YA Book Recommendations

I love good books for presents and if you are looking for some great reads for teenagers, here are some I recommend them to try. These books are best for high schoolers.

Young Adult Booklist of Books I recommend

1.Alexander Gordon Smith  Escape From the Furnace Series-Books 1-5.5 Appropriate for mid to upper level teen readers, although some lower readers love them too.   http://us.macmillan.com/series/EscapefromFurnace

These books are gritty, but absolutely popular with boys.  They have literally been waiting at the door of the building and chased me down the hall to get the next in the series.  And these kids were often most reluctant readers.

2. Jennifer Brown books.  She has three about current social issues and they have good thought provoking lessons without being preachy.  Appropriate for boys and girls mid to upper reading levels.  http://www.jenniferbrownya.com/

3. Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why is the best book for teens I may have ever read.  It is about suicide, but is unusual in its presentation and really stresses the questions of those left behind and how a few actions of many people can contribute. http://jayasher.blogspot.com/

4.  The number one thing boys like to read are the annual books on Guinness World Records http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/GWR-2013/

and Ripley’s believe it or not. http://www.ripleybooks.com/

5.  If you want some girly teen books, here are some suggestions and reviews http://yabookdiva.blogspot.com/p/reviews.html

6.  I have a friend whose books are very popular.  Denise Grover Swank's Here is a great YA

http://www.amazon.com/Here-On-the-Otherside-ebook/dp/B0064S8D9W

 

7. These are Missouri’s Library Organization’s Gateway Nominees and these are books that high school teens in Missouri have chosen as their favorites.  The variety of books is great and so are these books.  Schools often use these for book reports and projects.  It will help them be ready to go back to their own schools.  I included the link, so that you could see the guidelines for choosing them.

http://www.maslonline.org/?page=gateway_readers

Cleopatra's Moon, by Vicky Alvear Schecter.  Arthur A. Levine Books.
Rival, by Sarah Bennett Wealer.  HarperTeen.
Ashes, by Ilsa J. Bick.  Egmont USA.
Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake.  Tor Teen.
Bitter End, by Jennifer Brown.  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Shelter, by Harlan Coben.  Putnam Juvenile.
I'll Be There, by Holly Goldberg Sloan.  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Something Like Hope, by Shawn Goodman.  Delacorte Books for Young Readers.
Stay With Me, by Paul Griffin.  Dial.
Everybody Sees the Ants, by A.S. King. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Legend, by Marie Lu.  Putnam Juvenile.
Exposed, by Kimberly Marcus.  Random House.
Ashfall, by Mike Mullin.  Tanglewood Press.
Shine, by Lauren Myracle.  Amulet Books.
Pregnant Pause, by Han Nolan.  Harcourt Children's Books.
Trapped, by Michael Northrup.  Scholastic Press.
Delirium, by Lauren Oliver.  HarperCollins.
This Thing Called the Future, by J.L. Powers.  Cinco Puntos Press.
Clean, by Amy Reed.  Simon Pulse.
Divergent, by Veronica Roth.  Katherine Tegen Books.
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick, by Joe Schreiber.  Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.  Philomel.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.  Little, Brown and Company.
The Probability of Miracles, by Wendy Wunder.  Razorbill.
All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

8.  This next group is more for MS students.  They are usually required to read some of these, but they are books the students enjoy.

THE TRUMAN READERS AWARD

2012-2013 Award Nominees Award Winners

Brand new in 2008, Missouri schoolchildren in middle school/junior high vote for their favorite book from a list of nominated titles. The Truman Readers Award is awarded to the author of this book by the Missouri Association of School Librarians. The Truman Readers Award encourages students in the early teen years to express their unique voice through: exploring new literary genres, communicating with their peers about young adult literature, and honoring authors writing for young teens. 2012 - 2013 Truman Award Nominees After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick Although Jeff and Tad, encouraged by a new friend, Lindsey, make a deal to help one another overcome aftereffects of their cancer treatments in preparation for eighth-grade graduation, Jeff still craves advice from his older brother Stephen, who is studying drums in Africa. Bruiser by Neil Shusterman Inexplicable events start to occur when sixteen-year-old twins Tennyson and Brontë befriend a troubled and misunderstood outcast, aptly nicknamed Bruiser, and his little brother, Cody. Dark Life by Kat Falls When fifteen-year-old Ty, who has always lived on the ocean floor, joins Topside girl Gemma in the frontier's underworld to seek and stop outlaws who threaten his home, they learn that the government may pose an even greater threat. Girl, Stolen by April Henry When an impulsive carjacking turns into a kidnapping, Griffin, a high school dropout, finds himself more in sympathy with his wealthy, blind victim, sixteen-year-old Cheyenne, than with his greedy father. Heist Society by Ally Carter A group of teenagers uses their combined talents to re-steal several priceless paintings and save fifteen-year-old Kat Bishop's father, himself an international art thief, from a vengeful collector. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White When a dark prophecy begins to come true, sixteen-year-old Evie of the International Paranormal Containment Agency must not only try to stop it, she must also uncover its connection to herself and the alluring shapeshifter, Lend. Scrawl by Mark Shulman When eighth-grade school bully Tod and his friends get caught committing a crime on school property, his penalty--staying after school and writing in a journal under the eye of the school guidance counselor--reveals aspects of himself that he prefers to keep hidden. Soccerland by Beth Choat Two years after her mother's death of cancer, fourteen-year-old Flora leaves the family's Maine farm for Colorado's International Sports Academy, where fierce competition could end their dream of Flora playing for U.S. Soccer. The Gardener by S.A. Bodeen When high school sophomore Mason finds a beautiful but catatonic girl in the nursing home where his mother works, the discovery leads him to revelations about a series of disturbing human experiments that have a connection to his own life. The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman New York high school student Elizabeth gets an after-school job as a page at the "New-York Circulating Material Repository," and when she gains coveted access to its Grimm Collection of magical objects, she and the other pages are drawn into a series of frightening adventures involving mythical creatures and stolen goods. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan Jason, Piper, and Leo, three students from a school for "bad kids," find themselves at Camp Half-Blood, where they learn that they are demigods and begin a quest to free Hera, who has been imprisoned by Mother Earth herself. Virals by Kathy Reichs Tory Brennan is the leader of a band of teenage 'sci-philes' who live on an island off the coast of South Carolina and when the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

Busy days and nights!

Where oh where have I been?
Everywhere!  So far I have not focused on being paid to be a writer and a speaker at this point, but I have jumped in with both feet to engage in activities gain experience.

Since my last post I have been to my regular critique group multiple times.   I have joined a new critique group too.  I have enjoyed meetings and holiday parties with my two writing groups MARA and HeRA.  I am making writing contacts who already are or are becoming great friends.  I helped with some contest work for one of my groups.  I have been to book signings for my writer buddies and bought and read their books and given reviews.  I have gathered books from various sources to donate to students in juvenile detention centers.  I even provided some good advice and comfort to some former students during a stressful situation.  I was happy they thought enough of me to come to me to give them guidance.

As G. Aliceson Edwards, writer, my writing is going well!  I know what to do to finish my current YA project.  I am steadily editing to my satisfaction.  I also know what my next project is going to be. I have written two audience participation skits for children.

As G. Aliceson Edwards, speaker, I have been making great strides in establishing a career in public speaking.  I have done workshops on writing at the local library.  I also have done Storytimes at the library and done multiple storytelling dates at an after school program.  I have told stories over and over at a Fall celebration, in costume, with a poke bonnet I crafted myself.

As my way to give back this holiday season, I offered my talents to go to groups and schools to do presentations for free.  I read books, tell and act out stories, have the audience participate, play instruments, and sometimes I even sing, though not on pitch.  I now have nine speaking engagements with a variety of activities and subjects over a two week period with audiences ranging in size from around a dozen to 60 and from pre-school age through high school.  I am very excited to get the opportunity to interact with people of many ages in my own community and beyond.

I am feeling good about having taken a few months to get my bearings for this new career and I have my goals in place to continue going where I want to be.

And oh yeah, I am liking life a lot right now!  Hope all of you either are enjoying yours too or thinking about the things that truly make you happy.  Go get them!

A change will do you good

I just read one of the best books of my life.

It is not the first book I ever read that made me think of the world and my actions differently, and I hope it won't be my last.

A book from my past....Over the last several years I have read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck aloud to my students.  I read the voices with inflection and I wring laughter out of those students and make them cry and choke up too.  I also do a good job of showing that life as a mentally challenged person is not easy, but of value.  I am a good performer, but the key is I feel passionate about one of the themes.  That sometimes out of love for another we must do hard things for their benefit.  My understanding of George and Lenny has made an effect on choices I have made.

A book from my present....I just finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  It is a YA fictional book about teenage suicide and how people's actions affect other people and how simple it is to change the course of someone's life or death by your own actions.  And it is an unbelievably compelling and touching novel.

I learned about this book and this author at the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference last weekend, but put off reading it until this morning.  I heard a lot of hype about the book and I expected it to be so good, I would want to be able to concentrate and read it in one setting.  No bookmarks needed!  I was sick at the beginning of last week and busy at the end, so I waited.  I am working on taking my time to enjoy things and experiences I feel I will cherish.  It was worth it.

I've read the book.  I get the hype.  And I recommend it.  It is not a happy read, but a necessary one.  I have been blessed to read books that were perfect examples of what a book should be and what a book should leave you with.  Thirteen Reasons Why gives that experience.

This isn't just a commercial for the book.  I do hope you read it, but more importantly I hope you read something, sometime that speaks to you the way this book spoke to me.  Something that makes you change.  This ability to touch a reader and to cause the reader to change or revel or love is the power of great literature.

I am going this week to talk to high school students about being a writer.  And I think the message or theme I want to realize about any job is try to find a career that you can be passionate about...a career that lets you use your skills to reach out and to literally make your life and the world a better place.

A book in my future...I hope and believe that I will one day write a book that can cause a person to feel the power of the message and have it change they way they live their life for better.

SCBWI Conference Ruled!

This past weekend I went to the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) of Kansas, Let's Make Magic Conference.  Most of the conferences I have attended have been through the romance genre and general writing themes and this was my first that was more juvenile school and library based. 

I liked it.  I really liked what I saw, learned and experienced.  If you have some interest in these areas, I recommend joining the group. I attended Saturday and from Mike Jung's (Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities) Opening Keynote on "Togetherness" to Jay Asher's Closing Keynote of his twelve year publication journey to becoming an author of the book (Thirteen Reasons Why) now on the New York Times bestseller list for two AND a half years, I found the whole experience to be positive.  Editor Arthur Levine was entertaining as a Penn and Teller-esque assistant to Mike Jung's speech and during the joint song and dance.  He was also quite informative and professional, but it was great to see his humor too.  My breakout sessions were Jay Asher quite effectively explaining "How to Inject Suspense Into Your Novel", Mike Jung's "Voice" which made several concepts more clear, Agent Mary Kole clarified how to accomplish, "Writing Irresistible YA and MG Fiction.  The First pages critiques by the professionals were interesting to see what the professionals agreed about concerning the pages provided by attending authors and what they didn't.  I did wish mine had been reviewed, but not enough time.

I left with some great contacts, some new books to read, helpful knowledge, a plan to attend more of these events!

Some blurbs of info I liked from some of the people I named above.

Trust your editors and agents to know what they are doing.  They are your collaborators.

Suspense Killers: Bad dialogue, too much description, unnatural motivations....

When brainstorming, the first solution you come up with is what others will too.  Pick something else.

Ask-What kind of experiences are the characters going through on a daily basis?  Tone of piece...

YA publications are up 30%.  Contemporary is good right now.

Tons of News

Wonder what I do now that I am retired from teaching?

Time for catch up and preview of writing and speaking activities.

This has been some of my September and October so far.

I attended the Moonlight and Magnolias Conference in Atlanta at the beginning of the month.  Met wonderful writers, heard Julia Quinn speak again, won multiple fabulous gift bags, and got two requests for full of my book Mirror Images. 

I also visited Savannah with my husband and came up with an idea for a YA series.  I am taking an on-line class about how to write a series that has been quite helpful. 

I have attended a writing retreat, club meetings, and critiques and am going to a conference this weekend for children and MG and YA authors.  This will be a new venue to explore.  I have judged a couple of writing contests and contacted numerous editors to send entries on to them.

I also have helped out former co-workers with contest judging and planning units and lessons.  And I found a way to put lessons on line and receive money for them.

I also have been speaking as a storytime reader at the local library and am scheduled to do a reading for my grandson's after school program and act a pioneer storyteller for our school on November 2.  Coming up with a pioneer costume for that one.  I have tried not to have clothes like that in the past.  At readings sometimes I just read books or poems, or I sing (sorry, it is bad) or  I use puppets, and I usually write some type of audience participation event.  I also have written plays and readers theaters too.

Tomorrow I will be at the Holden Library from 5:30-7:00 giving a program on "What it takes to be a writer."  I will talk about the different genres, how to write books, and ways to be published. 

On Thursday, I will be facilitating a discussion on the novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird" at 7:00 at the Holden Library.

On November 1 and 27 I am available from 4:30-7:00 to discuss novel writing and tips at the Holden Library in honor of Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month.)  People of all ages are invited to utilize the library to meet the word count challenges of the national program.

I have even managed to write and edit during this time. 

Let me show you some of my tricks!

The formatting doesn't work the same when I transfer my flyer to the blog, but the information is the same and it is what I am up to these days.   Check below for details about my writing workshop for students (and it is good for adults too)!  I also am continuing to speak about writing and other topics and still do readings at libraries and for groups of all ages.  It is a good place for me to be working at a writer, editor, and speaker. 

 This October..

 TRICKS  to make writing a TREAT!

*Want to get your students motivate to write more effectively?

*Want students to appreciate that good writing requires the 3 P’s?                                           (Preparation, persistence, and PRACTICE.)

*Want to sneak in some objectives & common core standards?

It isn’t really MAGIC, but it can be accomplished…

in a workshop that’s entertaining, cheap, & bursting with TRICKS used by authors. Workshop is tailored to meet your school’s needs in age and skill level of participants and building schedule. It also serves as a great preparation activity for November’s NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).* 

   Local Writer, Editor, & Speaker, G. Aliceson Edwards, uses her twenty-six years of teaching literature and writing experience and budding author know-how in her interactive workshop, TRICKS to make writing a TREAT, by presenting practical tips and tricks to make writing more manageable to apply skills in school and in today’s publishing market.

Students will do interactive activities to enhance own bag of writing TRICKS!

*Differentiate among genres to produce those characteristics to aid developing own style.

*Apply story structure techniques and common literary devices during workshop and beyond. 

*Recognize the good practices of writers working in today’s market for own writing goals.

For more information about available dates, workshops costs, or to ask questions email  galicesonedwards@earthlink.net   

Not interested in a workshop now? Check out Student Writers Program. http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/ywp