Kelly Jensen's Blog, page 80

Guess The YA Book By Its Subject Headings

Library catalog subject headings are amazing to me. For the most part, they are useful to librarians who are trying to locate books for patrons. Out of context, though, they can make little or no sense. Because their purpose is to organize information contained within a book (or movie or tv show or anything else being cataloged), they distill something complex into something much more simplistic. They’re also constrained — there are designated subject headings, meaning that cataloging is consistent across libraries, rather than tagged by individuals who may choose to describe the contents of an item in a different way. There are other tools within individual catalogs to do that.

I used to play a game on Twitter periodically, where I’d share a handful of a television show’s subject headings from WorldCat and ask people to guess what it was. It’s not as easy as it sounds, since it requires thinking about a piece of art differently than you normally would. I thought I’d try doing this game on STACKED, but with YA. So without further ado, how good are you at identifying a YA book from its library subject headings? I’ll copy and paste the screen shot of the catalog headings from WorldCat and you’ll try your best at guessing what book is being described.  I’m sticking with more well-known books, since even those aren’t easily recognized by their headings only. Answers are at the bottom of the post, so don’t scroll down unless you’re ready to get your answers.

I’d love to know how you do, too, so feel free to share in the comments which ones you got right away and which ones were challenging.

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1. Forever . . . by Judy Blume, 2. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, 3. Feed by M. T. Anderson,  4. The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, 5. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo, 6. Legend by Marie Lu, 7. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs,  8. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, 9. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, 10. Monster by Walter Dean Myers

 

             

Change Can Happen

 

This morning, I finished sending off 30 boxes of Some Girls Are down to Andria Amaral at Charleston County Public Library. She’ll be working to get all of the books out to teens at West Ashley High School who would like a copy, for free, since they had the option of reading this book over the summer removed from them. If you don’t know the backstory to this situation, NCAC has a great wrap-up, including a look at how the administration failed to follow their own policies in this situation. That one parent can do this is unacceptable. . . but look what we, the book community, did in response:

 

 

In addition to the over 830 copies being sent down, more copies are trickling into my house still, which will be packed and sent next week. Further, when asked if people could help with the cost of shipping the books, you all rose to the challenge, too, sending over $600 to help cover shipping.

The total cost of shipping, in the interest of being transparent, was $450. For 30 boxes ranging in weight from 20 to 45 pounds, that feels like a steal, especially knowing the impact this will have on the lives of those teens. Of course, the book will touch them, but what really matters here, and what this will really and truly show to those teens, is how much they matter. How much people care about them. How they have advocates in their own community who want to allow them the opportunity to find themselves.

That is a feeling that cannot be articulated or measured.

We’ve done right by these teens, and I cannot wait to share what happens when Andria receives the books and puts them into the hands of teens. The thought really does bring tears to my eyes.

If you’re wondering what came of the additional $150 donated for shipping, it’s this:

 

I sent 100 copies directly to Andria.

There will be a longer, more in-depth piece coming when the books are distributed, but I wanted to send a tremendous and heart-felt thank you to everyone. This project was incredible and moving, and it really reiterated to me how wonderful the book community is and how much you care about the well-being of teenagers.

Teens don’t get that every day. Teens who have situations like this happen certainly don’t feel respected or cared about. They learn early on that the things that impact them are too much to be seen or talked about.

But we’re going to show them the opposite.

Thank you. Truly. I am honored and moved to be part of such a thoughtful, generous community.

This is what change and advocacy and passion look like.

             

This Week at Book Riot

 

 

Over at Book Riot this week, a few posts:

 

Five great questions I got asked as a reference librarian. A little bit of humor, a little bit of seriousness, and a little bit of decoding the mystery of the book that someone saw at a grocery store.

 

This week’s 3 On A YA Theme looks at 3 recent diverse YA mysteries.

 

I collected a pile of great bookish art I’ve seen on Tumblr. Along with gallery, I dug up the attributions so artists got their credit (that’s my biggest Tumblr pet peeve).

 

This was the last week for the donation drive to get Some Girls Are into the hands of teens at West Ashley High School. I spent the bulk of Wednesday packing them up and making various supply runs across town to make sure they were boxed up and taped up well for mailing. Thanks to your incredible generosity for the donations, as well as the incredible support you showed in helping me pay for postage. I’ve made one trip to the post office already and plan two more to mail out the 30 (!!!) boxes of books. My goal, once these are all shipped out, is to take the 830 copies we received as donations and make it a round 1,000 copies. Here’s a look at all of the boxes, for the curious. I cannot wait to see Andria’s photos when she’s giving the books to the kids:

 

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Giveaway: From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan

Back in 2010 — even typing that makes me realize how that was a long time ago! — I joined a critique group. I had plans to work on a novel, and even though none of those manuscripts will ever see the light of day, being a part of this group taught me a lot about critiquing, about writing, and about my own writing process (and that I was totally not ready to write a novel then).

One of the girls in that group I bonded with pretty quickly was Shannon Grogan. And one of the first things I read was her manuscript for what would eventually become From Where I Watch You. She worked on this novel for years and years, and it was so neat to see it go from idea to a work in progress to a manuscript to now, a fully published novel. It was thrilling to see her dream come to fruition, and it was thrilled to be a part of this process in terms of offering feedback and insight along the way.

It was an honor to help her rework that first chapter to perfection as she queried agents and then to be able to see her be offered representation from multiple agents. When her book was sold to Soho, I had a feeling it would be in really great hands. Soho has been doing really great stuff with their teen lines.

Now that From Where I Watch You is out and on shelves, I wanted to talk a little bit about it here on STACKED. I obviously can’t review it, but it’s the kind of book I think so many teen readers will love. It’s an edgier mystery about a girl who has a dream of getting out and away from the ghosts that haunt her, from the death of her sister to her mother who has turned into a holy roller to the mysterious notes that keep popping up. Her way out is through a baking competition. This could help her land her dream and get her the money she needs to pursue her future on her own terms.

In a lot of ways, Shannon’s book reminds me of Trish Doller’s books, particularly in her writing and style. The voices here are very teen and teen readers will see themselves in the story, even if they haven’t even been in this situation.

Here’s the full description of From Where I Watch You:

Sixteen-year-old Kara McKinley is about to realize her dream of becoming a professional baker. Beautifully designed and piped, her cookies are masterpieces, but also her ticket out of rainy Seattle—if she wins the upcoming national baking competition and its scholarship prize to culinary school in California. Kara can no longer stand the home where her family lived, laughed, and ultimately imploded after her mean-spirited big sister Kellen died in a drowning accident. Kara’s dad has since fled, and her mom has turned from a high-powered attorney into a nutty holy-rolling Christian fundamentalist peddling “Soul Soup” in the family café. All Kara has left are memories of better times.



But the past holds many secrets, and they come to light as Kara faces a secret terror. Someone is leaving her handwritten notes. Someone who knows exactly where she is and what’s she’s doing. As they lead her to piece together the events that preceded Kellen’s terrible, life-changing betrayal years before, she starts to catch glimpses of her dead sister: an unwelcome ghost in filthy Ugg boots. If Kara doesn’t figure out who her stalker is, and soon, she could lose everything. Her chance of escape. The boy she’s beginning to love and trust. Even her life.








To celebrate the publication of Shannon’s book, as well as to get the word out about the book a little further, I wanted to give away two copies of the book to STACKED readers. This one is for US residents, and I’ll pick a winner at the end of the month.

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Read a Romance Month

I just learned last week that August is Read a Romance Month! If you know my reading habits, you know that I’ve been reading romances no matter the month’s designation. (That website is chock-full of awesome posts from romance authors, I highly recommend checking it out.) I had planned on doing a romance round-up this week, but I decided that first, I’d dedicate a post to speaking briefly about how much richer my reading life has become thanks to romance.

I’ve always read romances. When I was a teen, I wouldn’t pick up a book unless I was pretty sure there was some kissing in it (this started my habit of skipping to the end), even if that storyline wasn’t the main one. Even now I prefer at least a little romance in my books, though it’s no longer a strict requirement (and it’s less of a preference for the YA I read).

It wasn’t until just a couple of years ago, though, that I really started to embrace being a romance-reader, when I finally came to the realization that one of the main reasons romance as a genre is so disparaged is because of how female-centric it is. Women are its primary readers and its primary writers (not to mention most of the protagonists are women). The books are written by people like me for people like me, and that is the reason they’re looked down upon. They’re seen as wish-fulfillment for bored women (They’re not! They’re just as well-written, engaging, and meaningful as any other sort of book out there). But here’s the thing: I can name a dozen critically-acclaimed, award-winning books that are clearly wish-fulfillment for straight white men without thinking too hard about it. The idea that romances are “unrealistic” implies that other genres (i.e. those written by and for men) are realistic, which is laughable. I could go on and on – and others have, much more eloquently. Tessa Dare, for example:

Once I realized all of this, I got angry about it. And I stopped being embarrassed about liking romance.

The increase in the amount of romance I’ve read within the past few years has led me to pay more attention to the romance-writing world. I follow a few of my favorite authors on Twitter and through them, I’ve come to learn that the romance publishing world’s problems mirror a lot of those in YA (and publishing in general). I’ve learned about the We Need Diverse Romance movement, which sprang from the more general We Need Diverse Books initiative. I learned about the RITA finalist For Such a Time and through that, how the RITA awards work (and how a genre that celebrates women can also take a decidedly opposite tack when it comes to other marginalized groups).

I’ve learned about self-publishing and how to pick the good ones, and now some of my favorite romances are self-published ones. I read a lot more novellas and short stories. I read a lot more e-books, too! I wouldn’t touch any of that just a few years ago, and now it’s not uncommon for me to open up a self-published (edited and vetted) romance novella on my phone for my evening reading.

Reading romance has absolutely strengthened my feminism and helped fortify my talking points. I’ve learned how to better stand up not just for the genre, but also for anything that women like and participate in, and by extension, women themselves. I’ve been able to bolster my arguments in support of romance, but have ultimately discovered that the best argument is no argument at all – it’s simply telling the other person to Grow Up.

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Welcome To The New STACKED!

 

 

If you’re reading us from a feed reader, hop on over to our main site and take a look at the brand new design and set-up we’re got at STACKED.

After six and a half years, we decided it was time to get a new look. Kim and I had been talking about doing this for years, but we never took the leap. We recently discovered a huge problem with being hosted on Blogger — one we’re not at liberty to talk about but was a security and safety issue — and that made us choose now to change. We’ve gone to being self-hosted at WordPress and underwent a custom redesign with Designer Blogs. We could not be happier with the look or with the entire process of working with Erika and the team at Designer Blogs. STACKED is now cleaner, easier to read, and modern without being too cute or too white and hard on the eyes. We’re also huge fans of the new logo.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be working to update our drop-down menus to ensure that our stuff is much easier to find and navigate than it was before. There will be hiccups throughout. We know some images and links and spacing got muddied a bit while the change happened, but we’ll be working to fix it over the next month or so.

Our goal is to make navigating STACKED much simpler and cleaner. We want to make it so people who want a book list can find a book list without a problem. We are making it easy to find posts on specific topics, and we’re working to streamline our labeling system and to pull out some backlist gems we know are ripe for revisiting. Since we’re now on WordPress, we know images are a little trickier to work with, so we’ll be coming up with ways to improve the visual elements we so frequently write about, too.

Thanks for being STACKED readers, and we hope you enjoy the new look as much as we do.

             

Announcing: Part One of FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD Contributions

via the Creative Commons



Remember the time I sold an anthology of feminist essays to Algonquin Young Readers? It's been a few months since I've talked about it here on STACKED, and that's for good reason: I've been working on making the most dynamic, exciting, wide-ranging voices to contribute.



One of the goals of this collection is to have a solid group of essays, as well as art and comics. One of the other goals was to also reach out to "big name" and celebrities to get their voices into the collection, too. I won't lie and say that part was easy, but I will say that has been one of the most enjoyable, eye-opening, and educational elements of putting together this collection. I have learned about negotiating on rights, among other things. Because some of these negotiations aren't complete yet, I don't feel comfortable sharing, but needless to say, I'm very excited by the "big" names who will be included in the collection.



But I'm not going to be a complete meanie in this post. I DO have a roster of contributors who have signed, sealed, and delivered contracts to me for inclusion in Feminism For The Real World. Curious who they might be?



I'm excited to share, in alphabetical order, the authors and artists who will be included in the anthology. Their pieces range in topic, in voice, in structure, and in approach, and the ones I have seen so far have blown me away. I cannot wait to see the whole of this come together, and more, I cannot wait for this collection to get into the hands of teenagers -- especially teenage girls -- in spring 2017.



I've linked to the websites or work of the contributors, so you can check out what they've been working on and what it was about their work, their voices, and their perspectives that made me want to include them:







Zariya AllenAshley Ford Justina IrelandBrenna Clarke GrayMikki KendallKody Keplinger Sarah McCarrySarah MacLeanAngie Manfredi Kaye M.Lily Myers Malinda LoAshley Hope PerezRafe PoseyDaniel José OlderBecca Sexton & Allison StegerNova Ren SumaCourtney SummersAnne TheriaultShveta ThakrarKayla WhaleyErika T Wurth





Illustrators and Artists



Stasia BurringtonTyler FederMichelle HiraishiPomona Lake Liz PrinceJen Talley Wendy Xu

It's an honor to work with this roster of writers and artists. I've admired so much of their work and their insights, that being told "yes! I'm interested!" to contributing to my collection was nothing short of flattering. 

This is my dream project, and I've learned so much so far, both from the contributors and my editors. I cannot wait to talk more about this as the project proceeds, but one thing that stands out to me is something I talked a bit about earlier this summer: the course I took in college as my capstone, where the final project was developing an anthology, has played a tremendous role in my thinking about this particular collection. But more -- and maybe more importantly -- it made me rethink some of the things I learned or analyzed in that particular class. Like in librarianship, you learn about ideals and perfect case scenarios in the classroom. You ask a lot of "why did they fail to do this or this or this?" in regards to imperfection in creation.

But the truth is, when you're in the thick of things, when you're actually on the ground making and doing, there are so many confounding factors that muddy the process. Nothing will ever be perfect; it can't be. Instead, you make it the best thing you can make it, and you take pride in that. The process of asking myself questions, of asking questions of those who know better or who have more experience, has been enlightening and humbling. 

I'm very proud of this so far, and I'm only going to be more thrilled as further pieces click into place. I cannot wait to see it all come together. 


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This Week at Book Riot

I got on a roll this week in terms of writing for Book Riot. Here's what went up:





This week's "3 on a YA theme" ended up being more like 11 on a YA theme because I wanted to talk about intersectional feminism in YA. So, here are 11 YA books that showcase intersectionality. 

Did you know Ann M. Martin celebrated her 60th birthday this week? I didn't realize it when I sat down to write this piece, but that worked out pretty nicely. Here's a look at why the Baby-Sitters Club meant so much to me as a kid. 











As of yesterday afternoon, there have been 770 copies of Some Girls Are (and What Goes Around, the bind-up) donated. I'm going to write more about this process after I ship these down to Andria in Charleston next week, but it's been phenomenal. Thank you.

I've been asked numerous times if there's a way to donate money to help cover the cost of shipping. I am happy to accept donations for this, if you so choose. I'll take them through paypal only, and the email you can use to send a donation is kellybjensen@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for anyone who is doing that, too -- this all means a lot, and I'm so overwhelmed with your generosity. These teens are going to know how much their lives and stories matter. 








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August Debut YA Novels

It's time for another round-up of debut YA novels of the month.



Like always, this round-up includes debut novels, where "debut" is in its purest definition. These are first-time books by first-time authors. I'm not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past.



All descriptions are from WorldCat, unless otherwise noted. If I'm missing any debuts out in August from traditional publishers, let me know in the comments. As always, not all noted titles included here are necessarily endorsements for those titles.









From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan: Sixteen-year-old Kara McKinley's life imploded after the death of her mean-spirited older sister, but she finds solace in baking and the hope of winning a culinary school scholarship until a stalker targets her, leading her to piece together events from her past even as she fears for her future.





The Temple of Doubt by Anne Boles Levy: Fifteen-year-old Hadara loves to go beyond the city limits gathering herbs and throwing off the yoke of her religious schooling, but when a falling star crashes into the marshes beyond Port Sapphire, two powerful high priests arrive from the god Nihil's home city to investigate, insisting it harbors an evil force, and choosing Hadara as a guide into the wilds, setting off a chain of events that will upend everything she has been taught about the sacred and the profane. 













Diary of a Haunting by M. Verano: After her parents' high-profile divorce, sixteen-year-old Paige is forced to leave Los Angeles for a rambling Victorian mansion in small-town Idaho where she soon notices strange occurrences that seem to be building toward some unspeakable horror.







The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy: Seventeen-year-old Stella has no recollection of the day her best friend disappeared while the two, then six, were picking strawberries, until the corpse of a similar girl turns up and Stella not only begins to remember, she learns that something dark has been at work in their little town for generations.













How To Say I Love You Out Loud by Karole Cozzo: When Jordyn's autistic brother joins her at her elite school her junior year, she is determined not to let anyone know they are related, even if that means closing herself off to her closest friends Erin, Tanu, and Alex, the football captain she secretly loves.





Madly by Amy Alward: Samantha's ability to mix potions is needed when her family is summoned to take part in an ancient quest to save Princess Evelyn from a potion gone awry, but will curing the princess doom Samantha's chance at love?











Not After Everything by Michelle Levy: After his mom kills herself, Tyler shuts out the world--until falling in love with Jordyn helps him find his way toward a hopeful future. 




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Experimental Hybrid Novels

The term "hybrid" in kidlit is frequently used to refer to graphic/narrative hybrids like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but lately I'm noticing a mini-trend that uses that concept slightly differently - combining the traditional narrative with other ephemera like magazine articles, online chat transcripts, photographs, and the like (and illustrations too, usually). Often, the straightforward narrative makes up less than half of the book, and the other methods are much more integral to the story. While the idea is by no means new, I do find it interesting that it's cropping up a bit more frequently of late, and it's being taken in new and creative directions.



Kelly wrote a genre guide to alternative formats earlier this year, which covers these sorts of books, but I think some authors are playing with the idea more creatively than a lot of the examples we gave then. Stories told in epistolary format, verse, or graphic/narrative combo, while slightly different, aren't really considered experimental anymore. I love seeing the types of formats exemplified by the books below that really push the boundaries and force us to dig for a new term to describe them. (Incidentally, what would you call books like these?)



I compiled a brief list below, but I'd love to learn about more, so please comment away. Descriptions are from Worldcat and my own notes are in brackets.





The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone by Adele Griffin

When a celebrated New York City teenager, known for her subversive street art, mysteriously dies, her life is examined in a series of interviews with her parents, friends, boyfriends, mentors, and critics.  

[This description only scratches the surface of everything that's in Griffin's book, which also includes photos, Addison's artwork, and magazine articles alongside the interviews. You can read Kelly's review here and a discussion with the author at School Library Journal.]



Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

The planet Kerenza is attacked, and Kady and Ezra find themselves on a space fleet fleeing the enemy, while their ship's artificial intelligence system and a deadly plague may be the end of them all.

[This is a forthcoming title - October 20 - that, according to Kirkus, combines "interview transcripts, memos, instant-messaging transcripts, diary entries, and more." I have the review copy and am excited to dive in, though a little intimidated by its 600 pages.]





The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich

Told through journal entries, a psychotherapist's notes, court records, and more, relates the tale of Carly, a teen who was institutionalized after her parents' death but released to Elmbrige High School, where she is believed to have a second personality or soul named Kaitlyn, and/or be possessed by a demon.

[This YA horror novel will be published September 15.]



S by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst

A young woman picks up a book left behind by a stranger. Inside it are his margin notes, which reveal a reader entranced by the story and by its mysterious author. She responds with notes of her own, leaving the book for the stranger, and so begins an unlikely conversation that plunges them both into the unknown. The book: Ship of Theseus, the final novel by a prolific but enigmatic writer named V.M. Straka, in which a man with no past is shanghaied onto a strange ship with a monstrous crew and launched onto a disorienting and perilous journey.

[This is an adult title that actually has removable pieces scattered throughout it, making it impractical for library shelves but pretty fun to play with as a reader. The conceit is interesting - it's a "real" book that's been written in by two students, and their marginalia makes up the story, though the book is a story in itself as well.]
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