Entering is easy. Simply fill out the form below and I’ll draw a random winner in two weeks, on January 25. The giveaway is limited to US mailing addresses. As always, none of the information you give will be made public.
Remember last June when STACKED hosted a week-long celebration of all things contemporary young adult lit? We got such great feedback, especially about the book lists, that it was impossible to ignore an opportunity to continue advocating for this genre.
If you hop out of your feed reader (or if you’re on our site already) scroll down the right side bar. There’s now a box for contemporary ya lit, including a link to a rough database we’re building. It’s our hope readers looking for a certain type of contemporary read can use this to find good reads, fill holes in their personal/library/school collections, and discover how vast the genre is.
It’s our hope to highlight both current reads and back list titles and as reviews post on our blog, we’ll update with links to them.
Happy reading!
Who hasn’t wondered “If Only…?” If only I hadn’t left the house five minutes late, if only I didn’t get a flat tire, if only traffic wasn’t bad. If only I had made that flight. For Hadley, four minutes is the difference between making her overseas flight to London and missing it, consequently being stuck in the airport until the next Heathrow-bound flight leaves. But those four minutes are also the difference between her traveling on to her father’s wedding and her meeting Oliver, the British boy she meets in the airport and ends up sitting next to on the entire trans-Atlantic flight. Oliver, the boy who she opens up to about her father, his abandonment of their family and his new marriage. Oliver, the charming, teasing boy who works his way into her heart in a mere twenty-four hour period–and who she then loses sight of upon their arrival in London.
Jennifer E. Smith’s The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was a quick, fairly short read that was quite enjoyable–a nice, sweet, mindless love story that despite being predictable, still managed to charm. But sometimes that’s exactly what I’m in the mood for. The plot was fairly straightforward, revolving around Hadley’s trip to London to attend her father’s wedding and the disgruntled feelings she still holds towards her father. After all, he abandoned her and her mother after a few months abroad teaching in London and falling in love with “that British woman.” These feelings in particular make Hadley quite an authentic character. Despite her mother’s forgiveness of her father and her mother’s new relationship with Harrison, a local dentist, Hadley herself can’t bring herself to forgive her dad, and the distance between them is evidenced both in the lack of contact they have now and the flashbacks back to Hadley’s youth, where the reader witnesses the strong emotional bond they used to have. The stubbornness Hadley feels toward her father firmly grounds her in her youth and makes her a realistic character.
One fault I did have with this novel was the whirlwind relationship that sprung up between Hadley and Oliver. Although this is by no means the “I see a boy across the school quad and BAM! I’m in love” scenario that haunts so many YA books nowadays, and the relationship between Hadley and Oliver does develop slowly and deliberately, through conversation, confessions, and close proximity in a shared, cramped airport row, the short period of time still made me question the closeness of their bond.
Regardless, Oliver was a charming, endearing character, particularly in the way he teased Hadley. Fans of Etienne in Stephanie Perkins’ Anna and the French Kiss will adore Oliver and in him find another worthy foreign literary crush. Hadley’s ultimate discovery of the reason for Oliver’s trip to London also opens up windows to different sides of both of their characters, and Smith gradually leads into this realization particularly well. Ultimately, although the character arcs often seem a tad bit rushed, the author builds these arcs well, and the relationships between Hadley and the adults in her life (her father, her mother, and her new stepmother, Charlotte) are handled particularly sensitively and realistically.
Smith’s writing is quite beautiful, and the thoughtfulness of some of her lines is striking. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight was a charming read and highly recommended for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Sarah Ockler.
To kick off 2012’s monthly Twitterview series is Stasia Ward Kehoe, author of Audition. I asked Stasia to drop by to not only talk about her book, but also to talk about performance art books, as she’s the founder of Stages on Pages and is an advocate for these types of books.
And now, on to Stasia!
Pitch Audition in 140 characters
Maybe Center Stage meets A Tree Grows in Brooklyn???
What inspired Audition?
I write from character and “what-if.” Audition began as a monologue I wrote in a playwriting class about young dancer starting her day.
Audition is written in verse. Why that format?
I tried to capture the cadence and flow of dance and emotional creativity through a lyrical literary form.
What of your own experience in dance did you bring to the story?
I grew up dancing and acting and struggled with issues of talent, independence, choices. No hot dude crisis, though.
You are one of the minds behind Stages on Pages. Tell us about the project.
I founded Stages on Pages to connect performer-writers with each other & readers. It’s a live tour plus website. More stuff soon! www.stagesonpages.com
How was touring with other writers portraying the arts?
Amazing and sometimes super-silly. The similarities between our teen arts experiences are incredible.
This is your debut novel — talk a bit about that experience.
Scary, sobering, and still a bit surreal. Once the book is on shelves, it’s really out of your hands. Boy, that sounds morbid.
Who or what do you write for?
I write for my characters and, let’s face it, all writing is a grasp at immortality. Here’s my favorite page from Audition.
What was your most influential read as a teenager?
W. Somerset Maugham. Yeah. I was a weird teen. He wrote great books though, including Theater and Of Human Bondage.
What are your top three writing influences?
Growing up: Agatha Christie, Noel Streatfield, and Maugham. Now, E. Annie Proulx, Emily Dickinson, George Bernard Shaw…I only get 3?
Who do you believe is breaking ground in YA right now?
Justine Larbalestier, Markus Zusak, David Levithan, and Lauren Oliver are all brave, honest, and play with form, which I love.
What’s the best writing advice you ever received?
There’s no substitute for time at the keyboard.
What’s your best writing advice to give?
Write what’s in your heart. Revise, revise, revise. Oh, and the keyboard thing.
What is your writing routine?
Weekdays. 1 hr of business stuff then 4 hrs of writing with a lunch break. Of course, I have 4 kids so few days are that perfect.
What gets you jazzed to write?
It’s not a matter of jazzed. It’s more something I have to do. Chocolate & coffee don’t hurt, though.
Do you have a writing soundtrack? Care to share a bit?
I need silence to write. Otherwise, love show tunes: Stephen Schwartz, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Sondheim. Some brilliant poetry from Company.
What’s next for you?
I’m working on another YA in verse, then on to something scary (but with kissing). I love writing kissing scenes!
You may remember in September, I did a presentation with Julia, Abby, and Janssen at Kid Lit Con about critical reviewing. I promised to write up the key points and share them. I can think of no better time to sum it up than right now.
Critical reviews are not negative reviews.
Know this distinction. Critical reviews involve thoughtful analysis and synthesis of the work at hand. They support their statements — both positive and negative — with what’s in front of them. They check their baggage at the door.
Negative reviews are not supported by text. Negative reviews don’t tell readers anything substantial about the book, but rather, about the reviewer. It’s self reflective, rather than text reflective.
I believe in critical reviews and I love writing them, too. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than sitting down after finishing a book and thinking through the points of story that did and did not work for me. It helps me not only realize why I did or didn’t like a book, but it also helps me grow as a reader. I learn to read differently each time I critically assess a book. Moreover, I love reading other people’s critical reviews of books. There are a handful of blogs I read every single day and there are a handful of blogs I will seek out after I read a book to see what they have to say. I know they’re going to be thorough, whether they’re succinct or lengthy reviews. Likewise, there are a few Goodreads reviewers who don’t blog that I appreciate reading insight from. I think what I love most about reading reviews that are critical and thorough is that a lot of times, I can disagree with them, and yet, I’m able to see precisely why the reviewer said or saw what they did in the text. Because they support it with the text.
Critical reviews are important to me not only as a reader, but me as a librarian. These reviews help guide my thinking about my biases and they help guide my thinking about how to approach selling books to readers.
Not all blogs are created equal.
I don’t like negative reviews, and I love critical reviews. But there are a ton of bloggers out there who do neither of these things. There are blogs that exist solely to promote books or authors or agendas. There are blogs out there that write only positive reviews. There are blogs out there that write with a snarky tone or a humorous tone or with a thoughtful tone or with a well-educated tone or with a perky tone. Some blogs incorporate ALL of those things. I like to write critically because … I like to write critically. It’s how I think. It’s how I process. I like to think I’m honest but I back up anything tough I say with why I’m saying it. I welcome disagreement. I welcome agreement. It’s fine. It’s more than fine, really.
All of our blogs — all of our voices — can and should coexist just fine.
Blogging is being aware of your audience.
I have a handful of go-to blogs and bloggers I read no matter what because I like reading their style of reviewing. It’s critical. It gets me what I need as a reader.
I also keep tabs on blogs that share only positive reviews and blogs that are more about publicity than reviewing.
I get what I need as a reader and a blogger and a librarian from all sides of the blogging world.
Many blog readers read as many blogs as I do. Many read hundreds more. Many may only read my blog or your blog or that blog which is only there for publicity or the blog that only posts snarky reviews. That’s okay.
What’s important is understanding that whether you blog for yourself or for someone/something else, you have an audience. I know my audience pretty well, but I don’t know it perfectly. What I may think is something that’s been blogged about tirelessly may reach someone who only reads this blog. That’s why I shape some of my posts the way I shape them. Writing critically is an art and a craft. It’s both sides of the brain.
It all comes down to understanding, though, I have an audience. Being mindful is key.
Bloggers aren’t immune.
Something I’ve thought a lot about is how bloggers put their words out there openly. They state their opinions and thoughts how they wish to. They eagerly devour books and talk about those books through their own words.
But bloggers shouldn’t live in glass houses, either. The way bloggers get stronger, the way they better understand the notion of audience, the better they make themselves is through being criticized themselves.
Criticism is and should be a two-way street. You should be able to take as well as you dish.
Class never goes out of style.
Disagreement is going to happen anywhere you go in the blogging world. That’s why having such a multitude of different types of blogs is good. You get varied opinions, and you get the chance to wade into the waters and find what works for you as a reader. Sometimes you’ll strike a chord with your audience and sometimes you might set them off with what you say and what you do. That’s why you have to always remember you do have an audience and you won’t always know who it is.
Be aware of what you’re doing and saying and how you’re presenting it. Be aware of your presence on all social media where you are making yourself open. If you’re accessible, people are going to access you. People will ask you to talk about what you do and how you do it. Tell them. Be open. I enjoy talking about writing critical reviews, and I’m always happy to teach people the ways to do it. I’m thrilled when the lightbulb goes off and someone realizes critical reviews aren’t negative reviews.
From personal experience, I can tell you I’ve had blog posts called out by other bloggers and by authors. People have written me some of the dirtiest emails you can imagine. People have written entire blog posts about my opinions, have called me things, have disagreed vehemently with every word I’ve written.
I put myself out there for that. When I get those posts sent my way or people email me something less-than-kind, I suck it up and make myself better for it. I don’t post those things and I don’t call people out by name. I don’t openly criticize because I believe it does you no good to respond to sass with sass. You respond by being a critical listener and critical thinker.
Being classy is responding appropriately, no matter what the forum. Being classy is not firing off a blog post about it without thinking through everything and figuring out a way to state my opinion without devaluing or belittling the opinions of others. Being classy is giving myself room to cool off when someone tells me I have no idea what I’m talking about. Being classy is not diving into drama to create more of it.
Being classy is being critical.
Own what you do.
Doesn’t matter what you do when it comes to blogging, but however you do it, do it knowing your name’s attached. Do it knowing that people will remember things. Do it knowing you’re doing it because you love and want to do it and not because it gets you something in the end. Don’t do it thinking about whether what you’re doing is new or cutting edge or different.
This is what we make of it. It can be a trash pit or it can be a community. But what do we get out of it if we treat it like junk? Nothing. Check your ego at the door.
Do it because it matters to you.