A Couple of Recommendations
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I also finished “Lipstick Apology,” which I loved, mainly because it reminded me of the type of writing I do—contemporary romance, but with a unique hook. Nice reason to love it, huh? But really, I would suggest this debut author as well.
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Thoughts on Form Letters
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Last week I received a request for my full manuscript from an agent. The difference from all the others I’ve ever received, however, was that it was very personal. The agent took the time to be very specific in what she liked about my book. In the past, not only have I gotten form rejections, but I’ve gotten form “request for more” emails. Even if this agent doesn’t end up taking me on, her email made my day (and my week, and month, maybe year!).
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Since I teach hundreds of online students at any given time, I know the value of a form email. I understand from an agent’s perspective—who is getting hundreds of submissions a day—why a form response is necessary. And I would definitely rather receive a form response than no response at all.
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But I do notice a huge difference from my students when I use a personal response. They are grateful, and it seems to make a difference in their attitude. It’s during those times that I realize how valuable a personal response can be.
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Of course I get that this isn’t always realistic. For those of us whose jobs include dealing with mass quantities of individuals, giving personal responses to everyone would be a joke—we’d never get anything done.
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But I do think that once in a while we should consider that we are not robots nor are the individuals on the other side of the computer robots, and personal responses can make a world of difference in their lives. While it’s not always possible, we should strive to make it happen when our gut tells us we should.

Just some thoughts for you today
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Have a great week!

“Along for the Ride” by Sarah Dessen

Info

Contemporary YA fiction (ages 12-19)
Viking, 2009 

Summary

Since Sarah Dessen is my favorite YA author, this was an easy and likable read for me. What I enjoyed most was that the characters were either about to start college or had been out of high school for a year or two, making it more interesting for readers who enjoy YA with college characters.

The story and characters were intriguing, and like all Dessen books, the plot keeps you interested, especially the romance. 

“Twenty Boy Summer” by Sarah Ockler

Info

Contemporary YA fiction (ages 12-19)
Little Brown, 2009 

Summary

I enjoyed this new author and couldn’t put this one down. The story follows a girl who has lost the guy she loves, and how she works through that—especially considering the guy she loved was her best friend’s brother. Wonderful characters and a page-turning plot.

I normally try to only say positive things about the books I read, but one thing bothered me about this book… the title. Because the title is “Twenty Boy Summer,” and the blurb on the back makes it sound like the main character seeks out twenty boys in order to get over her loss, that was what I expected. But instead she meets only a few guys and ends up seriously dating one of them. So as I read the book I kept waiting for her to date twenty guys, but it never happened. Still an awesome book, but totally threw me.

“If I Stay” by Gayle Forman

Info

Contemporary YA fiction (ages 12-19)
Penguin, 2009 

Summary

In this book a girl is in a car accident with her family and gets to decide whether she stays on earth without her family or if she dies along with her family. As she’s in the hospital, she’s in a state where she can see everything going on around her. She wrestles with staying and pursuing her dreams, or leaving earth to go be with her family. I really enjoyed the author’s voice on this one.

I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

The big story in publishing last week was Harlequin announcing it was launching a self-publishing side. Many authors and organizations (including RWA) are not too happy about it.

I have no problem with self-publishing provided that (1) the author has a platform—a sure way to sell the books, and (2) the author really, really, truly understands what he/she is getting into. The majority of the time, an author doesn’t meet both those criteria and things end up going a way they didn’t expect.

Times have been changing, especially with the economy and the Internet, so I think we need to know that these publishing companies are going to be changing as well. We can fight against it all we want (and we should to an extent), but it will still change. As for the companies, I feel they would be better off doing separate names, websites, etc… This would probably help the authors, editors, and the rest of the publishing community not get so upset. I think I did hear that Harlequin was considering changing the name of the new self-publishing imprint.

Book Reviews

“Story of a Girl” by Sara Zarr
2008
Little, Brown

I’m sorry to say that I have just now read my first Sara Zarr book. I have wanted to for awhile. “Story of a Girl” is a poignant tale of a girl who gets caught (by her dad!) having sex with an older guy when she was thirteen. Now, a few years later, she struggles through the pain and those who won’t forgive her (and the fact that she can’t forgive herself). A very fast read with a complex character. I look forward to reading more of Zarr’s books.

“When You Reach Me” by Rebecca Stead
2009
Random House

I hardly ever read Middle Grade. Actually, come to think of it, I never read MG. But I had heard good things about this one, so I thought I’d check it out. The story takes place in the 70s, and shows a girl dealing with her game show obsessed mom and the loss of her best friend. Along the way strange things are happening, and she starts getting notes from someone. I really enjoyed the mystery in this. It kept the pages turning for me. Compelling book with some good character development and interactions. I can’t tell much about it without giving the plot away. It’s gotten great reviews, and I suspect it will do well.

When Swift hosted Saturday Night Live last week, she was funny! Here is the video “Monologue” from that:

And her performance on SNL:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZU0KjdkBaM]

One more week until “New Moon”! Do you have your tickets yet? I do! (Yes, I’m way too excited about it).

I’ve been reading faster and more often these days, so I have two book reviews this week:

“Evermore” by Alyson Noel

St. Martin’s, 2009

Thoughts

I’m not usually a paranormal fan, but this reminded me somewhat of “Twilight.” It has a contemporary feel and a great love story with a lot of mystery that keeps you turning the pages. If you enjoy paranormal YA romance, I would recommend this author. This book is part of the “Immortals” series, and the second book (the sequence to “Evermore”) was released a couple of months ago.

“Lost It” By Kristen Tracy

Info

Simon Pulse, 2007

Thoughts

This contemporary YA is about a girl who loses her virginity, and the way she deals with it, along with her struggling family situation. The author has a great voice and style that keep you moving through the story. I liked the ending and how the character was changed even though we don’t quite know what will end up happening in her life.

Keep reading and have a great week!

Info                                                                      

Adult Contemporary Fiction
Washington Square Press

Summary

A small ordinary town is turned upside down with a teenage boy goes on a shooting rampage at his high school.

Thoughts

What I liked most about this book was that the author got deep into everyone’s point of view, including the parents of the teen who was the shooter. When a school shooting happens, we often don’t consider what it must be like for the parent of the shooter. I also liked that the book dealt with the problem of bullying. My emotions changed so much through the book; on the one hand, I was angry at the teen shooter for what he did, but on the other it was hard not to sympathize with him because of the intense bullying he suffered.

Even though this isn’t specially a teen book, I think teens would enjoy it. I read in an article that some schools have adapted parts of the book to use in their anti-bullying curriculum.

Through the entire read, I thought of Columbine, as I was just out of high school when it happened, and I remember it impacted me deeply. I often wondered about certain aspects of those involved in terms of psychology. Even though Picoult’s book is fiction, she did a lot of research, including interviewing those involved in previous U.S. high school shootings. This made the book feel more real and intense.

For an interesting read on what goes on in the minds of those involved when a school shooting occurs, I recommend Picoult’s book.

The Debutantes

http://community.livejournal.com/debut2009

This is a group of debut middle-grade and YA authors whose books will release this year. I enjoyed reading the summaries of their books. Here are the ones that I plan on picking up:

“Lipstick Apology” by Jennifer Jabaley. Razorbill.
Emily’s world falls apart when her parents die in a plane crash. To add to it, her mother had written the words “Emily please forgive me” in lipstick across the tray table. Emily must figure out what it means while also starting her new life.

“As You Wish” by Jackson Pearce. HarperTeen. Viola summons a young jinn out of his world and grants her three wishes. She deals with romantic complexities and the high school social scene.

• “Shadowed Summer” by Saundra Mitchell. Delacorte.
• One summer a boy disappears and no one knows what happened to him, though everyone has a theory. Ten years later, fourteen-year-old Rhame is determined to find out the truth.

“The Espressologist” by Kristina Springer. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Seventeen-year-old Jane can match-make couples based on their favorite coffee drinks (what she calls Espressology).  A local coffee shop uses her as a promotion and sales go crazy. But during an interview with local media Jane is faced with a dilemma—choose her own love or her business.

“Twenty Boy Summer” by Sarah Ockler. Little, Brown. Anna is going on a vacation and agrees with her friend to meet one boy everyday. What her friend doesn’t know is that Anna is holding secrets about what happened between her and her friend’s older brother last year before he died.

“Hate List” by Jennifer Brown. Little, Brown. Valerie’s boyfriend opens fire on his school. Valerie is hurt trying to save someone else, but is later implicated because she helped her boyfriend write a “hate list.” Now with her senior year in front of her, she must move on and work through the tragedy.

Info

YA Contemporary
Publisher: Viking
Age group: Mature YA

Summary

After being abandoned by her alcoholic mother, Ruby goes to live with her sister Cora whom she hasn’t seen in years. Through this new life and the new relationships that come her way, Ruby discovers she can give love and be loved.

Characters

I love rough-around-the-edges characters, so I enjoyed Ruby and trying to figure out who she is and if she can change. The boy she likes, Nate, is mysterious and complicated, though not at first glance. And more so than other Dessen books, I enjoyed the complexity of the sub-characters, including Ruby’s sister, brother-in-law, and boss at work.

Plot

The plot was intriguing and kept me turning the pages. I wanted Ruby to be happy and not return to her old life, and as the plot moves, my wishes happen, though not in the way I expected.

Thoughts

As noted in a previous blog this week, I was troubled by all the typos in this book. Dessen, however, is my favorite YA author so she can have all the typos she wants and I’ll still read every book she ever writes

“The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie

Info

YA (contemporary or perhaps literary…I saw one person label it as such
Publisher: Little, Brown
Age group: Mature YA

Summary

Arnold is a nerdy Spokane reservation kid who transfers to a white school to get a better education.

Characters

The characters are what make this book stand out. Arnold is funny, nerdy, witty, and sad all in one. You connect with him and feel for him the whole way through.

Plot

The story reads similar to a diary – following Arnold’s thoughts as he leaves his reservation to travel each day to an all-white school and the troubles he meets along the way.

Thoughts

This book has won numerous awards and I can see why. It is intriguing and has an amazing voice. Usually second-person doesn’t work for me, but it works here. The book has been somewhat controversial at schools because it has some vulgar content/language. For this reason, I labeled it mature YA even though the main character is fourteen. I know parents have a hard time finding YA for boys, and I think this is one that would be enjoyed by both girls and boys. It has a deep yet common coming-of-age theme, and makes you laugh all the way through.

I just finished “Lock and Key,” which, as usual, I enjoyed and couldn’t put down. However, one thing that bothered me was that there were numerous typos. I’m not just talking one or two commas that no one would notice—I’m talking glaring errors that made me stop and re-read the sentence numerous times so I could figure out what it was supposed to say.

I recently read an Editor’s Unleashed blog called “Is Editing Worth It?” in which the blogger discussed how many errors there were in the “Twilight” books, especially the later ones.

It got me thinking…what is going on with editing in publishing? Are the authors writing so quickly (because the publishers want to make money) that they aren’t editing their own work? Are publishers trying to spin out books so quickly that they aren’t having them edited as well? What role does editing play as an author before you are published and then later on when you are popping out numerous books?

For me, I would rather do my best to find every error I can find before it gets to any agent or editor’s desk. But still…I wonder if you get to that point where you don’t care as much, and does it even matter? Does the author lose credibility with these errors?

Just some thoughts today on editing

[polldaddy poll=1826934]

“Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher

Info

YA Cotemporary
Publisher: Razorbill

Summary

Clay Jensen receives a set of tapes from a girl who committed suicide. The tapes take him through her journey of what she went through before she died.

Characters

Excellent characterization. Clay is easily likable—even once you find out why he is part of the tapes. Even though Hannah is dead, her voice is so real you feel she is alive.

Plot

This is one of the quickest books I have ever read through—I could not put it down. The plot hooks you right away and you can’t stop reading.

Thoughts

This is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It sticks with you and it really makes you think about life and how you treat others. It is a must-read for every teen out there.

“Just Listen” by Sarah Dessen

Info

Contemporary YA
Publisher: Viking

Summary

Annabel Greene doesn’t like confrontation—you can see this in the way she interacts with her family, and when she can’t stand up to her ex-best friend who treats her like crap. But then she meets Owen and learns to confront her feelings, revealing a startling secret about her past which she must stand up to.

Characters

Annabel is great—many teens can probably relate to her because it’s easy to understand wanting to voice your opinion but not being able to. Owen is a little on the trouble side, but we love him because he’s trying to make it work—and he falls hard for Annabel.

Plot

I couldn’t put this book down. There are scenes that will forever be ingrained in my mind. The story not only shows us why it’s important to find our voice, but it also shows us the importance of speaking up when something bad happens to us.

Thoughts

If you can’t tell from my reading list, I am a huge Sarah Dessen fan. She is my favorite YA author. This book is thus far my favorite of all of her books. It’s powerful, engaging, and it changes the way you view the world.
“Cindy Ella” by Robin Palmer

Info

YA Romantic Comedy (contemporary)
Publisher: Speak

Summary

Cindy refuses to give into the prom fever infecting her L.A. school, so she writes an anti-prom letter to the editor. This makes everyone see her as evil, except her two friends and her new “online” friend. With almost everyone against her, will she get her own night to remember?

Characters

Cindy is adorable. I like her because she takes a stand for something she disagrees with. The rest of the characters are cliché and annoying. Her two wicked step-sisters are obsessed with L.A. culture and fashion. Even Cindy’s friends got on my nerves. But the two guys she crushes on are cute and stand-up dudes.

Plot

I really liked the plot—I especially enjoyed the mystery behind the online friend and who she discovers it really is in the end.

Thoughts

Every other line in this book is a cultural reference. It’s funny at first, but gets old very quickly. I liked the plot, but had a hard time concentrating because I was annoyed at all the references that were supposed to be funny. Still, I can imagine that teens will keep turning the pages to find out what happens with Cindy’s romantic life.