November Feature: The Struggle to be Strong: True Stories by Teens About Overcoming Tough Times

Our November non-fiction featured title is The Struggle to Be Strong, a compilation of true stories from teens. This book was edited by Al Desetta, M.A., of Youth Communication, and Sybil Wolin, PhD, of Project Resilience. When I got in touch with Youth Communication, I met (virtually) with Loretta Chan. When she was a teenager, Loretta wrote for New Youth Connections, one of Youth Communication's magazines. Now Loretta is the marketing director of Youth Communication, and she has something she wanted to share with you readers:

How can young women overcome tough times, media stereotypes, and even abuse? The resilient girls whose true stories appear in The Struggle to Be Strong know what it takes. Danielle stops being stuck up and learns that beauty really is more than skin deep. So does Tonya, after she gets suckered by a beauty school, which just takes her money. Artiqua stands up to people who criticize her dating a boy from another race. Tamara describes how taking long walks helps her deal with the anger and rage that she feels. Tameka learns how to stop feeling sorry for herself and succeed in college, even though she grew up in foster care and doesn’t get any care packages or other support from home. Shaniqua overcomes her shyness and her fears to perform at a poetry slam. Paula, whose mother abused and neglected her, finds it in her heart to forgive her mom as she is dying. And Terry-Ann, like all of the girls in this book, used writing to learn about herself and become more resilient.

The girls who wrote stories that appear in The Struggle to Be Strong participated in Youth Communication's intensive teen writing program, which has helped thousands of teens explore their lives and improve their writing. Notable alumni from the program include the novelist and National Book Award finalist Edwidge Danticat, Glamour editor Veronica Chambers, New York Times reporter Rachel Swarns, and "Life Hacker" author and blogger Gina Trapani.

How do our teens write their stories? Watch this short film.

- Loretta Chan

Now we want to hear from you: Which of the stories in The Struggle to be Strong reminded you of your own life? How did you relate to the real-life experiences which were shared in this book? Who is the most resilient person in your family or household? Leave your thoughts below in the comments!

Author in Residence Lisa Ann Sandell: Creating Worlds

Our third awesome Author in Residence, Lisa Ann Sandell, is back with her fourth and final video for us! Check out her mini-issue at the rgz website.

Throughout her visit, she has been posting at the readergirlz blog (watch her first vlog, about writing inspirations, here, and her second, about how art influences her, here).

Here is the fourth of Lisa's vlog entries about creating worlds from the real world around us:

Thank you for your gorgeous contributions, Lisa! We heart you!

Author in Residence Lisa Ann Sandell: Representation in Art

Our third awesome Author in Residence, Lisa Ann Sandell, is back with her third video for us! Check out her mini-issue at the rgz website.

Throughout her visit, she will be posting at the readergirlz blog (watch her first vlog, about writing inspirations, here, and her second, about how art influences her, here).

Here is the third of Lisa's vlog entries about writing, in which she illuminates the story of representation in art and literature:

Don't you just love the way Lisa thinks? I want to take a class in Lisa Ann Sandell!

Author in Residence Lisa Ann Sandell: Her Books!

Our third awesome Author in Residence, Lisa Ann Sandell, is a deeply insightful writer who will be on the rgz team through August! Check out her mini-issue at the rgz website.
Throughout her visit, she will be posting at the readergirlz blog (watch her first vlog, about writing inspirations, and her second, about the power of art).

Check out her list of awesome books, and then check out the books themselves!

Lisa told us that her first novel, The Weight of the Sky, is loosely autobiographical. This book tells the story of Sarah, an American teenager who travels to Israel on her first trip away from home by herself.In Israel, Sarah volunteers on a kibbutz, or communal farm, and falls in love with the land - and a boy - and comes to appreciate what really matters to her in life, what she wants to do and who she wants to be. A coming-of-age story about self-discovery.

Published March 2006

Song of the Sparrow tells the story of Elaine, a young woman who, with her father and brothers, lives in a military camp led by Arthur of Britain. The men fight against invaders from many directions, and Elaine does what she can to help the Britains by learning the healing arts to tend to wounded soldiers. There is romance and lots of adventure.

Lisa says, "What I love best about the stories of King Arthur are the

themes of friendship, equality, and justice - I think these ideals are what make the human race noble. I also tried to inject this novel with the notion that girls can be as strong as men, even if they aren't doing the same things. We all have a role to play and the role of girls and women is just as important as that of men."

Published May 2007

In A Map of the Known World, Cora Bradley's older brother has died in a car crash. Now she finds solace in drawing maps of and envisioning herself in exotic locales. Then, as she begins high school, Cora begins to spend time with Damian, the handsome, brooding boy who was in the car with Nate the night he died, and she uncovers her brother's sec

ret artistic life, and realizes she had more in common with him than she ever imagined. The themes of this novel cover the redemptive powers of art, friendship, and love.

Published April 2009
Did You Know?

Both Song of the Sparrow and Weight of the Sky are verse novels.

Lisa's short story entitled "See Me" was published in the anthology 21 Proms.

Author in Residence Lisa Ann Sandell: Art as Inspiration

Our third awesome Author in Residence, Lisa Ann Sandell, is a deeply insightful writer who will be on the rgz team through August! Check out her mini-issue at the rgz website.

Throughout her visit, she will be posting at the readergirlz blog (watch her first vlog, about writing inspirations, here).

Here is the second of Lisa's vlog entries about writing, in which she shows us some inspirational art and what each piece means to her:

Lisa asks, "What is some of your favorite artwork?"

Learn more about Lisa Ann Sandell and our author-in-residence position.

More About Author in Residence Lisa Ann Sandell!

Here's a little more about our newest Author in Residence, Lisa Ann Sandell. See her first vlog, about inspirations and writing habits, here.

Author in Residence Lisa Ann Sandell!

Our third awesome Author in Residence, Lisa Ann Sandell, is a deeply insightful writer who will be on the rgz team through August! 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 Lisa among us (look at those gorgeous books!).

Here is the first of Lisa's vlog entries about writing, in which she takes us on a walk and shows us some of her inspirations and writing spots in her hometown of NYC!

She also reads a gorgeous passage from Song of the Sparrow.

Thanks, Lisa! It's so much fun to get a peek into writers' worlds. Anyone else care to share their own creative processes? Tell us!

Learn more about Lisa Ann Sandell and our author-in-residence position.

Catching Up with Beth Kephart

We're catching up with Beth Kephart, who was our first Author-in-Residence from September through December 2009, and whose novel Nothing but Ghosts is a recommended read in this month's issue of readergirlz.



Thank you, Beth! You sound as busy as ever. :)

rgz LIVE! Twitter Party with Elizabeth Scott!

Join us tonight for our first ever twitter chat with Elizabeth Scott, the winter Author in Residence. Ask her about her books, her video blogs for readergirlz...anything!

The chat will start live at the top of the hour over at twitter. Elizabeth Scott can be found on twitter at escottwrites

rgz LIVE! Twitter Party tonight with Elizabeth Scott!

Stop by twitter for a chat with Elizabeth Scott, author of THE UNWRITTEN RULE! Live chat at 6pm PST/9pm EST - see you there for our first ever rgz twitter chat! (Elizabeth Scott is on twitter as escottwrites).

Don't have a Twitter account? It's fast and easy to set one up!

At http://twitter.com, just click on the yellow "Give it a try" button to get started. All you will need is your name, a unique user name, and an email address. Add a password, and you're now on Twitter!

Search for readergirlz to begin following us and our tweets.

If you want others to see your posts ("tweets") during the chat, make sure the "Protect my tweets" box is not checked on the Accounts tab. If you want to get fancy, you can add a picture and customize your page in the Design tab.

Protect your privacy! No one can see your email address on twitter, but it's a good idea to choose a user name that doesn't give away your real name or location (especially if you are not an adult).


To join the Elizabeth Scott chat:

Click on the "Home" page and enter #rgz in the Search box. Our chat will come up, and you can jump right in! Be sure to include #rgz in your chat posts so that everyone else can see them and respond.

We'll see you there tonight!

Author in Residence Elizabeth Scott: Win a set of all my books!

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 fourth, and last, of Elizabeth’s monthly vlog entries about writing, in which she answers reader questions what she does when she finish a book, including post-book rituals, how her drafts drop, on average, between 30-40% when she edits, and why editing (even though it can be painful) *is* a good thing.

Comment below for a chance to win a set of all of Elizabeth Scott's published books, including a copy of her upcoming novel, Grace, when it comes out in September!

Here she is:

Author in Residence Elizabeth Scott: Win a Copy of The Unwritten Rule!

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 third of Elizabeth’s monthly vlog entries about writing, in which she answers readers questions about the writing of her brand new novel, The Unwritten Rule! She talks about how she writes relateable characters and creates perfect guys.

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of The Unwritten Rule! (Elizabeth is giving away five copies!)

You can learn a lot from this awesome writer. Here she is:

Author in Residence Elizabeth Scott: Your Questions Answered + Win Books!

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 second of Elizabeth’s monthly vlog entries about writing, in which she answers readers questions about her butt-in-chair technique, the inspiration that comes with scrubbing toilets (but not at the dentist), what she reads, and many other fascinating things. (Including how you can comment below to win a paperback copy of Something, Maybe... open to readergirlz all over the world!)

You can learn a lot from this awesome writer. Here she is:

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!