January: The Unwritten Codes of School

In addition to raging against expectations, Frankie also rails against the unwritten codes of her school, such as who gets to sit at the senior table. What are the unwritten codes and rules at your own school? Has anyone ever tried to defy them? What were the consequences?

Author in Residence Elizabeth Scott: Writing and the Concept of Loss

Our second amazing Author in Residence, Elizabeth Scott, is a smart and hilarious writer who will be on the rgz team through April! Check out her mini-issue at the rgz website.

Throughout her visit, she will be cross-posting at the readergirlz blog. We are honored to have Elizabeth among us (look at that lineup of books!). Learn more about Elizabeth Scott and our author-in-residence position.

Here is the first of Elizabeth’s monthly vlog entries about writing, in which she answers readers' requests for info about her workspace, writing rituals, writing process and the best (and worst) reviews she's ever gotten. Plus, Elizabeth gives her thoughts about why the concept of loss figures into so much of her work.



Elizabeth is giving away a signed copy of any one of her currently published books (!!) to three readergirlz blog readers (US residents). Just be sure you follow the blog, then comment below and tell us about your favorite part of Elizabeth's vlog to be entered! We'll choose three winners at random.

PS-Have you guys heard about Simon & Schuster's Call Me Book Club Sweepstakes? It's pretty amazing, and Elizabeth is part of it, natch. (Deets: S&S is giving away up to 25 copies of one of six books to book clubs, and the author herself will call the book club after they read it!) Go enter!

Story Secrets: THE ABC's OF KISSING BOYS by Tina Ferraro

Story Secrets is back, this time with fabulous, fresh, funny, and simply delightful YA author Tina Ferraro on THE ABC's OF KISSING BOYS! (If you missed previous Story Secrets, you can check them out here.)

I'm especially excited for Tina because today's book was featured on Amazon's Great Gifts for Teens list as well as YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults list! Welcome, Tina!

*****

When I first started taking about my third Random House novel, The ABC’s of Kissing Boys, I really wasn’t sure what to say. The plot sounded ridiculous, even to my own ear: in order to get promoted to varsity soccer with the rest of her team, 16 year-old Parker has to learn to kiss the socks off last year’s prom king. And she finds help in the unlikeliest of places: the freshman guy across the street.

I mean, say what?

But thankfully, reviewers provided cleverer and more succinct versions.

Here’s YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), when nominating it for Best YA Book of 2009: "Learning to kiss from her father's archenemy's son (a freshman) can lead to consequences Parker never imagined. A funny, poignant, and sweet Romeo and Juliet.”

Booklist calls it: “...a mashup of Bend It Like Beckham, Mean Girls, and Can’t Buy Me Love, and will find a happy audience in fans of the same.”

So at the risk of appearing unoriginal with my own original project--what they said!


How did you come up with the idea for the do-or-die kiss scenario?
For me, it was a crash-boom-bam of ideas.

• I had been thinking about a girl who doesn’t make varsity with her teammates, and how awful it would be to get left behind.
• I loved the idea of a title that started “The ABC’s of...”
• I thought it would be fun to research kissing.

Suddenly, they all banged together--plus the fact I knew several high school soccer players and a coach who would help me--and I knew I had a book!

Read the rest (plus there's a giveaway from Tina!)

rgz LIVE! with E. Lockhart

Join us for a live chat with the amazing E. Lockhart. Now is your chance to learn all of Frankie's secrets, and maybe some of E. Lockhart's own.

The chat will go live at the top of the hour!

rgz LIVE! with E. Lockhart tonight!

Tonight at the readergirlz blog at 6 p.m. PST/9 p.m. EST, join us while we chat with E. Lockhart herself about pranks, boyfriends, and clever girl characters.



See you here!

January Reach Out: Give a Boost to Students on the Edge

According to a report by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University released earlier this year, almost 6.2 million students in the USA between the ages of 16 and 24 dropped out of high school in 2007. That's 16 percent of the population in the United States at that time.

BoostUp.org is dedicated to helping high school students graduate through positive reinforcement. By simply offering words of encouragement, you can boost the spirits of others and help them succeed.

BoostUp states that "approximately 7,000 high school students drop out every school day, which translates to one in three students." Let's help to change those numbers by offering positive feedback and support to our friends, family members, and others in the community. Go to http://www.boostup.org to send a boost to any of the students profiled there or to anyone you know.

One of the television spots for BoostUp features President Obama:

rgz Newsflash: Ari's Rant to Bloomsbury

There's a hot article over at Reading in Color. Ari is airing her views to Bloomsbury. Take a peek here and then link over to her full work.

An Open Letter to Bloomsbury Kids USA. Other Publishing Houses Take Note

"To Whom it May Concern,

Hello. My name is Ari and here at my blog I review YA books about people of color. Right when I was starting up my blog, controversy over your US Liar cover broke out. Allow me to jog your memory, since you've made the exact same mistake. Liar is about Micah a "nappy-headed", tomboy, African American girl. Your original cover had a white girl on it. After many bloggers protested, including the author herself you changed the US cover to the image of an African American girl, she even looks bi-racial, like Micah. Now I don't want this to be a history lesson, but I ask you, why have you made the exact same mistake? I'm talking about Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore. The main character, Nimira is described as "dark-skinned." The model on the book is definitely not dark-skinned."

January: Have You Ever Been a Prankster?

Frankie Landau-Banks turns out to be quite the prank mastermind. E. Lockhart asks, "Have you ever been a prankster? Tell me a story."

Cover Stories: Shine Coconut Moon by Neesha Meminger

Neesha Meminger's Shine Coconut Moon is high on my to-read list (also: The Gossip Girls are reading it!). I heard an excerpt from it last year, and I just know I'll love it! Read the very cool Lyn Miller-Lachmann's review.

Plus: The Cover. I had to find out the back story. Here's Neesha:

"Thank goodness no one asked me for my thoughts on what should go on the cover! As I was writing the book, the only thing I could think of was a giant coconut in the shadow of a waning moon. Ugh.

"The only thing I said to my publisher was, 'I'm fine with

anything except a headless woman.' Obviously, you know just how far that input got me {grin}.

"Okay, truly? When I first saw my cover, I was disappointed with the headless model. I really had a hard time moving through that. For South Asian women, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we're absolutely thrilled that there is SOME representation--especially if that representation is not of the usual, passive, submissive, sari-clad, new-immigrant variety we're used to seeing on television and in movies. On the other hand, yes, it absolutely objectifies young women as does all of the mainstream media we see every single day.

Read the full post on melissacwalker.com.

Printz 2010: Congrats, Libba!!!

Celebrating Libba Bray in our rgz Circle of Stars this morning. She just won the 2010 Printz! *squeeee* Congrats to the honor winners as well!

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray

2010 Printz Honor Books

Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith by Deborah Heiligman

The Monstrumologist, by Rick Yancey

Punkzilla, by Adam Rapp

Tales of the Madman Underground: An Historical Romance, 1973, by John Barnes

Coretta Scott King Author Honor

Mare’s War, by Tanita D. Davis

YAY, TANITA!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service

In 1994, Congress designated the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday as a national day of service -- a “day on, not a day off.”

Everything from reading to children, tutoring, helping pick up litter on your street, volunteering at a soup kitchen, preparing meals for those who need them -- it all helps!

As part of his United We Serve initiative, President Obama has called upon all Americans to make service a part of their daily lives. Visit Serve.gov to find a volunteer opportunity in your community, and check out MLKday.gov for more on this inspiring day.

What will your act of service be today?

Rgz Salon: Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia, Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and most recently, the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. (Read the fascinating Cover Story for Gringolandia.)

We're honored to have her here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where four of the top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, Lyn reviews Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia (HarperCollins, 2009), a nominee for the 2009 National Book Award!

"You're driving on the interstate, and traffic comes to a dead stop. Police cars whiz past on the left shoulder, followed by a fire truck and four ambulances. Some people ease from the right lane onto the shoulder and roll toward the off-ramp a quarter mile up the road. Do you get off the highway and detour around what appears to be a horrific accident? Or do you stay where you are, hoping to get a glimpse of the carnage?

"If you stay on the highway, Jumped is for you. Williams-Garcia foreshadows the ending in the first chapter. Sophomore Leticia Moore, at school early for extra help in geometry, sees cute Trina cut between basketball player Dominique Duncan and 'Nique's crew. She hears Dominique pledge to jump Trina after school and calls her best friend at work to tell her the juicy news.
Attractive, artistic Trina is so vain and self-absorbed that she doesn't see the threat. She is new to the school and doesn't perceive the inappropriateness of her behavior. Along the way to her fateful encounter, she flirts with the assistant principal and breaks into the Boosters' lunchtime rehearsal. Dominique is a powder keg about to explode-benched from the team because of a low grade, she hounds both the teacher who gave her the grade and the coach.

"In vivid and precise detail and in three very distinct voices, Williams-Garcia depicts Leticia, Trina, and Dominique going through a day at a large, diverse urban high school. Leticia's friend's increasingly urgent text messages to “tell someone” alternate with portraits of a noisy, overcrowded school and apathetic teachers and staff. When Leticia breaks a nail in gym class, nobody cares; even her mother refuses to speak to her. With her best friend off campus in a work-study program, Leticia's sole companion is her cell phone, which she has named Celina.

"The girl-on-girl violence at the center of Jumped thrives because nobody cares--neither the bored, alienated teenagers nor the burned-out adults. The angry, violent perpetrator (about whose home life we learn nothing) and the clueless victim are on a collision course. The characters--with the exception of Leticia's best friend and a boy in Trina's art class-are not likable but they are understandable. Readers might claim that Leticia, Trina, and Dominique are “not like me” (what teenage girl really goes around believing she looks absolutely perfect and is beautifying the school by her very presence?) but their stories are real and gripping, and they will make readers think. Within at least one of these characterizations is a piece of every teenage girl--or former teenage girl--irrespective of class, race, or ethnicity. There is much food for discussion in this horrific car-wreck of an encounter involving a Bully, a Victim--and a Bystander who not only lets it happen but also relishes the view."

How intriguing does that sound? Thanks, Lyn!

Cover Stories: Giving Up the V by Serena Robar

Today, Serena Robar is here to share a Cover Story!

"Every publisher is different. With my last publisher, they asked me what I thought the covers should look like and I would write a detailed email and send it to them, which they promptly disregarded and then did their own thing. Since I'm a writer and not a cover artist, maybe my cover ideas would not have sold the books as well as what they chose. It's always a concern that you will get a cover that doesn't portray the tone of your book accurately and have a negative impact on sales.

"I've only asked for a change once in my book-writing history. In Fangs4Freaks I asked that the girl on the front not have black nail polish, since the heroine vampire was a cheerleader and loved pink. They switched it to a deep, hot pink.

In my opinion, she should have had a pink French manicure but in the end it wasn't a issue I was willing to raise a stink over.

And to be honest, they would have ignored me if I had. Writers have literally no say over what their covers look like.

"With Giving Up the V, I really had no idea what the cover would look like and they didn't ask me. I found out they were doing a model shoot for the cover when my editor told me it was about to happen. I was pretty excited to learn they actually set up a traditional photography shoot.

"One of the things I hear about my cover is how wonderful that they used a realistic model on the cover. She isn't anorexic, she looks healthy. This makes me laugh because my heroine is supposed to be a 'bigger' girl. The model on the cover is New York's idea of a chunky teen.

"I loved the cover when I first saw it! Since I had no expectation and was up for anything, I was well and truly delighted. I thought the font and doodles on the cover really evoked the tone of a light, fun read. I suppose my only beef would be that my name is so small. When you view the cover online, you can't even see my name since they use a very thin, crayon font. With every book my name seems to get smaller and smaller on the front cover, but traditionally it should be getting bigger! Guess I never do anything the 'right' way.

"I asked them to darken the font and make my name bigger. They did darken the font but my name stayed the same. Overall, I was really very pleased with the cover so I am tickled with the end result.

"At my house, my books are all referred to as the 'midriff books' since almost all of them feature the middle section of a girl's body. This is a popular trend in cover art today. Just the body of the model with little or no facial features present. Sometimes I put my books face-out on my bookshelf and put Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series face-out on the bookshelf above mine just to see what my covers would look like with a complete person on the front, lol."

I love book cover play like that! And yay for a healthy-body cover model (who has kind of a bangin' body, right?)! I also really like the playful crayon font. What do you guys think?

Little Willow's Book Bag

This Week's Picks
Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson
Breathless by Jessica Warman

Picture Books
Bounce by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Scott Menchin
Stretch by Doreen Cronin, illustrated by Scott Menchin

Graphic Novel Alert
Copper by Kazu Kibuishi

This Month's Spotlighted Title
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Rgz Street Team: Sarah Reviews Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen

The rgz Street Team is a group of teens who bring YA reviews to our blog, led by Postergirl Miss Erin. Find out more.

Today, Sarah reviews Little Black Lies by Tish Cohen:

"Sara Black is a new eleventh grader at Anton High. Anton High School is the most elite public school in the nation. In Anton High’s world of privilege, intelligence, and wealth, Sara can escape her family’s tarnished past and become whomever she wants. And what’s the harm in telling a few little black lies when it can lead to popularity? That is, until another It girl at Anton becomes jealous of Sara’s social climbing. With her balance evaporating, one small push could bring Sara crashing down.

"I don't usually like books about rich girls. I think that I could relate to it because Sara felt out of place and wasn't rich. She is paranoid about others finding out about her. I think that everyone has felt this way. Sara was a realistic character and had interesting aspects about her. Her choices were not always the smartest, but that is how most teens are. Cohen also developed the mean girl well. I wish that there had been more of a romantic plot. I wasn't sure if their romance was going to last or was even that real. Cohen is a great writer. Little Black Lies is a dramatic and cute book. " --Sarah

January: Rage Against Expectations

Over the course of our January featured novel Frankie gets more and more angry about how other people perceive her. Author E. Lockhart asks, "Have you ever felt this rage against expectations? What did you do about it?"

A Sci-Fi Scholarship Opportunity

Our own Little Willow alerted us to this great opportunity!

If you're a current junior or senior (in any form: public school, private school, or homeschooled) and have read War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, check out this scholarship contest:

ENTER THE 14TH ANNUAL SIGNET CLASSICS
STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY CONTEST

$5,000 in scholarships for high school juniors and seniors!

Enter the Signet Classics student scholarship essay contest for the opportunity to win a $1,000 scholarship, plus a complete Signet Classics library for your school!

This year's essay subject is The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells.
Talk to your teacher about how to enter.

For more information and complete rules, visit
http://us.penguingroup.com/scessay

Story Secrets: CAPTIVATE by Carrie Jones

Welcome to Story Secrets! This is a weekly feature where YA authors (some well-known, some debut) spill their secrets about their latest and greatest YA offerings.

Today, I'm excited to chat with writing friend Carrie Jones about CAPTIVATE, which just hit the shelves (along with the paperback of the first book, NEED). Whenever I get grumpy, I check out Carrie's blog for her unique brand of insight and hilarity. Carrie is a person who writes with heart. I promise, her books (and quite possibly her werewolves) will charm you.

Welcome, Carrie!

*****

First, tell us a little bit about CAPTIVATE.
CAPTIVATE is the sequel to NEED. They are stories about Zara who is tormented by human-sized pixies who are full of evil. It's really about how Zara goes from a grieving zombie-like girl to a hero that can total kick some butt while being quirky, because basically everyone should be a quirky butt-kicking hero who has peace symbols on their jeans.


How did you come up with the idea for the series?
I was at the Common Ground Fair, which is this huge, cool fair in Maine, in a rural part of the United States, that’s sponsored by Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA). To get to the main part of the fair you have to walk through this sweet trail that curves through these tall spruce trees.

Right in front of me was this guy. He had a weird vibe. He was wearing all corduroy – blazer, pants. And sticking out from his blazer was this long tail-like appendage that was wrapped in different colored earth-toned cloth. I guess he could tell I was checking him out because he turned his head and looked at me. His eye was this startling silver color. How startling? So startling that I actually gasped and got creeped out.

Then when we were in line to pay we made eye contact again and his eyes were brown. I know! I know! I probably imagined the silver eye color...

Read the rest!

January Playlist: The Disreputable Soundtrack

Featured Author E. Lockhart hand-picked songs for the playlist that accompanies The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks this month (and how cool is that peek at the mix, left?). Listen to the full soundtrack with the player in the right-hand sidebar or in the January issue!

Cover Stories: Dream Life by Lauren Mechling

Lauren Mechling (she of the enviably glossy hair) shared her Cover Story for Dream Girl on my blog last year. Now, she's back to dish on the sequel, Dream Life, which is all butterflies, all the time. Whee!

"Dream Life is a sequel to Dream Girl, so I knew it would likely feature a cover in keeping with the visuals of the first book, which always reminds me of Japanese candy. Shortly after I'd started writing it I was given an even more specific idea to store in the back of my mind: my very cool editor Krista Marino showed me a photograph she was hoping to use on the new cover. If memory serves correctly, it showed the same model as the one who plats Claire on the cover of Dream Girl. But instead of sitting and looking lady-like, she was flung across a couch, her head tilted back and her arm falling down to the floor. It was very dramatic and much less lady-like than the first image. It was intense. I liked it..."

Read the rest of Lauren's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com. And share your thoughts in either spot!