I’m so thrilled about the release of Rebecca Stead’s new novel, When You Reach Me. This enchanting tale of 1970s New York City is nearly undescribable for fear of giving away too much delightful information. Here’s what I can say: the story starts with a note from an unknown subject, which mostly terrifies Miranda and her 
mother. Recently shunned by her friend and neighbor Sal – the boy she’s grown to know almost like a brother – Miranda is also dealing with the ramifications of being the poor kid at a school full of privileged students. It frequently references an unnamed classic of children’s literature (I’d hate tell you which one and ruin the fun of figuring it out). It has so much to say about what we think we know about the people around us – and even more about the mysteries of the human experience. When You Reach Me is a wonderful, funny, and poignant story of love, friendship, family, and some other things I simply can’t tell you about. It is, however, a book you won’t be able to put down, even once you’ve finished.
The other book I’m super excited about this month is actually non-fiction. But we all need a little dose of reality sometimes, right? The Word Snoop is an awesome non-fiction account of the English language. 
It’s everything you ever wanted to know about the origins of our language right up through the (often bizarre) slang we use today. Written by Ursula Dubosarsky and beautifully illustrated by Tohby Riddle, The Word Snoop talks about ancient alphabets and modern idioms, Shakespeare, anagrams, palindromes and more! Fun for writers, trivia collectors, codebreakers, language nerds (ooh, me!), and any kid with a curious streak. If you ever had a question about the English language, you can bet the Word Snoop has the answer. But why take my word for it? Check out this amazing title, with all its delicious information, and see for yourself! To tide you over until you can get to BookPeople, take a look at The Word Snoop’s blog!
Posted in Nonfiction, Staff Rec - Emily, Staff Recommendations | Tagged 1970s, book reviews, chapter books, english, etymology, first life, kids, language, linguistics, mg, middle grade, midgrade, nonfiction, nyc, rebecca stead, the word snoop, tohby riddle, ursula dubosarsky, when you reach me, word snoop | Leave a Comment »
So you may have heard that this Saturday, July 11th, we’re hosting not one but TWO book release parties in BookKids. Holy Crap! Immediately I thought it would be fun to interview these snazzy authors for The BookKids Blog. But then I saw the light – why do two interviews when one would be more fun? Immediately I hit the email and convinced these two Austinites to interview each other. The results are no less than entertaining, and certainly informative. Read below to learn everything you ever wanted to know about Chris Barton and K.A. Holt. . .and probably a few things you didn’t. . .
Chris Barton: There’s a ZOINKS! KABANG! YOWZA
! vibe on your website, but you’ve also published a book of haiku – Haiku Mama: (because 17 syllables is all you have time to read. Care to do a little explaining about your literary influences?
K. A. Holt: I imagine it doesn’t come as a surprise to say my literary influences are far and wide… from Brian K. Vaughn to Richard Matheson, to Harper Lee and Judy Blume and Choose Your Own Adventure novels. I’ve always enjoyed fast-paced, real-but-not-real books that evoke a visceral kind of response. Whether it’s from being scared, embarrassed, excited, empathetic or thrilled, I love it when a book will make my heart thump and my brain whirl at the same time. When I was in middle school, the kids would tease me for reading “kid books” like Roald Dahl while they were parsing their way through The Stand. But you know, The BFG and The Witches totally kick post-apocalyptic infectious disease’s butt. Books that are written for kids are just as action-packed and thought-provoking as titillating grown-up books – sometimes more. I’m happy to still often prefer – and be influenced by – middle grade and YA books.
KAH: OK, your turn! First, I want to say Hey! I wrote for the Daily Texan, too. Cool. Second, I want to say Hey! I wrote a book in elementary school, too. It was called Me and Marty, and it was about a dinosaur/alien hybrid who was named after cumulonimbus clouds and that’s about all I can remember right now. So. In perusing your site I see that from inception to completion it took about 8 years for you to get The Day-Glo Brothers out on bookshelves. Did you spend that whole time writing and revising? How many drafts did you have? As the 8 years have gone by has it seemed like a very long time to you, or did it fly by? Inquiring minds want to know!
CB: I joke that I spent all eight years researching and writing and revising, because for a 44-page book, that comes out to 5 1/2 pages per year, and that would just be sad. But it was during the first three years that the manuscript mostly took shape – a very large, ungainly shape that at one point tipped the sca
les at 6,200 words, which is completely ridiculous for a picture book and made it all the harder to find a publisher who could see what a fun picture book Bob and Joe Switzer’s story could be. I lost count of how many drafts there were, because the basic structure of the story never changed – it was just a process of shedding a 500-word anecdote here, a 1,000-word tangent there. My publisher, Charlesbridge, made an offer on the book the same day as the vice-presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I saw the first printed pages from the book on the day when I voted in the 2008 election. (I voted early, though, so it’s not as long as it sounds.) There were several months in there where I was actively revising, making more surgical changes — my editor thought it might not be so good to stop the narrative cold, not once but twice, with scientific explanations. But most of the past five years, I spent waiting for my turn to come up in Charlesbridge’s publishing schedule, waiting for the selection of the illustrator and the completion of his work, and meanwhile moving on and working on other projects. Those eight years did seem to drag on at times while I was in the midst of them, but now that they’re behind me, it’s as if they flew past. I look at my 10-year-old son and can’t believe that he was two when I started. Or that I was in my 20s.
CB: And now that we’re on the topic of kids: You’ve got some, too. Are they so used to Mom being a writer that they’re blasé about the release of Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel, or are they as excited as you are?
KAH: Kids, kids, kids… I have three of them (despite the fact that the Mike Stellar book jacket tells me I have two). My oldest son is 7, my daughter is 3 and my youngest son is almost a year old (though his age is 7 months, adjusted – he was born 3 months early). Our household is an action-packed flurry of running, screeching, pooping, playing, doctoring, talking and eating. It’s a non-stop high-drama extravaganza of insanity. F
or real. My son Sam – the 7-year-old – is very excited about the book. I read it to him as soon as the galleys arrived and I was thrilled that it was as exciting for him to listen to as it was for me to write. Technically, he’s still younger than the target age-range, but I love that he was still entertained, and that when he’s older he will hopefully be entertained by it on other levels. Whenever we have anyone visit the house, he will run grab a copy of the book and wave it around. When we go to bookstores he announces that we’re there to look for copies of his mom’s book. (I shamelessly troll local bookstores stalking out copies of the book and asking managers to order it if it isn’t there). Sam is really the best publicist a writer could want. I’ve tried talking him into dressing up as Mike Stellar for the book launch, so that people could have their picture made with him. But I think that might be a little over the top. He claims it would be too embarrassing. However, if I come home one day with an astronaut costume, I might be able to persuade him. My daughter, Georgia, is still pretty young to know exactly what’s going on, but she has an eagle-eye for the cover art. If I’m online and she sees the book she will holler out, “That’s your book!” She does that in bookstores, and at people’s houses too. Ike, the baby, enjoys finding copies laying around and eating them. Who can blame him, really?
KAH: OK – next question for you! It looks like you have some really cool presentations for schools and camps and things like that. Do you enjoy teaching and/or public speaking? When you were writing the book did you think about how you would talk to kids about it? What will you do if you get heckled?
CB: I guess we’re about to find out how much I enjoy them. I’m naturally something of an introvert, but that gets turned inside-out when I’m around a bunch of people who care about something I care a lot about. I get really energetic and enthusiastic abou
t it, and so I’ve got many years of pent-up, energetic enthusiasm for the subjects of daylight fluorescence, and biography-writing, and slogging through rejection letters to make this book happen. As for how I’d talk with kids about The Day-Glo Brothers, the one thing I was sure of throughout the process of writing this book was that, at the very least, I could have some attention-getting props. And the only other thing I’m sure of now is that kids are going to stump me. They’re going to ask me questions about the Switzers or the science that — for all the time I’ve spent on this story – have never, ever occurred to me. And as much as I’m going to wish that one of my props was a Day-Glo jetpack that I could use to just blast right out of there, I’m going to fight the urge to flee, and instead I’m going to answer, “I don’t know. How do you think we would go about finding out?” Geez, Kari – hecklers? We have to worry about hecklers? Now you tell me. All I can do about that is take these author appearances one at a time, starting with the launch party. And if I have to deal with a heckler there, I’ll just tell whichever one of my sons it is that he’s grounded.
Thanks so much to Chris and Kari for blogging on our behalf! We hope that all you Austinites will be here on Saturday to celebrate the rlease of these two local authors’ books! Chris’s party is at 1:00pm and Kari’s is at 6:00pm. Come enjoy some great new books from your very own community! Be there!
Posted in Author Interviews, Chapter Books, Events, Nonfiction, Picture Books | Leave a Comment »
The Homeschool Liberation League by Lucy Frank (available July 9)*
Anyone who’s ever been to middle school has, at least once, felt the dread of waking up in the morning, knowing it won’t be long before you walk through the front doors of a prison-esque humiliatorium designed to stupefy and bore. Kaitlyn – now calling herself “Katya” – has had enough. This will be the year she escapes the dull classes of MVB Middle School (which have lead her to some, er, creative trouble-making). Inspired by her wilderness camp experience with homeschooled friend Rosie and mentor Dmitri (who coined her new Katya moniker), she is going to design her own coursework, à la her summer at wilderness camp. Her parents need convincing, though – school is not camp, and their idea of homeschooling is just as rigid as MVB! When Katya meets a homeschooled boy (a very cute, very talented homeschooled boy named Milo) who would give anything to live a normal life at a regular high school, she starts to reconsider her angle. With the help of her new friend Francesca and new crush Milo, Katya stumbles into the Homeschool Liberation League. This sweet, funny novel makes for great summer reading, and will surely inspire many teens to discover a Homeschool Liberation League of their own.
Crash Into Me by Albert Borris (available July 7)*
This somber debut is a real punch in the gut. Four teens in a suicide pact – or pack, as they’ve named themselves “The Suicide Dogs” – met online and have taken off for one last road trip. The itinerary? To visit the sites and graves of famous suicides across the country before taking their own lives in two weeks. Each teen has chosen one suicide – Anne Sexton, Ernest Hemingway, Kurt Cobain, Hunter S. Thompson – and throughout their journey they plan to stumble upon as many others as they can. Owen has the laptop filled with plans and research. But what he doesn’t know, and can’t predict, is the bond that he will form with the three other lost souls with whom he is sharing the confined space of a car. While this book is not for the faint of heart, it is a terribly well-written narrative that is sure to speak to many, many teens who have struggled with the issues that Owen, Audrey, Frank, and Jin-Ae are determined to put behind them. Crash Into Me is a remarkable debut, and I look forward to reading more from Albert Borris.
Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart (available now!)
To label this as a novel about loss is a gross misrepresentation that does Beth Kephart’s latest no justice at all. To think of it as another grieving daughter story or an issues book takes so much away from this multi-layered narrative. Nothing But Ghosts is as much a mystery about the town in which Katie D’Amore lives, the woman she works for but has never seen nor spoken to, her father’s genius and the painting he’s restoring, and the blossoming of new relationships as it is a mystery of personal loss. As Katie remembers her mother’s final days, their trip to Barcelona before she was diagnosed, her childhood, spending time with friends before she began ignoring them (avoiding their questions about her mother), she is evolving. Where many young adult novels lay aside the adult characters to focus solely on the teens, Kephart has created a father for Katie who is as 3-dimensional as the hand in front of your face. The buildings are characters too – the libary, the D’Amores’ home, Miss Martine’s estate – they all live and breathe life into a story that cannot be laid to rest even after you’ve turned the last page. I urge you: pick up this book, enjoy it.
*release dates are subject to change and BookPeople may not always receive the book on the day of release, depending on shipments. You can always call to check whether or not the book you want is in, or stop by BookKids in person and ask!
Posted in Staff Rec - Emily, Staff Recommendations, Teen Books | Tagged albert boris, beth kephart, book reviews, bookkids, Bookpeople, councelor, crash into me, depression, drama, edgy fiction, famous suicides, grief, home schooling, homeschooling, loss, lucy frank, mental illness, middle school, mystery, nothing but ghosts, self harm, suicide, Teen books, teen fiction, teens, the homeschool liberation league, ya, young adult | 2 Comments »
With school days behind you, it’s time to sit back, relax, and catch up with your favorite fictional characters! In the land of teen literature, there are a bunch of brand-new sequels already available, as well as a few getting ready to hit our shelves very soon. If you need to know what happens next, check out these new and upcoming releases from some of BookPeople’s favorite teen series! (PS, the two first books on this list are my personal two top summer sequel picks! Enjoy!)
Dead is So Last Year by Marlene Perez
In this thrilling conclusion the the Dead… trilogy, the psychic Giordano sisters have their family bonds put to the test when Doppelgangers invade nightshade. At first it seems like it might be all in Daisy’s head – but then their father, who disappeared years before, is spotted in town. And Rose’s boss, Dr. Franken, has been acting strangely. To make matters worse, Daisy’s loyal boyfriend Ryan has been exhibiting some bizarre traits, and has gotten suddenly buff! Could it be his training regimen for the football team, or are the high school athletes into something more dangerous than lifting weights? This fun, light series is perfect beach reading if you like things a little supernatural, and Dead Is So Last Year is the perfect wrap-up!
ghost
girl: Homecoming by Tonya Hurley
Attention Goths, gouls, and undead cheerleader wannabes – the much-anticipated sequel to ghostgirl is now available! In the follow-up to Tonya Hurley’s best-selling debut, Charlotte Usher is struggling with her new un-life. After passing “Dead Ed,” she and her classmates are assigned to a phonebank, acting as a heavenly conscience for troubled teens. But her phone never seems to ring, her friends seem to be ingnoring her, and her new room mate, Maddy, is strange at best. Most of all, she misses her BFF, Scarlet, who is still alive. But when Scarlet’s sister, Petula, gets an infection from her pedicure and ends up in a coma, Scarlet is positive that Charlotte is her sister’s last hope. Together the girls must find a way to help the comatose cheerleader – but only if Maddy doesn’t get in the way. ghostgirl fans will adore this hilarious second novel, and will soon be clamoring for a third. Don’t miss it!
Fashionista by Micol Ostow (avalable August 25)*
In her second installment of the Bradford series, Micol Ostow keeps on high. With secrets and lies floating in every direction, the ruling juniors of Bradford Prep are in for a wild year. Told in the form of blogs and other electronic correspondence, Ostow’s Bradford series presents the epistolary novel for the 21st century. Curious? Check out the lowdown on Bradford Prep and read the character’s blogs at www.bradfordprep.com!
Tenth Grade Bleeds by Heather Brewer
The third book in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod has just arrived! Teenage vampires rejoice! As you may have guessed, this follows Vlad into his tenth grade year, as he navigates the troubling seas of high school. Of course, Vlad still wishes he could just be a regular guy, but his urges are getting harder to resist. And then there’s the evil vampire that’s on his tail. No fun at all!
Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
The Gallagher Girls are at it again in this thrilling third installment of Ally Carter’s best-selling series! This the ladies are in Boston, where Cammie is visiting Macey on their break. But nothing is ever quiet for Gallagher Girls, or so it seems when they inadvertently wind up in the middle of a kidnapper’s plot. With their junior year starting, no one is feeling completely safe at the Gallagher Academy. But they are super-spies after all. And if they have to use their deadly training to protect their sisters, you can bet the Gallagher Girls will! (PS, we have SIGNED COPIES of all of Ally Carter’s books right now! Hurry in to get one before they’re gone!)
Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters
This clamored-for sequel to Generation Dead resuscitates our favorite characters – Phoebe, Tommy, and Adam – in a love triangle that shouldn’t even exist. Tommy and Adam are supposed to be dead. And with the world still unsure about what to do with their “newlydead” population, Oakdale continues to deal with issues of hate, confusion, segregation, and mistrust. Daniel Waters‘ world that both perverts and reflects the the American high school experience. The Generation Dead books are as much fun to read as they are a dose of reality.
The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart (available July 28)*
If you’ve been following Ruby Oliver over the years, you’re in for a treat! E. Lockhart has written a third novel for the series, and it hits shelves very soon! In this installment Ruby continues to struggle in the state of Noboyfriend, but is also watching her reputation at Tate Prep tank with rumors flying every which way. Sure to be a fun, funny ride, The Treasure Map Of Boys should be great relief for any summer blues.
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
In her follow-up to Wicked Lovely, Melissa Marr brings us back to the romance of Seth and Aislinn – a girl who is now the Summer Queen. But her partnership with Keenan is proving troublesome, especially with Keenan always insistent on doing things his own way. And being so ridiculously attractive. Of course, Seth has his own doubts, too. He is a mortal man – how could he ever compete with a fairy king? And Aislinn will never become old and gray. Much like with her other novels, Fragile Eternity has left fans begging for more. (PS, we have SIGNED COPIES available! Hurry in to get yours!)
*release dates are subject to change and BookPeople may not always receive the book on the day of release, depending on shipments. You can always call to check whether or not the book you want is in, or stop by BookKids in person and ask!
Posted in Staff Rec - Emily, Staff Recommendations, Teen Books | Tagged ally carter, book reviews, bookkids, Bookpeople, bradford, bradford prep, charlotte usher, chronicles of vladimir tod, comedy, dead is a state of mind, dead is so last year, dead is the new black, dead trilogy, dead... books, don't judge a girl, don't judge a girl by her cover, drama, e. lockhart, fairies, fantasy, fashion, fashionista, fey faery, fragile eternity, gallagher girls, generation dead, generation dead kiss of life, ghostgirl, ghostgirl homecoming, ghosts, goth, gothic, graphia, harcourt, heather brewer, high school, high society, homecoming, i'd tell you i love you but then i'd have to kill you, ink exchange, kiss of life, little brown, marlene perez, melissa marr, micol ostow, mysteries, mystery, mystery books, noboyfriend, romance, sci fi, sequels, series, supernatural, Teen books, teen fiction, teen series, tenth grade bleeds, the boy book, the boyfriend list, the treasure map of boys, tonya hurley, vampires, vladimir tod, werewolves, wicked lovely, ya, YA Literature, young adult, zombies | 1 Comment »
On Day 4 of our awesome author reviews, we’ve got local sensation April Lurie, the fabulous writer of comics and novels, Sara Ryan, and debut author Martin Wilson. Enjoy!
APRIL LURIE on SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU by Peter Cameron
Isn’t that an amazing title? When I heard it, I had to read it. And I’m so glad I did. The story is set in Manhattan, and our narrator, Ja mes Svek, is like a presen
t day Holden Caulfield. James is cynical, hilarious, witty, and a keen observer of human behavior. And he’s gay. It’s the summer before his freshman year of college and he’s not sure he wants to attend. He says, “I don
‘t like people in general and people my age in particular, and people my age are the ones who go to college.” James is working in an art gallery for the summer and develops a crush on John, the manager. And because James doesn’t know how to express his feelings, he poses online as a perfect match for John and arranges a date. This encounter doesn’t go as planned, and James discovers that he has a lot to learn about relationships. Comical and poignant, this story is a winner.
April Lurie is the author of many books for children and young adults, including Brothers, Boyfriends, and Other Criminal Minds, The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine and, coming in January, The Less-Dead
SARA RYAN on SKIM by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
I couldn’t decide which I liked more: Mariko’s smart narrative (”You can tell when Lisa’s nervous because she acts like I’m an idiot,” “It feels like there’s a broken washing machine in my chest, or a cartoon alarm clock”) or Jillian’s elegant drawings. I’m excited to see more from them, 
together or separately. Read this Sequential Art interview to find out more about creators Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (they’re cousins). You can download a PDF preview from Jillian’s site.
SARA RYAN on AWKWARD and DEFINITION, POTENTIAL and LIKEWISE by Ariel Schrag
I started reading Ariel Schrag’s autobiographical comics when she was publishing them sequentially while she 
was in high school. Now they’ve been collected into three graphic novels: Awkward & Definition (freshman & sophomore years), Potential (junior year), and Likewise (senior year). She drew the comics as she was living the dramas, and her honesty, humor, and relentless self-analysis are not to be missed.
Sara Ryan is the author of the comic series Flytrap and the young adult books Empress of the World and The Rules for Hearts.
MARTIN WILSON on I’LL GET THERE. IT BETTER BE WORTH THE TRIP. by John Donovan
Sadly, this book – one of my favorite gay YA novels – is out of print. It was actually the very first YA novel to
directly deal with homosexuality.
Donovan’s editor was the legendary Ursula Nordstrom, and it took a lot of courage for her to publish this novel in 1969, the same year as Stonewall. It’s the story of Davy Ross, who loses his caretaker grandmother and has to move to New York City to live with his neurotic divorced mother. He soon strikes up a friendship with a classmate–a friendship that slowly and subtly develops into something more. Davy has a wry, winning voice that is hard not to fall in love with. Forty years later, I think
I’ll Get There. It Better Be 
Worth the Trip. holds up. It’s worth hunting for online or at used bookstores!
MARTIN WILSON on THE FOLDED LEAF by William Maxwell
Though not officially a YA novel, I think gay and gay-friendly teens will love Maxwell’s sensitive and beautifully written novel about the fraught friendship between two boys in the 1920s in Illinois. It is one of my favorite novels of all time.
Posted in Adult Books for Teens & Kids, Author Interviews, Banned Books, Communtiy Recommendations, Graphic Novels & Comics, Teen Books | Tagged april lurie, ariel schrag, awkward and definition, brothers boyfriends and other criminal minds, ellen wittlinger, empress of the world, gay, gay pride, gay teens, graphic novels, james svek, jillian tamaki, lesbian, LGBT, LGBTQ, likewise, mariko tamaki, parrotfish, peter cameron, potential, pride month, queer, sara ryan, skim, someday this pain will be useful to you, teen, the latent powers of dylan fontaine, the less-dead, the rules for hearts, trans, transgender, ya, young adult, Young Adult books | Leave a Comment »
We’re excited to welcome the star of MTV’s The Hills to BookPeople! Lauren Conrad will be here with her debut 
novel, L.A. Candy for an event starting at 2pm. The book is loosely based on Lauren’s own experiences, following the story of 19-year-old girl named Jane Roberts who moves to L.A. and unexpectedly becomes the star of a reality television show. This will be the first in a three-book series. Come meet the fabulous Lauren and get your book autographed! The event will involve a short presentation, a Q&A session and, of course, a booksigning.
To keep things running smoothly with such a superstar in our midst, here are some event guidelines:
- Lauren will not be personalizing books.
- No signing of memorabilia or body parts.
- Photos are permitted, but no posed photos.
- Lauren will sign as many copies of her book as you want!
This will be a ticketed event. We will start handing out the tickets (tickets for the signing line) starting at 12:30PM the day of the event. You will get your ticket when you buy your copy of L.A. Candy at BookPeople. This is sure to be a fabulous event, so make sure you’re here!
Posted in Events, Teen Books | Tagged fame, fashion, hollywood, l.a., l.a. candy, la candy, lauren conrad, lc, los angeles, mtv, star, the hills | 1 Comment »
Day 3 of our LGBT Blogstravaganza brings a special post from Garret Freymann-Weyr, 
who really went all out writing these reviews. I mean, wow, how can you NOT read these books after reading what she has to say? She’s chosen to review one non-YA title and one YA title, but I think you’ll agree that both sound amazing. Garret Freymann-Weyr is the author of many books for young adults, including the Printz Honor book My Heartbeat, Stay With Me, The Kings Are Already Here, and her latest, After the Moment.
GARRET FREYMANN-WEYR on MAURICE by E.M. Forster
Maurice by E.M. Forster is not a YA book, which, to my way of thinking, is kind of a tragedy. I am one of those people who believes that if we asked teenagers to lose themselves in Forster novels, instead of Young Adults ones, they would totally get why reading can be just like falling in love. Forster’s clean, elegant language, his young, muddled characters who yearn for truth, beauty and love, and his ability to be malicious and compassionate at the same time is about as seductive a literary style as is possible.
Of all Forster’s novels, Maurice is the one I press upon young, gay people, as well as older, straight ones. The novel’s story is fairly straightforward. Set in Britain during Edwardian times, Maurice Hall and Clive Durham meet in Cambridge and fall deeply, madly and platonically in love. (“The sole excuse for any relationship between men is that it remain purely platonic,” Clive says.) Clive adores Maurice, and Maurice yearns for Clive, but Clive is unable to defy his upbringing, or his surroundings (in England at that time, you could go to prison for being a homosexual). Clive winds up “discovering” women, gets married, and breaks Maurice’s heart. . . . but
all is not lost.
Maurice, although slow to understand himself, is loyal to his own desires. He finds true and lasting love with a man far outside his and Clive’s social class. A gamekeeper on Clive’s estate, Alec Scudder understands Maurice, body and soul, as Clive never did. In Alec’s arms, “Happiness overwhelmed Maurice . . . . Light drifted in upon them from the outside world where it was still raining.”
In this day and age, Maurice can sound like an ordinary boy meets boy, boy loses boy, boy meets different, braver, more loving boy. But there is nothing ordinary about the novel. Forster wrote Maurice between 1913 and 1914. He dedicated it “to a Happier Year,” and it was not published until 1971, after Forster had died. If you have read Howard’s End, or even A Room With A View, what strikes you about Maurice is how clean, vivid and alive the novel is. Gone are the elaborate plots, philosophical musings and class obsessions which Forster had previously used to conceal his true subject – love of, by and between men. By coming out of the closet, even though it was only to the empty page, Forster writes with a passion and truth that is deeper and more blinding than the passions and truths found in his earlier novels.
Even if you have never read Forster, the novel is an immense treat. In its depiction of one man’s refusal to succumb to despair and loneliness, Maurice is not merely inspiring. It is a work of art that’s life altering.
GARRET FREYMANN-WEYR on MY FATHER’S SCAR by Michael Cart
Before getting into the specifics of My Father’s Scar by Michael Cart, I want you to think of baklava, with its layer upon layer of pastry, nuts and honey. When you have a piece in your mouth, it’s impossible to tell which is which, and if you like one element better than the other.
My Father’s Scar is an elegant, heartbreaking coming-of-age tale. It is a depiction of how love,like a weed, can thrive in the most inhospitable of places. It is a snapshot of life in small town America back when protesting the Vietnam war could get you suspended from school. It is that rare YA novel that not only invites its readers to think, it assumes that they can.
Andy Logan does not have a great start in life. He is a fat little kid, who is bullied at school. At home, his father is an angry drunk, and his mother a woman who sighs so much that Andy “used to imagine that if you could somehow collect those sighs, within a week—if you were lucky—you’d have enough wind for a gale force strong enough to blow my father out to sea.” The town where Andy lives is mostly full of people who find relief from the daily grind in school football games or church services where the preacher favors what he calls, “muscular Christianity.”
What Andy does have going for him is a thoughtful mind and an unending thirst for beauty. Maybe it’s the long-distance running he takes up to get out of the house, or maybe it’s his brief contact with his Uncle Charles, a poet and book lover, but Andy finds ways to transcend the grim hand life has dealt him. He becomes not just lanky (all that running) but the sort of boy who thinks of the sky “as cobalt blue and so cloudless it looks like a canvas that has been stretched tight and painted.” The light in his uncle’s book-lined study was “streaming in through the windows… golden like coins.”
There is an operatic quality to some of the things that happen in Andy’s life as he struggles to navigate around his father’s rage, his mother’s quiet despair, and the town’s murderous homophobia. While a freshman in high school, Andy makes friends with Evan Adams,
a popular senior, whose musical talent, star position on the gymnastics team and general kindness makes him a magnet for both girls and outcasts.
Evan, who otherwise displays a lot of common sense and wisdom, tells his pastor, in front of a packed church, that he is gay. A lot of predictable things happen: he’s no longer welcome at church, his school friends desert him, and he loses his place on the gymnastics team. And then it gets worse, on an epic scale that Cart depicts with clarity and gentleness. Cart is careful in the midst of all this drama to never lose sight of his hero, and Andy absorbs not only the mob’s reaction to his friend, but Evan’s bravery.
There is another really spectacular plot development involving the school’s football star, but I’ll let readers have the joy of discovering that. What’s important to know is how beautiful, delicate and soaring this novel is. I ended My Father’s Scar feeling as if I had heard an aria about Andy Logan’s fierce and joyful fight towards love and acceptance.
Posted in Adult Books for Teens & Kids, Author Interviews, Communtiy Recommendations, Teen Books, Uncategorized | Tagged a room with a view, after the moment, book reviews, bookkids, Bookpeople, books, classics, e.m. forster, garret freymann-weyr, howard's end, maurice, michael cart, my father's scar, my heartbeat, novels, printz honor, stay with me, teen, Teen books, teen fiction, the kings are already here, ya, YA Fiction, young adult | Leave a Comment »
It’s time for the second installment of the YA community’s favorite queer-themed books! Check out these awesome reviews from some more of our favorite authors!
LEE BANTLE on ANNIE ON MY MIND by Nancy Garden
This is a must read! The writing and story are beautiful. If you want literature, if 
you want great writing, this book is for you. And if you’re a girl who thinks you might like other girls, check out this love story. Oh my. I aspire to write like Nancy Garden. She is lyrical. A Lambda Literary Award winner. She has many other titles if you like this one.
LEE BANTLE on REFLECTIONS OF A ROCK LOBSTER by Aaron Fricke
This book has faded and deserves revival. Nonfiction. Aaron took a boy to his prom. In 1980! Way before people were doing that. And then wrote the story. What guts! A pioneer. Fulfilling and historic, this memoir is another must read.
LEE BANTLE on TALE OF TWO SUMMERS by Brian Sloan
A delicious summer read. This book keeps you hooked. Hilarious, sexy and surprising, it’s the story of tw
o friends — Hal and Chuck (one straight and one gay) — apart for the summer, who keep in intimate contact through a blog. Hal’s tales with Henri (the French bad boy) will leave you panting for more. This is not Nobel prize material, but a very satisfying beach read.
LEE BANTLE on WEETZIE BAT by Francesca Lia Block
Magical realism comes to gay LA. Anything by Block is a quick, fun, uplifting read. She gets it. There is depth. The perfect book for one of those sleepovers when you never go to sleep.
Lee Bantle is the author of Diving for the Moon and David Inside Out, which just came out in May.
SUSAN JUBY on SKIM by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
The coolest graphic novel in recent memory is Skim, words by Mariko Tamaki and drawings by Ji
llian Tamaki. It features the funniest, most deadpan (and sometimes bitter) young goth with broken he
art and thought-bubbles full of piercing one-liners and heartbreakingly honest observations. Captures perfectly the confusion and excitement of first love (queer and otherwise) and the combination horror/gong show that is high school. The drawings are nothing short of gorgeous. After reading this book a few times, you’re going to want to hang it on your wall.
Susan Juby is the author of many novels for young adults, including Another Kind of Cowboy, Alice, I Think, and, her latest, Getting the Girl.
BRENT HARTINGER on LUNA by Julie Anne Peters
Want to know how to write a young adult novel? Read this book. It is the work of a master author of teen books, at the very peak o
f her career. Others have written about the landmark nature of
the book’s transgender theme (and I agree with all their praise). But an equally exceptional aspect of this book is the fact that the struggle and journey of the main character, who is not transgender, but who lives in the emotional “shadow” of her transgender brother, is just as fascinating as that of the brother. Regan is a prickly, often angry kid–not your usual plucky YA heroine. But the resulting story is one of the truthful, and riveting, teen books I’ve read in years.
Brent Hartinger is the author of Geography Club and its sequel The Order of the Poison Oak, Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies as well as his latest, Project Sweet Life.
Posted in Author Interviews, Banned Books, Communtiy Recommendations, Teen Books, Uncategorized | Tagged alice i think, another kind of cowboy, book reviews, brent hartinger, brian sloan, david inside out, diving for the moon, francesca lia block, gay, gay teen books, gay teens, geography club, getting the girl, graphic novels, jillian tamaki, julie anne peters, lee bantle, LGBT, LGBTQ, luna, mariko tamaki, memoir, nancy garden annie on my mind, project sweet life, queer, skim, split screen, susan juby, tale of two summers, Teen books, the order of the poison oak, trans, transgender, weetzie bat, ya, young adult | Leave a Comment »
Because June is LGBT Pride Month, I wanted to post something really special on the BookKids blog. I wanted to post as many reviews for queer-themed books as possible. Alas, there are so many fabulous titles out there, and I’ve only read a fraction! And what about the ones I haven’t heard of yet? How could I represent those? Luckily for us, there are some wonderful writers out there who have written these books focusing on gay characters and LGBT issues. So I asked them – what are your favorite books about gay teens, gender, and LGBT pride? Here’s the first of several installments with what the YA community has to say!
MEAGAN BROTHERS on WEETZIE BAT by Francesca Lia Block
My favorite teenish, queerish book is Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block. It was one of the firs
t books I remember reading where the gay characters are treated with respect and love and, really , the w hole gay thing is kind of no big deal. The poetry of the writing made me want to live in Weetzie’s punk LA world – it’s instantly transporting, almost magical. All of the books in the series are great (as well as Block’s short story collection Girl Goddess #9), but this is the starting point!
Meagan Brothers is the author of Debbie Harry Sings in French
KATHE KOJA on SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU by Peter Cameron
You’ve never met anyone quite like James, but you know him from the first sentence of this fleet, sweet, aching 
novel of a boy both so distanced from and deep in his longing that he can’t decide if he should reach for what he wants, or just disappear entir
ely. Peter Cameron gets it just right here. You’ll read this book more than once.
KATHE KOJA on THE DRUNKEN BOAT by Arthur Rimbaud
And a bonus shout-out to Arthur Rimbaud, THE young adult writer for all time, who was never afraid to live his truth, sexually or artistically. Le Bateau Ivre/The Drunken Boat is for every reader – but especially, especially teenagers – who’s ever been deliriously lost in the sea of self.
Kathe Koja is the author of many young adult novels, including Talk, Kissing the Bee, and her latest, Headlong.
DAVID LAROCHELLE on FREAK SHOW by James St. James
James St. James‘ Freak Show is both hilarious, and ultimately very moving. Billy Bloom, the main 
character, is a wildly flamboyant teenage drag queen at a conservative high school. His campaign to become Homecoming Queen and his crush on the football team’s quarterback had me laughing and crying. The narrator’s voice is original and unforgettable, and the story will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider, or anyone who has ever been in love. For a ride unlike any you’ve ever taken, I heartily recommend this title!
David LaRochelle is the author of many books for young readers, including his first YA novel, Absolutely, Positively Not…
Posted in Author Interviews, Banned Books, Communtiy Recommendations, Teen Books | Tagged absolutely positively not, arthur rimbaud, david larochelle, debbie harry sings in french, drunken boat, fiction, francesca lia block, freak show, freakshow, gay, gay pride, headlong, james st. james, kathe koja, kissing the bee, le bateau ivre, lesbian, literature, meagan brothers, memoir, peter cameron, pride month, queer, someday this pain will be useful to you, straydog, talk, teen, Teen books, teen fiction, trans, transgender, weetzie bat, ya, young adult | Leave a Comment »
David Inside Out, a new young adult novel by Lee Bantle, is a wonderful coming-of-age story that follows a gay teen in small town Minnesota who is in deep denial about his sexuality. He’s trying everything he can to be straight. He dates his friend Kick, a girl, in hopes of becoming attracted to her. He wears a rubber band around 
his wrist and snaps it every time he has “inappropriate” thoughts about his teammate, Sean. And, when his best friend, Eddie, comes out, David begins avoiding him at all costs. When Sean reveals that he might return David’s feelings, at first David is relieved. But it’s not that simple. Sean, too, struggles with how society – and the in-crowd – will see him if they knew he was attracted to guys. This compelling novel brings its teenage characters to life and deals with the reality that is growing up different in the suburbs.
I was so moved by David Inside Out – which arrived just in time for LGBT Pride Month! – that I asked Lee Bantle to answer a few questions for the blog. This is what he had to say:
BookPeople: David Inside Out is a wonderful, inspiring coming of age story. Where did David’s story come from?
Lee Bantle: From a desire to speak openly about my experience growing up. To bear witness to history. To let other gay people know that they are not alone, that I have gone through what they are going through, that many have.
BP: I understand you’re from the same region as David. How is David’s world different from the world you knew when you were growing up in Minnesota?
LB: I grew up in the last century. Coming out in high school would have been social suicide. David lives in a 21st century world. But many of his feelings are the same as mine. The world still does not approve. The voters in California took away the right to gay marriage. In the military, saying you are gay brings on discharge proceedings. We can get married in Dubuque. But not in New York or LA. The world is mixed up. So is David. And the embrace of his identity still comes with pain.
BP: Do you think your own similar experiences made David Inside Out harder or easier to write?
LB: I could not have written this book without having had the experiences I did. They say write what you know. I took my high school years and updated them to 2009, realizing that while we have progressed, we still have a long way to go.
BP: I loved reading about Eddie and Kick, David’s best friends, so much that I felt like I was a part of their little group. What inspired such fun characters?
LB: It’s great that you were drawn into their group. Kick is always getting into trouble, isn’t she? Including hooking up with a gay boy. Eddie is the truth teller and a good role model for David. He knows what he wants and goes for it. I don’t know where they all came from. Bits and pieces of people I knew. And then they just asserted themselves on the page. I shelved the book at one point as fatally flawed and felt guilty that I was letting them die in a metal file cabinet. They called to me: “Lee, Lee, don’t give up on us.”
BP: Sean is a character I personally struggled with – maybe because he is so real. Without giving too much away, what do you think about the choices Sean makes?
LB: Sean is like a number of guys I have known. His is a cautionary tale. He is not managing his life well, but we can understand why and sympathize with him. At the end of the book, he is the last person I would want to be. But five years from now, things might be totally different. Let’s hope.
BP: The title “David Inside Out” could be interpreted in a few different ways. What does it mean to you?
LB: David is vulnerable and lets the reader see his insides even when he is hiding his gay feelings from himself. As the book develops, he lets those internal feelings come to the fore, he lets them out. And of course, he has to decide whether to turn his jersey inside out — from gray to red – in response to the anonymous note offering gay sex.
BP: In the book, David ends up calling a gay hotline. Are there any real hotlines that struggling gay teens might find helpful?
LB: Yes. The number printed in the book is a real number for The Gay and Lesbian Hotline. 888-843-4564. Anyone can Google it just like David did. Teens can call the number to find a sympathetic voice, to learn about resources, or as David did, to get advice.
BP: We are very lucky to live in a country that has made a lot of recent strides with gay rights. But we still have a lot of work to do. Do you have any advice for teens who want to get involved?
LB: Let me put an exclamation point on the fact that we still have a lot of work to do. Harvey Milk identified the fundamental, number one thing LGBT people can do to win their rights. Come out! The more people who know one of us — or many of us — the more supporters we will h
ave. It is that simple. But joining the movement is also important. There are national groups — Lambda Legal Defense, Human Rights Campaign, the Task Force – worthy of support. Local groups abound across the country. Join them. March. Lobby. Organize. Marriage is the defining issue of our time — and for all time. Write your senators and congress people. Demand your fundamental right to marry.
BP: When I was in high school, students had just started a gay/straight alliance. But I know there are tons of schools out there that haven’t gotten there yet. Eddie is very brave to start his own – how can the other Eddies out there get started?
LB: I’m glad you asked that question. There are about 4000 gay/straight alliances in American schools in 2009. There is lots of support for people who want to start a chapter in their school. Go to the website GLSEN.com for online and personal help. Let’s create 4000 new chapters in the next five years.
BP: Sadly, there’s been some controversy about gay relationships in young adult literature. Books with LGBT themes are some of the most frequently challenged. With that in mind, what do you hope David Inside Out says to teens – and adults! – who read it?
LB: I always joke that I hope David Inside Out gets burned at a Farenheit 451-style bonfire. Nothing boosts readership and sales like censorship. In Milwaukee, they are trying to ban a gay-themed novel by the great Francesca Lia Block called Baby Be-Bop (Emily’s note: this book is now out of print, but 
can be found in the Weetzie Bat omnibus: Dangerous Angels. It’s highly recommended). I do not understand this attempt at mind control. Don’t read the book if you don’t like it, but please, dear god, let me read what I want to read.
I do have a strong feeling about what I hope people will take away from the book. Not so very long ago, left-handed people were thought to have evil in them. Parents would bind their left-handed children’s arms to their torsos with a strap so they would learn to use their right hands. They did not accept left-handedness as a natural genetic variation. I hope that the readers of David Inside Out will come away gratified that David has embraced his left-handedness, that he has learned the truth about himself, and fought to become the person he was truly meant to be.
BP: Thanks so, so much to Lee for such a wonderful interview! I hope you all enjoyed hearing from him as much as I did! David Inside Out is available now in BookPeople’s teen section – hurry up and snag a copy for yourself. I guarantee you won’t be able to put it down!
Keep your eyes on the BookKids Blog this week for more LGBT-themed posts in honor of Pride Month, and be sure to check out our queer-themed teen display in the store!
Posted in Author Interviews, Banned Books, Staff Rec - Emily, Staff Recommendations, Teen Books | Tagged activism, author interview, book banning, david inside out, gay, gay pride, gay rights, gay teens, gender, interview, lee bantle, lgbt pride, pride month, q&a, queer, teen, Teen books, trans, ya, young adult | Leave a Comment »
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