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Every week, poets, book bloggers, librarians, and other bookworms share their original or favorite poems as part of Poetry Friday. (Learn more at Poetry Foundation.) I participate at my blog, Bildungsroman. I tend to select poems based on my mood or recent events. This month, I shared four Mary Oliver poems, including her aptly-titled piece August:

When the blackberries hang
swollen in the woods, in the brambles
nobody owns, I spend

all day among the high
branches, reaching
my ripped arms, thinking

of nothing, cramming
the black honey of summer
into my mouth; all day my body

accepts what it is. In the dark
creeks that run by there is
this thick paw of my life darting among

the black bells, the leaves; there is
this happy tongue.

What poems or poets make you think of summer? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Special thanks to my friend and fellow writer Courtney Sheinmel for introducing me to Mary Oliver's poetry a few years ago!

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Hermione Winters is about to start her senior year of high school. As summer draws to a close, she heads off to cheer camp with her coach and her teammates, including Polly, her best friend and co-captain, and Leo, her boyfriend. Knowing this will be the last time she attends the camp, Hermione intends to make it the best one ever, to work hard, to enjoy the challenges and the routines and the music and the friendships, and to set a good example for her teammates and friends.

Then, on the night of the camp dance, Hermione is raped - her cup of punch drugged by a boy, she blacks out and wakes up in the hospital. The night holds no memories for her past the blackout. She cannot remember the face of her attacker, nor does she have any recollection of what he actually did to her. All she knows is what the doctors, nurses, and detectives have put together from examining her.

Her town is small; everyone knows what happened. The hallways of her school are filled with whispers and judgmental looks, and her relationship with her boyfriend dissolves. But Hermione doesn't withdraw from social interaction or change schools - the latter doesn't even occur to her. She doesn't like being the subject of gossip or scorn or pity. She remembers who she was, she knows who she is, and she is determined to stay true to herself while dealing what has happened.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston was above and beyond what I hoped it would be. Compelling writing, complex characters, realistic dialogue - there is much to praise here. This book could have been riddled with cliches; it was not. It could have been predictable or saccharine; it was neither. The events and reactions were feasible, believable, never farfetched or contrived. The story was layered and nuanced, allowing for warmth and humor sometimes when you least expected it (and most needed it).

Hermione tells her story in first-person narrative. She is an intelligent, resilient, mature young woman who is stronger than she knows. The characters that surround her are so vividly drawn - especially Polly, the fierce and loyal best friend who is equal parts fire and compassion - that any one of them could have a book of their own. And that is one of the loveliest things here: that the supporting characters are truly supportive of Hermione, that she is not dealing with this alone - and also that the supporting characters have their own arcs, their own problems and heartbreaks and priorities.

There is so much I want to say about this book. How it treats subjects such as sexual assault, doctor's visits, therapy, and victim shaming head-on, honestly and openly; how it encourages cheerleaders to be seen as athletes, not airheads; how it includes a variety of characters of various ages and personalities; and, most of all, how it allows its protagonist to be human, to wrestle with emotions and choices and ultimately emerge triumphant not because of or in spite of what happened/happens to her, but because of how she chooses to see herself, not a victim, not a statistic, not diminished, and how she chooses to live, unashamed, undeterred, always moving forward.

I knew before I was raped that this year would be the end of something. I just thought I'd be able to control the ending.

And, again, the magnificent writing: the choice of words, the steady pacing, the characterizations; the importance of a chair, a song, a friend; the details of a waiting room, a quiet house, an exuberant squad; the feeling of flying -- There is so much to applaud here.

Both thought-provoking and profoundly memorable, Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston is a triumph. I encourage people to read and re-read this book and to share it with others. Don't be surprised if you find yourself both crying and smiling as you turn the final page - and then start reading it all over again.

If you like this book, you will also like Swollen by Melissa Lion and All the Rage by Courtney Summers.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear is included on my Tough Issues for Teens booklist.

This review was originally published at my blog, Bildungsroman.

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The Battle of Darcy Lane by Tara Altebrando is a great pick for our middle school readers!

All Julia really wanted to do this summer was hang out with her best friend, Taylor - and maybe her neighbor/friend/secret crush Peter, too. Then Alyssa moves into the neighborhood. Julia immediately doesn't like her; Taylor does. And just like that, Julia's best friend has a new friend, and Julia has a rival.

Alyssa is really into a ball-bouncing game called Russia. At first, Julia doesn't care for it, but then she realizes that she might be able to beat Alyssa at her own game. Over the course of the summer, while Julia tries to hang on to her friendship with Taylor, she also attends band camp, bonds with Peter over a TV show she's not supposed to watch, and challenges Alyssa to an epic game of Russia. She also avoids cicadas and tries to talk her parents into letting her move into a different room in their house.

Julia's an only child, born to parents who love her and - get this - love each other. It's refreshing to read a book in which the parents are happy together, and it's wonderful to see how the child reacts to that relationship. In this case, Julia feels left out, not only because she is the youngest member of the household AND the only kid AND she has to go to bed earlier than her parents, but also because her parents are so close, she feels like there's no room for her sometimes - like she's interrupting something. There's a beautiful moment in which Julia overhears her parents talking outside, their voices drifting up to her window:

They were laughing a lot, and they sounded like something other than a husband and wife, something other than a mom and dad: they sounded like best friends.

Not only does this perfectly capture their relationship, it also ties back to Julia's concerns about her own best friend. Taylor is spending more and more time with Alyssa and less time with Julia. Teasing, confusion, and jealousy ensue. (Goodness, I don't miss middle school!) But thankfully, instead of being your typical mean girl story, this book offers something more plausible, something more satisfying and more age-appropriate, with the Russia showdown and the additional revelations in the denouement.

The Battle of Darcy Lane is a solid story for young readers. It's kind of like a modern-day Now and Then. Julia tries to test the boundaries a little a couple of times, and she sometimes struggles over the right thing to do, but overall, she has a pretty good head on her shoulders. Though the word "tweens" or the term "tween fiction" may not appeal to everyone, it's appropriate when you consider what it means: between. When you're eleven and twelve, you might feel trapped between your little kid years and your teens, torn between wanting to feel more grown up and wanting to stay a kid. This is best exemplified by the scenes in which Julia feels compelled to put away her dolls and knickknacks, even though she still kind of likes them.

Tara Altebrando has a knack for depicting honest relationships between protagonists and their families and friends, and I regularly recommend her YA books to teens looking for realistic modern-day stories. Now I can give The Battle of Darcy Lane to slightly younger readers. I also plan to read her other middle grade novel, My Life in Dioramas.

And who knows - maybe I'll have the opportunity to play Russia somewhere along the way, too.

This review was originally published at Bildungsroman.

The end of the book includes instructions on how to play the ball-bouncing game referred to as Russia or Onesies, Twosies. I also found instructions at the website howstuffworks.com. Have fun!

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So many books, so little time! Here are some of the books that I really enjoyed in 2015, listed alphabetically by title. Click on the titles to read my reviews:

Alex as Well by Alyssa Brugman
All the Rage by Courtney Summers
Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden
A Deafening Silence in Heaven by Thomas E. Sniegoski
Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel
The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Sounds Like Me: My Life (so far) in Song by Sara Bareilles
Tin Men by Christopher Golden
The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten


Check out my full list: Best Books of 2015 - as posted at my blog, Bildungsroman.


What were some of your favorite books from 2015? Leave the titles in the comments below!

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Today's the day, rgz! It's time for Operation Teen Book Drop, 2015, also known as #rockthedrop. April 16th is YALSA's Support Teen Literature Day. 

Quick! Print out a bookmark below, created by Little Willow. Place it in a favorite YA book, and leave the novel in a public spot to be found. Tweet or post a pic at our facebook page with the hashtag #rockthedrop. Show your love for YA lit and brighten someone's day. 

Off you go! Be sneaky. Be creative. Have fun! Oh, and if you find a book, let us know that, too! Drop a note in the comments. Alrighty. GO!

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Many thanks to everyone who participated in this month's blog series! I had a lot of fun gathering candid and heartfelt responses from authors. Lorie Ann asked me to post my own list, so here goes nothing:

7 Things You Don't Know About Me
1) I've been writing stories and songs since birth, practically.
2) I am capable of charming squirrels out of trees.
3) There is no television show I have loved more completely from start to finish than Leverage.
4) I love word play.
5) Synchronicity and causality are recurring themes in my life.
6) Chances are, I'm shorter than you.
7) I project. In more ways than one. 

So there you have it! I hope March has been lovely for all of you. Don't forget to mark your calendars for Operation Teen Book Drop 2014, which will be happening in just a few weeks on April 17th. Stay tuned to the readergirlz blog, Facebook, and Twitter to learn how you can participate and #rockthedrop!

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Anything is possible, if you set your mind to it, work hard, and have your heart in the right place.

Little Mix, an awesome all-female vocal group and winner of The X Factor, reinforces these ideas in their new song "Little Me."  The next time you're feeling down on yourself, turn this song on and remind yourself that the possibilities are endless, and that you can be anything you want to be. 




If you can't see the video embedded above, click here to watch it on YouTube.

Wish I knew back then what I know now
Wish I could somehow go back in time
And maybe listen to my own advice

I'd tell her to speak up, tell her to shout out
Talk a bit louder, be a bit prouder
Tell her she's beautiful, wonderful,
Everything she doesn't see

You gotta speak up, you gotta shout out
And know that right here, right now
You can be beautiful, wonderful,
Anything you wanna be

Click here to read all of the lyrics.

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What if you lived in a town where redheads reigned supreme? That's the premise of Alison Cherry's satirical new novel Red, set in the fictional town of Scarletville. Felicity St. John has hair to die for - rather to dye for. You see, her mom has been getting Felicity's strawberry blonde hair dyed since she was little, determined to make her daughter popular and powerful. Now Felicity's in high school, about to participate in the Miss Scarlet Pageant, much to her chagrin and her mother's delight. Then a series of anonymous notes appears in Felicity's locker: someone knows the truth about Felicity's hair and is threatening to reveal all unless she does what they say. How far will Felicity go to protect her roots? Will she do what her mother wants, or will she finally be able to just be herself?

Author Alison Cherry, a natural redhead, stopped by my blog Bildungsroman today. Check out our discussion about society, conformity, and individuality, as well as the writing process.

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Looking for a fun book to read as summer winds to a close? Here's a recommendation for our younger readergirlz: Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy!

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. 

Click here to read the rest of my review!

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Looking for an awesome YA book that will take you out of this world? Love sci-fi/fantasy series? Check out my guest post at Teens Wanna Know! 

I've recommended five fantastic stories by Christopher Golden (Prowlers), Thomas E. Sniegoski (Fallen), Scott Westerfeld (Uglies), Justine Larbalestier (How to Ditch Your Fairy), and Holly Black (The Curse Workers). These books include angels, shapeshifters, surgeries, good luck, and bad luck, among other things. 

If you haven't read them yet, you should. If you have read them, let me know which one you liked the best.

Check out my Otherworldly YA post at Teens Wanna Know and leave a comment!  

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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. I'd rescue the hedgehogs from the croquet games and delight in the chess game. Plus, I really love the hallway of doors in Wonderland. 

Read more at my blog, Bildungsroman. 

Which door would YOU choose?

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Caroline B. Cooney has a published author for over 3 decades. For many, the Cooney book that they'll never forget is The Face on the Milk Carton, which introduced readers to Janie, a teenager who realizes she was kidnapped as a child. The success of that book led to a sequel, Whatever Happened to Janie? Then came The Voice on the Radio and What Janie Found, following the protagonist's story through the rest of her high school career. In 2012, the author released a short eBook entitled What Janie Saw. In January 2013, her story will finally be resolved with the publication of the final book in the line, Janie Face to Face.

I recently interviewed Caroline, and we spoke of Janie, Pilgrims, Egyptian queens, and everything in-between. We hope you enjoy the interview! Here's a teaser:

What about writing makes you happiest?

Writing is work and I love work. I love how an amorphous thought, paragraph by paragraph, turns into a thriller or a mystery. I love going back and chiseling yesterday's writing into something better. I love waking up in the middle of the night, struck by a new thought, and racing to the computer.

 Considering your early works - Among Friends, Family Reunion, Twenty Pageants Later, that era - do you have any sentimental favorites?

I love them all! Among Friends is still a joy to me, because friends are crucial to a good life, and one must also be a friend to have them.

Read the entire interview at Bildungsroman!

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Happy Banned Books Week! Let's celebrate intellectual freedom! From the Banned Books Week website:

Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2012 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 30 through October 6. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982. [...] According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, and many more go unreported.

For example: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was #10 on the list of most challenged titles of 2011. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was #3. For example: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Charlotte's Web, and Winnie-the-Pooh have all been challenged or banned because they include animal characters that use human language. In honor of Banned Books Week's 30th anniversary, ALA has created a timeline of significant banned and challenged books. Attention booksellers and librarians: Get your camcorders ready so that you and your patrons/students can participate in this year's Virtual Read-Out! Learn more about it here and here.

Related Posts at my blog, Bildungsroman:
I Read Banned Books: Celebrating Intellectual Freedom and Literacy
They Tried to Ban This Book Today, or, There's a Sticker on the Cover of This Book - inspired by the challenge of Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson: Too Cool for School?

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Last night, I stumbled upon a new Tumblr filled with references to YA books, combined with...Ryan Gosling. Yes, indeed. For what it's worth, I think he's a good actor. ⁽¹⁾ If this Tumblr gets people to read, I'm all for it!

So far, people have posted images recommending books written by Lauren Myracle, Libba Bray, Laini Taylor, Sarah Dessen, John Green, David Levithan, and more. There are also, of course, Twilight references, Harry Potter mentions, and other such things. I created this example, which references the fantastic novel Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You by Peter Cameron:⁽²⁾



The blog's administrator made this variation:



Reblog this, tweet this, popularize the Twitter hashtag #ryangoslingreadsya and pick up the books that these fun images are covertly recommending.

⁽¹⁾ Have you seen The Believer? If not, do!
⁽²⁾ I very much enjoyed the novel, and I hope the film does it justice.

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This Week's Book Bag
Every You, Every Me by David Levithan, photographs by Jonathan Farmer
It's Raining Cupcakes by Lisa Schroeder
Scott Pilgrim, Volume #5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe by Bryan Lee O'Malley

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Ever want to peek inside your favorite author's writing space? Check out Write Place, Write Time to see who populates the office with bookcases, pets, kids, and/or toys, who embraces technology, who is a fan of beanbag furniture, and who admits to being messy. Recent contributors include Tom Sniegoski (author of the bestselling series The Fallen) and Christopher Golden (prolific author whose works include the spine-tingling zombie novel Soulless).

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This Week's Picks
Teen Boat! by Dave Roman and John Green
What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman
First Day on Earth by Cecil Castellucci

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For Teens
Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala (coming out January 2012)

For Kids
Toys Come Home: Being the Early Experiences of an Intelligent Stingray, a Brave Buffalo, and a Brand-New Someone Called Plastic by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul O. Zelinksky

Non-Fiction Pick
Geek Girls Unite: Why Fangirls, Bookworms, Indie Chicks, and Other Misfits Will Inherit the Earth by Leslie Simon

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This Week's Picks
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker
The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson
The Heart is Not a Size by Beth Kephart

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This Week's Picks
The stories of Hans Christian Andersen
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, illustrated by Erin McGuire
Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden

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This Week's Picks
My Not-So-Still Life by Liz Gallagher
Heist Society by Ally Carter
Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

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If you love writing, reading, and reading interviews with writers, make sure to follow the Summer Blog Blast Tour (SBBT) all week long. Organized by Colleen of the blog Chasing Ray, the SBBT is now in its fifth year of fun. Click here for the full schedule.

Today, I posted my interview with author Shirley Vernick at my blog, Bildungsroman. Here's a sneak peek:

In 1928, a little girl from New York disappeared, and a young Jewish boy was thought to be her murderer - but he was truly innocent. This real-life tragedy inspired Shirley Reva Vernick's debut novel, The Blood Lie, which will be available September 1st. Shirley's relatives were directly victimized by the real event, and she grew up in the town where it happened, yet she didn't know it until she was a college student. In her own words:

Shirley Vernick: I was already in college when I first learned about it. I came home for fall break my sophomore year with an assignment for a sociology class. Students had to identify a local community conflict – past or present – and write a paper about it. I remember thinking, I'm screwed – no juicy controversies ever happen in my dinky little town of Massena, New York. So I asked my dad, who also grew up in Massena, if he had any ideas. That's when he told me, for the first time, about the blood libel that happened in Massena when he was a high school senior. It was just before Yom Kippur, and a little Christian girl disappeared while playing in the woods near her house. The next thing you know, the local Jews – including my dad's family – were being accused of kidnapping and murdering that little girl and baking her blood in their "holiday foods." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In America? In the 20th century?


To read the full interview, please visit Bildungsroman!

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This Week's Picks
Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy
Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin
The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt
Doggirl by Robin Brande

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This Week's Picks
What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
Bitter Melon by Cara Chow

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This Week's Picks
Ordinary Beauty by Laura Wiess
The Summer Before Boys by Nora Raleigh Baskin

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