John Green Speaks Out

If you haven't read it, please check out John Green's speech that he gave for the ALAN Conference. It is really inspiring and eye-opening. He once again proves his awesomeness and gives English teachers the credit they truly deserve. Also, he emphasizes the importance of giving teenagers the benefit of the doubt. They are smart, intelligent, and can "get it." But John says it much better than I ever could, so stop listening to me ramble and get on over to his site!

"...we know that young people can rise to intellectual challenges. I know because the course of my life was altered by teachers who challenged me, who assumed I was smart and refused to acknowledge otherwise despite considerable evidence. We know the importance of never selling kids short and never selling them out, because I’d imagine we’ve all seen our lives changed by teachers who believed in us." --John Green

Twilight Movie *Spoilers*

I really should just take my favorite Twilight books (Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse) and retreat to a corner.  I shouldn't have read Breaking Dawn.  And I really shouldn't have seen the movie.  Sigh.  

Don't get me wrong--I love, love, love Bella & Edward.  But I love my versions of them.  In my head.  And the movie just didn't match that for me.  There were too many awkward silences and drawn out scenes.  The acting wasn't great.  Can you honestly tell me you didn't giggle hysterically when Edward first got a whiff of Bella?  It was ludicrous.  And MY Edward is not a spider monkey leaping thru trees.  

But much like the HP movies, the big screen can never quite match up with what I have going on in my imagination.  My husband said he didn't think it was that bad, but then he hasn't been in love with these characters for years like I have.  But he did point out a lot of things they didn't include in the movie that made it confusing for non-Twilight readers.  I had a lot of explaining to do...

All in all, I could have done without, but now I know what someone else's vision of Twilight is like.  And it's made me realize that we each have our own version wandering around inside our heads.

Twilight is coming...

It's almost here!! Despite my best efforts to not get my hopes up, I really really hope that the Twilight movie lives up to all the hype and more importantly my high standards for what a Twilight movie is supposed to be like. I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive when they announced Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson as Bella & Edward. But they're starting to grow on me.

Kristen definitely has that awkwardness to her that embodies Bella. And Rob...well, I still want to fetch him a comb or something, but the chemistry between the two of them seems undeniable in all the clips I've seen. So come Friday night (yes I have to wait until after work!), me and my willing (yes, he's willing!) husband will be watching my most beloved vampire tale unfold...

BTW, if you see it before me, don't spoil it! Wait until Saturday to let me know what you think ;-) For now, this will have to do.

How to Ditch Your Fairy by Justine Larbalestier

If the cover and the title are not enough to draw you in, the premise of this book will win you over in a heartbeat. Set in New Avalon, the world's most self-obsessed city, Larbalestier (author of the Magic or Madness trilogy) has created a world where everyone gets their own personal fairy. No one can see or hear their fairy, but it is usually does not take long to figure out what kind everyone has. The lucky few have a really doos (cool) fairy like a clothes shopping fairy. But then there is Charlie, who got stuck with the most undoos fairy of all--a parking spot fairy.

Sure it is dead useful if you are old enough to drive. But to Charlie she would rather have no fairy at all instead of enduring the smell of gasoline and vinyl seats one more time. She is tired of her friends and family "borrowing" her in order to find the perfect parking spot. In an attempt to get rid of her fairy, she starts walking everywhere and this is where the trouble begins.

With a language and culture all its own, this story is not your typical fairy book. It will make you laugh out loud and cheer Charlie on in her attempts (and failed attempts) to get rid of her pesky parking fairy. With its fast-paced narrative, loads of drama, and a touch of romance, Larbalestier will leave you wanting more including a fairy of your own.

Caution: Despite the suggestions in the book, I was not able to get rid of my fairy, Pixie. And unlike Justine's fairies, mine is very visible and very loud. Check out the photo below to see what a "makes you trip and wakes you up too early" fairy looks like.

Your Favorite Teen Authors!

I figured why should I keep my favorite teen authors' blogs all to myself....so here's a list of the best and the greatest (but by no means comprehensive--go here for one that is closer to complete). Please feel free to comment if you have another one to add to the list, but these are my favorites (and ones that I found in the process of making this list, so we'll hope those are good too). Sadly, they do not all have RSS feeds, so usually the ones that don't...well, I forget about.

Mad Woman in the Forest
by Laurie Halse Anderson

Libba Bray
author of A Great and Terrible Beauty series

Meg's Diary
by Meg Cabot

Cassandra Clare's Blog
author of the Mortal Instruments series

Writergrl
by Sarah Dessen

The YA Novel and Me
by Gail Giles

Nerdfighting!
by John Green

Justine Larbalestier
author of the Magic or Madness trilogy

E.Lockhart's Blog
by E. Lockhart

Robin McKinley
author of Beauty

WAKE
by Lisa McMann

Sarah Mlynowski
author of How to Be Bad

Lauren Myracle
author of TTYL series

Confessions of Georgia Nicholson
by Louise Rennison

Cynsations
by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Westerblog
by Scott Westerfeld

The Stories of a Girl
by Sara Zarr

Teen Fiction Cafe
Includes authors various teen authors

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

Okay, so I'm a teen author blog junkie. I have all my favorite authors in my blog reader. And I've been denied access to this for the last week or so (due to some filtering issues). Anyways in case you don't scour all the blogs out there that I do....Meg Cabot is currently in the process of revising the sequel to Airhead, which I reviewed many months ago and loved. Here's a sneak peek at the cover and plot.

Things aren’t pretty for Emerson Watts.

Em was sure there couldn’t be anything worse than being a brainiac trapped in the body of a teenaged supermodel.

But it turned out she was wrong. Because that supermodel could turn out to have a mother who’s gone mysteriously missing, a brother who’s shown up on her doorstep demanding answers, a former best friend who’s intent on destroying Stark Enterprises to avenge the death of his lost love, and a British heartthrob who’s written a song about her that’s topping the charts.

How can Em balance all that with school, runway shows, and weekend jaunts to St. John - especially when she’s got ex-boyfriends crawling out of the woodwork who want more than just a photo op; a sister who is headed to the high school cheerleading championships; a company she represents that seems to be turning to the dark side…not to mention trying to convince the love of her life that models aren’t really airheads after all…especially one model in particular.

But then, nobody said it was going to be easy being Nikki.

a slew of reviews...

Alright, here's the reviews that I promised you! I'm sure that I'm forgetting some books at the moment. But I can't keep too much straight at the moment. These will just have to make do :) Enjoy!


City of Bones
by Cassandra Clare
The first in the Mortal Instruments series, fifteen year old Clary is a normal teenage girl. She fights with her overprotective mother, hangs out with her best friend Simon, and oh yeah...she's starting to see things that no one else can see. Underneath the human world is a world shrouded by a glamour full of Shadowhunters and Downworlders such as vampires, werewolves, and demons. So where does Clary fit into this new world? When her mother is attacked and kidnapped, Clary learns who her mother really is and what she has been running from Clary's whole life.

This unique fantasy is fast-paced and impossible to put down. Follow Clary as she learns what it means to be a Shadowhunter, scrambles to save her mother, and tries to figure out if normal even applies to her world anymore. The story is action-packed and thrilling with a romantic twist you will not see coming. It will leave you waiting for more.... (Alert! Spoilers below in review for next volume.)

City of Ashes
by Cassandra Clare
In this sequel to City of Bones, readers find Clary struggling to keep her family from crumbling apart. This volume picks up right where the first book left off. With her mother in a coma, her father off plotting to take down the Clave, and her realtionship with her brother on shaky ground, Clary has a lot to deal with. Luckily, she has her boyfriend, Simon by her side to help her stay grounded. But when Jace and Clary learn that their father have given them each special gifts--it is up to them to figure out to use them to their advantage and stop Valentine from raising his demon army. As engaging as the first in the series, City of Ashes continues the momentum and again leaves you eager for what is next.

Living Dead Girl
by Elizabeth Scott

Shocking and chilling, Scott tells the story of a broken and sexually-abused girl named Alice. Like the Alice before her, she once had a family, a childhood, and her own thoughts. Now each day is a struggle to survive. To say the right words. To stay young. But all she longs for is an end. When she turns 15, Alice knows that she is too old for Ray now. Soon it will be her turn to die...after she helps him find the next Alice. Told in quick, short chapters, the narrative reflects the few independent thoughts Alice has left. Though Scott never describes the abuse in detail, the horror and pain is palpable. You desperately want to help save Alice. This is not a story you will soon forget.

Size 12 is Not Fat
by Meg Cabot
Okay, so this is not a teen book. SHOCKING, I know. But I'm trying to balance out what I read, a little teen book here, a grown-up book there (apparently I am a grown-up or supposed to be--yeah right), and a non-fiction title every now and then. But I'm getting off-topic as usual....since our Big Read is coming up in October (The Maltese Falcon), I decided to give a mystery title a whirl.

I picked up this book because of the title and the author (The Princess Diaries are my guilty pleasure). I've been skinny my whole life, but recently well...I've put on a lot of weight because of a heart condition I developed. Oh the joys of getting older! So the thought of a heroine who is the average size of a woman appealed to me. I love strong, confident women who are comfortable in their own skin.

I will admit that was a very predictable plot, but it was still enjoyable. Heather Wells is a former pop star who's lost it all--her career, her money, and even her cheating fiancee. When she gets a job as assistant director at a university's residence hall, she thinks now she can start living a normal life. But when girls start dying in the building, Heather gets suspicious and starts her own investigation. Peppered with pop culture references (grown-up ones at that), I couldn't help but giggle here and there. It was a nice, easy read...especially after the intensity of some of the teen books I've been reading.