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Author Padma Venkatraman‘s most recent novel A Time to Dance was an Honour Winner in the 2015 South Asia Book Award and was chosen for inclusion in IBBY’s 2015 Selection of Outstanding Books for Young … Continue reading ... →

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The cover has been unveiled for Laurie Halse Anderson’s forthcoming book, Ashes. We’ve embedded the full image for the jacket design above—what do you think?

Entertainment Weekly reports that this middle grade book will be the third and final installment of Anderson’s Seeds of America series. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. an imprint at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, has set the release date for Oct. 4.

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Having trouble tracking down the right gifts for the bibliophiles in your life? In the video embedded above, The Fault in Our Stars author John Green shares his choices for a “book giving guide for the holidays.”

Green named titles from a variety of different genres including Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña, and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. For more recommendations from Green, follow these links to watch his Vlogbrothers videos on “18 great books you probably haven’t read” and “a gift giving guide for nerdfightastic readers.”

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It's summer time! Yahoo! And what better way to celebrate summer than to indulge in some summer time reading.  It’s my favorite genre to write and read. Historical fiction is the coming together of two opposing elements: fact and fiction. But as the great Katherine Patterson once said, “…historical fiction [is] a bastard child of letters, respectable neither as history nor as fiction.”  I’ve written before, how defining historical fiction shares similar idiosyncrasies as Doctor Who.

When Patterson wrote historical fiction, she was often taken to task for writing stories that were considered not true to contemporary readers. But, said Patterson, “…In many instances, historical fiction is much more realistic than a lot of today’s realism…Nothing becomes dated more quickly than contemporary fiction.” In the best of historical fiction, as with any story, a child becomes a hero who gains power over her situation, a theme that contemporary readers appreciate.

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Have you ever written a letter to one of your favorite authors?

More than 50,000 young readers (grades 4 through 12) participated in the Library of Congress’ Letters About Literature program. Each participant was tasked with writing a letter to an author (living or deceased) about how one of their books affected them.

According to the press release, this “initiative is a reading-promotion program of the Center for the Book, with the goal of instilling a lifelong love of reading in the nation’s youth.” Below, we’ve posted the full list of winners and honors.

Level 1 (Grades 4 to 6)

National Prize: Gerel Sanzhikov of New Jersey’s letter focused on The Running Dream by Wendell Van Draanen.

National Honor Award: Chelsea Brown of Virginia’s letter focused on Shades of Black by Sandra L. Pinkney.

Level 2 (Grades 7 to 8)

National Prize: Gabriel Ferris of Maine’s letter focused on Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

National Honor Award (three-way tie): Emmy Goyette of New Hampshire’s letter focused on Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Jonathan Hoff of New Jersey’s letter focused on Maus by Art Spiegelman.

Julianna Gorman of Maryland’s letter focused on Night by Elie Wiesel.

Level 3 (Grades 9 to 12)

National Prize: Aidan Kingwell of Illinois’ letter focused on the Mary Oliver poem \"When Death Comes.\"

National Honor Award (tied between two participants): Lisa Le of the District of Columbia’s focused on The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

Hannah DesChamp of Oregon’s letter focused on the Pablo Neruda poem \"I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You.\"

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I’m just back from Melbourne for the second time in a month. Despite busy May in the book world, this was my long-awaited chance to attend ‘Reading Matters’ conference, which is organised by the Centre for Youth Literature (CYL) and focuses on YA literature and storytelling. Presenters aimed their content at librarians and teacher librarians; […]

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February is Black History Month and to celebrate we’re sharing five of our favorite books that honor the history and legacy of African Americans.

If you work with kids in need, you can find these and other great titles to celebrate Black History Month on the First Book Marketplace.

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman by Kathleen Krull

Before Wilma Rudolph was five years old, polio had paralyzed her left leg. Everyone said she would never walk again. But Wilma refused to believe it. Not only would she walk again, she vowed, she’d run. And she did run—all the way to the Olympics, where she became the first American woman to earn three gold medals in a single olympiad. This dramatic and inspiring true story is illustrated in bold watercolor and acrylic paintings by Caldecott Medal-winning artist David Diaz.

Martin’s Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier

This picture book biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. brings his life and the profound nature of his message to young children through his own words. Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of the most influential and gifted speakers of all time. Doreen Rappaport uses quotes from some of his most beloved speeches to tell the story of his life and his work in a simple, direct way. Bryan Collier’s stunning collage art combines remarkable watercolor paintings with vibrant patterns and textures.

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

Sitting tall in the saddle, with a wide-brimmed black hat and twin Colt pistols on his belt, Bass Reeves seemed bigger than life. Outlaws feared him. Law-abiding citizens respected him. As a peace officer, he was cunning and fearless. When a lawbreaker heard Bass Reeves had his warrant, he knew it was the end of the trail, because Bass always got his man, dead or alive. Born into slavery in 1838, Bass had a hard and violent life, but he also had a strong sense of right and wrong that others admired. When Judge Isaac Parker tried to bring law and order to the lawless Indian Territories, he chose Bass to be a deputy U.S. Marshall. Bass would quickly prove a smart choice.  The story of Bass Reeves is the story of a remarkable African American and a remarkable hero of the Old West.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight…for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become the property of a malicious New York City couple, the Locktons, who have no sympathy for the American Revolution and even less for Ruth and Isabel. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave with ties to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She is reluctant at first, but when the unthinkable happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes her loyalty is available to the bidder who can provide her with freedom.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age–and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns about love for herself and the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.

*Book descriptions shown are publisher descriptions and have not been written by First Book.

The post 5 Books to Celebrate Black History Month appeared first on First Book Blog.

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This is a book that will have readers reveling in and recognizing the difficult journey that is trying to make sense the present and the future, all while navigating the complexities of high school and teenage life.

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and this is one of the many things I love about Jen.

Jen's whole piece, on Hairpin, is here.

Her final words are a sweet, right challenge:

So read, read Y.A., read adult literature, read blog posts, read magazines, read your box of Cheerios in the morning. Read all you can and want to read, acknowledging the easy and unchallenging and the difficult and complicated, and form your own opinions, trying to add a little room for nuance and understanding and openness in all that you do. That’s the best you can do as a reader, a writer, and a human.

And how honored am I to have Going Over included among works by Markus Zusak, Nina LaCour, Andrew Smith, Cammie McGovern, Laurie Halse Anderson, Sherman Alexie, Aaron Hartzler, E. Lockhart, and Matthew Quick on Jen's "10 Contemporary Y.A. Books That Made Me Think (and That I Loved)."

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7 Things You Don't Know About Me

1. I am writing this list in Muscat, Oman. I've had the chance to visit several American schools overseas in the last couple of years and am having a blast exploring new cultures.

2. I ran a marathon in 2011.

3. I finally got to hang out with Stephen Chbosky (Perks of Being a Wallflower) and am happy to report that he is a super cool guy.

4. I have become obsessed with mint lemonade.

5. I want to write a fantasy, but have not yet figured out how to do it.

6. I'm working on the text for the SPEAK graphic novel that should be published in 2016.

7. I love my life.
Want to know more secrets about your favorite authors? Keep checking this blog all month long to celebrate the seven-year anniversary of readergirlz!

BONUS: Read our roundtable discussion of PROM.

BONUS: Laurie's video celebrating the 10th anniversary of SPEAK in 2009.

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As Mary Ann mentioned on Monday, we're saying "farewell" to Jeanne Marie by linking back to one of our favorites of her 101 TeachingAuthor posts. And since today is Wednesday, I had the added task of choosing a favorite post that also lends itself to a Writing Workout. Turns out, that wasn't very hard. Last July, Jeanne Marie blogged about a picture book writing course she was taking. One of her assignments was to discuss the contents of her Writer's Toolbox. She shared an excerpt from her response to the assignment (which I encourage you to go back and read) and talked of the value of reflecting on one's own Writer's Toolbox.

For today's Wednesday Writing Workout, I'd like to focus on the first tool/challenge Jeanne Marie mentioned:

"I think that one of the most challenging aspects of creating a rootable character is finding a way to make him/her likeable and flawed at the same time." 

When I first read this, the term "rootable character" was new to me. I know now that it's simply a character the reader will want to root for. But creating one is not a simple task. In fact, it's something I'm struggling with in my current work-in-progress. Part of my challenge is that my story is set in 18th-century Milan, Italy, a time and place quite removed from my readers. How can I depict my character in a way that modern readers will understand her world well enough to empathize with and understand her feelings and choices?

One way is to find connections between me and my character that I can draw from. In a presentation to the Federation of Children's Book Groups last March, Elizabeth Wein talked about how she found such connections while writing her award-winning historical novel Code Name Verity (Disney-Hyperion) by looking for "modern parallels." But even if you're writing a contemporary story, whether fiction or nonfiction, it's not always easy to make your protagonist "rootable." Before trying the following workout, you may want to read these two articles on the topic: a post by Emilia Plater called "Radical Empathy: Creating a Compelling Flawed Character" on the YA Highway blog, and one by Alex Epstein for the 2012 Script Frenzy site called "We Like Characters Because of Their Flaws, Not Their Virtues."

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It's the start of a new school year here in the United States. Many students have been back to school for several weeks already, and almost all will have returned by the end of this week. Below, I share about a writing challenge some of you, our readers, may be interested in. But first, I want to announce our own new beginning here on the TeachingAuthors' blog. Jeanne Marie posted a few weeks ago that she's stepping away from blogging with us for awhile. We will miss her unique perspective as a working writer and teacher who is also the mother of young children. We hope that she'll be able to rejoin us again in the not-to-distant future. Meanwhile, we're happy to welcome back JoAnn Early Macken!

With JoAnn's return, we're modifying the posting schedule a bit. JoAnn will return to her former Friday posting spot, which will allow her to participate in Poetry Friday. And Jill will take over Jeanne Marie's Monday spot. We hope you enjoy our new rotation!

Now, for a "new beginning" opportunity for you, our readers: Today I discovered that award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson has shifted her annual Write Fifteen Minutes a Day (WFMAD) challenge from August to September. If you've slacked off in your writing over the summer, or you've been in a slump and you'd like some help getting back into a writing routine, I recommend you join the challenge. You can work on a project of your choosing, or write responses to one of two prompts Anderson provides each day. She also provides bits of inspiration each day. In today's post, Your Abundance of Time, she shares a link to an interesting article about why we allow the Internet to absorb so much of our valuable time.

But wait! Before you head off to write your fifteen minutes for today, be sure to enter for a chance to win a copy of Lisa Morlock's terrific rhyming picture book, Track that Scat! (Sleeping Bear Press).  

Happy Writing!
Carmela

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We had LOTS of great entries in our latest giveaway contest--see the end of this post to find out who our winner is. 

As Jill shared last Friday, for our current TeachingAuthors topic we're talking a bit about our daily lives/routines as writers. Before I discuss my routine, I have a confession to make: I don't want to be writing this blog post right now.

It's not that I mind the topic, or that I dislike blogging, because I enjoy these posts and the opportunity to connect with you, our blog readers. It's just that I've been working hard, keeping "butt in chair" for the past few weeks, trying to finish the revision of my young-adult historical, and I'm almost done--"almost," as in, to start this blog post, I had to stop at page 274 of a 280-page manuscript! I really wanted to keep plugging away without interruption until I reached the end AND worked through Chapter 1 again so I could send it off to my Beta readers.

Ironically (given today's topic), I would easily have made it through those last pages if regular life hadn't intervened with a minor household crisis this afternoon. But that's a topic for another day.

However, since I'm being brutally honest here, I should also note that these last few weeks have really been more "fun" than "work." That's because I FINALLY got through the revision of Chapter 12--the pivotal chapter where the two formerly antagonistic main characters realize they're falling in love! Once I had that chapter working to my satisfaction, I was on a roll: tweaking scenes, pulling threads, deepening sensory details, adding imagery, polishing language, etc. The stuff I love to do!

If you've been following this blog for awhile, you know it's taken me a LONG time to get to this point with this current work-in-progress. In fact, I've been ready to give up on this novel countless times. Back in June 2011, I blogged about how having a "writing buddy" turned out to be the key to my getting a finished draft. But that draft still needed a lot of work--work I hope to have finished by the end of this week. Hooray!

[By the way--my blog post about having a "writing buddy" led me to write a freelance article on the topic for the 2013 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (Writer's Digest Books), edited by Chuck Sambuchino. The book was just released on September 21, and is also available in ebook form.]

So, what IS my typical day like? I blogged about my "ideal" day back in June, 2009, and that ideal hasn't changed much, though I rarely live up to it.

I find I'm most productive if I get up around 6-6:30 in the morning and get to work as soon after breakfast as possible, without checking email or Facebook. Since I have a hard time resisting email, I set a timer and don't allow myself to look at it until after I've put in 2-4 hours of work, depending on what else I have going on that day. After email and lunch, I work another 2-4 hours, though I take an exercise break in the middle of the afternoon on most days. (If you haven't read about the recent studies citing the dangers of prolonged sitting, you may want to read this Forbes article: Why Sitting at Work Can be so Deadly.]

I should clarify that "work" varies depending on my teaching schedule and my work goals for the week. I'm not currently teaching any classes, so the "work" time these days may include:

• writing/revising my current historical YA novel-in-progress (that's almost done!)
• researching/planning where to submit a novel I recently finished co-writing with another author
• writing a blog post, like this one, or planning future blogging topics
• pitching/querying new freelance writing projects
• writing/researching freelance writing projects
• updating my website with information about upcoming classes, publications, etc.

Weeks when I am teaching, my "work" time includes lesson planning, publicizing classes, and reviewing student work.

Depending on how much time I spend on email and social media, my typical work day is usually 5-8 hours long, Monday through Friday, plus 4 hours or more on Saturday. (I often teach on Saturdays.) If I'm on deadline, or on a "roll" as I have been the last few weeks, I may put in some extra time after dinner. But I can't do that for an extended period. I agree with what Jill said on Friday, that we need to have time away from our work to gather the material that will enrich our writing.

I know many of you have full-time jobs that make it pretty much impossible to spend 2-4 hours per day writing. The good news is, many writers who have much less time to devote to their writing are still able to have successful careers. Esther recently mentioned a new blog by Carol Coven Grannick called Today I Am a Writer. In one of her first posts, Carol talks about how productive she's been by following the simple tenet of devoting the First, Best Hour to her work. As Carol has discovered, knowing we have a limited amount of time can sometimes help us stay focused. I'm a believer in Parkinson's law--work often does expand to fill the time allotted for its completion.

But even if an hour is more than you can muster, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish by writing simply fifteen minutes a day. Every August, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson hosts the "Write Fifteen Minutes a Day Challenge" on her blog. Here's an excerpt from what she posted on the last day of the challenge::

Life happens whether you are writing or not. You don’t have to wait for the right time, or that Muse-blessed idea or a fellowship to a writing colony or a winning lottery ticket or anything. You just have to give yourself permission to take seriously your writing dream.

So I hope you'll give yourself permission to take your writing dream seriously. Why not start today, by setting aside some regular writing time?. Even if you missed Anderson's Fifteeen Minutes a Day Challenge last month, there's nothing stopping you from using her posts to work through your own month of writing fifteen minutes a day. Day one begins here.  

And now, time to announce the winner of Lisa Cron's Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence (Ten Speed Pess). Our winner is:

Mary Jo

Congratulations, Mary Jo! (Please respond to my email so we can get the book in the mail right away.)

If you didn't win, never fear--we have more giveaways coming SOON!

And now, I'm going back to my novel.
Happy writing!
Carmela

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I LOVE this! Laurie Halse Anderson (SPEAK, WinterGirls) got an award from the NCAC, honoring her as a Defender of Free Speech. And it was handed to her by Judy Blume, no less! This is so fitting, since SPEAK is often challenged. I’m glad this happened. Laurie is one of those authors I really look up to.

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So…after two months of worrying about me being on a panel speaking about challenged books in front of 500 people, and then two weeks of anxiety, and then a day of absolute fear right up to (and during) the panel…I “did good”! I knew I had a lot to say–Scars has been challenged at least once formally that I know of, and informally in Meghan cox Gurden’s op-ed. My abusers tried to silence me most of my life; I don’t want to be silenced any more. But actually speaking about it all in front of 500 people live felt pretty scary. I think I spoke well, though–honestly, emotionally, passionately, and intelligently. I still can’t believe I spoke well! It took a while for me to know it–but I started taking it in afterward from the many responses and from people telling me that in so many ways.

I know public speaking is hard for many people, at least at first. It is for me, too. But for me there’s also the added layers of all the abuse training–my abusers repeatedly telling me they’d kill me if I talked (and since they’d murdered other children in front of me I knew they could), and abuse that happened on raised stages (like child porn), and all the years I learned to be silent, quiet, and not speak out, except through my writing and my art. But yesterday I learned that I CAN speak publicly, even to a large group, and it can be okay and even a good experience.

Some of the time before my panel I felt alone and scared and insecure as the hours stretched on, so I took a breather, and sat in the hallway against the wall. But doing that I felt like I was socially awkward and sticking out, the way I had as a teen. And then who should come by but A.S. King (Everybody Sees the Ants, Please Ignore Vera Dietz)! She sat herself down beside me so easily, and we sat, backs against the wall, talking. Amy was reassuring and understanding, and so down-to-earth. I loved hearing about her own experiences, and just…spending time. Hearing Amy talk about ALAN so enthusiastically made me want to join.

I also got to meet C.J. Bott in person–she recognized me as I passed by, and we talked briefly, and then she sat down for a bit with A.S. King and me. C. J. Bott did a lovely review of Scars, and we’d talked back and forth via email a bit, so it was cool to meet her in person. She’ll be vice president of ALAN next year!

I also talked a bit with Professor Melanie Hundley, who was an incredibly friendly, bright spot in the day, introducing me to other authors and to teachers, pointing out my handouts to others, and just being lovely.

It helped to have such friendly, caring people around!

The whole experience was also made better by my wonderful book publicist Julie Schoerke, picking me up at the airport, taking me to dinner, and then coming the next day to be with me for my panel. I was getting more and more scared the closer it got to my panel, and thankfully Julie arrived about an hour before. She sat on the floor with me i

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It’s Banned Books Week–the week to celebrate and draw attention to the books that have been challenged or banned across the U.S. If it was up to some people, we wouldn’t read anything but The Little Engine That Could. In the past, I have featured some banned books. I’ll mention a couple of my favorites here and the links now.

http://margodill.com/blog/2008/08/27/crank-by-ellen-hopkins/

http://margodill.com/blog/2008/09/15/speak-by-laurie-halse-anderson/

Also I wanted to announce the winner of COLD CASE from last Monday’s post; it is Amy Camp! Thank you to everyone who left a comment. I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to check out this great book.

Go out and read a banned book!

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Seeing that I've been posting my pet art all week on my blog, I thought this was a perfect time to give a shout out to a really fun chapter book series,  Laurie Halse Anderson's Vet Volunteers.  I have only read one of these thus far, but I enjoyed the first one so very much, I want to read every single one,. They are fun to read, but they are not dumbed down at all— they tell serious pet-in-distress stories. We get to experience each "case" from the inside out, and we get to live the story along with the characters.

I 'discovered' Halse Anderson way after she'd become an hugely successful, award winning, and established author of bestselling young adult literature such as Twisted and Wintergirls. I saw her speak at the 2008 NESCBWI conference, and that was the first time I'd heard of her. (Surprising to me now!) WHAT a Keynote she gave. Someday, I'll have to tell you about it. Amazing, and she brought down the house.

Check out ALL of Laurie Halse Anderson's books, here and on Amazon.

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First things first! The winner of the DAMNED ARC is Margo! I'll be emailing you with details...
Now, I've had several people ask me to give my thoughts about the conference. I know there is already so much out there about the phenomenal speakers and content. 40 years! Just look at that dessert above from the Golden Kite luncheon. It was truly an amazing time. The sheer number of icons had me absolutely dazzled and in awe. So I'm going to share a few of these people with you and what they mean to me.

1. Judy Blume. How can I even begin to describe what it was like to be so close to THE Judy Blume? The woman was so gracious, so kind, so intelligent, and so very REAL. The first novel I think I ever read was Are You There God? It's me, Margaret. I remember that special feeling of being entirely wrapped up in Margaret's world. I loved it. I loved it so much that I never stopped reading and seeking new worlds with new characters. Hearing about Judy's process and journey was inspiring beyond belief. 
2. Norton Juster. The first fantasy book I ever read was The Phantom Tollbooth. It was also the first book I ever read more than once. I had the opportunity to tell Norton Juster that, to which he looked me dead in the face and replied, "Fantasy? That's my life." How can I not love him? How can I not love a book that's remained AMAZING after 50 years, and that my own son loves just as much as I did? I think I might have to go read it again...
3. Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak. She gave voice to difficult subject matter that may make some uncomfortable, but saves lives on a daily basis. At the conference, she taught me to embrace my creative need for self-expression, and to nurture the "seed" in my soul. 
4. Donna Jo Napoli. Her speech was possibly my favorite. And that's really saying something as I gave more standing ovations than I have in my life. It was titled: How Writing About Terrible Things Makes Your Reader a Better Person. And she spoke to not just those who need to see others who've gone through similar things, but to the sheltered who benefit from exposure to truths beyond their own. 
5. Libba Bray. I saved my favorite for last of course. My hero. Her speech was just as amazing as I hoped and so was she. Funny, intelligent, friendly, and talented. Libba - I would have voted you Prom Queen in high school. I'm just sayin'. She let us know that even the super stars go through rough times, and are plagued by self-doubt. 

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Laurie Halse Anderson


Awesome author Laurie Halse Anderson closes the non-Intensives portion of the conference with a keynote address.

I would not be a published writer if it was not for SCBWI, Laurie says. Lin and Steve has created a sanctuary for writers with SCBWI.

Her first bit of advice: You should all move to central New York. Land is cheap and the weather is crappy--there's nothing to do but create. (Note: her website is madwomanintheforest.com.)

Giving scary speeches is very much like writing books, she says: The only way out is through.

Laurie quotes a questions from T.S. Elliot's  Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:

Do I dare disturb the universe?

Art disturbs the universe she says and artists dare to create.

She feel like American culture exists to make rich richer and rob the rest of joy and dignity. People feel tired and defeated; melancholy.

In her 30s, she had done everything she had been told to do. She went to college. She got married. She has babies. She had taxes. She didn't run with scissors. And she was sick and depressed and miserable (much like Judy Blume). At that point, the seed of her art was spinning in her sole. The straighforward pathway had been lost for her. She knew she had to change something.

She started to write, she says, badly. Things like a 7000-word picture book about the tooth fairy with nothing original in it. And it made her feel better. And she found friend at SCBWI where she learned:

The study of craft

and

Laurie quotes Bruce Coville: If you don't jump, the wings never come. For her, the wings were there. She found light and love. And, she says, she also worked her ass off because a creative life demands dedication and discipline.

Writing, she says, forces you to be alive, and being alive can really hurt. Writing stirs up demons, memories and dust.

Laurie says we sometimes seduce ourselves into thinking that writing-related activities are writing. It's easier to blog about writing than to actually...write. It's hard to write because writing disturbs the universe.

Your chances of predicting the next trend is slim to none. But your chances of writing a story that someone wants to read and publish are very very good. You have little control over the publishing world; you have all the control over yourself.

Lauris says your muse is you--it deserves love and tender care. Know that a very good portion of what we do is magic. Hold onto that magic and remember to have fun (and that discipline can be fun). And remember, writing is not about the destination or even about the publication. It's about walking the path. She urges the crowd to go forth laughing and disturb the universe.
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Maybe you've heard of this author named Laurie Halse Anderson. She's written a couple of books, I've been told.

Guess what the two of us have in common? Cover artist, C. S. Neal!
  
When I have permission to share, you'll get to see my lovely MAY B.

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This week's featured title is INDEPENDENT DAMES: What You Never Knew About the Women and Girls of the American Revolution by Laurie Halse Anderson. It tells the stories of the women who fought behind the scenes in all sorts of fierce ways, women who are finally getting a spotlight. Cool!

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Twisted
Laurie Halse Anderson
young adult

It's not brand-spanking new like Wintergirls, but Twisted is definitely worth a read. First, it is not a girl book. I'm very into boy books these days since I'm working on one. Go figure! And it's a real gem to find a boy book that deals with boy emotions from a boy perspective BUT is written by a woman.

A woman's approach to a male character and the result is all way in the forefront of my conscious writing after listening to Mike Sullivan speak at a conference I was speaking at last weekend. He drove home the point that we "girls" like connection and peaceful resolutions to problems. We're internally driven. Boys need to make connection. They need to experience tactile-y how something feels, works, and affects them. That's why they drive their bikes off of cliffs and that kind of extreme sports stuff. Sure, there are girls who do it too, and Sullivan says that both boy and girl readers who are reluctant readers share this hands-on approach to life. They need to experience.

Having said that, as a woman, I felt like Anderson did a great job with bringing her boy character home. Granted in this story of the dweeb turned bad boy, there is the Anderson element of darkness. Tyler does ultimately consider suicide. He also considers blowing up his school. Hurting his peers. Shooting his father. Yet, in the end, he decides to make a turn. To man up and face up to his dad. To win respect with guts rather than guns.

In all that, I can't help wondering if that's a woman's take or a man' reality. Trouble male teens don't all blow up schools or shoot themselves or hurt others. But, is the journey to manning up grittier and more experiential than even Anderson gives us? Compare her work to Walter Dean Myers' Monster. Myer's novel is rawer. It made me feel physically ill with worry as the character told his story. The emotion I came away with from Myers' work was uncomfortable. Unfamiliar. Unfemale.

Can we women portray Myers' type of gritty male? Absolutely. If we're willing to understand it. Which may or may not take actually experiencing it like a man might choose to.

What do you think? I'd really love some input on this. I'm trying to understand the male mojo. Not an easy feat. But doable, right?

For more great reads, hop over to Barrie Summy's site. You're sure to Spring into something fun!

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Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Release Date: March 19th, 2009
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Source: Bought

Summary from Goodreads:

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her step-mother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she'll disappear altogether.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

My Opinion: 

I'd never read anything by LHA, and I think this was a good book to start. Wintergirls shows us the inner workings of an anorexic girl's mind very clearly. We get to see why they live like they do, what drives them -in this case, what drove Lia, the MC- to develop an eating disorder.

I was astounded by Lia and Cassie's stories, how they made a pact to be the thinnest girls in school at the mere age of twelve. Twelve! When I was twelve, I was worried about which secondary school I'd get into the following year, not about how thin I was.

The present tense narrative wasn't my cup of tea in this book. I kept feeling like there was something off about it. But I did love how Lia told her story, how she felt like no one understood her.

After Cassie dies, Lia is haunted by the memory of her. She sees Cassie every night, and Cassie always tries to take her with her, to the other side.
There was always something new to keep you wanting to read more, the pace wasn't too fast, and the writing was amazing.

One thing I loved was the relationship Lia had with her little sister, Emma. Emma's nine years old and adores Lia. She's basically the only reason Lia makes some of her best choices.

It's a short book, which you can read in a sitting or two, and very insightful. I'd recommend it to anyone who knows someone with an eating disorder. It might help you understand them better.

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I have 1 more book to read by this author, Fever 1793, and then I've decided to move on to another author.

Link for the book @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0142400017/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1290177830&sr=8-1
Paperback $7.99

Link for the book @ Publisher:
http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670035663,00.html?Catalyst_Laurie_Halse_Anderson
Hardback $17.99
Paperback $7.99

Author's site:
www.writerlady.com

This book was borrowed from the library for reading/reviewing.

Published by Viking-Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers September 30, 2002/240 pages/for ages
12 and up

I have to admit that this was not my favorite from the author Laurie Halse Anderson. I read this book quickly, in 1 evening. Could it be that I'm becoming bored with teen angst and drama?
Kate Malone is in the final months of her senior year in high school. She is a chemistry and science and math whiz, a member of the National Honor Society, a cross country runner. She is a facts and figures kind of gal, she has a analytic and logic type mind. Her dream is to attend MIT. She has a boyfriend named Mitch, he's a great kisser. Her mother died 9 years ago, her dad is a pastor, she has 1 younger brother Tobey.
On one hand Kate is in a whirl of busyness at home: laundry, house cleaning, caring for her sick asthmatic brother, cooking, reminding her dad and brother of their own duties. Kate has taken on the role of mom in addition to her school work and high school activities. She has a problem sleeping, relaxing.
When the neighbor's house burns and this family moves in with Kate and her dad and brother, she is at first insensitive and selfish. I wondered where this part of the story would fit in, but it was important, it gave Kate another dimension to her character that I liked.
What I liked most about Kate's character was that she took seriously and did the best she could in filling in with caring for the home and her brother and dad, since her mother had died. I thought her dad was pre-occupied or inept in not knowing what Kate was going through in keeping up her school work, and also juggling her home responsibilities. I'm sure he was engaged and focused on his own duties at church, which Kate I felt resented. Kate needed counseling, she was at times chilly and sardonic, not wanting to feel anything, not wanting to confront these unresolved areas of her life that were like a blinking light going, "yield, yield, prepare to stop or suffer the consequences of stuffing your emotions."
Kate's friends are introduced in to the story as well as a boyfriend. Although they are apart of the story, it is Kate that is the speaker and the focus is on her.

Blissful Reading!
Annette

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