Mark Reads: Tortall

In my internet ramblings, I've stumbled over some pretty fun stuff, but I have to say that these video series is my current favorite.

Mark Reads is basically this guy, Mark, as he reads books. And sometimes fanfiction. He has a whole series dedicated to Tortall, and I love his reactions! Go and check it out :)

Forever by Judy Blume: a review

Like my mother said, you can't go back to just holding hands.

Forever, Judy Blume

Just thinking about Judy Blume puts me in a happy mood. Her young adult books do not shy away from the tough issues, something that has gotten her in some trouble with the sensors. Judy Blume lays it out, real talk. But that, more than anything, proves that what she has to say is something that the younger generation needs to hear.

She writes stories about young people, going through issues that young people face on a constant basis. Reading about it, though? How scandalous! 

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce: a Review

“I’ll not stand for any tricks. I may be human, but I’m not stupid.”

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is an accomplished fantasy YA novelist (We're talking 26 books, including 5 quartets set in two different, well established universes). I could go on for days about her epic world building, lush characters, and how amazing it is that her books feature a wide variety of strong female characters (and characters within the LGBT community!). You go Tammy!

Looking for Alaska by John Green: a Review

“Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.”
Looking for Alaska by John Green

If you have read my post on Paper Towns, you know how much I love John Green's books, and this is no exception.  Pudge, our narrator, is over his uneventful home life. So he enrolls in Culver Creek Boarding School in an attempt to seek "The Great Perhaps". There, life gets infinitely more exciting, crazy, and destructive, especially upon meeting Alaska Young (who is equally exciting, crazy, and destructive.) 

The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson: A Review

“Sometimes I feel like I've been waiting for someone to tell me when I can be normal again,' she said. 'I keep thinking I'll get a letter. Or a call. When does it happen?'

The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson

Hi there! My name is Allison and this is a guest post. You can check out my college advice blog

here: http://adviceforthealmostadult.blogspot.com

First off: I LOVED this book! It’s been almost three years since I read it and it’s still near the top of my list of all-time favorite books. Maureen Johnson just published her tenth novel last month, but this

was her first, and in my opinion her best (though I’ve only read about five of her other works). Johnson is an interesting writer because her novels span from realistic, to magical, to adventurous, to supernatural thriller. I definitely suggest checking her out if you haven’t already, there is bound to be something you like.

Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Darer Littmam: A review

"Sometimes, I wonder in Jesus, Allah, and God are all the same person. I imagine that J-A-G person sitting up there in heaven, shaking His head with tears in His eyes because He can't understand why His children are fighting and killing one another in His various names, not realizing that they are all praying to the same guy."

Confessions of a Closet Catholic by Sarah Darer Littman

Justine Silver, our 11-year-old protagonist has decided to be supportive of her new best friend, who has given up chocolate for lent. Her friend, Mac, has given up chocolate, but Justine (who doesn't think that God would want her to suffer a chocolate-less life) decides instead to give up being Jewish.

Nationstates - create your own "Community."

I recently reviewed The Giver by Lois Lowry, which reminded me of an assignment I had when I read the book for my seventh grade English class. Everyone in the class had to partner up and create their own Community, and I will admit that mine was flawed to the point of offensive. My 12-year-old self had soaked up one too many of Topanga Lawerence's feminist statements.  I specifically remember one quote about men being forced to live underground... so that's what happened in our Community (If I had a bra at the time, I would probably have burned it.). My partner's mother had enough sense to make us change the name from Feminazi to Femininian.

I bring up this embarrassing memory to say that around the same time, I was introduced to a website called Nation States. Nation States is a website were people create individual nations which grow and change through the decisions you make and the laws you pass. It is a ton of fun, and always makes me think of the Community in The Giver.

Check it out! My account here.

Review of Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

"That fool of a fairy Lucinda did not intend to lay a curse on me. She meant to bestow a gift."

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine


As adaptations go, this is practically perfection. 
Not to be confused with the film adaptation of this adaptation, which is problematic for a number of different reasons*.

Ella is born in a magic and medieval land were it is common practice for fairy's to bestow gifts to people (think Sleeping Beauty). This, however, becomes problematic when Lucinda, a know-it-all fairy with a skewed perception of kindness and too much time on her hands gives Ella the "gift" of obedience.

Harry's New Look

I dunno about you guys, but I definitely grew up with Harry Potter.

Granted, that sentence implies two untruths. The first being that I have grown up, the second being that Harry Potter is no longer an important part of my life. My quidditch themed messenger bag would prove otherwise.

As would my Harry Potter Pillowcase.

And the hundred of Wrock songs on my iPod.

And the fact that I wore my Gryffindor scarf and tie during my valedictory speech.

But I digress.

Review of The Giver by Lois Lowry

“Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with difference. We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others.” 

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver is the first book in a series by Lois Lowry, set in an undisclosed time and place, in a world where societies behave much differently than we are used to. Gathering Blue is the next book in the series, however it is almost completely unrelated and it is only in the third book, Messenger, that the two tales begin to come together.

While it was initially meant to be a trilogy, Lowry released Son, the fourth and final installment last October.

Book Haul, or I how I spend my student loans.

I should not be allowed in bookstores. 

But, considering that I just got a Barnes & Noble Membership (Rest in Peace, Borders) this won't be happening anytime soon. 

Snagged these off of my instagram account (Follow me?).


• Mexican Whiteboy by Matt De La Peña. The author went to my Alma Mater. Gotta support my fellow Pacifian, what what!)
• Woman Hollering Creek, a collection of short stories by Sandra Cisneros. This was a optional reading for my seventh grade class, so here is looking at you, Mr. Sirard.
• Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. I need to reread this again before the radio adaptation airs in March.
• Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison. This was also optional reading for my seventh grade class. I kept up with the series until the final book was published in my junior year of highschool.
• The Giver by Lois Lowry. Also... something I read... while in seventh grade. Thanks, Mr. Sirard, for keeping me in the library and off the streets. Or. Whatever else people do that doesn't involve spending time in libraries. You get the idea.
  
  

Review of Psyche in a Dress by Francesca Lia Block

Is beauty monstrous?
If so, then my sisters were right
His beauty was so sharp it could have cut
out my heart
He lay naked, sleeping on my bed
How could it be?
Why had he chosen me?
I wanted to run and hide from him

Francesca Lia Block
Psyche in a Dress

TIme for another poetry book! I love Francesca Lia Block, but I realize that she may not be everyone's cup of tea. For my first review of her work I have chosen Psyche in a Dress, what I have often thought of an intro to her work: It is short, poetical, and talks about the Tough Issues, but not in a way that reminds of an after school special. 

Review of Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Or how I ended up hyperventilating in a hotel room)

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.” 

-J.D. Salinger

I didn't get around to reading this book until last summer, between my sophomore and junior year at college. I had tried to read it in high school, but never really got passed the first few pages. My biggest fear was that I wouldn't be able to connect with Catcher the way that people who read younger. And, truthfully, I still am not sure. 

Review of Paper Towns by John Green

“When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.”

John Green, Paper Towns


I had SO MUCH trouble picking the quote for this book. There are so many beautiful parts! So many moments of clarity and brilliance, and I just, AG. I'll quit fangirling in a moment, I swear*.

Kindles, audiobooks, and paperbacks, oh my!

We have interrupted your previously scheduled reviews to bring you this small pontification.

Not only are there a ton of great teen lit books out there, but there are so many different ways to read them!

Review of Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

"The question then is, how much are you willing to give?"

I thought about all the battlefields, all the dead men and women I had seen, all the dying children and fathers and mothers I had held and sung to. I thought about my dead alistair, Vasili, about my brother, Xavier, and about Gregory Cobriana begging me to stop the pain.
And I answered, "Anything."
A breath later, Zane echoes my response with, "Everything."

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, Hawksong

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

You think you know your possibilities.

Then other people come into your life
and suddenly there are so many more.

The Realm of Possibility, by David Levithan

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

"She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew."

Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl, Pg 15.

Quality Young Adult Literature

Hey there, reader!

I dunno about you, but whenever people ask me what my favorite genre is, I hesitate.

Answering "teen lit" or even "young adult lit" always gets an unfortunate reaction. They shake their head and ask "Why?". Or, worse, they smile and nod and say, "That's nice," before quickly changing the topic.

There is the assumption that the audience for YA lit is less intelligent and therefore the books themselves are not challenging. Which is frustrating, because this couldn't be more wrong. Teen and young adult literature feature engaging books that deal with themes that help create and hone the critical thinking skills of the reader.

On this blog, I will feature quality books intended for a teen/young adult genre. By quality, I mean that I will showcase intriguing and well rounded books.