May 2009: Laura Resau

Here's a roundup of all of Laura Resau's discussion posts for Red Glass this month. Feel free to jump in and add your thoughts at any time! Thanks again, Laura and rgz!

Welcome, Laura Resau
Poetry Friday: Red Glass
Have you ever taken a trip that changed your life?
What have you overcome?
Clothes or jewelry that make a difference?
Unusual behavior
What's your heritage?
Red Glass Party
Unexpected Reactions
rgz LIVE!
Older Female Inspirations
Looking Past Assumptions
Gracias, Laura

Gracias, Laura Resau!

Here's a big gracias to the awesome Laura Resau for joining us at readergirlz this month! Red Glass touched us in so many ways, and I'd like to quote from the book a little. This is a message we can carry into our days, weeks and years:

"I felt taller, as if my whole life, I'd let fear cram me into a small box, a space so tiny I was always curled over, my shoulders hunched, my back bent. That box had seemed too strong to break through, so I hadn't tried before. But maybe, all along, the box was just flimsy cardboard, and all I had to do was stand up, punch through the top, and climb out." (p. 203)

Having Laura here this month has been inspiring. Thank you, Laura, for hanging out with readergirlz!!

Things to Know About Featured Author Laura Resau

The amazing Laura Resau, author of Red Glass, has shared a few things about herself with us:

On the nightstand: Orange ChapStick, notebook to record dreams, The Hunger Games (amazing book!)

Favorite drink while you write: Hot tea with lots of honey and milk

Pets: Half-corgi-half-lab named Luli. She's short and long and bratty - she gets lots of laughs.

Place to write: My *sweet lil fifties rig* - a cozy silver trailer in my driveway

Dream book tour: How about a series of candlelit readings in remote caves around the world? Getting there would be an adventure for everyone.

Favorite outfit: A très chic strapless silk dress I discovered last summer at a street market in Aix-en-Provence, France. Always looking for excuses to wear it — not easy here in Colorado -- the land of Polarfleece and Tevas.

WOW. I so want to meet Laura's dog, write in her rig and go to her candlelit cave readings (maybe even wearing her strapless dress). You guys? Find out more on readergirlz.com!

May: Looking Past Assumptions

One theme in The Little Prince quotes in Red Glass is that what's essential is invisible. Can you think of a time in your life when you had to look past surface appearances to find what was most important? Have you ever made an assumption about a person, and then, after you've gotten to know him or her, had a different impression?

May: Older female inspirations

Sophie is blessed to know and love Dika, an older woman with a zest for living and complete acceptance of her body. Dika has lived through immense trials, but she has a joy for the day she's been given.

Do you have anyone in your life like Dika? Psst: what does she look like?

May: rgz LIVE! with Laura Resau

Welcome to rgz LIVE! Jump into the party with Laura Resau, the divas, postergirlz, and rgz. Let's celebrate Latina month!

May: Unexpected Reactions

In Red Glass, Sophie encounters an extremely gross bathroom on her solo trip into Guatemala. She runs outside and ends up laughing hysterically. Why do you think she does this? What's the most shocking (or grossest!) place you've encountered? How did you react? Have you ever had a completely unexpected reaction to something?

PS-Don't forget to join us tonight at 9pm EST/6pm PST...

May: Red Glass Party Ideas!

Wanna host a book party in honor of Red Glass? Laura Resau has some ideas for a colorful, musical fiesta!

Invite: Star-shaped invitations with The Little Prince quotes Under the Same Moon, Like Water for Chocolate, El Norte, The Motorcycle Diaries

Food: Mangos, fruitcake (um, if you're not into fruitcake, how about quesadillas?), red Jell-O -- and lime juice squeezed over EVERYTHING!

Décor: Scatter around little white flowers and hard corn kernels, red glass beads or marbles, chicken feathers, a map of the US, Mexico, and Guatemala (to trace Sophie's route)

Movies: Under the Same Moon, Like Water for Chocolate, El Norte, The Motorcycle Diaries

Craft: Learn to dance salsa, meringue, or cumbia; make corn tortillas

May: What's your heritage?

In this month's roundtable concerning Red Glass, Little Willow asked:

"Anyone want to share their background or nationality? Are there any immigration stories in your immediate family?" Anyone celebrating their Latina heritage?

May: Unusual Behavior

Each of the characters has an eccentric behavior - Dika holds her red glass, Angel carries his box, Sophie squeezes lime juice . . . Do you or someone you know have unusual behaviors? What might be some deeper reasons behind the behaviors?

Reach Out: DREAM Act

All over the country, young students are being forced to give up on their dreams of a college education because of their immigration status. Many states deny in-state tuition benefits to students who entered the U.S. illegally, even if they've been here since they were young and have spent their entire school lives in America. This is an issue that our featured book, Red Glass, touches upon. And it couldn't be more timely.

Right now, Congress is considering The Federal DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), which would provide undocumented immigrant youth in America with conditional residency and a chance for citizenship if they came to the U.S. before they were 16, graduated from high school or obtained a GED, attended two years of college or joined the military, and have no criminal records.

If the act doesn't pass, "another entire class of outstanding, law-abiding high school students will graduate without being able to plan for the future, and some will be removed from their homes to countries they barely know," says DreamACTivist.org on its site, which is dedicated to the passage of the DREAM Act. "This tragedy will cause America to lose a vital asset: an educated class of promising immigrant students who have demonstrated a commitment to hard work and a strong desire to be contributing members of our society."

Want to take action? Here are some ideas.

May: Special clothes or jewelry that make a difference

Sophie's new white dress and coconut jewelry make her feel like a different person. Do you have any special clothes or jewelry that make you feel different somehow?

May: postergirlz recommended reads

Thanks to our postergirlz for these recommended reads to accompany Laura Resau's Red Glass! What have you read? What will you pick up?

Fiction

Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa by Micol Ostow
Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
Estrella's Quinceañera by Malin Alegria
Sofi Mendoza's Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malin Alegria

Non-Fiction
Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States edited by Lori Marie Carlson

May: Have you ever taken a trip that changed your life?

Laura says:

Sophie's trip to Mexico and Guatemala makes her see herself - and her life - differently. Have you ever taken a trip that changed you or your life somehow?

Is there a trip you want to take someday? How do you think it might change you?

Welcome, Laura Resau!

We are thrilled to welcome Laura Resau to readergirlz. Her novel, Red Glass, is our May pick! Check out the our interview with Laura, book party ideas themed around Red Glass, and our Reach Out project idea--as well as the awesome soundtrack Laura's chosen for the book--on readergirlz.com.

Here's a little about the book: One night Sophie's family is called to a hospital, where five-year-old Pablo is recovering from dehydration. He was the sole survivor of a group of Mexican immigrants crossing the border. Sophie's family takes him in and comes to love him. A year later, Sophie must take a road trip with an unlikely group of people to Pablo's hometown in Mexico. Full of fears at first, she ends up opening herself to adventure and growing closer to Angel -- a boy her age with a secret. When Sophie dares to travel alone into Guatemala to save Angel, she explores whether love is worth the risk of loss.

And the buzz...

"Rich, poetic language . . . a captivating read." - School Library Journal starred review

"A vibrant, large-hearted story." - Publishers Weekly starred review

International Reading Association Young Adult Book Award Winner

Americas Award Winner

Cybils Award Finalist 2007

We are psyched! Join us all month right here on the blog for discussions and mark your calendars a LIVE chat on Wednesday, May 20th at 6pm PST/9pm EST.

Happy May, readergirlz!

May: rgz Newsflash

Welcome to readergirlz in May! We are ready to salsa into Latina Book Month!

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We Rocked the Drop!

Many, many thanks for everyone’s participation in Operation Teen Book Drop (TBD ’09). Over 8,000 books were dropped, readers across the country left YA books in their communities, and we partied it up at our blog! We heart Support Teen Literature Day! Here’s one more round of applause for YALSA, GuysLitWire and our publishers:

Abrams Books, Bloomsbury/Walker Books, Candlewick Press, Full Cast Audio, Hachette Book Group, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hyperion, Milkweed, Mirrorstone Books, Orca Book Publishers, Peachtree Books, Perseus Book Group/Running Press, Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Soft Skull Press & Red Rattle Books, TOKYOPOP and Tor/Forge/Starscape/Tor Teen.

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Welcome Laura Resau to rgz!

In May, we’ll celebrate Latina Book Month with author Laura Resau and discuss her critically acclaimed novel, Red Glass. The starred review from Publishers Weekly stated, “The prose captivates from the first chapter ... a vibrant, large-hearted story."

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Check out the postergirlz recommended reads!

The postergirlz have selected these works to accompany Red Glass:

* Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa by Micol Ostow
* Estrella's Quinceanera by Malin Alegria
* Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
* Sofi Mendoza's Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malin Alegria
* The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
* The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
* Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States

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Prepare for our summer rgz reads!

* Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
* The Plain Janes and Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
* Kendra by Coe Booth

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Here’s to a sizzling month of reading. Contact us at divas@readergirlz.com.


~the readergirlz divas~

Lorie Ann Grover, On Pointe
Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia
Holly Cupala, A Light That Never Goes Out (2010)
Justina Chen Headley, North of Beautiful
Melissa Walker, Violet Series


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