Posts Tagged "Top Shelf Tues"
Top Shelf Tues: #rockthedrop is coming!
You guys! Support Teen Lit Day is THIS THURSDAY and in celebration, the Readergirlz and figment.com will be rocking the drop! Who’s in? Details here.
Top Shelf Tues: NYC Teen Author Fest is here!
That’s right, folks! And it’s running all this week! I’ll be participating in the Great Read on Thursday, and on Sunday, I’ll be at the Books of Wonder Mega Signing. Details for both to be found here, and I’d love to see you! But in the meantime, be sure and check out all of the amazing programming going on all week long!
Top Shelf Tues: Get Ready to Rock the Drop!
Once again, readergirlz and Figment are going to ROCK THE DROP in honor of Support Teen Lit Day, 4/12/12. Why not join us?
Here’s how you can get involved:
*Snag the below bookplate, created by the uber-talented David Ostow and add it to your blog and social networks, linking back to this post to share the love. Proclaim that you will ROCK THE DROP!
*Print a copy of the bookplate and insert it into a book (or 10!) to drop on April 12th. Drop a book in a public spot (park bench, bus seat, restaurant counter?). Lucky finders will see that the book is part of ROCK THE DROP!*Plan to snap a photo and post it at the readergirlz facebook page. Then tweet the drop at #rockthedrop with all the other lovers of YA books.
Top Shelf Tues: Teen Author Reading Night tomorrow and more!
*Hey! I’ve finally updated my events page – because I have an event tomorrow! If you’re in the NYC area, I’d love to see you there!
*Today marks the kickoff of NaNoWriMo (though sadly, I won’t be participating, as my deadlines are out of sync). GalleyCat will be offering a nano tip a day throughout the month for those of you blazing the trail.
*Former student Alecia Whitaker gets her second rave review for the forthcoming Queen of Kentucky.
*And speaking of upcoming releases, check out the trailer for Lynn Weingarten’s Secret Sisterhood of Heartbreakers!
Happy reading, people!
Top Shelf Tuesday: #ISupportShine
My own feelings about Shine (which I loved) aside, I can’t believe the way in which the NBA YA noms were handled, and I’m impressed by Lauren Myracle’s continued grace throughout the drama. Lauren is a fellow alumn of Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a supporter and blurber of my own family, in addition to being a wonderful writer who has crossed the commercial/literary divide easily and capably. Support SHINE on twitter with the above hashtag. It’s a worthy book, awards or no.
Some relevant links to the meshugas:
Top Shelf Tuesday: Support Banned Books Week
Via GalleyCat:
As readers around the country celebrate Banned Books Week, The Huffington Post has created a massive infographic with excerpts from the top ten of the 348 books that were threatened in school libraries or curriculum last year.
Top Ten Banned Or Challenged Books Of 2010
1. And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
4. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
6. Lush by Natasha Friend
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones
8. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich
9. Revolutionary Voices edited by Amy Sonnie
10. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Some of my personal favorites on this list. Gotta say, it kinda makes me proud.
Support banned books, yo.
Top Shelf Tuesday: AS King’s “Everybody Sees the Ants”
Currently reading and loving.
A.S. King is a singular writer, and Everybody Sees the Ants
Lucky Linderman didn’t ask for his life. He didn’t ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn’t ask for a father who never got over it. He didn’t ask for a mother who keeps pretending their dysfunctional family is fine. And he didn’t ask to be the target of Nader McMillan’s relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far.
But Lucky has a secret–one that helps him wade through the daily mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos–the prison his grandfather couldn’t escape–where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It’s dangerous and wild, and it’s a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?
“Blending magic and realism, this is a subtly written, profoundly honest novel about a kid falling through the cracks and pulling himself back up.” (Booklist, starred review)
Read it, people. 
Top Shelf Tues: HVYAS event with Nova Ren Suma!
Normally, Top Shelf Tuesday is where I catch people up on what I’ve been reading, but if you came to Oblong Books to see me read alongside Nova Ren Suma this past Sunday, then you already know!*
Those of you who follow @Literaticat on twitter are probably already familiar with her young adult reading series (and if you’re not, you should be!), so I shouldn’t have to tell you that it was a real thrill to be included in her line-up. It was particularly special to be reading and presenting alongside Nova. Nova and I first met when we were working as a copyeditor and book editor, respectively, at a children’s publishing imprint, and we quickly bonded over our “secret” writing aspirations. We shared early frustrations, and were around to celebrate big-time triumphs. These days, we’re both riding the highs and lows of finishing up the second manuscripts on our book contracts, which we often do together, with the aid of much caffeine and baked goods. It goes without saying I’m a HUGE fan of her work.
Thanks again to everyone who came out to chat with us about all things young adult. And thanks to Oblong for having us!
(*I Am the Cheese, Robert Cormier)
Top Shelf Tuesday
What I’m reading and loving this week.
Carol Lynch Williams’ Miles from Ordinary:
Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is supposed to start work at the grocery store. Lacey hopes that her mother’s ghosts have finally been laid to rest; after all, she seems so much better these days, and they really do need the money. But as the hours tick by and memories come flooding back, a day full of hope spins terrifyingly out of control….
It was always Aunt Linda who saved the day whenever Lacey’s mentally ill mother had a bad spell. Now that Linda’s moved away, it’s up to Lacey to keep things on an even keel and find a way to save the family from financial ruin. The 13-year-old narrator gains hope when her mother takes a job as a grocery cashier, but her mother’s first day of work at Winn-Dixie becomes a nightmare after Lacey discovers her mother has walked away from her job. In a novel spanning a mere 24 hours, Williams takes readers on an emotional roller-coaster ride as she traces Lacey’s memories of childhood traumas, her desperate attempt to locate her mother, and the depths of her mother’s sickness…Tautly written psychological horror. — PW
Top Shelf Tuesday
Check it out, folks — family gets a mention in I Heart Daily, alongside two of my FAVE releases of the season, Nova Ren Suma’s IMAGINARY GIRLS, and Tara Altebrando’s DREAMLAND SOCIAL CLUB. What fabu company my book keeps!
What are the I Heart gals saying about my little old book? Here’s a snippet:
This story in episodic verse leads you lightly down a path that will, eventually, scare you out of your mind.
Well, thanks, ladies! I aim to please!
What’s that you say? You just haven’t had enough Nova Ren Suma for the day? I don’t blame you. Why not head over to The Contemps, where you can check out my feature on IMAGINARY GIRLS, and join the conversation about magical realism in contemporary fiction? And why not watch the trailer while you’re at it?