation, she is surprised by his appearance - he's not very tidy, and some of his feathers are dyed different colors - and his lack of manners. She thinks they are too different to be friends.

Nevertheless, Chad waves at Theodora every morning, and, when winter comes, he invites her to look at the stars through his telescope. She can name a bunch of constellations, but she's never used a telescope before, and she can't believe how beautiful her beloved stars look! The two ducks bond over this common interest and start talking. They find they have other things in common, and they become friends.

But one day, while passing by a group of ducks, another duck calls out, "Look at that odd duck." Theodora thinks they are making fun of Chad and she feels sorry for him. Meanwhile, Chad thinks they were calling Theodora odd, not him. The two argue, then split up and storm off to their separate houses.

Theodora slips back into her daily routine, going to the library, the grocery store, the craft store, and the pond by herself. Even though she used to do all of those things alone, now she feels pretty lonely. Do the two ducks become birds of a feather once more, or are they fair-weather friends? You have to read the book to find out!

Author Cecil Castellucci (Boy Proof, The Queen of Cool) often populates her novels and other works with offbeat characters who aren't defined by their unconventional ways but instead take them in stride and/or with pride. Odd Duck is a lovely collaboration between Castellucci's text, the nifty font those words are set in (can anyone name it? Please tell me!), and Sara Varon's (Robot Dreams) vibrant illustrations - lots of nice lilacs and yellows and greens in the exteriors and interiors, then blue tints for the winter scenes, and the attention to detail - I especially liked the nesting ducks, the snow duck, and the books on Theodora's bookshelf, which included Make Way for Ducklings and Varon's own Chicken & Cat.

With less than 100 pages, Odd Duck is a quick read for upper elementary kids and a good story to share at home, school, or a small book group, where you can really talk to the kids about what it's like to feel different from others. Celebrate the hobbies, interests, and quirks that make you YOU, even thought might not be considered "normal" by some people. When people around me say something or someone is not normal, I immediately tell them that normal is relative.* Just remember, one person's junk is another person's treasure. Do what you love, love what you do, and be good to others. Keep on shining.

Odd Duck by Cecil Castellucci and Sara Varon will be released in May 2013.

* If the conversation continues, I will most certainly bring up the television show Leverage and the character Parker, who I think is an amazing representation of an individual who marches to her own drum. Through the course of five seasons, she slowly learned more about the "mainstream" world and people but never lost what made her special. Never. She stayed true to herself, no matter what.

But that's another story, and if you want me to blog about that character and that show in general, just ask. Really. Twist my arm. :)

Unbeknownst to her, as she approaches the age of eighteen, Katharine will have to make a decision that will change her life, and the lives of many others. The year is 1852, and Katharine has been sent to her uncle's estate by greedy relatives who need him to be declared legally insane in order to collect the inheritance.

At first, Katharine thinks she'll report the truth, either way - "Whatever Aunt Alice chose to do with any information I gave her was neither my responsibility nor my sin." (Page 57) - but once on his property, Katharine realizes that her uncle is not insane, just not mainstream. As Katharine becomes closer to her uncle and interacts with the people in his community, she begins to soften up to them. But when she lets her guard down, she makes herself vulnerable to those who would wish her harm. She struggles to keep her wits about her while deciding who to trust. In order to protect her uncle, she may have to lie and risk her status in society - and, unexpectedly, risk her life.

If you loved Walter Bishop on Fringe, then you are sure to have an affinity for Katharine's uncle Tully. He is an inventor, a creator of automata, brilliant with numbers but easily overwhelmed by disruptions to his schedule, by strangers, by anything or anyone that upsets his routine. Were he living in present day, he would possibly be placed on the autistic spectrum, but as this is the Victorian era, he is considered eccentric by some and crazy by others.

Steampunk is, technically, simply, a story that involves machines powered by steam. Some steampunk novels involve more sci-fi elements than others, stretching the imagination and dipping into something more fantastical, while others, like The Dark Unwinding, stick fairly close to realistic science. Most, if not all, of the creations in this story are explained, moving pieces that are based on clockwork and other such mechanisms. Uncle Tully needs help bringing his creations to life - and that's where Lane comes in. Tully just does "the numbers and the pictures. Then Lane takes my pictures and brings back my pieces and I put them together until they are what they should be." (Page 38)  Moody Lane, with his dark hair and gray eyes, is clearly the counterpart to Ben, the smiling blond boy. Both assist Tully; both connect with Katharine. Meanwhile, she clashes with Lane's aunt, Mrs. Jeffries, and tries to coax her ward, young, mute Davy, to communicate. Davy doesn't speak or write, instead clinging to his everpresent rabbit, Bertram, and saying everything he needs to say with a simple gesture, a tug, or the look in his eyes.

Katharine's maid Mary talks a mile a minute, much like I do. I loved her fast-paced monologue on page 44. Katharine, trying to process everything Mary's saying, simply blinks in response - and Mary just keeps right on talking. It was the perfect introduction for her character. Mary's exuberance energizes every scene she's in.

I enjoyed The Dark Unwinding, and the fact that it was rooted in science and in truth. I greatly appreciated the fact that, even though a sequel was coming up, this book wrapped up most of the stories and thus can stand alone. That being said, I look forward to reading the sequel, A Spark Unseen, when it is released in October 2013. It should be interesting to see what happens next.

Also, I want the dress that Katharine's wearing on the cover of the book. She reminds me of Wendy Darling there.

My favorite lines from the book include:

Life at Stranwyne hung by a ribbon, a ribbon that was currently tied to my hand. - Page 49

But people, in my experience, could be sorted like numbers: evens, odds, groups that could work together, and others that could not. My uncle was someone I could not sort at all. - Page 70

"Big things can be little." [Uncle Tully said.]
Or sometimes little things can be big, I thought. - Page 304

I also enjoyed every single time Uncle Tully refers to Katharine as "Simon's baby!", complete with exclamation point, and this:

"Listen, little niece!" he'd yelled over the dun. "They are telling us when! Listen to the clocks tell us when!"

Dear Uncle Tully, and everyone at large: Numbers are so beautiful. I hope the clocks soothe you. Good night, gentle readers.

Austin Kleon's book Newspaper Blackout is a collection of poetry he made by taking a permanent marker to newspaper articles and turning them into something new. My favorite piece in his collection is Underdog, as seen above. If you cannot read the text, here it is, plain:

He changed the world
Nobody could even get his name straight
The guy was a genuine underdog

At the beginning of the book, Kleon discusses other poets and artists who have used similar "found text" techniques to inspire their own works. At the end of the book, Kleon shares tips and techniques for making blackout poems. Also included are the top poems that were entered in a newspaper blackout contest he held online in 2008. Next Friday, I will post my favorite from that batch.

Learn more about Newspaper Blackout and read additional poems at the Newspaper Blackout blog.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

Baltimore: The Widow and the Tank by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

A blood-curdling double feature! Eisner Award–winning horror master Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden present this horrific double feature about a widow with a not-quite-dead husband and a child-killing vampire taking refuge from something even worse.

Praise for the Baltimore series:

"It still takes something special to impose a unifying vision, and Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden have got it." - The Wall Street Journal

"These Baltimore miniseries over at Dark Horse have provided us with the type of genuine Gothic horror that we crave...this is a great read." - Complex

Get Baltimore: The Widow and the Tank from your local comic book store today! UPC: 7 61568 19678 8 00111

Find out where the story began: Read the illustrated novel Baltimore, or, the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, the tale that inspired the subsequent comics and graphic novels.

When Lord Henry Baltimore awakens the wrath of a vampire on the hellish battlefields of World War I, the world is forever changed. For a virulent plague has been unleashed -- a plague that even death cannot end.

Now the lone soldier in an eternal struggle against darkness, Baltimore summons three old friends to a lonely inn -- men whose travels and fantastical experiences incline them to fully believe in the evil that is devouring the soul of mankind. As the men await their old friend, they share their tales of terror and misadventure, and contemplate what part they will play in Baltimore's timeless battle. Before the night is through, they will learn what is required to banish the plague -- and the creature who named Baltimore his nemesis -- once and for all.

Baltimore was named one of Booklist's Top 10 SF/Fantasy books of the year - and for good reason.

Learn more about this inspired gothic take on Hans Christian Andersen's story The Steadfast Tin Soldier.

One of my favorite people asked me for graphic novel recommendations yesterday, and this is the list I drafted for her. It includes some of my favorites as well as some volumes I knew she'd appreciate because of the art or the storyline or both.

For those of you shocked at the lack of caped crusaders here, don't be too upset; I love those stories, too! This list leans heavily towards the realistic...until you reach the last few titles, because I couldn't help myself. The Coraline graphic novel is one of the best book-to-GN adaptations I've ever read, and if I didn't list it here, along with some Golden books, my heart would hurt. Then, of course, there are the younger series which employ talking animals - and amoebas - but I at least began the list with realistic tales:

Graphic novels for the younger set, sweet stories and adorable art:
Smile by Raina Telgemeier
The Baby-Sitters Club Graphix adaptations by Raina Telgemeier (Get all 4 volumes)
Drama by Raina Telgemeier

The Babymouse series by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm
The Squish series by Jennifer L. Holm and Matt Holm
The Flying Beaver Brothers series by Maxwell Eaton III

Historical:
The Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan

Throwback/tongue-in-cheek:
Teen Boat! by Dave Roman and John Green
The Alison Dare series by J. Torres and Jason Bone

Artistic protagonists:
The Plain Janes series by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston

Contemporary:
12 Reasons Why I Love Her by Joëlle Jones and Jamie S. Rich

Modern style, dystopic stories:
Uglies graphic novels by Scott Westerfeld and Devin Grayson, illustrated by Steven Cummings
Coraline by Neil Gaiman, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell
Talent by Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, and Paul Azaceta
The Baltimore series by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola

Which of these graphic novels have you read and enjoyed? Which graphic novels would you recommend to me? Leave a comment below and let me know!

In 2007, I crossed paths online with author Lauren Baratz-Logsted after reading her first YA novel, Angel's Choice. Six years later, she's published over a dozen books, including THE SISTERS EIGHT, a nine-book MG series co-written by three Logsteds!

Your series THE SISTERS EIGHT was a family affair. What was it like to write with your husband and your daughter?

Writing a series with my husband and daughter was the most amazing experience of my writing career. We originally came up with the idea for the series when we were stranded by a blizzard in Colorado in December 2006. We needed something to occupy ourselves and that became brainstorming The Sisters 8. When we finally got home, it seemed the idea was too good to let go, so I just started writing.

How did you split up the writing duties?

The way it would work was I would write a chapter, then, at the end of the day, when Greg got home from work and Jackie from school, I'd read the chapter. They'd say what was working and what wasn't and we'd all brainstorm what needed to happen next. That cycle carried us through nine books.

Which of the octuplets is the most like each of the writers?

I'm probably most like Annie - a control freak!

My husband Greg's not really like any of the sisters; rather, he's more like Will Simms, the boy in the Eights' class at school they all have a crush on.

Jackie is most like Jackie.

Thankfully, none of us complain as much as Georgia, hide under the bed like Petal, or are as sinister as Rebecca.

What's the premise of your new series, THE HAT CITY MIDDLE SCHOOL SERIES GIRLS?

I got the idea for Book 1, GUYS AGAINST THE GIRLS, from something that happened in my daughter's class a few years back. They had a substitute teacher who so heavily favored the boys, she never called on the girls when they raised their hands and then triumphantly said at the end of class, "This just proves what I always knew - boys are better than girls at math!" My daughter and her best friend were outraged, and from that sprang the idea for a book that starts with that same event, only it snowballs into a vast competition between the guys and girls to see who is better at just about everything.

Book 2 in the series is called ROBBIE KNIGHTLEY and the idea for that came when a boy who read the first book was so entranced with the character of Robbie, I realized he needed his own book. In the first book there are 12 kids and, ultimately, I'd like to do one book for each character.

You have published novels for children, for teens, and for adults. Which audience do you feel the most comfortable writing for - what feels like it's the most natural voice for you?

I'm a very weird writer in that, not only do I write for nearly every age group imaginable but I also write in a vast variety of genres: historical, contemporary, comedy, drama, romance, mystery - you name it. And the bizarre thing is, all those voices feel natural to me. The Sisters 8 and a large part of Book 1 in the new series are written in first person plural ("We did this"; "We did that") - you don't see that in fiction too often! Honestly, with all the different voices floating around in my head, if I wasn't a writer, I'd probably be locked away in a padded cell somewhere, so I'm very lucky I'm a writer.

In our previous interview, you said you'd cast Hilary Duff in the lead role of your first Young Adult novel, ANGEL'S CHOICE. Who would you select to star in your latest YA novel, LITTLE WOMEN & ME?

Hmm...let's see... I'm going to go with Ariel Winter from Modern Family. The age is right, the attitude is right.

I could totally see Ariel in that role... What do you think, readers? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Visit Lauren's official website.

Burning Bones by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala

Official book jacket summary:

"How do you burn someone to death in public, and not have anyone notice?"

Two people burst into flame, burned alive in front of plenty of eyewitnesses with no obvious cause. Spontaneous human combustion is a bizarre phenomenon, but according to published accounts, it happens. Could that be what occurred here? Or is it murder?

As Jenna Blake turns nineteen, she is getting over a recent breakup and is rekindling an old flame. Between her personal life and college, she has enough on her hands. The last thing she needs is another nasty little puzzle.

But the burn victims' clothes weren't flammable, the crime scenes reveal no evidence of arson, and none of the various witnesses can provide anything resembling a clue. In fact, she and Slick are just beginning to re-evaluate their faith in rational, scientific explanation when the fire claims another victim, and an incredible explanation presents itself. Even as they struggle with their discovery, the danger hits far too close to home...

My thoughts:

In the words of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's best guy friend, Xander Harris, "It's like the Human Torch - only it hurts." Unless you've experienced severe burns, one can only imagine how excruciating it must be to be injured much less killed in such a manner. In this book, the way that the killer burns his victims is (evil) genius.

And then what happens during the climax of the book - Wowza.

In Burning Bones, Jenna continues to juggle her professional, academic, and personal responsibilities. Throwing herself into her schoolwork and her work at the M.E.'s office helps her bounce back from her breakup. Though the books are narrated in third-person, readers can easily get in Jenna's mind, which is great not only when she's puzzling out crimes, but also when she's reminiscing about Animaniacs in one paragraph and referencing Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in the next - then, a page later, considering Shirley Jackson's novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Bibliophiles will see themselves in the line "Jenna was a constant reader" while people fascinated with medical facts and criminal profiling will love the discovery of evidence, research, and interrogation scenes throughout the novel.

Can you imagine Jenna working alongside with Abby from NCIS? I definitely can! Jenna is smart, and she is clever, and she's not about to let people think she's incapable of solving crimes due to her age or her gender. She's a strong female protagonist, often as bold as Lilly Rush on Cold Case (another character I admire and praise!) and while her youth and willfulness might get her into scrapes now and again, those elements also help her figure things out, as she's quick-thinking and often more open-minded than some of the older detectives, doctors, and scientists.

If you aren't already hooked, let me share with you the first line of the book:

         If looks could kill.

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What are days for?
Days are where we live.
They come, they wake us
Time and time over.
They are to be happy in:
Where can we live but days?

Ah, solving that question
Brings the priest and the doctor
In their long coats
Running over the fields.

- Days by Philip Larkin

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

Another Body of Evidence thriller is now available as an e-book, and it's one of my favorites in the series!

Skin Deep by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala

When Jenna and Damon first began dating, neither worried too much about the other's skin color. After all, Somerset is a pretty liberal college environment. But when a black couple is attacked by a white man on campus, race relations become cause for frenzied peace rallies, protests, and debate for the entire student body. Suddenly, Jenna has her hands full investigating the attack - and defending her interracial romance...

Then a white student turns up dead at the hands of a black assailant.

As racial tension reaches a fever pitch on campus, the crimes continue, growing increasingly brutal. Strangely, in each case no two witnesses can form the same description of the perpetrator.

The people are looking for two young men. Until one assailant, pronounced dead at the crime scene, disappears...

Get it from Amazon.com
Get it from Amazon.co.uk

Skin Deep is so good, people. If it opens up just one person's eyes...

And this quote:

There was magic in the world again. Hope.

Related Posts at Bildungsroman
Radar Recommendations: Body of Evidence series by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala
Book Review: Body Bags by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Thief of Hearts by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Soul Survivor by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Meets the Eye by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Head Games by Christopher Golden

Get all of the Body of Evidence books available for Kindle:

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Nataly Dawn is awesome, so tune in and listen up. Her solo album How I Knew Her was released February 12th from Nonesuch Records, and she's currently tour with Ben Folds Five. The singer-songwriter rose to online fame as half of the fantastic group Pomplamoose, whose original tunes include the catchy Don't Stop Lovin' Me and I'll Be There in a Minute. I dare you to remain seated while listening to either of those songs. Pomplamoose is also known for their memorable covers of everything from Telephone by Lady Gaga and Beyonce to Mister Sandman by The Chordettes to the Angry Birds Theme Song. Nataly and collaborator Jack Conte are still actively recording and releasing new songs together as Pomplamoose in addition to their solo work and additional efforts with other artists.

It was a pleasure to chat with Nataly about her new songs, her first songs, and her favorite songs.

Do you have a favorite track on the album, one that was especially fun to write or record?

My favorite track on the album is probably the last track, I Just Wanted You to Get Old. I think that was the song that was the most difficult for me to write, lyrically, and even though the song itself is quite short and simple, it's the one that probably took the most out of me and I feel the best about having gotten through.

There were other songs that were really amazingly fun to do in the studio. For example, the title track of the album, How I Knew Her: bringing the orchestra in there, having Jack write the string parts and [direct] these amazing string players... Pretty much any time I was playing with the band was a great time because they're so great at what they do!

Was How I Knew Her always going to be the title track for your album, or was that born out of that experience, because you loved recording it so much?

Actually, it wasn't originally supposed to be called How I Knew Her. The song had a different title at first, and then I decided I wasn't happy with the title of the song, so I changed it to How I Knew Her. Then I thought that was a good album idea because it ties everything together into this one theme. I felt like a lot of the songs were about me looking into relationships with women in my life who have been important to me, and trying to figure out what I believe and who I was through the women who came before me, like my grandmothers and my mother.

When writing a new song, what tends to come to mind first, music or lyrics?

I tend to hear melodies and bass lines first, and then I get an idea for a lyric, and I sort of work the lyric into the melody, and the melody will change from there.

Do you have any songs that started out one way and ended up another?

Yeah. I lived with those songs for a couple years, some of them, and I definitely saw them transform quite a bit and go different directions. Like Araceli, for one. I didn't see that reggaeton beat coming in. It really changed the entire feeling of the song. When Matt Chamberlain came in and started playing the drums, it took the song in a completely new direction.

Do you remember the first song you ever wrote?

I think the first full-blown song that I wrote, I was eleven years old. I would write little things before that on the piano. My friends at this point - I was living in France, and the girls there just loved singing in their spare time. During recess, the girls at my school would start singing Spice Girls or Beyonce or whatever was popular at the time. I got together with my friends, my French friends, and we decided to write a song together so we could sing it all together and be super-cool. So I sat down at the piano and wrote a song that was super cheesy... (laughs) It was a masterpiece.

When you get home from your tour, what’s the first thing you’re going to do?

Oh my gosh. I am going to cook a really great meal, or possibly go out to a nice meal. And I'll probably take a hot tub. I think I'll do that.


Order How I Knew Her by Nataly Dawn at her website:
http://www.natalydawnmusic.com

Music and more:
http://natalydawn.tumblr.com/tour
http://www.youtube.com/user/natalydawn
https://www.facebook.com/NatalyDawnMusic
http://www.pomplamoose.com/

Oh, and "pamplemousse" is French for grapefruit. Oui, c'est vrai.

Two more Body of Evidence thrillers are now available as e-books, including one of my favorites in the series!

Head Games by Christopher Golden

"They were my friends. I've known them almost my entire life. Maybe they both just lost it. But I think something's going on here, and I have to take a closer look."

Home from college on break, Jenna Blake is horrified to discover that a childhood friend has murdered his entire family -- and he's not the only one. During the next two days, several other area teens experience homicidal rages, but are later unable to explain or even recall their actions.

The police are leaning toward the popular explanation: brutality influenced by violence in movies and video games. But when Jenna investigates further, she begins to believe that someone is playing sinister head games with her former classmates...and with her, as well.

What Jenna needs is someone to take her seriously, but Slick is preoccupied with a mystery of his own, her father has taken off for France, and her college friends have all gone away for the holidays.

Jenna's on her own this time.

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There's a powerful message here: It's easier to blame violence in the media than to realize that humans can be inherently violent. I dislike violent video games and recently repeatedly turned down a friend's invitation to play a first-person shooter game. That's not for me. As a strong-minded person who is not being easily influenced by others, it was chilling to read about these seemingly well-adjusted characters who snapped due to something out of their control. Wowza.

Skin Deep by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala

"A girl is dead, and one of your best friends got his head cracked with a
shovel, because some white guy didn't want to see them kiss.."

When Jenna and Damon first began dating, neither worried too much about the other's skin color. After all, Somerset is a pretty liberal college environment. But when a black couple is attacked by a white man on campus, race relations become cause for frenzied peace rallies, protests, and debate for the entire student body. Suddenly, Jenna has her hands full investigating the attack - and defending her interracial romance...

Then a white student turns up dead at the hands of a black assailant.

As racial tension reaches a fever pitch on campus, the crimes continue, growing increasingly brutal. Strangely, in each case no two witnesses can form the same description of the perpetrator.

The people are looking for two young men. Until one assailant, pronounced dead at the crime scene, disappears...

Get it from Amazon.com
Get it from Amazon.co.uk

Skin Deep is so good, people. If it opens up just one person's eyes...

And this quote:

There was magic in the world again. Hope.

Related Posts at Bildungsroman
Radar Recommendations: Body of Evidence series by Christopher Golden and Rick Hautala
Book Review: Body Bags by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Thief of Hearts by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Soul Survivor by Christopher Golden
Book Review: Meets the Eye by Christopher Golden

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Good morning, Bildungsroman readers! Please welcome Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, which won the Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category. Let's jump right into our interview:

What was the impulse or reason for you to undertake this subject?

A librarian, Dr. Lawrence Gold, was the impetus for my researching this topic.  I was researching a book on Jewish Americans in the Dorot room of New York City’s 42^nd Street public library. I had been there for a couple of months when one morning Dr. Gold brought me three huge volumes that I had not ordered.  I told him I had not ordered these books.  He smiled and said, "But I think you’ll be interested in them."  I was too busy with my research to even look the books over. For the next couple of weeks, Dr. Gold brought those three volumes to me every day when he delivered the books I had ordered.  I realized how determined he was that I at least look through them. The books, edited by Isaac Kowalski, were titled Anthology on Armed Jewish Resistance, 1939-1945. These volumes contained Xeroxes of articles and memoirs by Jewish partisans, resisters, etc.  Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I had never heard about family camps in the forest, or smuggling children across borders, or any uprisings other than the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.  Here was a body of information to be explored. And so began my journey. I remain grateful to Dr. Lawrence Gold for leading me into this astounding history.

I wrote about the experiences of Ernest Fontheim, Israel Cohen and Jack Kagan; I emailed my stories to them many times to assure accuracy. All of these scholars and resisters showed such generosity, patience and concern for my book.

The Internet was invaluable in gathering both written information and photographs. Museums have catalogued their photos online. I looked through probably 20,000 images to choose the 200 in my book.  Without these websites, I probably would not have been able to find the diversity of images I found, as it would have been economically impossible for me to visit the various archives in Europe and Israel.  I cannot praise enough the wonderful curators at the various institutions who often found images I missed and secured permissions.

Walking on the grounds of Auschwitz-Birkenau and Sobibor were profound emotional experiences I will never forget.

Beyond Courage is considered a cross-over books for young adults and adults? How did you decide on the format and organization of the book  to work for both groups?

This was really the hardest part. The stories I found were so exciting and dramatic that I wanted to tell them as fiction (without fictionalizing anything) to maximize my readers’ attention.  But I knew introductory material was absolutely necessary to provide historical context for understanding these individual events. Adult readers have emailed me that they were grateful for background material introducing each segment and the maps that grounded them in the geography of Nazi-occupied Europe. It took many versions to integrate all this material, and it wouldn't have been possible without the constructive criticism of my outstanding editor, Mary Lee Donovan.

How did researching and writing this book affect your life?

I feel I was privileged to learn about so many Jewish children, men and women, who exhibited extraordinary courage and foresight during the nightmare of the Holocaust.  I had the privilege of speaking directly with three survivors and forging a friendship with one of them.  My research led me into a world I knew nothing about and filled me with enormous pride about these courageous Jews. 

All of my books are about the same thing: empowerment, struggle, resistance, determination.  This research confirmed for me once again that during all eras in history, no matter how dark the times, human beings struggle to resist, to defy, to keep their dignity, and to rescue their loved ones and others. This thought gives me hope when I despair about the state of the world today. 

Have you always been interested in history and biographies? What motivates you to research and write about history?

I have always been interested in history, but it was my involvement in the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s that led me to realize that at all times in history, there was struggle and resistance and that there were many "not-yet-celebrated" men and women and children who exhibited courage in nightmare situations, and I wanted to write about them.  And so I have.

As a pianist, music teacher, and daughter of a singer and a musical arranger, your life has been filled with music. Do you listen to music while writing, or do you prefer to write in silence?

I never listen to music when I’m writing or researching. Though I no longer play the piano, music is still an essential experience for me. I do not conceive music as background. When I write, I want to focus on writing.  When I listen to music, I want to focus on the music.

What has writing taught you about teaching? How has teaching informed your writing?

The biggest influence in how I approach writing stems from my years studying the piano.  What I learned then was that you need to practice, and if you practice, you get better and better and better.  Persistence in researching, persistence in revising, taking criticism from editors and copy-editors, are all ways of becoming a better writer.

As a music teacher for seven years, then a fifth grade teacher and a reading teacher, I saw clearly that if you want children to learn and respond to new information, you need to find a dynamic way to shape it so they will want to read your book and want to learn even more than you have written about your subject.

Do you ever have your students or grandchildren read your works-in-progress?

I often send a manuscript-in-progress to schools with a list of questions for children to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. Then I visit the school and talk with the children about how I responded to their critiques.  I never have my grandchildren read my works-in-progress. They can’t be objective readers. But my husband heard and reheard and read and re-read Beyond Courage as it dominated our life for the last six years. He says if I ever get sick and can’t speak at a conference or a school, he will go and speak in my place.

What are you working on now? and/or Who (or what) would you love to write about next?

I have a couple of Jewish-centered ideas and an escape story on the Underground Railroad.

Visit Doreen's website.

   

THE 2013 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD BLOG TOUR

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Ann Redisch Stampler, author of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Shelf-Employed

Carol Liddiment, illustrator of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky’s Blog

Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Linda Glaser, author of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At This Messy Life

Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger ReadersCategory
At Here in HP

Louise Borden, author of His Name was Raoul Wallenberg
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Randomly Reading

Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Read, Write, Repeat

Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Reading and Writing

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Pen and Pros

Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Madelyn Rosenberg’s Virtual Living Room

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah

Visit The Association of Jewish Libraries blog and the official Sydney Taylor site

Related posts at Bildungsroman:
Interview: Robin Friedman
Interview: Trina Robbins
The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour 2012

Whenever Auntie moves around,
Her dresses make a curious sound,
They trail behind her up the floor,
And trundle after through the door.

- Auntie's Skirts by Robert Louis Stevenson

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

January 2013: 28 books and scripts read

Best Bets for Kids
Bone: Quest for the Spark: Book #3 by Thomas E. Sniegoski and Jeff Smith
Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy (coming out in August)

Best Bets for Teens and Adults
Prowlers by Christopher Golden (re-read)
A Winter of Ghosts by Christopher Golden and Thomas Randall (conclusion to The Waking trilogy)

Non-Fiction Pick
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award! You can learn more about these celebrated authors and illustrators later this month by following their blog tour. On February 11th, I'll be posting an interview here at Bildungsroman with Doreen Rappaport, the author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust, which was given the Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category. Here's the official The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour 2013 press release:


The Sydney Taylor Book Award will be celebrating and showcasing its 2013 gold and silver medalists and a few selected Notables with a Blog Tour, February 11-15, 2013! Interviews with winning authors and illustrators will appear on a wide variety of Jewish and kidlit blogs. For those of you who have not yet experienced a Blog Tour, it’s basically a virtual book tour. Instead of going to a library or bookstore to see an author or illustrator speak, you go to a website on or after the advertised date to read an author’s or illustrator’s interview.

Below is the schedule for the 2013 Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour. Please follow the links to visit the hosting blogs on or after their tour dates, and be sure to leave them plenty of comments!

THE 2013 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARD BLOG TOUR

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2013

Ann Redisch Stampler, author of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Shelf-Employed 

Carol Liddiment, illustrator of The Wooden Sword
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky’s Blog 

Doreen Rappaport, author of Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2013
 
Linda Glaser, author of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At This Messy Life 

Adam Gustavson, illustrator of Hannah’s Way
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger ReadersCategory
At Here in HP 

Louise Borden, author of His Name was Raoul Wallenberg
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Randomly Reading 

Deborah Heiligman, author of Intentions
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer 

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2013 

Sheri Sinykin, author of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Read, Write, Repeat 

Kristina Swarner, illustrator of Zayde Comes to Live
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Younger Readers Category
At Writing & Illustrating

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Linda Leopold Strauss, author of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers Category
At Pen and Prose 

Alexi Natchev, illustrator of The Elijah Door
Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers Category
At Madelyn Rosenberg’s Virtual Living Room 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013

Blog Tour Wrap-Up at The Whole Megillah

Related posts at Bildungsroman:
Interview: Robin Friedman
Interview: Trina Robbins
The Sydney Taylor Book Award Blog Tour 2012

Newton's third law
of reciprocal action
says
for every action there is an equal
and opposite
reaction
that all forces are interactions
all forces come in pairs

Physics and You
spells it out
says
if body A exerts a force
on body B
then body B will exert a force
of the same magnitude
on body A

push and pull

I think
maybe this
is what happened
with Lisa
and you, Ruth -
body A
and body B

- from the verse novel Orchards by Holly Thompson

Learn more about this book, which I included on my Verse Novels booklist.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

When I first interviewed Kirsten Miller back in 2007, we spoke of squirrels and hobbies. A few years later, Kirsten shared her definition of courage with me and the readergirlz. Today, we're going to talk about strength and cities. Oh, and Stephen Colbert. And crime. Fictional crime, I promise.

Congratulations on the release of Kiki Strike #3: The Darkness Dwellers! Is this the last tale of the Irregulars?

Thanks! I don't have any solid plans for a Book #4, but my gut tells me there will be one at some point - even if I end up writing it for fun. I've already decided that it will focus on Luz and be set in Brooklyn. I know the villain's name, her hobbies - and the strange, stinky place she calls home. The details are slowly coming together in my head. It won't be long until they start spilling out.

Which Irregular character do you feel has grown the most over the course of the three books?

Each of the first three books has focused on a particular Irregular, so those are the girls (along with Kiki) who've grown the most. Ananka finally knows her own strength. Betty is bolder - she no longer needs hides behind disguises. Oona has mellowed a great deal (but not too much). And all of them (but especially Kiki) have come to see how important they are to each other - and how much stronger they are as a group. Hopefully Luz, DeeDee and Iris will have books that tell more of their stories, too.

Where do you see each of the girls in ten years?

Kiki Strike: Kicking butt. (Believe it or not, ten years from now there will still be plenty of bad guys.)

Ananka Fishbein: History detective. She investigates (and solves) history's greatest crimes.

Oona Wong: Self-appointed queen of a small island nation.

Luz Lopez: Robotics tycoon.

DeeDee Morlock: Mad scientist responsible for curing a half dozen diseases. Works in a secret, underground bunker beneath Columbia University where the pharmaceutical industry can't reach her.

Betty Bent: Oscar-winning makeup/special effects artist. Runs a profitable side business selling disguises that can fool facial recognition software.

Iris McLeod: A hipper, more dangerous Nancy Drew.

Next month, you're releasing How to Lead a Life of Crime, which is a novel, not non-fiction. (Sorry to disappoint those of you looking for a handbook.) What prompted this story?

In the course of doing research for the Kiki Strike books, I stumbled across a description of a rather unusual New York institution that was known as the Grand Street School. Started the 1870s by a colorful woman named Marm Mandelbaum, it was a school for young criminals. Marm would pluck young urchins off the streets of Manhattan's Lower East Side and train them to be safe crackers, confidence men, etc. For a years, the school was a big success. Then the police raided Marm's personal business (she traded in stolen goods), and she high-tailed it to Canada, where she died a very rich woman.

The premise of How to Lead a Life of Crime is that the Grand Street School never closed when Marm went on the lam. It simply changed its name and became . . . respectable.

Please fill in the blank: Squirrels are to the Irregulars as ______ are to the students of Mandel Academy.

Hmmm. Not sure I know the right answer to this one. Is it wolves?

Could be. Could be.

The Kiki Strike books feature squirrels who've been trained to pick pockets. In How to Lead a Life of Crime, the narrator calls the most dangerous students at the Mandel Academy Wolves. The Wolves are born predators. They're cunning and vicious - and they all lack a conscience. Next to the Wolves, Kiki Strike's sticky-fingered squirrels seem like a bunch of upstanding citizens.

You also have a series called The Eternal Ones, which deals with reincarnation, romance, and rock stars. Was the second book, All You Desire,</b> the end of the story, or do you plan to write more books in the line?

I can say with absolute certainty that there will be no more Eternal Ones books.

I answered "yes" to all but one of the questions on the quiz for the Ouroboros Society.

Really? You answered “yes” to all but one?

Yes.

That's pretty amazing.

What was your score? Do you have a story that goes along with how or why you answered one of the questions the way you did?

I think I'd rather hear your story - I have a hunch it's far more interesting than mine. I'm afraid I've gathered little proof of my previous lives. My personal brushes with the paranormal have usually involved ghosts. (In which I am a big believer.)

New York is featured in all of your books, not just as a backdrop; locations are typically very important to the plot and to the characters. What draws you to set your stories in the city?

New York is one of the great loves of my life, and it's a constant source of inspiration. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that most people who live here don't own cars. (I certainly don't.) You have no choice but to walk a great deal - and no matter where you're headed, you're sure to see some amazing stuff along the way. There's so much to discover here. Forgotten tunnels beneath Chinatown (yes, they do exist). Magical libraries. Weird museum exhibits.

(If those things are up your alley, you should check out The Irregular Guide to New York City on my blog.)

Not that long ago, an amazing and bizarre building was “discovered” in Manhattan's financial district. It had been sitting empty for decades. Then a well-known blogger got inside and took a few pictures. His snap shots of 5 Beekman Street were one of the key inspirations for How to Lead a Life of Crime's Mandel Academy.

How much does Stephen Colbert rock? If one of your books were to be made into a film, which character would he play? (and could I play his daughter?)

Oh, I think you already know the answer to that question. He'd be Lucian Mandel - head of the Mandel Academy in How to Lead a Life of Crime. (Though he'd make a good Sergei Molotov from the Kiki Strike books, too.) It's all in the eyes. Colbert has unusually dark eyes. They make him appear rather sinister.

What's next for Kirsten Miller?

I'm collaborating on a really exciting project. I've always worked alone in the past, so this is a very different experience for me. So far, I'm loving it.

Excellent! Can't wait to hear more about it.

After that . . .who knows. The YA book world is a tough place. I may take a break for a while.


Visit Kirsten Miller's website and blog.

Related Posts at Bildungsroman
Kirsten Miller Interview (2007)
Kirsten Miller Mini-Interview (2010)

I just spotted this meme on my friend Kiba's page and had to respond:

You find yourself in front of seven identical doors. A voice from above tells you, "These seven doors lead to seven different places: Narnia, Neverland, Wonderland, Hogwarts, Camelot, Middle Earth, and Westeros." Which door do you go through? Why that door? What happens?

I would go through the door to Wonderland without hesitation. I have always loved Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and count it as one of my top ten books of all time. The character of Alice and I have a lot in common, beginning with our curiosity and continuing with our adoration of cats, a thirst for knowledge, and sheer determination. I would love to wander through Wonderland and interact with different characters from the books, especially the White Rabbit, the Gryphon, and the Cheshire Cat. My favorite minor characters include the Frog Footman (who utters one of my favorite lines in the book: "Or next day, maybe") and Bill the Lizard. I'd rescue the hedgehogs from the croquet games and delight in the chess game. I have wondered if the chess game in Harry Potter was at all inspired by that in Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. Plus, I really love the hallway of doors in Wonderland. Just look at the icon I'm using for this post!

Neverland would be my second choice. They don't call me Tinker Bell for nothing. (Seriously, Tink is one of my nicknames.) Energetic, feisty, headstrong, and magical, Tink is one of my two favorite fictional fairies, the other being Tiki from the novel The Fairy Rebel. Three cheers for lively little things!

Narnia would be my third choice. I'd hang out with Lucy and Aslan.

And you, gentle reader? Which door do you select, and why?

Related posts at Bildungsroman:
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Peter Pan and Friends
Fairy Nice

Starting over in a place that's haunted by death...

Kara Foster thinks the hardest thing about moving to Japan will be fitting in as an outsider. But dark secrets are stirring at her new school. When Kara befriends Sakura, a fellow outsider whose rebellious nature sets her apart from the crowd, she learns that Sakura's sister was the victim of an unsolved murder on school grounds. And before long, terrible things begin to happen...

The Waking trilogy concludes with A Winter of Ghosts. Kara's life in Japanese prep school has been a whirlwind of terror, as a demon's curse keeps waking up ancient, evil creatures to torment her and her friends. When a student goes missing during a visit to a mountain forest, Kara and her friends are sure the curse has struck again. This time, it's a demon of winter, whose power is more chilling than anything they've encountered so far. And then it gets worse: the demon kidnaps Kara's boyfriend, Hachiro, with whom she's just starting to fall in love. Desperate to save him, Kara ventures back into the snowy woods, where dark forces await her...

This frightening trilogy will have readers glued to the page and scared to go to sleep.

"Randall describes the scenery, the culture, the characters, even their clothing, with heartfelt details. The story has suspense, mystery, and horror. It will be a great hit with fans of manga, anime, or Japanese culture." - School Library Journal

"A well-structured tale of ancient spirits who exact revenge upon humans. A brisk Japanese adventure." - VOYA

"The Waking: Dreams of the Dead starts as the dream of everyone who has ever wanted to travel to an exotic, far-away country to start again, and weaves a nightmare based in rich Japanese culture and myth.  I can't wait until it is released and I can recommend it to my readers." - Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author of In the Forests of the Night and Persistence of Memory

Crawl on over to The Waking website.

Check out my interviews with the author: here and here.

Read the books in order:
Dreams of the Dead
Spirits of the Noh
A Winter of Ghosts

Follow yourself
And hope that you know where you're going
And don't question your steps
That lead you into the morning
- lyrics from LadyLuck by Maria Taylor

Listen to the song.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.

Lane's sixth grade year isn't quite going how she planned it. When her same-age cousin Angelina unexpectedly comes to stay with Lane and her parents for a month, she totally disrupts everything at home and at school. Within days of her arrival, Angelina destroys one of Lane's favorite shirts, clashes with Lane's friends, and clicks with Lane's crush and sort-of boyfriend. Angelina decides to go by her middle name, Mint. Lane tries to give her cousin advice on how to blend in, but Mint doesn't take it. Soon, pretty much everything Mint does or says rubs Lane the wrong way.

Anyone who is or has been 11 to 13 years old can tell you a horror story or two about their social life during middle school. Some kids stress out about fitting in, while others stand out for any number of reasons, whether they want to or not. While Lane thinks Mint is eccentric, other classmates embrace Mint's exuberance. Likewise, some readers will probably think Mint's outfits are zany while others will applaud her daring-do. As in her previous middle grade stories The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter and Bessica Lefter Bites Back, author Kristen Tracy reminds us of our best and worst moments in middle school, handling both the triumphs and the mortifying moments with just the right mix of surprise and worry. For example:

Before I decided to try out for class captain, I had no idea I had this much paranoia and nervousness and judgment inside me. - Page 9

When considering the outfit her cousin selects to wear to school on her first day:

"You don't want to show up in your wolf shirt. Nobody in my school wears those."

I thought Angelina's smile would fall right off her face. But it didn't. It stayed there. "Ooh. So I'd be the first?"

That was when I suspected that teaching Angelina how to act like a normal sixth grader and make friends at Rio Chama Middle School was going to be pretty difficult. - Page 61

The scene at the end of Mint's month-long stay is very sweet. I'm not quoting it here to protect you from spoilers.

Kristen Tracy has a knack for writing offbeat characters. I love the fact that Mint prefers to march to the beat of her own drummer, and I was glad that Lane and her friends didn't attempt a full-out makeover (looks or personality-wise) on her. The ways in which the girls clash make sense; goodness knows people with different personalities can naturally clash at any age, and when you make two only children suddenly share the same bedroom and same classroom, they are bound to get on each other's nerves eventually, if not immediately. They don't full-out hate each other, though, ever. They disagree, yes, but thankfully, this isn't a story about hate; it's about displacement, and it's about being alternately comfortable and uncomfortable in your own skin and at your school and in your room. It's about friendship and family, and figuring out that it's okay to just be yourself. Kudos to Tracy for making these characters sound and act their age. This G-rated story rings true and will appeal to its intended audience.

I have included Too Cool for This School on my Middle School Must-Haves booklist.

Kudos to Linzie Hunter for creating the book's cover illustrations and hand-lettered title!

Learn more about this and other books by Kristen Tracy at her website: http://www.kristentracy.com/

Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy will be released on August 6th, 2013.

Her frank, clear eyes bespeak a mind
Old-world traditions fail to bind.
She is not shy
Or bold, but simply self-possessed;
Her independence adds a zest
Unto her speech, her piquant jest,
Her quaint reply.
- from An Australian Girl by Ethel Castilla

Read the entire poem here.

Check out my From a Land Down Under booklist.

View all posts tagged as Poetry Friday at Bildungsroman.

View the roundup schedule at A Year of Reading.

Learn more about Poetry Friday.