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Links of Note, 4/6/13

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via Sarah Andersen — see link below!

Even though it’s a shorter roundup than most, the last couple of weeks have been filled with many interesting book and reading (and life!) related posts, so I’m diving right into it.

  • I’m always impressed with teachers who come up with really neat, innovative ways to get their bigger messages out there, and Sarah Andersen’s literacy lockers initiative is brilliant. She got her kids to show off their reading habits on their lockers — you have to read this post and enjoy just how into it she got her students. This is so smart and so fun to see.

  • This is one of the most fascinating pieces I’ve read in a long time, all about the point of a paperback book. Here’s why they redesign things, as well as what some of those redesigns aim for. I love the bit from Jenna Blum — I only picked up her book in paperback because that cover appealed to me. If I had seen the hardcover, it never would have made me pick it up. 

  • Even though we’re no longer officially doing AudioSynced, I still plan on sharing interesting audiobook links that come my way. This piece written by a neighboring librarian and the person who I learned almost all I know about audiobooks from thanks to a workshop in 2009 (!!) is all about excellent summer audiobooks to listen to as a family. Check it out.
  • This isn’t really book or reading related, except that it is completely related to both for me: taming the feed. Do you ever feel like sometimes the social networks get overwhelming and you’re getting in and letting in too much noise? Here are some ideas for trimming back. 
  • Jennifer Rummel wrote a really thorough and thought-provoking post over at YALSA’s The Hub about women’s history — and she did it through YA books. Go see this.
  • Rather than talk about the Amazon purchase of Goodreads (I am not going to change anything until I have real reason to), I thought I’d instead dedicate this space to a post by author Stephanie Burgis who talks about what it’s like to be caught in the middle of the stalemate between Barnes and Noble and Simon & Schuster as an author. The long and short of it is: you won’t see many midlist/debut/non-significant titles at Barnes and Noble stores from S&S authors because of this dispute. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be asking them for these titles. It’s important to support those authors any way you can — ask in store for them, buy them online. Know that what you see on the shelves in a physical B&N is only a tiny fraction of what’s out there. 
  • I think it’s appropriate to end with an essay written by Roger Ebert a few years ago, simply called Books Furnish a Life. 

When We Wake by Karen Healey

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It’s 2027, and Tegan Oglietti is a happy, relatively angst-free teenager. She’s just made her crush her boyfriend, and she and her group of friends spend their time doing parkour, playing guitar, and protesting the various ills of the world: environmental degradation, social injustice, and more. Her world is a little different from our own in 2013, but not so much to be unbelievable. 
Then, on the way to a protest, Tegan dies. But it’s not the end of her life. She wakes up 100 years in the future, having agreed to donate her body to science and therefore unwittingly also agreed to be a part of the government’s experimental cryonics program. She’s the first to be successfully frozen and revived, and she’s told that this procedure will be used to help other people living in the year 2127.
Anyone who has read a futuristic story like this will know that Tegan is being lied to. There’s clearly something else going on with the cryonics experiment. Tegan herself is kept on a very short leash, given just enough freedom to keep her from outright rebellion. As Tegan makes her way in this new world, learning how its changed for the better and how its changed for the worse, making a few friends along the way, she starts to unravel the truth.
Tegan is a terrific character. She’s a budding activist in her “home” time, but a bit unsure about it. She wants so desperately to make things better, and when she wakes up in the future to discover that yes, some things are better, but some are much, much worse, it’s a little heartbreaking. One of the most moving moments for me was when Tegan finally breaks down and shouts at those around her who have helped make this world the way it is, telling them to “Be better!” Her disappointment is palpable and devastating.
When We Wake is, in some ways, a bit of a throwback for a dystopia, and I mean that in a good way. It seems most of the dystopias churned out recently envision future worlds full of the most lurid, shocking, and frankly ridiculous social systems the author could think up. Healey brings us back to Earth – her future is very different from our present, but it’s also believable. For example, there’s less racial prejudice but a good deal more environmental crisis. She extrapolates a set of realistic issues for her future society to deal with from the same issues that we tackle today. More importantly, though, When We Wake brings back some actual commentary – social, political, environmental. She shows that the actions we – as humans – are taking now matter, that they impact the future, our children and grandchildren and beyond. What we do now makes a difference – both good and bad. Healey doesn’t hit you over the head with it, but it’s there, and thank goodness.
The writing is excellent, which is what I’ve come to expect from a Karen Healey book. Tegan has a great voice, and the first person perspective is completely warranted: by the end of the book, it’s clear she’s telling her story to a specific audience for a specific reason. It is, perhaps, not as emotionally resonant as The Shattering, but not much is. It packs a punch nonetheless.
Next week, we’ll be sharing a Twitterview with Healey, who gives us a little more insight into Tegan and her future world(s). We’ll also be giving away a finished copy of the book, courtesy of Little, Brown, and this is a giveaway you’ll want to enter.
Review copy provided by the publisher. When We Wake is available now.

Discussing Sex, Sexual Assault, and Rape: A Resource Guide

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April is sexual assault awareness month, and with the amount of press surrounding the outcome of the Steubenville rape case, it’d be an oversight not to at least talk about it a bit. 

I’ve been particularly inspired by stories like this one, titled The day I taught how not to rape. This educator, in her position as a teacher, stepped out of her curricular plans and instead had an open and honest discussion of what is and isn’t okay when it comes to touch, to sex. There’s a particularly poignant comment, too, worth pointing out.

There was an older post that came through my reading that stuck out too, this one from a parent and it’s simply called If she’s not having fun you have to stop.

Taking these two together and reading through the comments — some which are excellent and supportive, like the one I pointed out and others which are not supportive and some which ask what is the right thing to say to kids at what age — it’s worth remembering that any adult in any position that influences younger people has the power and opportunity to teach really important lessons about boundaries when it comes to touch. It’s not just about acts of physical aggression or of sexual assault; it’s important to have a discussion about physical space, period, and the rights people have to and over their own bodies. About the rights people have over what other people can even say to them about their bodies or appearances or their rights to set limits on what is and isn’t okay. 

I am not good at this. 

I’ve been incredibly lucky (and is it weird to even consider it lucky?) that the physical relationships in my adult life have been exceptionally healthy, supportive, and based on trust. I can’t say this has been the case my entire life nor in every context. As a result of things in my own past, I know I am particularly sensitive about boundary issues, and it rarely has anything to do with the other person. Sometimes, I just don’t want a hug; sometimes I don’t want someone to pat me on the back. Those things can make me feel exceptionally uncomfortable. 

I have a suspicion a lot of people will relate not only to that, but they will relate to the fact this sort of stuff happens regularly in the line of working in, say, a public library. There are patrons — and in my experience, it’s been older men and they aren’t out for any nasty purposes and are rather just being kind/funny/breaking silence — who can overstep the lines physically and verbally. I don’t like when someone rubs my back for doing my job. I also don’t like when they make sexually-suggestive comments to me. I had one man make a joke a few months ago that’s stuck with me, that turns my stomach every time I think about it, when I was kneeling to pull paper out of a cabinet. He told me something along the lines of how my husband must like it when I’m on my knees like that and started laughing.

It made me pause for a second, and rather than address the comment as inappropriate, I instead finished what I was doing and walked away. To which he said something along the lines about it just being a joke and he hoped I’d laugh but maybe I didn’t get jokes. 

I’m still angry at myself for not saying something. 

These incidents of uncomfortable touch or inappropriate comments happen every single day across all sorts of contexts. And even if the person who initiates sees no harm, these sorts of things are problematic if they’re not addressed. While it’s unlikely these instances I’ve experienced were ever meant with harm from the person who initiated them, they still left me feeling I’d lost some sort of power or had had my own boundaries ignored and overstepped. 

They’ve left me wondering more what is the right language and approach to take to those situations and more, how I can empower other people to feel as though when they’re put into a situation like this — or ones that are much more uncomfortable and disempowering. I think it comes down to what that teacher linked to above did: open up conversation. Talk about boundaries. Talk about ownership. And not just talk about it. It’s important to model it and do so with respect for yourself and your body. These are the sorts of lessons, though, that don’t come through a seminar or through a structured classroom setting nor even a series of programs at a library. They come up in unexpected ways, but it’s through those unexpected ways that conversation happens organically and change can happen. See again how the conversation regarding rape and sexual assault arose from discussing a single poem. 

It’s what happens when, say, you’re doing a program with teens at the library and one attendee makes another uncomfortable by touching or otherwise saying something uncomfortable to them. Speaking up in those instances not only models how to respond to discomfort like that, but it arms everyone with the tools to do so for themselves. This is where the second link — the one from the parent — is worth thinking about. “If s/he’s not having fun, you have to stop” is such a simple and yet powerful line. It sets up boundaries without putting blame on anyone. It doesn’t put the person overstepping boundaries into the category of bad person; it instead suggests that if someone’s not having fun, then don’t continue. It’s an unabashedly simple concept. And I think the more we say it and the more we model that particular behavior, we create change, even in small ways. But those small ways matter.

This simple line is an easy way into a bigger conversation, too. These ARE conversations you can have with very young people. It’s not the sort of discussion that is in any way sexed; this is an educational necessity for everyone, regardless of genitalia. It’s about exactly what the comment linked to is about: it’s vital to educate that everyone’s body is theirs and their limits are important. 

I wanted to wrap up this thought-piece with a book list. These are YA titles that tackle sexual assault in some capacity, and they’re all worthwhile reads. If not only for your own education, but they’re all books that open themselves up to conversation with teens (and adults) about sexual assault and abuse and awareness of each. They open themselves up to healthy sexual relationships, as well, which is something that, while possibly a very uncomfortable topic to broach in a classroom or library setting, is a crucial one to have. But as uncomfortable as these topics are, I think remembering and using the line “if s/he’s not having fun, you have to stop” as your guide through the discussion will have long-lasting power. Because that line is about ownership, about space, and about boundaries. 

Many other people have written far more on this topic, and I especially invite you to spend some time reading through Philip Nel’s post about how to teach rape culture and activism through children’s books, and this piece I cannot stop thinking about, titled I am not your wife, sister or daughter; I am a person. I also ask you spend a few minutes reading this really thought-provoking post from the rejectionist on responses to Uses for Boys and the way the female main character is discussed in regards to her sexual relationships. These things remind me that, despite how awkward it may be for me to say to a patron that his joke made me uncomfortable, it’s something I need to do because it empowers me. It doesn’t need to be done rudely; rather, it needs to be done to ensure future interactions don’t continue to make me feel little months later. I have the right to say that I’m uncomfortable with something. I’m not having fun. 

This is a short book list, with descriptions via WorldCat. I encourage you to chime in with other YA titles that tackle sexual assault or abuse; genre doesn’t matter, but my titles are realistic because that’s my area of strongest knowledge. I’d love to build a nice resource for anyone looking for these kinds of books. It’s not easy to read or discuss these books, but it’s important. 

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda’s freshman year in high school.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch: High school senior and football player Keir sets out to enjoy himself on graduation night, but when he attempts to comfort a friend whose date has left her stranded, things go terribly wrong.

What Happens Next by Colleen Clayton: The stress of hiding a horrific incident that she can neither remember nor completely forget leads sixteen-year-old Cassidy “Sid” Murphy to become alienated from her friends, obsess about weight loss, and draw close to Corey “The Living Stoner” Livingston.

Live Through This by Mindi Scott: From the outside, fifteen-year-old Coley Sterling’s life seems imperfect but normal, but for years she has buried her shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line and now that she has a chance at having a real boyfriend, Reece, the lies begin to unravel.

One Lonely Degree by CK Kelly Martin: When fifteen-year-old Finn’s world falls apart after a violent sexual encounter, the only person she can talk to her is her best friend, Audrey, until beautiful boy Jersy moves back to town and both girls develop feelings for him that threaten to destroy their friendship.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers: Regina, a high school senior in the popular–and feared–crowd, suddenly falls out of favor and becomes the object of the same sort of vicious bullying that she used to inflict on others, until she finds solace with one of her former victims.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney: When Alex, a junior at an elite preparatory school, realizes that she may have been the victim of date rape, she confides in her roommates and sister who convince her to seek help from a secret society, the Mockingbirds.

Canary by Rachele Apline (forthcoming in August — description from Goodreads): Kate Franklin’s life changes for the better when her dad lands a job at Beacon Prep, an elite private school with one of the best basketball teams in the state. She begins to date a player on the team and quickly gets caught up in a world of idolatry and entitlement, learning that there are perks to being an athlete. But those perks also come with a price. Another player takes his power too far and Kate is assaulted at a party. Although she knows she should speak out, her dad’s vehemently against it and so, like a canary sent into a mine to test toxicity levels and protect miners, Kate alone breathes the poisonous secrets to protect her dad and the team. The world that Kate was once welcomed into is now her worst enemy, and she must decide whether to stay silent or expose the corruption, destroying her father’s career and bringing down a town’s heroes.

Subversive (Passive) Programming at the Programming Librarian

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Two years ago, Jackie and I put together a proposal to present at the 2012 ALA Annual Convention in Anaheim on teen passive programming and passive reader’s advisory. We had our proposal accepted, and we presented in front of an awesomely packed room. All of the presentation notes and the presentation visual itself is available here.

After the presentation, we were approached to write an article about the topic. So we did!

Since Jackie and I are both big proponents of making sure professional information is actually useful, we took our time in writing a very thorough and — we hope — supremely useful tool kit to starting and implementing passive programming. The article took nine months to write and edit.

That is a very, VERY long time to write and edit one piece of work that is not a novel.

But now, you can read our entire article in full at The Programming Librarian. I like to think it’s useful for anyone who works with teens and wants to engage them in productive, intellectual, and FUN ways. It has ideas not only for programming and hands-on activities, but for advocating for reading and readers, too.

If I may highlight the most important thing in the entire piece, it’s this one: be prepared to fail. It’s okay and it’s inevitable.

We’re super eager to hear your feedback on this, and we’d love if you’d contribute your own ideas in the article, too. There’s a space for commenting. Please, please speak up. Spread the word.

It’s kind of amazing to look at the culmination of 2 years’ worth of work, isn’t it? I love Jackie’s post on this, too, enough I have to share it as well.

Get Genrefied: Mysteries (+ Thrillers)

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Angela’s reader’s advisory challenge this month focuses on mysteries, and we’ve thrown in thrillers as well, since the two are often found together. But they’re not quite the same. Wes Miller at Mulholland Books breaks down the two here, and it’s a good summary of what mysteries and thrillers have in common and how they differ. Kimberly’s basic rule is this: if there’s a solution at the end, it’s a mystery. If not, it’s a thriller. Many books are both, but not all, and there’s certainly a lot of crossover appeal between the two.

Because of their nature, mysteries can have a lot of genre crossover: historical mysteries (YS Lee’s The Agency series, Kathryn Miller Haines’ The Girl is Murder series); paranormal (Kim Harrington’s Clarity series, plus lots of ghost stories); science fiction (especially with technology, such as Michelle Gagnon’s Don’t Turn Around); humor (Heist Society, Marlene Perez).

Mysteries are also heavy on series, and they lend themselves well to the form. They provide an easy way to build long character arcs over many books while also telling a complete story in one volume. There’s plenty of crossover between teen and adult mysteries as well, particularly with the cozies, which tend to be cleaner and less gruesome. (As any librarian who serves adults knows, mysteries are HUGE in the adult market.) The Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley is a great example of an adult series with teen crossover appeal.

Below is a list of recently-published YA novels that can all be classified as mysteries or thrillers. It really shows just how broad this category can be – historical, contemporary, paranormal, horror, literary. All descriptions come from either WorldCat or Goodreads. If you know of any more notable titles, please leave us a comment!

Heist Society by Ally Carter (sequels: Uncommon Criminals, Perfect Scoundrels): A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several
priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop’s father,
himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector. Kimberly’s reviews

Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield: Unveils the details of a horrific murder, its effects on permanent and
summer residents of the small Appalachian town where the body is
discovered, and especially how the related violence shakes
eighteen-year-old Becca’s determination to leave home as soon as
possible. Kelly’s review

All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab: After the death of his ex-girlfriend Carly, Northern California high
school student Neily joins forces with Carly’s cousin Audrey to try to
solve her murder.
 

 
Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday (sequel: Social Suicide): When sixteen-year-old Hartley Featherstone finds out that her boyfriend
is cheating on her, she goes to his house to confront him and suddenly
finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery. Kelly’s review

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (sequel: Game): Seventeen-year-old Jazz learned all about being a serial killer from his
notorious “Dear Old Dad,” but believes he has a conscience that will
help fight his own urges and right some of his father’s wrongs, so he
secretly helps the police apprehend the town’s newest murderer, “The
Impressionist.” Kimberly’s review

Clarity by Kim Harrington (sequel: Perception): Sixteen-year-old Clare Fern, a member of a family of psychics, helps the
mayor and a skeptical detective solve a murder in a Cape Cod town
during the height of tourist season–with her brother a prime suspect. Kimberly’s review

The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington: New student Jade uncovers a murder mystery when she moves into a house
haunted by the ghost of a beautiful, mean girl who ruled Jade’s high
school.

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison: Having experienced compulsive behavior all her life, Lo’s symptoms are
getting her into trouble when she witnesses a murder while wandering
dangerous quarters of Cleveland, Ohio, collecting things that do not
belong to her, obsessing about her brother’s death.

Notes From Ghost Town by Kate Ellison: Young artist Olivia Tithe struggles to keep her sanity as she unravels
the mystery of her first love’s death through his ghostly visits.

 
The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (sequels: Desires of the Dead, The Last Echo, Dead Silence): High school junior Violet uses her uncanny ability to sense murderers
and their victims to try to stop a serial killer who is terrorizing her
town, and although her best friend and would-be boyfriend Jay promises
to keep her safe, she becomes a target.

The Space Between Trees by Katie Williams: When the body of a classmate is discovered in the woods,
sixteen-year-old Evie’s lies wind up involving her with the girl’s best
friend, trying to track down the killer.

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry: Told from various viewpoints, Gabie and Drew set out to prove that their
missing co-worker Kayla is not dead, and to find her before she is,
while the police search for her body and the man who abducted her. Kimberly’s review

Shelter by Harlan Coben (sequel: Seconds Away): After tragic events tear Mickey Bolitar away from his parents, he is
forced to live with his estranged Uncle Myron and switch high schools,
where he finds both friends and enemies, but when his new new
girlfriend, Ashley, vanishes, he follows her trail into a seedy
underworld that reveals she is not what she seems to be. Kimberly’s review

Crusher by Niall Leonard: After he discovers his father murdered, Finn, now the prime suspect,
scours the London underworld, exposing secrets and facing danger, to
determine the true killer. Kimberly’s review

A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee (sequels: The Body at the Tower, The Traitor in the Tunnel): Rescued from the gallows in 1850s London, young orphan and thief Mary
Quinn is offered a place at Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls where she
is trained to be part of an all-female investigative unit called The
Agency and, at age seventeen, she infiltrates a rich merchant’s home in
hopes of tracing his missing cargo ships. Kimberly’s review

Don’t Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon: After waking up on an operating table with no memory of how she got
there, Noa must team up with computer hacker Peter to stop a corrupt
corporation with a deadly secret. Kimberly’s review

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines (sequel: The Girl is Trouble): In 1942 New York City, fifteen-year-old Iris grieves for her mother
who committed suicide and for the loss of her life of privilege, and
secretly helps her father with his detective business since he, having
lost a leg at Pearl Harbor, struggles to make ends meet. Kimberly’s review

Kill You Last by Todd Strasser: When three teenage clients of her fashion photographer dad go
missing, Shelby’s near perfect life crumbles when her dad is named a
prime suspect in the girls’ disappearance. Kimberly’s review

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore: Seventeen-year-old Amy Goodnight has long been the one who makes her
family of witches seem somewhat normal to others, but while spending a
summer with her sister caring for their aunt’s farm, Amy becomes the
center of weirdness when she becomes tied to a powerful ghost. Kimberly’s review

Escape Theory by Margaux Froley: Bound by her oath of confidentiality and tortured by unrequited love,
sixteen-year-old Devon, a peer counselor at a prestigious California
boarding school, finds herself on a solitary mission to get to the
bottom of a popular student’s apparent suicide.

Be sure to also check out Kelly’s guide to YA mysteries and thrillers on Scribd, in handy printable brochure form.

Here are a few forthcoming titles to look out for later this year.

Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance: Berry Fields’s life working for her dad’s investigation firm and
searching for clues to her mother’s death unravels when gorgeous Tanner
arrives in town and changes everything.

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman: After a series of suicide-killings and a deadly storm, the residents of
the town of Oleander, Kansas, start acting even more strangely than
would be expected. Only the 5 witnesses of the murders retain their
sound minds, and must band together to save the town from whatever has
come over it

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas: It’s Spring Break of
senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few
other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that
promises to be the time of their lives. But when Elise is found
brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own,
fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to
find her friend’s killer, she discovers harsh revelations about her
friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Absent by Katie Williams: Seventeen-year-old Paige Wheeler died in a fall off the high school
roof and now her spirit seems bound to the school grounds, along with
Brooke and Evan, two other teen ghosts who died there–but maybe if she
can solve the mystery of her apparent suicide they will all be able to
move on.

Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green: In the affluent seaside town of Echo Bay, Massachusetts, mysterious
dares sent to three very different girls–loner Sydney Morgan, Caitlin
“Angel” Thomas, and beautiful Tenley Reed–threaten both their
reputations and their lives.

Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon: Forcibly sucked into an abyss at the moment of their deaths, six
smarter-than-most teenagers wake up in a deadly, desolate future world,
where only one of them holds the key to getting everyone back home.

The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble: After dying in a car accident, fourteen-year-old Jenna’s older brother
returns as an angel to help Jenna solve a mystery that not only holds
the key to her survival, but also to their mother’s mysterious
depression and their father’s disappearance.

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry: When Cady wakes up, she
has no memory of who she is. All she knows is that there is a pillowcase
over her head and a person in the room has instructed another to “take
her out back and finish her off.” Cady must find a way to save herself.
But how can she do this when she doesn’t even know her name?

Like other genres we’ve focused on, there are many resources to turn to broaden your knowledge.

  • The Edgar Awards (given by the Mystery Writers of America) and the Agatha Awards are probably the two most well-known awards given to mystery novels, and they both feature young adult titles. The Edgar Awards guidelines are fairly broad, honoring books that are classified as mystery, crime, suspense, or intrigue. The Agatha Awards are noteworthy because they honor titles that are what they call “traditional mysteries” in the vein of Agatha Christie. To them, this means closed mysteries with no gratuitous sex, violence, or gore. This might make some of the adult titles honored suitable for younger readers as well.
  • The Crime Writers Association gives the Dagger Awards for crime writing. These aren’t necessarily mysteries, but many are, and most can at least be classified as thrillers. They do not give out an award for YA or children’s books, though some titles with crossover appeal have been honored (such as Alan Bradley in 2007).
  • I’m going to plug Fantastic Fiction again, since there are so many mystery series and this is the best resource I know of for keeping track of them accurately.
  • Generally speaking, all publishing houses publish mysteries and thrillers, though there are some imprints that specialize. Soho Teen, a newly launched imprint of independent publishing house Soho Press, is one of these, focusing on mysteries and thrillers for young adults. 
  • Sleuths, Spies, and Alibis is a new-to-us blog resource run by thirteen middle grade and YA authors who have books out in 2012 or 2013.