Category Archives: Young Adult Literature
A Rescue Plan Containing Multitudes
“Gomer knew what coming out was. He had taken the sex-ed classes, and there were gay people in his town, but they tended to come for weekends and the summer, because they had jobs in the city. They were rich … Continue reading
Great Storytelling: The Perfectly Constructed YA Novel
Meg Medina’s Burn, Baby, Burn is an example of great storytelling. This didn’t surprise me as I’d loved Medina’s Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass. I’d recommend Burn to any teen looking for a good read. I’d also recommend … Continue reading
Teen Voices and The Poet X: Keep a Journal
Note: This is a YA book review as well as a comment on teen writing, so I added it here from my personal blog A recent experience with a teen writer had me going back to The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. … Continue reading
AudioSync: Are You Getting Your Free YA Books?
Free YA Audiobooks from AudioFile After tomorrow, the AudioFile Audiobooks for Teens Program will be half way through. There have been some YA great titles, so if you haven’t signed up for the program yet, do so now! The titles … Continue reading
Parameters of the YA Novel: Is Bridge of Clay Still YA?
Bridge of Clay and YA Novels What are the parameters of the YA novel? Is Markus Zusak’s Bridge of Clay still YA? I asked myself this as I read this gorgeous novel. If you’re writing a novel that focuses on … Continue reading
Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Grief, Over 375 pages, Young Adult Literature
Tagged Bridge of Clay, brothers, death, grief, Markus Zusak, siblings, YA fiction, YA literature
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One Important Secret: Balance. Character, Emotion, and Story in Far from the Tree
Since I am on a YA fiction jag, I want to have a quick look at why National Book Award winning Far from the Tree by Robin Benway is so good. Happily, all the things that make this novel work … Continue reading
Hope in the Mail
Wendelin Van Draanen, author of Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life, wrote one of my favorite YA novels, The Running Dream. (I wrote a review of The Running Dream here. Check it out–and check out the book!) … Continue reading
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager
Being a Teen=Lack of Control Over Life Smack in the middle of his junior year of high school, Norris Kaplan has to move from Montreal, Canada to Austin, Texas when his mom secures a professorship at the University of … Continue reading
Posted in Family Problems, Fiction, Humor, Multicultural, Romance, Sports, Young Adult Literature
Tagged Austin, Black youth, book reviews, Canada, coming of age, friendship, Haitian immigrants, Montreal, parent-teen relationships, romance, school problems, Teen Issues, Texas, YA fiction, YA literature
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Teen Writers! Submit Your Work NOW!
Call for Submissions for a Special Teen Issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey Now accepting fiction, poetry, nonfiction, graphic novel excerpts, zine excerpts, book reviews, and art for a special issue of Inlandia: A Literary Journey, Inlandia Institute’s online literary … Continue reading
School Library Lady 