Tripping Over November

Nov 7

New books that are out or on their way this month! I know that this one is a *little* late, and in the future it is definitely my intent to get this post up much closer to the first of each month, but there’s still TONS of great books coming out in November! So, better late than never! As much as I would love to include all of the books coming out each month, though, I’m going to keep it to highly anticipated, buzzy, awesome-sounding titles, at least for now.

So, with the business of this post out of the way, let’s get to the books! There are truly some good ones coming your way soon (if they’re not out there already)!

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In My Mailbox (1)

Nov 6

In My MailboxNovember 6, 2011

Let’s see what I’m going to be adding to my already toppling piles of books this week! Click on the book covers to visit each title’s Goodreads page.

FROM NETGALLEY

Ditched, by Robin Mellom

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Ashfall, by Mike Mullin

The Way We Fall, by Melissa Crewe

FROM THE LIBRARY

Wildwood Dancing, by Juliet Marillier

Tighter, by Adele Griffin

Entwined, by Heather Dixon

Wicked Girls, by Stephanie Hemphill

The Poison Throne, by Celine Kiernan

East, by Edith Pattou

Pants on Fire, by Meg Cabot

I’m excited about all of them!! What did you guys get this week?

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YA saves

Nov 2


So, I know that this hashtag was incredibly popular among the bookish set over the summer, but the passing of time certainly doesn’t diminish the issue of what YA literature means to teenager culture in the United States and elsewhere. Nor does it make the discussion of why exactly “YA saves” untimely, no matter when it comes up. It’s so important that young people have sources for information that will help cushion whatever falls they will have as they grow. Teens and kids today have to deal with so much negative, difficult stuff from their parents, their teachers, their friends (hello, Mean Girls! That movie might have been fiction, but the idea is real), culture at large, and–in the biggest way–themselves. I can’t fathom why (well, unfortunately, I can fathom why, but I don’t agree) anyone would want to discourage young people from finding communities in the books they read, so that they don’t feel so out of the ordinary in their troubles. How many times as an adult do I hear and say, when something has disappointed me or gone wrong, “You aren’t the only one who has dealt with this and made it through”? This is the lesson and the wisdom that young adult literature teaches, and I would have died to have had it when I was younger. Growing up, I had very little YA to guide me, entertain me, explain things I was too embarrassed to discuss, give me things to dream about and consider. To expose me to things that I didn’t understand about the world but that I needed to know. Now that I’m reading YA so often, I find myself relearning and solidifying those things that I picked up elsewhere, and I’m envious.

Back when this issue was really at the fore, I wrote up a little something about what YA means to me, an adult, and what I hoped young people knew about the literature that is out there for them, but I had nowhere to put it! I really want to share it now because I think demeaning the importance of YA and censoring teens from books that are about less than happy things is so sad and dreadful, and promoting young adult books is never irrelevant.

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Hello dears!

Oct 29

First post!! I’m both excited and nervous. And having odd feelings about who I think I am to be blogging about my opinions, as if other people might read them ever and actually care a little bit about them….Aaaaaaannnnnnddd I’m over it. 🙂 Sort of. But I think that one of my favorite things about YA literature is not just the books themselves, which are so honest, creative, and thought-provoking, but the communities. The communities of writers, bloggers, readers, librarians, teachers, all mingling together, talking to each other, learning from each other, and always spreading the word about how YA books are tremendous. Of all the things I’m feeling about the start of my blog, I’m also feeling eager to meet people and gush or gripe over books together. It’s going to be great.

So I wish for this blog to be a place where I can set down my thoughts on the books I read and the books I want to read and any other ridiculata about books or being bookish or being a librarian or being a nerd I can think of. But we’ll go with the flow, too. Anything goes! So if sometimes I feel like I need to vent a little about something else, I’ll trust my blog and those brave souls who read her to vent with me and accept me like an old, dear friend. You know, the best kind. And I hope that my blog and I will be the same kind of friend to you all, too. Mostly, though, my posts are going to be about what I love and have loved for so long: the books. Reviews, discussion of issues in young adult literature, books that are coming soon, books that come from large publishers and small, probably some memes, hopefully someday soon author reviews and contests, all of it. So, starting soon it’ll be a book love-fest here! It’ll be fantastic, fun, (hopefully!) thought-provoking, and humorous. Welcome, friends!

I hope that you’ll bear with me as a I get everything set up and moving along. I’m so excited to be here with you all!! Until I speak to you again, though, here’s a great quote I found about starting something new. I love it. (I love quotes, btw, and you’ll probably see lots of them here, just because I think they’re wonderful!)

“I watch out my window as the planes take off into space. Oh, that I could fly away and start fresh. But I must realize that fresh starts also come in the pretty wrapped gift called ‘tomorrow.’” –unknown

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