A Brief Blogging Break

The in-laws are coming to visit (cue shrieking and whatnot), so I will taking a bit of break from the blog while they are in town. The in-laws are staying with us, so I've been extra stressed. Plus this is the first time they have visited the hubby and me since we moved across the country and since we've been married. Must resume cleaning and stressing about their rapidly approaching arrival.

See you all in about a week and half.

Flash Fiction Contest

I have a thing for Flash Fiction; I just love the crazy, weird, wacky prompts and the range of stories that can come from a one-line prompt. So for those of you who share my sentiments Holly Schindler, author of 2010 debut A Blue So Dark, is currently doing a super awesome Halloween-themed Flash Fiction contest over on her blog, hollyschindler.blogspot.com! 

Here are the details from Holly herself: 

 

"I’m currently running a Flash Fiction Challenge at my blog: you write the prompts, and I write the fiction.  She (or he) who sends in the “best” prompt (I’m leaving it to the bloggers to decide) will get a prize in time for the holidays.

For October, I’m looking for a creepy, horrible, deliciously awful prompt!  Get twisted, and send me your most terrifying ideas to writehollyschindler (at) yahoo (dot) com by October 2…

Check out the complete lowdown on the challenge, the details for October, and the piece I wrote in September based on a blogger-generated prompt!"

Get thinking creepy thoughts and send your prompt ideas over to Holly. I will be trying to come up with something ghoulish to send her way this weekend.

A bit about Holly:

"I received my master’s degree in 2001, and decided to devote full-time effort to my writing.  After (literally) wearing out half a dozen computer keyboards, I’m THRILLED to have released my debut YA novel, A BLUE SO DARK (Flux), last May.  I blog about the writing life, and about BLUE and my forthcoming novel, PLAYING HURT, at hollyschindler.blogspot.com."

 Be on the look out for a review of A Blue so Dark and more from Holly as the release of Playing Hurt  approaches.

Banned Books Week

This Saturday (9/25) begins Banned Books Week, a week of bringing awareness to the numerous books that are challenged every year and attempts of literary censorship.

"The books featured during Banned Books Week have been targets of attempted bannings.  Fortunately, while some books were banned or restricted, in a majority of cases the books were not banned, all thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections.  Imagine how many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if librarians, teachers, and booksellers across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society." - ALA website

Celebrate the freedom to read what you want this coming week!

Read a frequently challenged book. Get the word out about Banned Books Week. Learn about literary censorship and what you can do to prevent it.

I will be re-reading Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (for the six or seven time, I believe) next week, one of my all-time favorite books, which has appeared several times on the Top 10 Most Challenged Books list compiled by the ALA since it's first publication in 1999. I feel supporting Banned Books Week is doubly important for those of us who love YA and Middle Grade and understand the importance of well-written teen books for teens. Many of the books on the challenged list are there because someone (parent, teacher, adult of some kind) has decided that it is not appropriate for the target age group. Teens need the freedom to read what they want. It is extremely important that teens have access to books about sex, drugs, suicide, and other "difficult issues" -- for many teens these books serve as a way to better understand themselves and the world around them. They need these sort of books to find someone to relate to, someone who is like them. We must do what we can to prevent the censorship of what types of books are available for teens to read. Thankfully very few challenged books are actually banned.  

Resources to check out:
BannedBooksWeek.org
ALA's Frequently Challenged Books Site
ALA's Freedom to Read Foundation
Paste Magazine's 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books Everyone Should Read
Carnegie Library of Pittsburg's Banned Books Page

In My Mailbox (1)

This is my first "In My Mailbox" post, a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren to showcase what books bloggers have received in their mailbox, from the library, or bought. I've decided to test out doing videos for this meme (been wanting to add a video feature to the blog and really like Kristi's video posts), so let me know if you like the video thing or if you'd just prefer I ramble in text as usual.



Books:
Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
City of Bones by Cassandra Claire
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Kiss Me Deadly by Various Authors
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly (ARC)

So what did you get this week?
For more info on IMM or to join in check out  The Story Siren's post on IMM.

The DUFF

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend
Kody Keplinger
Little Brown/Poppy, September 2010
Realistic Fiction

So I first heard about this book because it's a 2010 Debut, but became more interested in it after visiting thecontemps.com and learning a bit more about the book. I was incredibly excited to find in on the shelves at my local indie a few days before it's September release date! So of course I snagged a copy.

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. From Goodreads site

I have to start with the voice of this novel; I absolutely loved Kody's voice from the first page. It just felt like an honest teenager, not preachy or trying to hip and edgy. It was incredibly refreshing to read something so realistic. Kody didn't shy away from anything here or gloss over the difficult situations teens face. And she managed to be funny and clever throughout the whole thing. Plus Kody is only 19 and wrote the book when she was only 17! Can you believe it!?! She is an absolutely amazing writer and I can't wait to read her next book and see how her wonderful voice grows and changes.

Bianca is one of my new favorite characters. I loved her right away because she's so sarcastic and a bit caustic at times, which is exactly how I was in High School (maybe still am a bit), so I related to her immediately. She's so honest about how she feels and what she's thinking, even when she's trying to run from her feelings her voice is still honest and realistic. You can't help but feel like you're right there with her. Beyond Bianca's character, the concept of the book really draws you in. Who honestly hasn't felt like the DUFF? To have such an honest voice about dealing with that feeling and realizing that you're not the DUFF that everyone feels that way sometimes, is just so wonderful. I really wish this book had come out when I was in high school.

So I have to say just a bit about the sex scenes. My biggest issue with a lot of YA realistic fiction is that the sex scenes or sexually situations are too racy and unrealistic or more often that they are glossed over in a way that is just ridiculous. Kody has written some really great sex scenes, I must say. It's not that there's a ton of detail or the book's super sexual, they're just real (and totally hot). There's nothing fake or over done about them; this is the way to write sex scenes for teens today (or even girls in their 20s).

I talked Friday about how much I love this cover, in Beautiful Covers (2), so we'll gloss over the details and just say it's totally awesome. I can only say good things about this book; already told a few friends that they had to read it now and stop reading whatever else they are currently reading.

Get this book immediately and begin reading