Hey guys!
I recently received an e-mail from Lynn Biederman, author of Unraveling, and she kindly asked if I could ask my blog viewers if they’d like to take a quick 3-min survey on sexually related topics in Young Adult Literature. Here is the link, click it to answer the questions:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=m_2fYSbIeC8SeotPuYPdQ5lA_3d_3d
Thanks so much for your insight and for helping out Lynn Biederman on this!
Enjoy!
What I talk about:
-Envy by Anna Godbersen
-Julia Hoban (author of Willow)
-Shine by Neesha Meminger
-Picking classes for Junior year
-Midterms next week (early release Wed. & Thurs. and no school Friday)
-Car show at my school Thurs.
Enjoy!
What I talk about:
-Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman
-Envy by Anna Godbersen
Lisa Schroeder, author of Far From You, has interviewed me for her blog.
Here’s the link: http://lisa-schroeder.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-heart-book-bloggers.html
Or read the interview here:
In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be doing interviews with some of the fabulous book bloggers out there.
First up, my pal Vanessa. You may remember Vanessa who helped me with a vlog to celebrate the release of FAR FROM YOU.
1. First of all, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to be a reviewer of YA books? My name is Vanessa. I live in south Florida. I’m almost sixteen. I’m your average girl (except for my addiction to books), I hang out with friends, listen to music, and aspire to do great in school. I started reviewing for myself. For about nine months the blog was unknown. Then I started another blog (https://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/ ) and started making contacts with other (awesome) book reviewers which led me to exposure and the courage to contact authors like you!
Note from Lisa: I’m so glad you did!
2. What are your favorite and least favorite parts of being a reviewer? My favorite parts include getting my opinion out there, making friends that have the same interest in reading, and meeting super cool authors like you, for example. The free review copies don’t hurt. I dislike sitting down and typing up a review, making it flow and sound like a story, especially if I have a lot to say. I think that’s why I do VLOGs (http://youtube.com/vanessathebutterfly) or podcasts.
Note from Lisa: I’m super cool? Wow, thanks!
3. What’s your process of writing a review? How do you handle it if you have more things you don’t like than you like? I normally sit down on my bed and write bullet points of what I liked and didn’t like on paper. After I finish writing everything, I look over the amount of good things and bad things and decide on a grade or rating. When there’s more things I don’t like I do write about them. However, if around 70% of the review is negative I normally don’t review the book. (If you really think about it, I won’t finish a book that’s that bad, so I barely do these bashing reviews.)
4. Have you ever had an author write to you, upset about a review? Thankfully I haven’t. I think this is so because overall in my reviews I don’t say I just despised the book…. I explain my reasoning. To me every book has at least one miniscule flaw… I have yet to read a perfect book.
Note from Lisa: No perfect book? Okay everyone, hurry and try write that. Vanessa is waiting!
5. I’m curious if you finish all the books you start. Do you comment on your blog about a book that you don’t finish? Not most of the time. I don’t really like telling people they shouldn’t read a book just because I disliked it… who knows? Maybe they’ll love it. I normally tweet (http://twitter.com/vanessacaterina) about not liking a book as I’m reading it.
Note from Lisa: I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one left in the world who doesn’t tweet.
6. How many books would you say you read, on average, per month? Where do the majority of those books come from? Per month it’s usually around 5 (in the summer it’s more, obviously!). Sadly lately I haven’t read that much. Most of my books come from contests, review copies, and about every six months my mom takes me to the local book store to buy about 15 books (yeah, I know, she’s awesome like that), and sometimes I do pitch in my own money. That’s enough for me to survive, haha.
7. What’s one interesting thing about you that not many people know? I’ve been wanting to start a collab channel on Youtube like fiveawesomegirls or vlogbrothers to get to know other book lovers better for a really long time! This all however, came into place when Sarah from Sarah’s Random Musings contacted me about starting one. We started today (March 9th)! We talk about our lives, books, and other random things. We’d love it if you checked us out and subscribed athttp://youtube.com/user/Sevenbookbabes . There’s many book bloggers taking part in this. 🙂
Note from Lisa: How exciting!
8. If you were going to order a dozen cupcakes, what flavor would you get and who would you share them with? Vanilla. Yes, just plain old vanilla. I’m classic like that… haha. I would share them with my mom, dad, stepmom, 12-year-old brother Robert, 22-month-old brother Junior, my friends who always put up with me: Danny, Hayley, Pablo, Connor, Ryan, Paul, and Fatima. ❤
9. What books are you especially looking forward to in the coming months? Willow by Julia Hoban, Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, You’ve Got Blackmail by Rachel Wright, One Lonely Degree by C.K Kelley Martin, Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott… among others.
10. If someone wants to send you a book to review, how can he/she contact you? I’d love to review your book! You can contact me through e-mail at whatvanessareads (at) gmail.com. I normally reply within a day or less.
I enjoyed thinking up answers for this interview since the questions weren’t easy and typical. Thanks so much Lisa!
Thank you for being here! It was fun getting to know you better!
I think you guys know how much I enjoy making videos from the vlogs I’ve made on my personal Youtube channel http://youtube.com/user/vanessathebutterfly. So when Sarah asked me if I was interested of course I said yes! (After a squeal, though.) Now the day is near…. tomorrow, March 9th, is the day we start. I’m Sunday, so my video will be up March 15th.
We are book bloggers, YA Book Bloggers to be exact. Our love of books is what has brought our friendship together from all over the US. One day, we thought it would be fun to do a Five Awesome Girl Channel mixed in with books and our lives. We hope you enjoy our antactics, rants, and pure randomness.
The schedule looks like this:
Monday- Sarah from http://sarahbear9789.blogspot.com/
Tuesday- Sharon from http://sharonlovesbooksandcats.blogspot.com/
Wednesday- James from http://Myspace.com/bookchicclub
Thursday- Shalonda from http://shalondasblog.blogspot.com/
Friday- Hope from http://princess2293.blogspot.com/
Saturday- Zoe from http://booksaregolden.blogspot.com/
Sunday- Vanessa from https://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
The vlog channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/Sevenbookbabes!
Hi everyone!
There’s a huge contest I thought you should have a heads up on.
It’s for Willow by Julia Hoban…. which looks superb, by the way.
Here’s a little something about the book: Seven months ago, on a rainy March night, sixteen year- old Willow’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Willow was driving. Now her older brother barely speaks to her, her new classmates know her as the killer orphan girl, and Willow is blocking the pain by secretly cutting herself. But when one boy —one sensitive, soulful boy—discovers Willow’s secret, it sparks an intense relationship that turns the “safe” world Willow has created for herself upside down.
You Can Buy It Here: http://www.amazon.com/Willow-Julia-Hoban/dp/0803733569
This Contest Starts: March 1 (Pre-orders count of course!)
And Ends: April 30 (The book is released April 2)
To enter: You must buy the book (ARCs do not count of course) and send proof (receipt, picture of book, etc.) to Lauren at: Lauren51990 AT aol DOT com
Who can enter?: Everyone! This is an international contest.
Winner: There is one winner, and they will recieve the following if their name is drawn (Oh, and if you donated a prize…remember, you can enter. Lauren is the only one who won’t!)
Here are the prizes:
Khy is giving away Does This Book Make Me Look Fat?
http://www.freneticreader.blogspot.com/
Kelsey is giving away B&N ten dollar gift card in a cute felt penguin “bag” and some bookmarks.
http://justblindedbookreviews.blogspot.com
Carrie will give Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby.
http://carriesyabookshelf.blogspot.com
Kelsey is giving an ARC version of Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway.
http://readingkeepsyousane.blogspot.com/
Alea is giving away Sherlock Holmes Volume 1.
http://aleapopculture.blogspot.com/
Kristi is giving a 10 dollar Amazon gift card.
Harmony is making a soundtrack with songs she feels fit the book.
http://harmonybookreviews.wordpress.com/
Lenore is giving 10 dollars to Amazon.
www.presentinglenore.blogspot.com
Gabbi is giving Chloe Doe by Suzanne Phillips.
http://fivestarreading.blogspot.com
Lauren will give the winner a book of their choice (has to be paperback!).
www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
Chelsea is giving a $10 card to Amazon.
www.thepageflipper.blogspot.com
My Favorite Author is giving Kisses and Lies by Lauren Henderson.
www.myfavoriteauthor.blogspot.com
Vanessa is giving Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. (That’s me!)
https://whatvanessareads.wordpress.com/
Shalonda is giving away Sherlock Holmes Volume 2.
http://www.shalondasblog.blogspot.com/
Carol is giving an ARC of Because I Am Furniture.
http://www.bookluver-carol.blogspot.com/
Tirzah is giving Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.
www.thecompulsivereader.blogspot.com
Lauren is giving a 15 dollar gift card to B&N.
www.laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com
Laura is giving a 10 dollar Borders gift card and the book Flygirls.
http://laurasreviewbookshelf.blogspot.com/
Sarah is giving The Adoration of Jenna Fox.
http://sarahbear9789.blogspot.com/
Alyssa is giving Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston.
http://theshadyglade.blogspot.com
That’s a total of 21 prizes! Just for buying a $16 (awesome) book! What are you waiting for? Go pre-order Willow now, or buy it when it releases in a month!
PS: Happy birthday to Dr. Seuss!
PPS: I will post something soon, 🙂
Here’s what I read this past month in chronological order:
By the way, reviews for all of these will come shortly.
1. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers: Violent, sad, and good (at the end, especially).
2. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K Rowling: Really amazing. I am so late… but better late then never.
3. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom: Inspiring, sad, beautiful.
4. Girl vs. Bear: Stories from the 80s by Lisa Kerr: I really enjoyed this!
5. Skeleton Creek by Patrick Carman: Scary and interesting.
6. In Your Room by Jordanna Fraiberg: Less than I expected, but still good.
Needless to say, it was a very productive month. Thank you, Winter Break, without I wouldn’t have read three of these.
NFL New England Patriots from Fanzz
Susane Colasanti is the awesome author of When It Happens and Take Me There. I have read When It Happens and have Take Me There on my shelf. I really loved how true Susane’s characters were in When It Happens, especially the main girl character, Sara. She was nice enough to answer these interview questions for me. I hope you enjoy and remember to leave a comment at the end to let Susane and me know what you thought!
Links:
1. Are you working on something now? Can you tell us anything about it?
I just finished polishing my third book, Waiting for You, which will be released on July 9. It’s about a girl who’s dealing with depression and a boy who wants to help her. Now I’m writing my fourth book, Something Like Fate.
2. Were you like Sara from When It Happens while growing up?
Yes, Sara and I have a lot in common. She is the character closest to my heart for this reason. I’ve always been a dreamer, hoping that one day I would be living a better life than the one I had as a teen. That hope helped me get through some hard times. I never stopped believing that things would improve, and they did. Sara has the same passionate hope for her future. Also, we both have koala bears named Chez and we’re both organization freaks.
3. Would you ever think of writing a sequel to When It Happens?
This is probably the most frequent question readers ask me (tied with whether When It Happens will be made into a movie). I’d love to write a sequel and find out what happens to Sara and Tobey in college. But it wouldn’t be for a while, since my next few books have already been planned out. I’m also a bit hesitant because I wouldn’t want to disappoint my readers with a sequel that didn’t meet their expectations. That’s a challenge I’m not yet ready to take on.
4. What are your favorite YA books? Authors?
It’s righteous that there are so many incredible young-adult authors out there today! When I was a teen, this was not the case. The selection of teen books was quite lacking back in the day. I’m so relieved that teens now have many quality choices to keep them reading.
My favorite YA authors are Laurie Halse Anderson and Blake Nelson. I really admire their unique styles and ability to capture intense emotions without overcrowding the page. They also tend to focus on dialogue, which I find to be the most interesting part of a story. Some of my fave books by other authors are The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (dude, I reread that book and watched the movie so many times), The Late Great Me by Sandra Scoppettone, Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume, and Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.
5. What do you like best about being an author?
Connecting with teens. As a high school science teacher, I got to work with teens every day. But as an author, I can reach out to more teens and hopefully improve their lives in some way. Even if someone likes reading one of my books to escape for a while, I’ve maybe made their day a little brighter and that makes me happy. Ideally, I want readers to feel better about their problems by relating to my characters and how they deal with common problems. In this way, I hope my readers feel less alone.
6. What inspired you to write When It Happens?
My senior year of high school sparked the idea for the story’s main plot. Tobey was inspired by someone real. Some of the events in the book are based on things that actually happened to me in high school. In this way, When It Happens reflects a time in my life that none of my other books have.
I’ve always been obsessed with the concept of soul mates. I know that soul mates are real because I’ve had more than one in my life. I wanted When It Happens to capture the energy of that connection in a way that hopefully inspires readers to never give up searching for that kind of passion in their own lives. Also, I wanted to write a sweet love story that’s fun to read.
7. What kind of music do you listen to?
My main musical taste would be classified as old-school. Musicians like the Cure, R.E.M., Paul Simon, and James Taylor have always rocked my world. Some stuff from this century is good, too. I adore John Mayer (he’s always incorporated in my books) and am a proud guitar-pick-carrying member of the John Mayer Fan Club. I also love Coldplay, Death Cab and Maroon 5. Although I tend to play my favorite CDs over and over, I’m always open to hearing new music. When lyrics speak to me and sound like my life, I’m there.
8. Why do you write in alternate narrations?
As a teen reader, every young-adult book I remember reading (except for one) was only told from the girl’s perspective. I was always dying to know what the boy character was thinking, what he talked about with his friends, and how he really felt about the main girl character. So I promised myself that if I ever wrote a book, I would show the boy’s perspective as well so my readers could understand a more complete truth about him. In Take Me There, I thought adding a second girl’s perspective would enrich the story.
However, my third and fourth books are only told in one perspective. For those stories, revealing the main boy character’s point of view would have been giving away too much.
9. What’s a typical day for you like?
Writing in the afternoon usually works best for me unless I’m on deadline, in which case I work all day. When I’m working on a new book, I write five pages a day, five days a week. If I’m revising, I tend to work in the afternoon until my brain is fried.
In the morning, I like to take care of online stuff, like email, my blog, and checking in at Facebook and MySpace. Some mornings I go to the gym and get busy on the elliptical. My gym has personal monitors on the machines, so I like to go at 11:00 to watch The View. The best part of my mornings is not having to get up at a ridiculously early hour anymore. Yay for daylight!
10. List your current Top Five Obsessions.
The Office (mostly John Krasinski), full-spectrum light bulbs, Death Cab’s Transatlanticism, Gelly Roll pens, Bliss body butter
—–
Yes, I know, she’s super cool. Now, what did you think? Are you excited for Susane’s new book Waiting for You?
Title: Far From You
Author: Lisa Schroeder
Edition: Paperback
Number of Pages: 368
Grade: B+
Contains: Coming-of-Age, Drama, Fantasy, Relationships, Romance.
Analysis of Book (1-10 on each aspect):
Characters: 10
Plot: 9
Writing: 10
Wow Factor: 9
Since Sunday, a very special release has been in the making… leading up to today. First Liv posted her VLOG, reading her favorite excerpt from the book. Then I posted my VLOG yesterday. And today Lisa has posted her VLOG. I hope you have checked those all out and entered the contest. Lisa’s book Far From You released today. HAPPY RELEASE DAY, LISA!!!! (Wish Lisa a happy release day at the link of her VLOG.) Make sure you go to the bookstore today or ask Santa for the book under the tree. Just make sure you read this book, because you will NOT be disappointed.
Summary (from lisaschroederbooks.com): Do you believe in angels? FAR FROM YOU is a story of love and loss, and reminds us what’s really important in life. Fans of I HEART YOU, YOU HAUNT ME are sure to enjoy this novel-in-verse feauturing 16-year-old Alice, a singer/songwriter who’s had her share of hard times, and unfortunately, has more to come. What will pull her through? Her music? The love of her boyfriend, Blaze? Or perhaps, an angel, here on earth?
I could totally relate to the story because I have a stepmom and half-siblings also. Everything Alice goes through in the book, I understood how hard it must be for her and for her family. I truly believe girls in this world are like Alice proving that Lisa Schroeder knows how to create authentic characters. Oh, and yes there is fantasy in the book… it’s just very subtle. That is something I was very glad to see because you all already know I’m not a fantasy-junkie. It was a good amount and it entailed a phenomenal message.
Since it is told in verse, it is a quick read. I read it in one sitting. But truthfully, I had to stop more then once to think about what was occurring. This is not a cute summer read; it is really an impacting read. Lisa Schroeder KNOWS how to write. She knows how to write very well… the words she chooses, the way she organizes them s l o w l y and carefully. I want her to continue writing… I’m definitely a fan.
In the end, I was a bigger person. I cried, but I was still a bigger person. I felt more of a connection even with my own stepmom and went and told her about the book. This book is something I veryyyyy highly recommend. So, what the heck are you waiting for? Go BUY IT!
Teen Tuesday is a place for readers of Young Adult literature to interact with other YA readers. Here at Teen Tuesday, we post blogs, host live chats, and hopefully have a good time!
Hi Teen Tuesday-ers.
What Vanessa Reads 
