Why I love YA

I love love love YA literature. So why?

Since I was a child I have read as an escape. An escape from a great childhood with a dark secret. Escape from everyday events. Escape from parents who fought. Escape for escape's sake.

I find comfort in stories about young people. It keeps me young at heart (though not in body dang it!). The story lines range from young love to young heroes/heroines fighting "the system". There is triumph and tragedy, just like real life, but it isn't MY life. I love to escape into OTHER people's lives.

Some of my favorites?

Harry Potter (all of 'em) by J.K. Rowling
Who doesn't love an underdog? Harry is an orphan raised by horrible relatives. He discovers he is a wizard and has to fight the ultimate evil character. It is triumph over adversity. It has friendship, love and magic!

The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow by J.Haight and S. Robinson (link to their blog here)
Here is a female detective I can love. She has a dad who uses SAT words, a baby sister and a curiosity that won't quit. This awesome book, written by a friend of mine and her best friend, is still awaiting the right publisher but the first chapters are available on the blog. I hope everyone will love Fairday and her best friend Lizzy as much as I do!

Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth (link to her site here) - Anxiously awaiting the next book!!!
Another female protagonist facing seemingly insurmountable odds. There is love, danger, a controlling government and more! This is dystopian literature at its best.

Matched by Ally Condie (link to her site here)
Another dystopian series and I love it! Love, government and a hint of evil underlay the entire book. Can't wait to read the sequel!

Any Book by Ellen Hopkins (link to her site here)
I never thought I would like a book written entirely in verse, Turns out I was WRONG! Ellen Hopkins' writing is gripping and amazing.

Any Book by Natasha Friend (link to her site here)
Real events, real situations, real people. That is how I describe Natasha Friend's characters and books. Awesome is another great word for them!

Tell me about the books you love and why!

If you want, feel free to read Beth Revis' Blog and enter to win a Library full of SIGNED YA Books!

Questions for Readers

A awesome young man named Max who works for me sent me a list of 30 questions about books he found on Facebook. It was designed as a "one question a day" thing but I decided to save them and use them when I felt like it!

Here is the first of them. I look forward to reading your answers to these as we go!

Tell me about a book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving...

For me, it was a recent read. I wasn't sure about reading Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher. It is geared toward boys and has a sports theme, neither of which appeal to me. I love sports but have never enjoyed reading about them, and I am not a boy. 

Wow was I surprised! Mr. Crutcher is an amazing writer. He uses male characters and sports as a way to appeal to boys as readers. As a group, boys are less likely to pick up a book and read it for fun. Mr. Crutcher makes books more accessible and more interesting to boys. My favorite thing about his books, he deals with tough subjects and doesn't sugar-coat or shy away from them. 

You can read my review of this book here.

Now it's your turn:

Tell me about a book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving...

Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

From Goodreads.com:

"One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful.

Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature."

In this sequel to the extremely popular first book of the trilogy, Divergent, Ms. Roth continues the story of Tris (aka Beatrice Prior) and Four (aka Tobias Eaton) and their struggle to understand why the leader of the Erudite faction, Jeanine Matthews, is trying to take over all of the factions. Tris struggles to decide whether to follow her instinct or her heart.

In Divergent we learned about the factions, how they function and how they fit together. In Insurgent, we learn how they differ and how they may have to learn to fit together differently. 

I really like the character of Tris and how she is growing. Tris, it is easy to forget, is only 16. She is one of the divergent, a person who doesn’t fit easily into only one faction but rather shows aptitude for multiple factions. The divergent seem to be immune to the simulations created by Jeanine Matthews to control all of the factions. Tris learns how not alone she really is when she travels to meet the factionless, a large percentage of whom are divergent. Tris makes some mistakes which are clearly mistakes of youth but she learns from them and moves on.

The character of Four becomes a bit more well-rounded in this book. We learn more about his growing up in the Abnegation faction, his divergence and learn more about who he is and why he reacts the way he does.

Tris and Four work together and apart to bring down Jeanine Matthews and her desire to rule over all of the factions. They will work with friends and enemies alike to bring about a peace.

I can’t wait to read the last book of the trilogy. Ms. Roth’s writing is compelling and exciting. I am hoping to find out what is outside of the city walls... and why those walls exist!

Author Interview - Ted Mendelssohn, The Wrong Sword

I was lucky enough to get an interview with Ted Mendelssohn, author of The Wrong Sword, book one of a series. Ted is also offering a digital copy of his book to one lucky winner. Enter below to win.

From Goodreads.com:

"Ever since he arrived in Paris, Henry the Rat has made a pretty good living selling "magic" swords to gullible knights. But when Henry sells one to Geoffrey Plantagenet, brother to King Richard, his happy days are over for good. Geoffrey forces Henry into a dangerous, uncomfortable quest for the most famous magic sword of all time, Excalibur, even though Henry is certain that it's just a myth.

Then Henry actually finds Excalibur - and his troubles really start: For Excalibur is not just the sword of heroes...it’s also the sword that won’t SHUT UP. It communicates with its owner, it knows what kind of owner it deserves, and Henry doesn’t even come close.

To keep Excalibur and the world safe from the appalling Geoffrey, Henry will have to masquerade as a knight, crash a royal wedding, rescue a princess, break a siege, penetrate the secrets of the Perilous Brotherhood, and find Excalibur’s rightful bearer, all while trying to reach an accommodation with a snotty, aristocratic hunk of steel that mocks him, takes over his body, and keeps trying to turn him into the one thing he hates most...a hero."

And now, an interview with Ted: 

What is your favorite sentence from your book and why?

Well, like my children, they're ALL my favorites. Just kidding. Of course I have favorite sentences. And children. Let's see…here's a good one, I think: Sometimes it sucked to be the king.

What has been your most rewarding experience since becoming published?

Surprisingly, being published wasn't in itself a big moment. When you start writing, you see being published as a sort of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. But writing a first novel is such a long process that the real reward is the knowledge that you've finished, and that it's fairly close to what you imagined it would be. Everything else is gravy.

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?

Sure, in some ways. For instance, I grew up in a gritty neighborhood (what they call "gentrifying" these days) and saw enough to know that violence isn't glamorous or cool; so I can certainly understand Henry's attitude toward it. I can also identify with Mattie's intellectualism, and Brother Wiglaf's crazy enthusiasm – you know, embracing my inner geek.

What authors have influenced you?

I'd say the writers who influenced me most with The Wrong Sword are Robert Heinlein and Lois McMaster Bujold, who both taught me a lot about narrative voice.

Who are your favorite authors and why?

So many writers.

I love reading Roger Zelazny. The man was a genius poet in science fiction, on a par  with Ray Bradbury. If you're a writer, you have to be careful about reading something like his Lord of Light – it's so good, it will mess up your prose style for days.

Jack Vance is a fun author who never got his due. In a way, he's science fiction's dark, dark Jane Austen: so much of his work is an arch, sardonic dissection of human mores.

Tim Powers, George McDonald Fraser, Carl Hiaasen, Harper Lee, PG Wodehouse, George Orwell, and the list goes on. There aren't many classics on it. I've read the classics, and I respect them; but I'm suspicious of anyone who claims Ulysses is his favorite novel.

What are you currently reading?

The Eight Skilled Gentlemen, by Barry Hughart. Re-reading, actually. Hughart wrote a series of charming novels set in a mythical, medieval China: The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. This is the third.

The Wrong Sword is Book One, when can we expect to see Book Two or others from you?

In about a year.

How long did it take you to write The Wrong Sword?

A lot longer than a year. But it was my first novel, so I was teaching myself to write in that form while I was doing it.

What inspired you to write The Wrong Sword?

I've always been fascinated by tests. If you think about it, Excalibur is the ultimate test – only the king can draw it from the stone. And then I thought But what if somebody cheats?

If you could live during any time period in history, what would it be and why?

I'm a huge fan of indoor plumbing, so I'd go with the Roaring '20s. Lots of money, short skirts and jazz you can understand. On the other hand, if it's a question of visiting, I'd go with Renaissance Florence or Persia under Cyrus the Great. Florence for the art, the food, and the crazy politics; Persia for the pomp and circumstance.

If you could meet anyone living or dead, who would it be and why? What would you ask him/her?

Abraham Lincoln. I wouldn't ask him anything. I'd just say "thanks." Maybe we'd get a sandwich.

Thanks Ted for taking the time to give readers a chance to get to know you!

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Lush

From Goodreads.com:

“Natasha Friend is a Judy Blume for today -- clearly evident in this remarkable new novel about a girl whose father is an alcoholic and how she and her family learn to deal with his condition. 

It's hard to be a 13-year-old girl. But it's even harder when your father's a drunk. It adds an extra layer to everything -- your family's reactions to things, the people you're willing to bring home, the way you see yourself and the world. For Samantha, it's something that's been going on for so long that she's almost used to it. Only, you never get used to it. Especially when it starts to get worse...”

Samantha (Sam) is a typical middle school girl, except for one thing, her dad is an alcoholic. Sam’s mom and grandmother (her dad’s mom) are willing if not eager to overlook or flat out deny or ignore what is happening in their lives. Sam decides to seek some advice from a stranger via a note left at the library.

The stranger helps her to learn about herself and her dad’s disease. When Sam meets the stranger, she is surprised to learn that the person has faced adversity as well. Together they work to help Sam learn to help herself as her dad spirals out of control. It isn’t until a regrettable incident involving Sam’s younger brother that her dad finally gets some help.

I love that Natasha Friend doesn’t hesitate to take on the difficult topic of alcoholism. She does an excellent job of describing the lengths to which a person will go to protect their disease. Dad hides bottles, drives drunk while pretending to be ok, screams and yells and then claims not to remember it and so much more. He isn’t a “bum” or a “bad guy”, in fact, he is a highly respected architect. Ms. Friend has chosen a “regular guy” as her alcoholic father. I so much appreciated that aspect of the book. Alcoholics are everywhere, all zip codes, all races, all tax brackets, and all education levels.

In Lush, Natasha Friend not only gives us with a heroine we can root for but also provides information at the end of the book. She includes websites, books, and phone numbers for teens that may have the same family situation.

This book is a great, short read with a good plot and a lot of information!

If you or someone you know is (or may be) an alcoholic here are some resources for help:

Alateen: for teens with a family member or friend who is an alcoholic (either active or in recovery)

http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/for-alateen

Alcoholics Anonymous: for people who are or think they might be alcoholics. Great information about the disease for everyone.

http://www.aa.org/?Media=PlayFlash

Coping with an Alcoholic Parent: Great info

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/families/coping_alcoholic.html

Book vs. Movie - Avalon High

                                                  

Avalon High Movie vs Book

Let me begin by saying that Meg Cabot’s books are a guilty pleasure for me. I have read every book she has written. While I liked Avalon High, I didn’t think it was her best book. I read the first of the graphic novel series based on Avalon High and, well, if you read my review for that, you know that I hated it.

I thought it would be fun to compare the Disney movie Avalon High to the book. Let’s be real here, it is a Disney movie, not From Here to Eternity. I didn’t go in with high expectations of cinematic glory, and I wasn’t disappointed. It was cute, fun, and easy to watch. It stuck pretty close to the book except for one main fact, the Arthurian counterparts were wrong, wrong, wrong! In the book Ellie is Elaine, The Lady of the Lake and Will is King Arthur. In the movie they made Ellie Arthur and she “saved the day”.

If you just watch the movie, it is enjoyable on its own and they make a half-hearted attempt to make her being Arthur seem plausible. The book makes a much better explanation and better use of her parents (who are, by sheer coincidence) Arthurian experts.

All things considered, the movie alone is good, the book alone is good, the graphic novel still stinks!

Book vs. Movie - The Hunger Games

                                             

Hunger Games Movie vs. Book

Like so many others, I wanted to compare The Hunger Games book versus the movie. I agree with a colleague who said that the movie is a much better accompaniment to the book than a stand alone. Having read the book made the movie much easier to understand.

I hated the shaky cinematography at the beginning of the movie and I don’t think it added at all to the feelings evoked in the movie. I was extremely disappointed by the lack of development of the relationship between Rue and Katniss. Rue’s death is such a big part of Katniss’ development and of her desire to seek revenge on the Capitol. With the lack of this definition we are left as the audience wondering why she went to such extremes to place the flowers on Rue and why District 11 broke out into rioting.

Overall, I thought the movie did a good job using Caesar Flickerman to explain the moves and motivations explained through exposition in the book. I think even more of that would have made the movie easier for those who have not read the book. My other major disappointment was the downplaying of the violence and emotions in the Arena. While I know that the producers had to get a PG-13 rating at most and violence can lead to an R rating, I wish they had stayed more true to the book in that manner.

You might surmise that I didn’t like this movie at all. You would be wrong. I actually thought, for a movie, it was excellent (other than the whole shaky camera technique which I hated). I thought it was captivating and engaging. I thought the casting was superb. But the goal was to compare the book to the movie.