Teen Read Week booktalks

Back at the Mass Library Association meeting in May, a school librarian came in and was talking about the art of the booktalk, and how if you want to get into classrooms you need to take no more than 10 minutes, and ideally you can get through 20 books in that time. And then she did so.

And because I'm me, my first thought was, "Pff. I can do that."

Well, it took more than a month of writing, editing, reading, trimming, rehearsing, and re-trimming, but I more or less did, and it is NOT as easy as she made it look. 20 books in the high school, 20 other books for the middle school. Presentations ran between 10 and 13 minutes, depending how much time I had to fill, and I did it 16 times.

I give you the benefit of my supposed expertise. The lists have been uploaded (high school and middle school). I recommend spreading the love around over the entire month, and not offering to do them all in one week, even if you think response from teachers will be poor. The teachers will surprise you, and 20 of them will want presentations. You might get lucky and have all the sixth-grade teachers bring their kids to an assembly at once, if you consider presenting an assembly for 300+ kids "lucky."

And most importantly, did it work? I had 5 kids sign out books on the spot at the high school, and had requests for 6 other books during the week. A response of 11 kids for the ~600 or so I spoke to isn't great, but we're talking teens, so I'm considering it phenomenal. And I am finding the booklists I passed around in the library, many of them with stars or other markings next to several titles. It's a beginning. Now I just need to get the other 590 kids to connect with a book...

Teens Top 10

The Teens Top Ten books were announced today and I have to say, I'm slightly surprised. Kuedos to John Green for taking the top slot, but I have to admit that really shocked me, that and the presence of Frankie Landau Banks- which, quite frankly collects dust on my shelves. I'm glad to see a literary book win out over the paranormal stuff that has been dominating YA fiction (not that paranormal stuff isn't great, I read as much of it as my teens, but...). Nerdfighters are apparently a force to be reckoned with! What do you think of this year's choices? What are you surprised about not making the list?

1. Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin/Dutton)
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
7. Wake by Lisa McMann (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse)
8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast (St. Martin's Griffin)
9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (Disney-Hyperion)
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Packaging woes

To me, Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception is the perfect example of how a cover can make or break a book. Stiefvater's dark, edgy, tale of the fey is the perfect story for any teen currently devouring Melissa Marr or Holly Black with its blend of evil faeries, celtic lore, and romance. Sadly, cover A happens to be the cover that has been collecting dust in my library- despite the popularity of Marr and Black. Cover B is what arrived on my doorstep from the publisher- much more visually appealing to me, but does little to convey the aspects of the story that will market it to fans of the urban fey subgenre (though both the knife and the clovers are important story elements). To add insult to injury, rather than include a synopsis on the cover, the publisher put one sentence and then relies on snipets of reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and KLIATT singing its praises. Which is sad, because this book is really good and has the potential to be another title that teens rave about, but will they discover it without my recommending it? I'm not sure.

Every Soul a Star

So this one is a little bit on the young side, but I adore it. It's pretty rare that an author can squeeze in that much science without getting dull or preachy. The three characters are wonderfully different and I think they'd appeal to kids with a wide range of experiences.

Above all, the stories are not cheesy or contrived. They're very real with very real events.

I heart Wendy Mass.

Love is the Higher Law

Just finished this tonight and I'm wondering how much of my reaction to the novel was in response to my own experiences that day and the vividness of my memories. Will teens connect with the story in that same meaningful fashion- especially since they were most likely under the age of 10 at the time. How much did they understand about what was happening to remember so clearly where they were and what they saw? I think they understand and appreciate the significance of that day, but teens are so "in the moment", does 9-11 hold the meaning for them that it does for us as adults?

I want a Catching Fire Shirt!!!

http://www.libraryloungelizard.com/2009/08/awesome-contest.html

After the Moment

I just finished this book and I have to say that I'm a bit disturbed. I know that the story was mostly written from the boy's perspective, but I'm having a hard time swallowing the fact that Maia just walked away from being raped... and is somehow healthier even though she refuses to acknowledge that it happened. How could someone with an eating disorder just walk away from something like that unscathed?!

I didn't really buy into the romance in the first place... it seemed forced... but the arc of the story was just lacking. I really felt like it was missing some resolution.

I was disappointed.