Vacation reading

In 24 hours I am going to be someplace with palm trees, so Librarilly Blonde will be on vacation for a week unless I'm feeling really inspired to blog (unlikely). Until then, have some links:

• The Washington Post fails yet again, this time on the subject of the Newbery Award: Plot twist: The Newbery may dampen kids' reading.
  
  
• Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, has a wonderfully intelligent reaction to a recent article in the New Yorker about YA lit. Carrie's reaction intrigues me because I am always wondering about the divide between children's and YA, and YA and adult. For even more awesome, read Sherwood Smith's reaction.



• The TV Addict gives the CW its midseason report card: Three hardworking remnants from the beloved WB era (SMALLVILLE, SUPERNATURAL and ONE TREE HILL) proved you don’t need silly things like an actual marketing budget to be successful. I've been saying since August that if the CW spent half the money advertising Supernatural that it did advertising 90210, SPN would easily have twice its ratings. This is not to say SPN's ratings have been bad, because they've actually been quite good, but it's such a superior show to 90210 in terms of writing and acting that I always wondered why the CW gives it no love.



• The BCCLS Teens page has been redesigned. In the interest of slow connections and fussy browsers, we've kept it simple on design and a little heavier on content. In the next few months I'm hoping to add more links, but this will suffice for now.

As my holiday gift to all of you, here's the opening of the best holiday special ever made, Shari's Christmas Concert:

Final lists for the BCCLS Mock Awards

The BCCLS Youth Services Committee has been very hard at work this year, reading and making lists of the books they deem most worthy of appearing in the finals for our Mock Caldecott, Newbery, and Printz Awards. The lists are final and available to all in several places.

First, you can see our flyer for the event (all are welcome!), which lists all of our favorites.

Second, you can visit BCCLSVisor, where the lists appear individually.

• Mock Caldecott. I'm not sure which of the books deserves the award the most, but my personal love goes to The House in the Night.


• Mock Newbery. I'm all about Chains and The Graveyard Book.


• Mock Printz. I'll do a longer post on this soon, but my favorite to win is Madapple, with honors for Pretty Monsters and Octavian II.

From the YALSA blog: In short, read these

I've mentioned my fondness for short stories here before, and today I wrote a post for the YALSA blog highlighting some outstanding YA short story collections and an anthologies from 2008: In short, read these. Pretty Monsters is my personal favorite to take a Printz Honor, but that's coming in another post.

Happy reading!

Reading is Love is Hell

Here's something that sets me apart from most readers: I love short stories. I know they're not as popular as novels, but I don't care. I am in awe of those able to create great short stories, where you have to build the world and tell the story in so little space. You can imagine, then, how excited I was to read Love is Hell by Justine Larbalestier, Melissa Marr, Laurie Faria Stolarz, Scott Westerfeld, and Gabrielle Zevin (many thanks to Farrin Jacobs at Harper for sending the copy). It's five absorbing supernatural twists on love and love ripped apart, with not a weak story in the bunch. From beginning to end:

Sleeping with the Spirit by Laurie Faria Stolarz. Brenda isn't sleeping so well in her new house. She keeps waking up exhausted with bruises on her body. As her dreams become clearer, she learns that the bruises are coming from Travis, the ghost of a teenage boy who was murdered in her house seventeen years ago. Travis can only contact Brenda through her dreams, so he enlists her help in tying up some loose ends related to his death.

Stupid Perfect World by Scott Westerfeld. It's very The Giver meets Feed. As part of a class experiment in a future society, students must live with a condition that has troubled their ancestors. For example, the hot girl Kieran likes decides to give herself a cold. Kieran himself decides that instead of letting his bioframe run the programs that allow him to function 24/7, he's going to go Shakespearean and learn to sleep, perchance to dream. Maria decides to allow her teenage hormones to run rampant. Drama, both Shakespearean and high-school-hallway, ensues when Kieran and Maria find their emotions bringing them together.

Thinner Than Water by Justine Larbalestier is a dark faerie tale set in an historic tourist village. In Jeannie's small village, teenagers can become handfasted, a trial one-year love and living arrangement between couples. Jeannie would rather escape her village, move to the city, and become a doctor, something her parents are very much opposed to. The one bright spot in Jeannie's village life is Robbie. A handfasting ceremony joins the two, and the village's small-minded people tear them apart. Temporarily.

Fan Fictions by Gabrielle Zevin is, I confess, my favorite story in the book, probably due to my wanting to live in the books I read as a child. Paige is the girl that no one except the new librarian at school really notices. The day the librarian recommends a book called The Immortals, Paige meets the new mysterious boy in school. Aaron and Paige's romance grows until the day Paige hears the school book club talking about The Immortals. If they're just discussing the book, why are they quoting and describing Aaron?

Love Struck by Melissa Marr. The convoluted, complicated romance between Alana, who refuses to have relationships longer than six weeks, and Murrin, a selchie, is made even more confusing when Murrin's brother tries to interfere. When Alana steals and hides Murrin's seal skin, he cannot leave her. Not that he wanted to leave in the first place.

Despite their quick pace and the fact that half the battle of reading SF or fantasy short stories is getting into the world in the first place, I was completely absorbed by these stories. I found that the three stories in the middle, in particular (Westerfeld, Larbalestier, Zevin), were really economical with their language and made intelligent use of the short space. I confess I've never been a fan of True Love Forever stories, nor of stories about the Perfect Love between Two Perfect People (I'll have to write another entry on how I was born without the romance gene someday). These stories totally satisfied the part of me that loves to see stories about the heart without making me gag on how physically perfect and emotionally unobtainable the main characters were. The stories are dark, serious, and often gut-wrenching. That's a compliment.

Other books in the "...Hell" series:

• Prom Nights from Hell by Meg Cabot, Michelle Jaffe, Lauren Harrison, Stephenie Meyer, and Lauren Myracle (April 2007)


• Vacations from Hell by Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Mlynowski (June 2009)

Pictures (of wizards) at an exhibition

Sometimes life is just serendipitous. Today's announcement:

Harry Potter, the Exhibition opens April 30, 2009 and closes September 7, 2009 at the Museum of Science and Industry. Tickets are on sale now. The MSI says:

The Harry Potter™ books, by author J.K. Rowling, are among the most popular books of all time and the film adaptations have been equally well received by moviegoers the world over. Now the Museum of Science and Industry is pleased to invite you to experience this imaginative world for yourself in the world premiere of Harry Potter: The Exhibition.

Look at those dates. They run right over the summer of 2009, when the ALA Annual conference is scheduled to be in Chicago. I think this calls for a librarian road trip, don't you? The only catch is that you have to buy tickets in advance; you can't get in with general museum admission.

There's more information here: Harry Potter Exhibition. Who's coming with me? I'll drive the broom. You navigate.

You're giving me a language complex

The things you learn from the Washington Post! In today's Short Stack, written by Dennis Drabelle, I learned that one "graduates" from children's and YA literature to adult novels. No, really! Take a look at the article's introductory paragraph, which I've snipped here:

There comes a time in every reader's life when he or she graduates from kids books and young-adult titles to nonfiction with no holds barred and fiction that draws on the full resources of the language in portraying complex human relationships... The switchover doesn't happen all at once, of course, but there must have been a night when kid lit provided all the thrills and fascination I could handle, followed by a dawn when it seemed blah.

The author then goes on to give us a list of "grownup" books he read around the age of 14. It makes me wonder a few things, the least of which is, "Is this article written for the purpose of being a competitive reader?" You all know competitive readers: "I read The Iliad when I was eight!" "My son/daughter/cousin/neighbor's kid read Harry Potter at 3 and they're his favorite books ever!" I am in no way saying Mr. Drabelle didn't really read or enjoy these books; I am just one of those cynical people. I'm dying to know how old he is and what books were around when he was a teen. I'm also dying to know if anyone guided him to YA lit when he was in its target age range.

He asks at the end of the article for readers to chime in on the books that transformed them into grownup readers. I wonder, then, if those of us adults who read and love YA are not considered "adult" readers.

I think what really annoys me the most is his statement about the "full usage of the language to portray complex human relationships." I have two words for you, Mr. Drabelle: Charlotte's Web. Sure, one could argue that E.B. White didn't use all the words he knew, or strive to write the way Faulkner or Morrison would. It's a disservice to books, however, to say that those that don't use the most adult of adult language and lots of fifty-cent words don't use it fully. The great thing about language is that there are many, many ways to use it. White showed us in Charlotte's Web that complex human (or pig and spider, as the case may be) relationships can and are portrayed in books that don't use the language fully by Mr. Drabelle's standards. Thinking about it, doesn't every book use language fully? Doesn't Ramona and her Father use language as fully as The Great Gatsby? The books fulfill different reader needs and purposes, absolutely, but to say that one is less "full" than the other seems a little silly to me.

I don't think readers should read only children's and YA books all their lives. I certainly enjoyed my fair share of adult books when I was a teen and I expect that most of you reading this did as well. I do think, however, that children's and YA literature is not to be dismissed by any reader, especially those who think enough of their own maturity to call themselves grownups.

Comparing apples and pineapples much?

The dumbest thing I've seen today: Calling Harry Potter and Twilight fans: debaters needed for the ultimate lit geek series showdown.

Wanted: Potter-heads and Twi-hards ready to defend their series in a Harry Potter versus Twilight showdown.

I swore to myself I wouldn't do this, but the handwriting is on the wall: fans of both sets of books are snarking at each other continually already, and I love nothing better than a good old fashioned knock-down, drag-out over the merits, inconsistencies, brilliance, or utter juvenille stupidity of a piece of literature, so who am I to stand in the way of fate?

I'll tell you who you are. I'll tell you that you're one to stand in the way of a "debate" that compares two books that have nothing in common except they're both long, they're both published as YA, and they're both bestsellers. What's there to debate about? The books are two different genres. They take place in two different worlds. They're told in two different styles of narration. They have two different themes. Debating which is "better?" You might as well debate "Which is better: Peanut butter or chicken salad?" They both go on sandwiches, but beyond that, what is there to argue? And what, exactly, is to be derived from this "showdown?"

Fail, Newark Examiner. The concept of a book debate is good, but your choices for said debate are bad.

Professionals, pressure, perfection

Today I want to talk about something nasty that affects YA librarians but we only talk about in whispers: Insecurity.

Not long ago I posted on my Twitter: "I am a bad librarian because I don't craft. I don't knit, cross-stitch, ANYTHING." I don't make origami. I don't even draw stick figures. I am just that bad at art and all its related fields.

And then, my Twitter friends picked up on it. They confessed to being "bad YA librarians" because they don't craft, don't like fantasy novels, prefer that libraries be quiet places, and many other things that are often seen as being in opposition to delivering quality teen services in libraries. These people who responded, however, are some of the best librarians I know.

As much as I love my job, there are some days when I feel like throwing in the YA towel because I feel I'm sorely lacking in YA librarian skills when compared to my colleagues. I wish only for quality professional, not personal, relationships with my teen patrons. I don't believe a library can be all things to all people. I like old rock bands, boring clothes, vintage jewelry, and crime shows. I thought Twilight was one of the worst books I'd ever read. I have no interest in gaming; the only video game I play is Guitar Hero. I don't read manga. I don't watch anime. Intellectually, I know that it's impossible to be interested in all of these teen trends at once. No one has the time or the inclination. Also, diversity of interests is what makes the profession strong. Still, because I'd rather watch Numb3rs than Gossip Girl, I feel like I'm not doing what I should do to be the best teen librarian out there. There are days I feel like I can't read fast enough or come up with any kind of decent program.

Most importantly, there are days I feel like I am a bad YA librarian because I cannot save the world.

This is not a cool thing to admit at all, but I became a YA librarian because I love the literature. I believe that the quality of YA literature is only going up and I love to match books and readers. It's not that I don't enjoy other aspects of librarianship, either. I considered becoming a cataloger in library school (which speaks to the skills of Arlene Taylor, my cataloging professor) and find reference and adult services work rewarding and interesting. When asked about my greatest strength as a librarian, I always respond that I am one heck of a collection developer. I am great at weeding. I am great at keeping up with literature trends, reader's advisory, pop culture, and generally shaping what patrons see on library shelves. I am not great at solving other people's personal problems. I am not everyone's best friend and advisor. I listen when people talk, sure, but ultimately I know there are better people than I to give advice to teens on things other than homework or reading interests. To me, being a great YA librarian means staying on top of teen culture and literature, and helping teens to become fluent library users and advocates. It has never meant advising teens with problems better handled by a social worker, being a therapist, or saving lives through literature, although if that last one happens incidentally I'm certainly happy about it.

There is no one right way to be a teen librarian, though there are certainly lots of wrong ways. Every day, I do my job as best I can, advising my colleagues on collection development and YA services. I think I do all right, but there are times when I feel like it was wrong of me to want to be a YA librarian because I love the literature. In my most insecure moments I feel there is a widening rift in the profession between those who believe that books are the least of what we should do as YA librarians and those who believe that without the books, we have lost the foundation of our jobs. I can't say which answer is right, though I know which one I believe. Hearing responses from my Twitter friends makes me know that I am not alone in my thoughts about where the profession is going and how well I fit into it. On bad days I worry I'm becoming irrelevant, and I don't think I'm alone.

Right?

Shortlist for the Morris Award

I'm really excited about YALSA's Morris Award, given to a first YA novel. You can see the complete list here, and personally I'll say that I have a definite favorite (Madapple) and a least favorite (Absolute Brightness). Hmm. I also loved Me, the Missing, and the Dead and am happy to see it on the shortlist.

So, um, may the best Madapple win!

--

After thinking about this for a little while, I have decided that I am really, really bothered by the inclusion of Absolute Brightness on this list, given the award's criteria. They say:

The William C. Morris YA Debut Award celebrates the achievement of a previously unpublished author, or authors, who have made a strong literary debut in writing for young adult readers. The work cited will illuminate the teen experience and enrich the lives of its readers through its excellence, demonstrated by:

-Compelling, high quality writing and/or illustration
-The integrity of the work as a whole
-Its proven or potential appeal to a wide range of teen readers

Now, those first two are debatable. Ask fifty librarians what constitutes compelling, high quality writing and potential teen appeal and you'll get fifty different answers. On these points, I'm not going to debate with the committee, although clearly they have different ideas about compelling, high quality writing than I do. On the second point, I have to ask this: Doesn't the "integrity of the work as a whole" include fact-checking? The thing that turned me off Absolute Brightness the most was the number of factual errors that could so easily have been fixed. All it takes is one look at a map to know that the Parkway and the Turnpike are nowhere near each other, and that Neptune is quite a schlep to Trenton. It would only take Google to tell you that the scene with the dad pumping his girlfriend's gas would not be possible, because you can't pump your own gas in New Jersey.

I know it's fiction, but if we're quick to judge historical fiction based on its accuracy, why can't we deem a book to have less integrity when the author didn't bother with the geographical facts of the setting? The New Jersey setting in Absolute Brightness is mentioned a lot; this is not one of those books that could be set anywhere. It's because of the frequent mentioning of New Jersey and the many wrong facts about it that I think this book lacks integrity as a whole.

The Spectacular Book

Count me as one of the legions of YA librarians who'd never heard of The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp until it was nominated for the National Book Award. Wow, my little cave was a sad, sad place.

The plot: The plot is kind of boring, really, but that's okay because this is one of those snapshots-of-life books rather than a book involving adventures. As I've said before, I am always up for cerebral books with male main characters. In the last months of garrulous Sutter Keely's high school career, he's determined to...well, he's not determined to do a whole lot except for maybe reconciling with his ex-girlfriend, Cassidy. A no-holds-barred alcoholic (though never once does the word appear in the book), Sutter spends his days cutting his 7Up with whiskey, nearly failing algebra, and thinking about girls. A bender one weekend turns out to be serendipitous, as it lands him in the lawn of Aimee Finecky. Aimee's not really Sutter's type of girl. She's shy and geeky and not very outspoken. She's also good at math, a fact Sutter uses to get to spend more time with her. As time passes, Sutter grows further away from his best friend (who went and got himself a girlfriend) and closer to Aimee, even though he's convinced himself that she's not really the type of girl he could fall for. Aimee and Sutter are both good and bad for each other, and the best and worst parts of both their personalities come to a head at the prom, when Aimee asks Sutter to do the thing he is most afraid of: make a commitment to her.

Why you'll love it: This is one of those books that doesn't really hit you until after you've closed the cover and maybe gone to check your email, fed the cats, and picked it up again. Then you realize that Tharp has created one of the most fully human characters you've seen in a long time. Sutter's kindness is as strong as his cruelty. He acts nonchalant, like living in the now is the best thing ever, but as you read on you realize he harbors some great fears and insecurities about his family and friends. At heart, Sutter is not a bad guy. It's not like in Chris Lynch's Inexcusable where Keir has to keep telling the reader he's a "nice guy" when it's blatantly obvious he's not. Sutter is deeply misguided, yes, and lives only for the now, but you read the book and think that in the end, there's hope that he'll give his life some direction. You want it for him. Sutter shows the reader that the smart kids don't all grow up to go to perfect colleges, or even want to. And despite the vast amounts of liquor, Tharp doesn't waste the reader's time on lecturing about the bad bad, one-drink-and-you'll-die side effects of drinking that have plagues YA novels of the past. Instead, he shows how liquor affects Sutter's thoughts and actions and leaves the reader to conclude whether or not alcohol consumption is a problem for Sutter.

When I next update my "great guy reads" list, this is so going on it.

Boys will be readers, or not

What's the YA lit blogging world atwitter about today? This SLJ Talkback contribution: Wanted, Male Models: There's a good reason why boys don't read. No one seems to like it but me. I think it's kind of great.

First, it's written by Gail Giles, author of books that include the modern classic Shattering Glass, Right Behind You and What Happened to Cass McBride?. If there's anyone I admire for saying what she thinks, it's Gail. Not only that, but she is an experienced teacher of reading and writing and I've learned quite a bit from her just from reading her YALSA-BK posts. She fully admits that the article stems from her experiences and from generalized observations, not from peer-reviewed research, and the opinions she expresses in the article are shaped by her personal thoughts. (Or, as I like to say around here, "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'evidence.'")

With this acknowledged, she speaks about one big reason boys might not be enthusiastic readers, that is, they don't have male reading role models. She doesn't pretend that the reason she writes about apply to all boys, but she does encourage men to set an example for the boys in their life by reading. It's true what she says about teachers and librarians being mostly female (one only has to enter library school to see that), and I also believe it's true that as boys get older, reading becomes a chore. It becomes a chore for many girls, too, but that's not the focus of the article.

Her final paragraph begins:

Whatever you do, don’t expect teachers and librarians to turn your son into a reader. It’s not their fault he won’t read. By the time he meets them, he’s been primed for failure. Be proactive. And I’m sorry to say this, but a male has to be involved in your plans.

Wow, talk about things no teacher or librarian wants to hear. Talk about a whole article full of things that teachers and librarians don't want to hear. But you know, I don't disagree with it. The thing is, it's our JOB as teachers and librarians to encourage reading and try to turn kids into readers. Kids know this. For all the makeovers libraries give themselves, they're still seen as "the place where the books live." I don't think this is a bad thing, because I love me some books. However, teachers and librarians cannot follow every kid home and make sure that the home environment is conducive to a love of reading. That's where parents come in, fathers in this case. I think that male role models are only one of many factors in getting boys to read, but they're an important factor.

Thanks for a thought-provoking article, Gail!

Susan Juby talks dialogue

A 2008 book I loved to death but didn't write about here (because I ended up writing about it elsewhere) was Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance, and Cookery by Susan Juby. In short, it's about a boy (a nice boy! score one for more nice guys in YA literature!) named Sherman. Sherman is kind of a geek, but he's a good-hearted geek, and he's got a crush on a girl named Dina. He's worried that Dina is about to become a victim of D-listing, in which a girl's picture appears on the guy's bathroom wall with a letter "D" inscribed in the corner. Girls who are D-listed drop into nonexistence almost instantly. Not wanting this to happen, Sherman takes it upon himself to investigate who's behind the D-listings, an act that wins him both respect and hatred.

In her MySpace blog today, Susan Juby (who is made of awesome, btw) talks about the challenges and realities of writing good dialogue. Since the quality of dialogue is always a huge factor in whether or not I think a book is any good, I read what she had to say with interest. See her entry here: What's that you said?

Paging Dr. Horrible

During a writer's strike, what's a group of cult favorite actors to do? For Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion, the answer was "Make a short musical, put it on the internet for free for a while, and create a geek phenomenon!"

Okay, so maybe that last part is stretching it a bit. But along with Joss Whedon and a dedicated crew, they did bring Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog to life. The premise: Dr. Horrible, applicant to the Evil League of Evil, falls in love with frozen-yogurt addict Penny. The problem? Penny is dating Dr. Horrible's nemesis, Captain Hammer. There are laughs! There's tragedy! There are very funny lyrics! You can watch the whole thing on Hulu.com, but I'm kind of excited about the Dr. Horrible DVD release, because my TV is a lot bigger than my computer screen.

With all the High School Musical sing-alongs going on at libraries, maybe a comparable Dr. Horrible program this would be fun for older teens and/or adults. Just a thought.

My 10 favorite books of 2008 (I think)

It's the time of year when all the "Best Books of 2008" articles/blog posts come out. While I definitely see the merit of putting lists like that together and even helped contribute to one in a major journal, on this blog I am one reviewer, one librarian, with one opinion. And since I subscribe to the "to every reader his or her book" school of thought, I think in this case it's more appropriate to talk about the books I liked the best. Also, I have not read anywhere near the number of books I want to read. There simply isn't the time, between the BCCLS Mock Printz, PPYA, and my reviewing gigs. With that, on to my ten personal favorites of the year, alpha by author.

• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, for taking me back in time and teaching me things I didn't know I wanted to know.


• Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway, for laughs, heartbreak, and slight music geekery.


• You Know Where to Find Me by Rachel Cohn, for showing that "just get over it" is always easier said than done.


• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, for making me hold my breath.


• Diary of a Chav by Grace Dent, for showing class, even though there wasn't supposed to be any.


• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, even though cats consider themselves superior to all people, living or dead.


• Paper Towns by John Green, because no one forgets their first love.


• Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link, for showing how cool short story collections are, were, and ever will be


• Madapple by Christina Meldrum, for bending everything that a YA novel can be


• Impossible by Nancy Werlin, from a fellow believer that girls can and do want the good boy over the bad boy.

I read many, many more very enjoyable books. 2008 has been a great year for YA. These, however, are the ten that have really stuck with me for whatever reason. Some were total page-turners and others I had to put down for a while and continue later. But I'll remember and recommend all of them.

I'd better post this list before I change my mind.

On my Thanksgiving vacation, I screamed!

The reason it's been quiet around Librarilly Blonde lately is due to 1) my catching the office plague and 2) my taking a week's vacation. As someone who's usually not happy if I don't have more things on my to-do list than I can possibly do in a day, I'm a little surprised at how happy NOT doing anything for a week (we're talking reading ONE book, not blogging, not reading my feeds, only occasionally looking at Twitter) has made me. Most days, I didn't even bother getting out of my pajamas.

But what's there to do if you don't blog, read, read your feeds, etc.? Oh, my friends, let me introduce you to my latest television addiction, Scream Queens.

The concept of Scream Queens is simple: Ten young women go through a competitive reality show in order to land a role in Saw VI. There are most of the standard competitive-reality-show stereotypes here: The bitch who thinks she's got it in the bag (Michelle), the experienced actress (Lindsay), the crazy chick (Jessica), the talented newcomer (Tanedra), and more. Every week, established scream queen Shawnee Smith leads the girls through various acting challenges that showcase their talents in subgenres of horror. In one scene they have to do "camp" as a talking disembodied head. In another, they are "possessed by the devil." Each episode has an acting challenge, like the Quickfire challenge on Top Chef, followed by a director's challenge, from which they pick the week's "leading lady" and who goes home. At other times, there are acting classes, makeovers, and in-house drama. Here's a clip of them getting a director's challenge assignment.



I am not a die-hard, MUST SEE IN THEATERS horror fan, but I do enjoy the occasional scary flick so I figured I'd tune in. I expected America's Next Top Model, more or less, with more acting challenges. The two shows aren't wholly dissimilar in that they teach through challenges, but there's a purity of heart in Scream Queens that ANTM has begun to lose over the years. There's the occasional spat of catfighting and insults, but a lot of it looks overmanufactured. For me, the part that's fun to watch is the acting classes and directors' challenge. The girls might fight and make catty comments in their confessionals, but the viewer can also see that they are each dedicated to doing the best they can in horror acting. They think about character motivations, timing, working with a sometimes restraining costume, emotions beyond horror, and physical acting, expressing their emotions. When my personal favorite Lindsay was almost voted off, one of the judges asked her why she was there, and rather than give the "I deserve to be here" blah blah that so many reality competitors do, classy Lindsay said, "I love to act and I've got the experience to bring to your set." I think they're all into doing the reality show to boost their fame, but what sets the final four apart from most of the other "I'm here to, like, achieve A-list Hollywood Insider status," reality show competitors is their dedication to horror acting and their cognizance of how the outside world views many horror movies and those who make them. The contenders and judges all are usually on their best behavior on set.

This Monday is the series finale, which will pit Angela, Tanedra, Lindsay, and Michelle against each other for two final challenges. If you get the chance during the day you'll probably be able to catch earlier episodes before the finale airs. I have no idea what the director's challenge will be, but I would absolutely love to see all the finalists re-enact the "reverse bear trap" scene that Shawnee Smith made famous in the original Saw. I'm not embedding it here, but you can view it on YouTube here. Be forewarned, the scene is not for the faint of heart. Or the reference desk.

The finale will be a bloody, screaming, fight to the death...if we're lucky.


Scream Queens blog || the discussion at Television Without Pity || Watch episodes at Fancast

Vampires: Now on sale

I know all the buzz right now is about that OTHER teen vampire series, but because so many teen librarians are big Buffy fans I thought I'd post this.

Today's Amazon Deal of the Day is the Buffy the Vampire Slayer 40-disc collector's set, which normally retails for $199, for $69. It's a great set (thanks, Mom!) and the $69 price is lower than I've seen anywhere. The item is also available for free shipping. So click here and buy yourself an early Chrismukwanzakkah gift.

The tie-in item I'd kill for

Thanks to the miracles of design and licensing, we book fans can wear jewelry or buy other tchotchkes based on our favorite books. We can wear pendants in the shape of the Dark Mark, or the One Ring. With these items in mind, I'm begging of you, Scholastic, will you please grant the rights to someone, anyone, to make replicas of the mockingjay pin that Katniss wears in the Hunger Games? I realize it might not be as big a seller as that gold Time-Turner, but I'm sure I could find you at least ten people who would buy one.

Death and the Magic

From today's Guardian, J.K. Rowling on writing her favorite Harry Potter scene:

But when Harry takes his last, long walk into the heart of the Dark Forest, he is choosing to accept a burden that fell on him when still a tiny child, in spite of the fact that he never sought the role for which he has been cast, never wanted the scar with which he has been marked. As his mentor, Albus Dumbledore, has tried to make clear to Harry, he could have refused to follow the path marked out for him. In spite of the weight of opinion and expectation that singles him out as the "Chosen One", it is Harry's own will that takes him into the Forest to meet Voldemort, prepared to suffer the fate that he escaped sixteen years before.

J.K. Rowling, you are truly a queen among women.

(Been absent much of this week due to being miserably sick. But I'm on the mend now and entries are coming.)

The book you sell to yourself

This weekend, as Twilight opens in thousands of theaters, I have great plans to go to my local movie theater, relax with a box of popcorn, and see a movie full of adventure and romance, starring a very hot male lead.

Quantum of Solace is going to be FANTASTIC.

My preference for Daniel Craig over Robert Pattinson aside, I just had to link to this interview with Stephenie Meyer in today's Chicago Sun-Times: 'Hooked' by 'Twilight' film. For the most part, it's an average interview, but this part made me squint:

Ask her why these books are such a hit and she smiles warmly and says, "For me, it's an absolute mystery. I wrote these books for me and I don't know why people have responded. But no one was supposed to read these but me."

Either I'm misinterpreting, or that is the most mind-boggling statement I've read this month today. Who does Stephenie Meyer think she's kidding?

Look, I understand wanting to write for yourself. Faulkner said it best: If the story is in you, it has got to come out. I understand having a cool dream and wanting to write about it. And once it's out of you, you can decide that these books are for you and no one else is supposed to see them. Then you can put them in a drawer and forget about them for a while, maybe forever. These are all quite acceptable things to do with your story. It's also quite acceptable to come up with an idea, put together a manuscript, shop it around, and maybe sell a bestselling novel.

But if you're going to say the philosophy behind the former but actually do the latter, either stop saying or doing. If no one was supposed to read the book but you, then it wasn't a good idea to shop it to major publishing houses. If you always meant to shop it around, then you shouldn't say it was written for you and no one else should have seen it because publishing is anything but a solitary process.

Either one is fine, really. Just tell me which it is.

A statement as thin as paper (towns)

It's great when a young adult novel gets good press, right? It's great when a writer for a college newspaper gives a glowing review to a young adult novel, right? Sure. But it's not great when the review, specifically this review of Paper Towns from The Ithacan, begins with this:

The young-adult genre has been riddled with uninspiring novels that lack any kind of creativity or originality. Shuffling through the mundane “Gossip Girl” spin-offs and “Twilight” rip-offs has made finding a substantive novel as easy as finding a needle in a haystack.

To Monica Watson, writer of the review, I have a few questions:

1. What was the last YA book you read, other than Paper Towns?
2. Have you talked to any YA literature professionals what the state of the YA market is today?
3. Did you visit a local library or bookstore to see what's available in the YA world right now before making that statement?
4. Are you kidding?

I think this review really does a good job of capturing what makes Paper Towns special, but to say that Paper Towns stands out because the rest of the YA literature world is so lacking in quality is ridiculous, uninformed, and untrue. Paper Towns is not a needle in a haystack. It is a needle in a stack of needles. It is one of many outstanding YA books published this year alone, and one of hundreds published in the last five years. The first Printz award was given years before Green even wrote the first draft of Looking for Alaska. Trust me, no one envies the amount of work the Printz committee has to do this year, and that's a good thing. Contrary to what Ms Watson seems to believe, the number of quality, literary YA books is only going up every year. Every year, the Printz committee's job gets harder. Every year, there are outstanding books that redefine what a YA book can be and do. One cannot write off an entire genre based on the quality, or lack thereof, of two series.

Are there mundane Gossip Girl spin-offs? Yes! And they're fun to read! It's not a crime to write what's popular, and it's not a crime to write a bad YA novel. The deity of your choice knows there are just as many bad adult novels, percentage-wise, as YA novels. I'm happy that Paper Towns got this great bit of press, but please, journalists of the world, do some research and talk to some professionals before making unfounded statements about YA literature.

I can so relate! Can you?

In reading this article at Boston.com on urban teens who read street lit, I was particularly intrigued by this quote:

Millner's 14-year-old niece had read the "Gossip Girl" and "A-List" series but yearned for books with characters with whom she could identify.

In addition to this article on street lit, the "Thrilling YAs" program I went to at the YALSA YA Lit Symposium addressed this same question. "Kids enjoy books because they can relate to the characters," was Patrick Jones's statement in a very small nutshell. My problem is that statements like this always make me wonder what a "relatable" character is. The only answer I have is "It's something different to everyone."

I guess if you held a gun to my head I would tell you that teens can relate the best to characters whose lives are sort of like theirs. That, however, is a flawed statement. Probably the most relatable character of the past 10 years of YA is Harry Potter, and the number of HP readers who live in a magical castle and were born to fight one of the greatest evil wizards who ever lived is, as far as I know, zero. What made Harry relatable was the relationships he had with Ron, Hermione, and his other friends, and how he always tried to do the right thing. His life had some high wizarding drama but he also worried about getting a date to the school dance. Despite his reputation as the wizarding world's savior, he had the worries about first love and identity that we all do. He fought with his friends but made up with them, just like we do.

It's this "just like we do" mantra that always made me wonder why so many readers of the Twilight series saw Bella as relatable. She has friends, just like we do! She participates in extracurricular activities, just like we do! Oh, wait, she doesn't do either of those things. She has no hobbies or interests, like any human being does, outside of her boyfriend. She's supposed to be "different" and "weird" but there's no proof of her being either of these things other than the author telling us it is so. Instead, she gets the perfect boyfriend because she smells good. Since none of us can smell blood or know what our own blood smells like, this is a gap between Bella and the reader. A huge one. The very reason for the romance around which the plot is centered is something that we cannot relate to because it's physically impossible for us to do so.

Going a little younger in children's literature, my favorite Newbery winner of all time (and my husband's, coincidentally) is From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. I did not grow up anywhere even remotely near New York. I never saw the Metropolitan Museum of Art until I was 17. I don't have brothers. But I related to Claudia because I knew what it was like to want to see the world outside of suburbia while still being comfortable and wearing clean clothes. I understood what Claudia meant by wanting to go back to Connecticut "different." Claudia's adventure was about seeing the world outside of home and school and holding a secret that would set her apart from everyone else. Those are amazing things to have, and Mixed-Up Files is an amazing story of wanting. Claudia endures because we all want something special all to ourselves, and I'm not talking material possessions.

So maybe I have something more than "It's different to everyone." Maybe I also have, "It all depends on matters of the heart." Blair, Serena, and Massie don't have much in common with urban teens superficially. But let's be fair here: They don't have much in common with middle-class suburban teens, either. One could say that the Gossip Girl and Clique series are pure escapism, a fantasy set in the real world, but I think there's more to it than that. I think it's that readers of books about other teens, whether those teens are urban or suburban, rich or not, want to know that there are some experiences that are universal, or that there are experiences to look forward to. Really, how many teens see themselves in Tally Youngblood? Doesn't seem to matter; those books are crazy popular. If it's all about teens seeing themselves in books, then why are the majority of the Teens' Top Ten picks speculative fiction?

Obviously there's more to being relatable than a familiar environment or the "just like me" factor. It's about "just like me" and "just like I want to be" and "just like I could be." Perhaps even "just like I was."

r u thr gd? its me max

Today's Publishers Weekly online had a fun little editorial by Max Leone, 13, of New Jersey: read this b4 u publish

I found parts of it very clever:

Finally, here is what I consider the cardinal rule of writing for young adults: Do Not Underestimate Your Audience. They actually know a lot about what's going on in politics. They will get most of the jokes you expect them not to. They have a much higher tolerance for horror and action than most adults.

(The only problem with this statement was that Max then went on to say that most of what he reads isn't aimed at a YA audience in the first place, making me wonder why PW picked him to talk about writing and marketing books for YA boys.)

Other parts I found downright laughable:

“Methinks”? “Doth”? Really? So we are constantly ridiculed for “lol,” while these offenses go unnoticed? To all writers of books aimed at teenage boys, I beg you: please use only modern language, no matter what time period or universe your book takes place in.

(Methinks Max needs to read Octavian Nothing, or perhaps learn a little about the evolution of the English language.)

Regardless of what I felt, it's always nice to see a teen speak passionately and articulately about reading. I don't think this piece defines what really does or doesn't make a YA book sell and garner readers and fab reviews, but it does touch on some important points.

Recap: YA Lit Symposium

I've just returned from YALSA's first YA lit symposium, "How We Read Now." There were some minor glitches, of course, but overall I have to say it was enjoyable, educational, and well-organized.

I got into Nashville late Friday afternoon, just in time to get my registration materials, unpack, and get to the happy hour sponsored by Little, Brown. Many thanks to Victoria Stapleton and all at LBYR for a fabulous time. There were books and good conversation. Then, I confess, I had to go be boring and head back to my room to do a run-through of the presentation I was giving with Liz B. I think our hour-and-a-half presentation probably involved 10 hours of work, total, between putting the presentation together and practicing the timing.

Saturday I attended "Thrilling Young Adults: How to Keep the Attention of Today’s Teens," a panel with authors Margaret Peterson Haddix and Patrick Jones, editor and author Deborah Noyes, and librarian moderator Amy Alessio. The first part of the program, the panelists talked about what makes a book thrilling regardless of genre, followed by questions about publishing and marketing YA. I was most interested by the answers to the question of whether or not awards are important in the YA lit world. Noyes noted that for her house, Candlewick, awards were important because as a house they tend to focus on more standalone, literary fiction, the type that tends to win awards. Jones said that the fastest way to make reluctant readers run away from the book is to put an award sticker on the front. To this, I say, "maybe." I think it depends much more on the book. Repossessed is a great reluctant reader read, imho. To every book its reader and all. Also, reluctant readers aren't the only readers out there. The readers who want more esoteric and literary books must be reached as well.

After this program, it was back to work on our presentation. Starbucks, a few run-throughs, and timing. Then it was time to set up and present.

If you're interested in seeing our PowerPoint presentation, you can view it at the YALSA wiki here: Fandom, Fan Life, and Participatory Culture.

Saturday evening I had the pleasure of dining with Susan Kuklin, author of No Choirboy: Murder, Violence and Teenagers on Death Row. No Choirboy is an outstanding look at how these teens got to death row and how their lives are affected and restricted. I am addicted to watching shows like Lockup so perhaps I am a little biased, having a special interest in this topic. I think, though, that whether or not you're into watching law procedurals of any kind, this is a book worth reading. More than simple interviews with death row inmates, Kuklin writes about our criminal justice system and those who help young offenders. It's also nominated for Best Books for Young Adults 2009 and I hope it makes the final list. Many thanks to Tim Jones at Henry Holt BYR for organizing this event.

On Sunday I attended "Hit List or Hot List," presented by Drs Teri Lesesne and Rosemary Chance. By far, the thing I found most interesting about this session was their showing the audience the extreme dissonance between the Accelerated Reader level of a given teen book and what audience the book actually appeals to. For example, Barry Lyga's Boy Toy has a reading level of 4.5, or about mid-fourth grade. Tyrell by Coe Booth has a 4.4 reading level, and The Hunger Games has a 5.3 RL, or early fifth grade. I find all of that completely insane! Of course, those AR reading levels are determined solely by vocabulary and sentence structure. They ignore content and characterization, the things that make a book more than just the words on its pages. I would have absolutely loved for the entire session to cover AR, reading levels, lexile levels, and what it REALLY means when a fourth grader "can read on a ninth-grade level," but that's for another session entirely. Instead, Lesesne and Chance talked about censorship and content versus reading level, then invited authors Barry Lyga, Coe Booth, and Julie Anne Peters to talk about their books and readers' reactions.

I confess I skipped the rest of the sessions that day in favor of eating lunch and trying to make an earlier flight home (which didn't happen, sigh), but there's plenty of information on the YALSA conference wiki and Melissa at Librarian by Day liveblogged all the sessions she attended. If you Twitter, there's also an index of many Twitters from the symposium here (including my own that says I was too tired to Twitter, but that I would blog later, ha!).

The next YALSA YA Lit Symposium will be in Albequerque in 2010, if you'd like to plan ahead. And personally, I'm lobbying the planning committee to look at Pittsburgh for 2012. YA lit plus the Smashed Potato pizza from Fuel N' Fuddle might make for the best conference ever.

You, keep on shouting!

One of the neverending projects here in BCCLSland is BCCLSVisor, an index of reader's advisory lists and book suggestion websites. It's maintained by Ruth Greenberg, our Collection Development and Cataloging Librarian (the print on her business cards is really small). Every month, Ruth posts a new themed list to BCCLSVisor, usually contributed by a librarian from somewhere out in BCCLS. Pasts lists have included romances, new vampires, cookbooks, and more.

A few months ago, I was sitting with my fellow BCCLS staff down in the training room and somehow the conversation got onto the subject of music. My co-workers were talking opera, musicals, and the like until I said, "So, am I the only one in this room who listens to Led Zeppelin?"

In a word, yes.

What I got for opening my big mouth was Ruth enlisting me to do a list of rock music books and albums for November. Because I love rock and I don't mind doing BCCLSVisor lists, I said I'd do one. I wasn't sure at the time how the list was going to shape up, but I think it came out okay thanks to help from Joe, one of our field techs, and Matthew, a librarian at the Paramus Public Library.

See it here (and maybe expand your listening horizons): BCCLSVisor, November, 2008: Rock and Roll All Night.

You won't want to break these Chains

I don't like historical fiction. No, really. My performance in history classes throughout school can best be described as "mediocre," and that's being generous. I never found history terribly interesting and perhaps as a result, I don't read much historical fiction.

Part of the frustration with reading historical fiction, being someone who's not any good with history, is that you're never quite sure how much history the author is playing with, how many events actually occurred and how many she's making up. Over time, though, any reader learns that there are certain authors you can always trust to get history right, and there are certain authors who even on their worst day will turn out something fairly good. Laurie Halse Anderson is both of these. I confess I'm late to the party for reading her latest book, Chains (copy courtesy of the lovely people at Simon & Schuster), but let me tell you, this party is still going strong.

Chains is narrated by Isabel, a slave girl whose mother has recently died. She is alone in the world with her sister, Ruth, an epileptic. Her mistress in Rhode Island has also died, leaving her and Ruth to be sold to a couple from New York City. The Locktons may not be the worst masters around, but they are far from the best. The man, Elihu, is a Loyalist who is in on a few plots to keep America a part of England. His wife, who insists on being called Madam, has little regard for the lives of those she deems beneath her. Isabel works long, hard days, but she is not alone. In her trips to a local water pump she meets a boy, a rebel who asks her to get involved on spying on her masters. Isabel knows the danger of being caught as a spy, but she finds she has a talent for it. Able to read, write, and speak well, Isabel understands much more of her masters than they want her to. Isabel's knowledge of the Revolution expands every day, and her loyalties change accordingly. Whether she's supporting the British or the Americans, she knows one thing: She is her own person and must figure out a way to become free.

I think one of the dangers in writing any book that doesn't take place in the contemporary world is that it's easy to get bogged down in the details of worldbuilding. The writer must not only create a place completely (or at least partially) foreign to the contemporary reader and convince the reader to stay there. J.K. Rowling was particularly good at this, revealing small details about her world through conversation and everyday events. 1776 New York in Chains, thankfully for history morons like me, is also constructed in this fashion. There is no point where the author breaks in to have the narrator marvel on the great wonders of the city. We see what Revolutionary War New York looked like through Isabel's simple yet vivid descriptions of everyday life. Isabel herself is neither maudlin nor emotionally detached from both the good and the bad things that happen to her. She's a heroine who doesn't see herself as heroic; she only does what she believes is right. I know I learned a lot about New York's history from Chains (not being a native of New Jersey, I'm not so up with the regional history), but I only felt like I was reading a fascinating story narrated by a well-spoken, well-balanced, thoughtful, loving, and strong main character.

What's the only thing wrong with this book? I have to wait for a sequel!!!

Chains is currently shortlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Laurie Halse Anderson's website || review at The Reading Zone || review by Abby (the) Librarian || review at Librarian by Day

Things I want, version Keyboard

What better keyboard to write Librarilly Blonde on than the Keyboard for Blondes?

Buy me this, and I promise to write all my blog posts on it.

(The people at Shiny Shiny didn't think it was that funny, but I do.)

Comments on this post are disabled.

A night without Twilight

In life and literature, there are always what-ifs.

What if there had been no Harry Potter?

What if Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging hadn't been published until 2008?

What if Judy Blume or Robert Cormier had never written YA books?

The New York Observer posed a sort-of question for the YA literature times in their article Everything's Pietschy At Lean and Mean Little, Brown. What if Little, Brown had become part of Bertelsmann and absorbed by Random House Children's Books, and what if Megan Tingley had never been able to buy Twilight? Life's too short and there are too many books to sit around and ponder this at any great length, but I can't imagine what the YA landscape would look like if Megan Tingley Books had been assimilated by Random. I think the world of the people at Random (hi, Adrienne! hi, Tracy!) and I don't think the YA lit world would be a bad place if the merger had happened, per se, I just wonder how it would have been different. For all the sense I make.

Trick or read!

If you're staying in this Halloween, why not read a picture book? Today's edition of Shopping Blog offers a selection of "delightfully creepy" Halloween books. Of course, all my life I've been convinced that Halloween should be celebrated year round, so I'll personally recommend the wonderful but sadly out-of-print Dorrie and the Halloween Plot by Patricia Coombs.

(Hey, if you're from Clarion and reading this, I don't suppose you'd consider bringing Dorrie back into print? I think witches are on their way back.)

You can also see some Halloween links in my post at Pop Goes the Library.

The first rule of YA is...

...you talk about YA, extensively.

For your media coverage pleasure, here's an article that covers edgy YA novels but never mentions, y'know, those three books.: 5 Recommended Novels for Young Adults, in the Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA). I love, LOVE that they mention Fight Club, because when I worked with a local high school on their suggested summer reading list, Fight Club was one of the first books I added for juniors.

Cobain seen, chronicled, and still elusive

I know that when Don McLean sang about "the day the music died," he was referring to the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper. Say that phrase to me, however, and I think of my mom picking me up from school on April 5, 1994, and telling me that Kurt Cobain had committed suicide. Because this day stands out for me so much, and because I am a Nirvana fan like all good Gen-Xers, I was so excited to read the beautiful, tangible Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross. Thank you to the publicity department at Little, Brown for sending the review copy.

I know I'm supposed to read and follow the pictures along with the text, but I confess to flipping around and playing with all the pullout elements because the visual elements are so enticing and I'm a person who learns best by touching. The book includes replicas of all kinds of previously uncollected Cobain and Nirvana memorabilia. There are fold-out pages, pull-out cards and flyers, a Valentine, a copy of a letter to Cobain from Michael Stipe, even a card Cobain made in elementary school. Maybe it's me putting too much of a YA services slant on this, but I think the designers of this book must really be in touch with the next generation of Cobain fans, the generation that has grown up in a visual world and processes information much differently than Cobain's original fans did. As Cross takes us through Cobain's life, the accompanying pictures highlight not just his artistic talents but his sense of the morbid, which he had even as a child. Even after Nirvana gained fame, Cobain continued to bite the hand that fed him. For all his fame, he continued to speak against big businesses (including his record company) and was more dedicated to producing art than pleasing legions of fans. Even though there aren't that many professional pictures of him, in many of the photographs you can look at his eyes and see the sadness and depression that plagued him for much of his life. Cross's writing is unapologetic and just a step above functional, which works well when writing a biography of someone so extraordinary, someone who lived in art and combining words in new and provocative ways. Cobain's life speaks for itself, all Cross needed to do was sort it out. Cross does this well, showing us both the beautiful and the profane sides of Cobain's personality. Because of all the little doodads this might not be a book for every library, but it's definitely a book for any Nirvana fan to read.

Things to note: First, the final copy comes with a CD of Cobain reading from his journals, which was not included in my review copy. I can't wait to hear it, though. Second, this is not necessarily meant to be a reference book. There is no index or bibliography. There doesn't have to be, of course, I'm just noting it because librarians like to note these things.

Reading this book, I not only feel that I know more about Kurt Cobain, but I understand more. I don't necessarily feel that I know him. Very few people really did. But I know I'm going to go back to Nevermind and In Utero and give them a new listen, and I'm sure they'll take on new dimension since I know more about the stories behind their formations.

See more about Cobain Unseen at Rolling Stone and in the Seattle Times.

Come to the BCCLS Mock Awards chats

The letter I just sent to the BCCLS membership:

Greetings, all,

Everyone is invited to participate in the BCCLS Mock Awards online chats, presented by the Youth Services Committee on November 12, 13, and 18. Lists of books that will be discussed at the chats are now available on BCCLSVisor. If you've read all the books prior to the discussion, that's great! If not, that's great, too! You're welcome regardless of what you have or haven't read.

November 12 (Wednesday) is the Mock Caldecott chat at 11 a.m. To see the committee's current favorites for the Mock Caldecott, go to
http://www.bccls.org/BCCLSVisor/Caldecott.shtml

November 13 (Thursday) is the Mock Newbery chat, also at 11 a.m. To see the committee's current favorites for the Mock Newbery, go to
http://www.bccls.org/BCCLSVisor/Newbery.shtml

November 18 (Tuesday) is the Mock Printz chat at...yes, 11 a.m.! To see the committee's current favorites for the Mock Printz, go to
http://www.bccls.org/BCCLSVisor/Printz.shtml

To enter the chat, just go to http://www.bccls.org/mockChat/ when the chat you want to attend is scheduled.

And don't forget to visit and comment on the BCCLS Mock Awards blog (only Youth Services Committee members can post, but anyone can comment or suggest a book for posting) at bcclsmockawards.blogspot.com

"See" you there!

---

You don't have to be in a BCCLS library to attend. I won't tell anyone if you're not.

What I'm going to be for Halloween

Today's Last Tuesday's (wow, I'm really far behind on my blogs) edition of Pop Candy asks: What the heck will you be for Halloween? Here's my answer:

In these troubled economic times, and in these times where we all have to work together to save our planet, it's important to reuse and economize. Also, I can't sew. That said, last weekend I went to Michael's and for $3 bought a spool of lovely green satin ribbon. On Halloween, I plan to wear my black silk dress with the gray and green flowers on it, black pumps, and a length of green ribbon tied around my neck.

Oh yeah, you children's literature fans know EXACTLY who I'm dressing as.

With the green ribbon around my neck, I'm dressed as Jenny from the short story "The Green Ribbon" from In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz. Only I promise that when my husband unties the ribbon, my head won't fall off. At least, I don't think it will.

What should I listen to? (the 2009 review project)

In just two months, I will cease reviewing YA novels in this blog for a year due to serving on the 2010 Printz. I've hired two absolutely outstanding guest bloggers to fill in, so I guarantee you will have your regular dose of YA literature, but I was thinking about the things that I would like to review here.

Picture books are out. I greatly enjoy them but I know absolutely nothing about art. I can barely tell an oil from a watercolor. Light and perspective befuddle me. I haven't taken an art class since sixth grade, and I barely made it through elementary school art with passing grades.

Middle grade books? I love MG books and have only recently discovered the wonder that is Polly Horvath. I wish her books had been around when I was a kid. I was exactly that kind of quirky girl reader who would have loved them. But the thing with MG is that some of it crosses into the YA realm. The age range for the Printz is 12-18, not 14-18, meaning that all those "ages 9-12" books can be nominated. This being the case, I would rather err on the side of book review caution.

Adult books? Maybe. But they're awfully long.

I know.

MUSIC.

Here's my new goal for 2009: I would like to listen to and do short reviews of at least 50 albums between January 1 and December 31. I think that's doable, just given the time I spend either running or driving or on public transportation. Here are my personal rules:

1. It must be an album I've never heard before in full. If I've heard one or two songs from an album, that's okay.

2. I'd like to review at least 20 albums during the year by bands I've never listened to before. These can be bands from any decade.

These seem like silly rules for most people, but most people aren't Dean Winchester in a librarian's body. As I've mentioned before, I love classic rock and have no qualms about listening to Back in Black once a week or so. Listening to the same five albums over and over doesn't bother me. Unfortunately, it's gotten me in sort of a rut.

I'm Carlie, and I'm your new reader's advisory project.

I really like...: Classic rock, hard rock, and metal make up most of my music library. AC/DC, Rush, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Seether, Shinedown, Velvet Revolver, Nirvana, GnR, Foo Fighters, the Stones, Alter Bridge, the Who, Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Staind, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Disturbed

You may also be surprised to learn that I am a fan of...: Tori Amos, Avril Lavigne, Mannheim Steamroller, Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Fall Out Boy, Lily Allen

If you recommend the following, I probably won't like it based on past experience: Rap save for a little Eminem here and there, R&B, country, blues, jazz, much emo. I've tried to like Belle and Sebastian, Joanna Newsom, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Regina Spektor and not succeded.

Oh, and I can't stand the Eagles or Pink Floyd.

So, recommend away! I'm also taking suggestions for favorite music recommendation sites. I like Pandora a lot but I'm up for more options.

iTunes, here I come.

Stylista: Not Project Runway, but watchable

I like fashion, and I like some reality TV, so I've been excited for a few weeks about Stylista, in which 12 young hopefuls compete for a junior editor position at Elle Magazine. With Project Runway out of episodes until maybe mid-2009, I have to get my fashion TV fix, and while Stylista is missing the fascinating look at the creation of fashion trends and so far the over-the-top appeal of America's Next Top Model, I think once we get past some of the egos it might be a pretty interesting show.

What I'd like to see more of: Fashion creation challenges. I really liked the H&M give-yourself-a-makeover challenge not just because I shop at H&M, but because I like to see those competing for a somewhat prestigious position think on their feet. The teams had to work together to create office-appropriate looks that were also stylish in a short amount of time. I also liked that one editor called out the girl in the Chanel dress, saying that even though it was a top designer label, it wasn't the best look for her. One of my heroes, Tim Gunn, talks about this in his book, that how clothes look on you is always way more important than the label. The aspiring editors also had to show that their design skills went beyond clothes, putting together not just a breakfast tray for their would-be boss and head judge, but a page about themselves for Elle.

What I'd like to see less of: Whiny ego-tripping. Ego is something you earn, people. It gets built up and shot down and rebuilt as you work. But I suppose without the overinflated egos the show would be a lot less interesting.

I don't have anyone specific I'm rooting for yet. It's too early in the show to remember who's who.

Show reviews: BuzzSugar, New York Times, Washington Post

What should I listen to? (the 2009 review project

In just two months, I will cease reviewing YA novels in this blog for a year due to serving on the 2010 Printz. I've hired two absolutely outstanding guest bloggers to fill in, so I guarantee you will have your regular dose of YA literature, but I was thinking about the things that I would like to review here.

Picture books are out. I greatly enjoy them but I know absolutely nothing about art. I can barely tell an oil from a watercolor. Light and perspective befuddle me. I haven't taken an art class since sixth grade, and I barely made it through elementary school art with passing grades.

Middle grade books? I love MG books and have only recently discovered the wonder that is Polly Horvath. I wish her books had been around when I was a kid. I was exactly that kind of quirky girl reader who would have loved them. But the thing with MG is that some of it crosses into the YA realm. The age range for the Printz is 12-18, not 14-18, meaning that all those "ages 9-12" books can be nominated. This being the case, I would rather err on the side of book review caution.

Adult books? Maybe. But they're awfully long.

I know.

MUSIC.

Here's my new goal for 2009: I would like to listen to and do short reviews of at least 50 albums between January 1 and December 31. I think that's doable, just given the time I spend either running or driving or on public transportation. Here are my personal rules:

1. It must be an album I've never heard before in full. If I've heard one or two songs from an album, that's okay.

2. I'd like to review at least 20 albums during the year by bands I've never listened to before. These can be bands from any decade.

These seem like silly rules for most people, but most people aren't Dean Winchester in a librarian's body. As I've mentioned before, I love classic rock and have no qualms about listening to Back in Black once a week or so. Listening to the same five albums over and over doesn't bother me. Unfortunately, it's gotten me in sort of a rut.

I'm Carlie, and I'm your new reader's advisory project.

I really like...: Classic rock, hard rock, and metal make up most of my music library. AC/DC, Rush, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Seether, Shinedown, Velvet Revolver, Nirvana, GnR, Foo Fighters, the Stones, Alter Bridge, the Who, Black Sabbath, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Staind, Blue Oyster Cult, Aerosmith, Disturbed

You may also be surprised to learn that I am a fan of...: Tori Amos, Avril Lavigne, Mannheim Steamroller, Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, Mary J. Blige, Justin Timberlake, Fall Out Boy, Lily Allen

If you recommend the following, I probably won't like it based on past experience: Rap save for a little Eminem here and there, R&B, country, blues, jazz, much emo. I've tried to like Belle and Sebastian, Joanna Newsom, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Regina Spektor and not succeded.

Oh, and I can't stand the Eagles or Pink Floyd.

So, recommend away! I'm also taking suggestions for favorite music recommendation sites. I like Pandora a lot but I'm up for more options.

iTunes, here I come.

The Sorting Hat declared me a Reading Ravenclaw

In today's Telegraph: Harry Potter readers "can be split into four types". From the article:

Each type conforms closely with one of the four houses found in Harry's school Hogwarts, Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University said.

His research found 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.

'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.

'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not fussed about the books.

They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.

That's the start of it, anyway. What interested me in particular was this later quote, which followed some "O noes the Potterdammerung is dying!":

"Only the Hufflepuffs are totally loyal to Harry, the Gryffindors are already moving on to other things, the Slytherins never really liked him anyway and the Ravenclaws are too busy writing their own fan fiction or posting spoof videos on YouTube."

If you ask me, I think this demonstrates that both the Hufflepuff AND the Ravenclaw readers are "totally loyal to Harry." If you weren't loyal to the intent and world of a series, you wouldn't make the efforto to write fanfic about it or take the time to make spoof videos or post them to YouTube. The Hufflepuff readers, if one goes strictly by this article, are content to read the books, enjoy them, and maybe discuss them with their book clubs. The Ravenclaw readers, on the other hand, are taking the time to speculate as to what happened before, or is happening offstage during, or will happen after the events of the Potter series. They're not satisfied by what appears on the page because Rowling made it clear that the wizarding world was so deep and so rich in history both light and dark. The Ravenclaw loyalty is not just to Harry, but to his entire world and all the people in it.

I caught the notion of fear from this article, too, a fear that Harry Potter will go away forever since there are no new books and nothing to learn about what happens next. I say this is ridiculous. There's interest in plenty of books that no longer have sequels coming out, and as much as we can speculate there will simply be things about the Potterverse that no one but J.K. Rowling will ever know. Whether we write more fanfiction or go on to other books, Harry will always have a place in children's literature history. And while I'm on the topic of Hogwarts houses, I also get the impression that Stephen Brown is more a Hufflepuff reader: loyal to the text but not delving too much into it. If that were the case, he'd know that Hogwarts houses are not about what you are, but what you value. But that's a discussion for another post.

(In terms of Hogwarts houses I think I'm more a Slytherin anyway.)

The Sorting Hat declared me a Reading Ravenclaw

In today's Telegraph: Harry Potter readers "can be split into four types". From the article:

Each type conforms closely with one of the four houses found in Harry's school Hogwarts, Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University said.

His research found 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.

'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.

'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not fussed about the books.

They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.

That's the start of it, anyway. What interested me in particular was this later quote, which followed some "O noes the Potterdammerung is dying!":

"Only the Hufflepuffs are totally loyal to Harry, the Gryffindors are already moving on to other things, the Slytherins never really liked him anyway and the Ravenclaws are too busy writing their own fan fiction or posting spoof videos on YouTube."

If you ask me, I think this demonstrates that both the Hufflepuff AND the Ravenclaw readers are "totally loyal to Harry." If you weren't loyal to the intent and world of a series, you wouldn't make the efforto to write fanfic about it or take the time to make spoof videos or post them to YouTube. The Hufflepuff readers, if one goes strictly by this article, are content to read the books, enjoy them, and maybe discuss them with their book clubs. The Ravenclaw readers, on the other hand, are taking the time to speculate as to what happened before, or is happening offstage during, or will happen after the events of the Potter series. They're not satisfied by what appears on the page because Rowling made it clear that the wizarding world was so deep and so rich in history both light and dark. The Ravenclaw loyalty is not just to Harry, but to his entire world and all the people in it.

I caught the notion of fear from this article, too, a fear that Harry Potter will go away forever since there are no new books and nothing to learn about what happens next. I say this is ridiculous. There's interest in plenty of books that no longer have sequels coming out, and as much as we can speculate there will simply be things about the Potterverse that no one but J.K. Rowling will ever know. Whether we write more fanfiction or go on to other books, Harry will always have a place in children's literature history. And while I'm on the topic of Hogwarts houses, I also get the impression that Stephen Brown is more a Hufflepuff reader: loyal to the text but not delving too much into it. If that were the case, he'd know that Hogwarts houses are not about what you are, but what you value. But that's a discussion for another post.

(In terms of Hogwarts houses I think I'm more a Slytherin anyway.)

Diary of a...no, stay with me on this one

Everyone has a weakness. Mine is books with pink sparkly covers, and definitely books with pink sparkly covers written in diary format. Today's pink sparkly book in diary format is the fun, silly-yet-serious Diary of a Chav by Grace Dent. Copy acquired at the Fall '08 librarian/reviewer preview at Little, Brown (thank you muchly!). Erm...to clarify, my galley has a pink sparkly cover. The final version has a blue sparkly cover.

Shiraz Bailey Wood...even the name makes me smile...is a self-described chav, derogatory slang for white working-class Brits who like hip-hop and the fashions associated with it. She makes no apologies for being one and spends her days hanging around Claire's with the bad girls from school, or maybe with her best friend Carrie, whose wealthy mother had the Sistine Chapel reproduced on the ceiling of the family home with the family's faces painted on it. Her older sister, Cava-Sue, is on her way to becoming the family outcast due to her interest in studying acting at the higher education level. Shiraz wasn't planning on keeping a diary, but it was a gift from her grandmother so she might as well use it. She documents her hoop-earring, hip-hop listening days with flair and a lot of cursing. Oh, and there's some romance, too.

At first, this book can be hard to get into because it's so peppered with British slang. Anyone with experience in figuring out word meanings from context, though, should have Shiraz's rhythm down by page 5. I'd love to hear this in audio; I think an audio version would bring a lot of spirit and meaning to the text. What's great about Shiraz is that she doesn't make excuses for being a chav, nor does she aspire to some great refined lifestyle, but she is street smart and as the book goes on she starts to see value in being book smart as well. This is not some great revelation, either. Rather, a teacher recognizes that Shiraz is bright and encourages her to put her sass to good use. That, and Shiraz knows she doesn't want any job where she'll have to wear wellies and a hat ever again. I found this book hilarious and very real in that Shiraz lacks a lot of the self-awareness I see from teens in so much YA literature. She gets in trouble and fights with her friends and isn't sure what she wants to do with her life and is generally finding herself.

Subsequent books in the series are available in the UK and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival in the US. Also, I have to say that this is one of the books this year where I like the US cover better than the UK cover. The UK covers aren't bad at all, I just like the picture on the US cover (which is the one at the top of this entry).


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