Don't Forget How to Be Bad

E. Lockhart (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks), Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks) and Lauren Myracle (TTYL) have teamed up to write a book about three girls, one road trip and too many mangoes. How to Be Bad is in stores now.

And inconsequentially, this is our 200th post.

Bookshelf: Squashed by Joan Bauer

Pumpkins are a most fantastic vegetable.

If you don't believe it, read Squashed. (Slightly) overweight and (incredibly) green-fingered, Ellie is determined that her Great Max pumpkin will win come festival time. But with pumpkin theives on the loose, friendly Ag Club presidents with gorgeous eyes and her self-help father deadset against anything dirty, it will take a lot of pumpkin magic for Ellie to be crowned queen of the ball. Funny without insulting intelligence, Squashed was the best farm book I've read in a while.

Makes me want to go hunt up some canned pumpkin...

School Politics

So, I'm applying for basically every club under the sun (or just about.) I've gotten my schedule (with four AP classes and 1 honors.) I'll be a senior in high school just like Miss Couturable (http://www.misscouturable.blogspot.com/.) How the HECK am I supposed to finish my book and get all these amazing clips?

I don't know.

The way I see it, I need to be involved in school- not just to give back, but because I get really bored otherwise. But writing is also important because

a. I love it and

b. it sets me apart on my college apps. (Oh yeah: since I'll have seven of those to do this summer/fall, too.)

How does it all fit? I'm curious to hear how anybody else handles the school/writing balance, or opinions in general.

Reminisce with Jezebel

The controversial, the fabulous, the fun Jezebel.com has something for YA-lovers. "Fine Lines" is a recurring feature where their book critic, Lizzie Skurnick, writes about famous children's/YA classics like The Witch of Blackbird Pond and The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

http://jezebel.com/tag/fine-lines/

The language and content can get pretty adult- just be aware.

If You Want to Write...

Attack the Newspapers!

If you're argumentative and enjoy heated discussions about anything, the essay/op-ed market is one you won't want to miss. It's also a market that you can start getting involved in a little bit at a time: your newspaper is the place to start.

Start a habit of writing a letter to the editor once a week. The smaller the paper, the more likely your letter will appear. Kathy Henderson, in The Young Writer's Guide to Getting Started, comments that many smaller newspapers are understaffed and would love to have a teen reporter or columnist.

If you start small, with responding to articles every week, you can develop a relationship with the editors. They'll appreciate your input. Then, after a while, you can see if there's a spot in the teen section-- or if they would let you start a teen section. Talk about experience!

The Word from the Bloggers is...

Lisa Yee talks about being an Asian writer. www.lisayee.livejournal.com

Susan Johnston (over at The Urban Muse, re-decorated) writes about the difference between journalism and writing-- which are you? http://www.urbanmusewriter.com/2008/05/are-you-writer-or-journalist.html.

Kristen Nelson dishes on what it's like to work with Hollywood co-agents: the people responsible for making movies out of our favorite books. http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2008/05/90210.html.

WORD: Reading Catcher in the Rye

by Gabrielle Linnell

I hadn't read Catcher in the Rye before this week. Although I've had a classical education (frequented by The Republic and The Faery Queene) and although I spend most of my time reading YA lit (half of which seems to be coming-of-age), I never read Salinger's masterpiece. Catcher is called the coming-of-age novel. Writer's Digest does a regular feature on debut authors, and often list particular influences: Salinger is more likely to be on there than anybody. And when I was at a Christian school my English teacher said she would never teach the novel, because of certain lewd parts.

So what is this book? It offends, it is a virtual textbook for style, it is a legend and leader of YA literature, it is an inspiration to countless people, it is a classic.

I'm ashamed to say I had almost no idea what it was about before I read it as a homework assignment. I soon figured out that it was told from the point of view of Holden Caulfield, a male teenager who was just kicked out of another prep school, in America after World War II. The best feature of the book was his voice. Holden tells you a story the way your best friend tells you a story, with interruptions and color and witticisms and sadness. Although Holden would be a grandfather today, the teens in my class identify with him. He sounds like a teenager.

For me, reading this book is important because so many YA authors look to it as a standard for the genre. It covers awkwardness, sexuality, identity, truth, hypocrisy: all themes that are fully discussed today in YA books like Avi's Nothing But the Truth, Meyer's Twilight, Garfinkle's Storky: How I Lost the Name and Got the Girl. Did Salinger start the conversation? by no means. Did he influence it? Of course.

Catcher is a book I won't fully understand without pondering for a while. Some books you can read and instantly understand what the author says. This one will take contemplation, not because Salinger is obtuse but because he is subtle. A good writer, by any account.

Gabrielle Linnell is a published writer who enjoys partying hard on Memorial Day with Slip n' Slides and too much homemade ice cream. She is currently re-reading "Gaudy Night" for pleasure and "The Things We Carried" for English.