First Book Give Away! An Impossible Love Affair

Time to celebrate the first month of blogging on Athena's YA Book Reviews! It's time for the first official book give away! I hope to have a book give away about once a month (sorry I can't do more because I have 3 kids and all my funds go to them).

So, the book give away for June is Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet. Although, the novel is not YA, it reads like YA and deals with an impossible romance with someone many of us know during childhood--an imaginary friend.

What do you need to do? You need to write a creative and original response to the following question/topic and post it as a comment to this blog entry using less than 20 lines...good luck!

Topic: How can love surpass all boundaries?

I will read all the entries and choose the winner subjectively based on the response. I'm a writer and I love to read other people's ideas! The winner will be notified by the last weekend of June.

One last thing...make sure you list your e-mail, so that I can contact you if your response is chosen as the winning entry. Also, include your name and mailing address. Sorry, but the book give away is limited to residents of the US.

The Book of Luke...a Love Experiment

What’s worse than moving to another state in the middle of your senior year and leaving your boyfriend behind on a cold morning? Well, Emily Abbott can tell you a thing or two about this since she gets dumped by her boyfriend, Sean, on the very same day her family is moving from Chicago back to their home city of Boston. And not only that, but she had just fed the guy his favorite breakfast. What a jerk! Well, that’s Emily’s new attitude in Jenny O'Connell's The Book of Luke. Judging by the cover, The Book of Luke is obviously not a religious experience. It's a love experiment concocted by her former BFF to get back at the entire male species and bring salvation to all the idiot boyfriends of the world. Of course, Emily is in. Emily decides she’s been too nice for too long and agrees to help write a guidebook for guys—tips on what not to do. Here’s a tip: The Guy’s Guide Tip #72. We like surprises. But telling us you have another girlfriend doesn’t count. Neither does anything else that makes us want to hit you. But, then Emily starts falling for Luke Preston—the epitome of a jerk boyfriend and finds that he really isn’t one of the bad guys. Well, he’s not bad when the good girls are good and nice and self-respecting. She starts off trying to change Luke and making him the number one project on her new, renamed guidebook—The Book of Luke. I am sure you can guess what happens next because we all know that sometimes the people we can’t stand are the ones we end up with. I don’t mean that we end up with them out of no other choice, but that we actually choose to be with them. And right when things seem perfect…there’s egg all over the place. Now the question is who really behaves worse in the end? Through Emily's voice, Jenny O'Connell writes a refreshing YA novel that is amusingwith humorous tips many of us wish would actually change our guys.

I've been meaning to put up some of the poetry I slaved over 2 semesters ago...and I finally did it! It's my "Tex Mex" poems! I've already submitted them to a couple of literary journals, so cross your fingers for me. But, I've got more to put up--I'm not sure how to categorize them...from babies left in cars to giving birth to broken pickle jars. I'll see when I put those up! In the meantime...check them out! Tell me what you think! Tell me what they mean? Yes, do that too! I would love to know what you all get out of them. And...read Iraqi Blues if you haven't done so, too.

Working with high school students is awesome! They love to read everything I love to read...YA books! And, I get to talk books with them. Most of them are really surprised I read this stuff and some have even asked me why. Well, why stop reading what you love to read just because you're an adult? And, really, most of these books are written by adults. It's like once you've been through all these experiences, it's pretty easy to look back on your life and say "Yeah, I've been there." YA fiction is everything other fiction is, but just more entertaining, fresh, and romantic--well, in my eyes at least.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac...What We Forget

I love YA fiction, but I didn't expect to like it as much as I do. But, it turned out to be one the most memorable novels I have read. With Memoris of a Teenage Amnesiac,Gabrielle Zevin reveals a narrative better suited for the older teen and young adult--not the middle school crowd. As we all know, it's hard enough to figure out who you are during high school without becoming an amnesiac. And, for the main character, Naomi, losing her memory means losing the person she had become during her teen years. Not being able to remember anything about her personal life in a way imprisons Naomi to be someone she does not know, but who others expect. She leaves what she's supposed to know about herself. At the end, we nearly have a bittersweet ending, but her best friend comes to her rescue. My favorite part is when her father says that we forget everything and that just about when we forget everything, we fall in love again. That particular passage was so beautiful, poignant, and true that I even cried. Not just for Naomi and for what she once was, what she gained, what she lost, and what she would become, but also for the truth that this is what life is for all people. You look back and you don’t really remember anything except what is now, even though back then you thought your present would be your now later. Hope I made sense with that last sentence. Just read it--it’s an awesome book! Don’t get turned off by the title or worry people will think you’re reading something just for teens because the book is really meaningful and extremely well written.

Laura Resau--Author of Red Glass! A Live Chat Summary!

Well, I just finished participating in a live chat with Laura Resau—author of Red Glass! It was so awesome to connect not only with her, but also with the Readergirlz team and everybody else who posted comments! I read her entire novel today just to get ready for this, and I am so glad I did. It is a beautiful book about a girl whose life is changed on a journey through Mexico…there’s beautiful imagery, great love stories, and lots of familiar places, food, and music styles that anybody living in a border town or who has knowledge of Mexican culture will easily recognize. I loved it! I’ll be posting a full review soon!


But for now…here are a few things that came up in the live chat…


1. Writing comes as a mosaic to Laura—in bits and pieces that she blends together…hmm…I like her style!
2. Laura listened to a bunch of cumbia and salsa mixes while she wrote Red Glass—everybody down here in the RGV knows about cumbias!
3. The most difficult part of writing Red Glass for Laura…the political violence of Guatemala and Bosnia
4. Through her school visits, Laura has been able to chat with teens who have lived the immigrant experience, including those who crossed the border as illegal aliens
5. All the quotes she included from The Little Prince were actual lines she had highlighted when she was 16!
6. Laura loves to mingle with people…she conducts research for her novels by getting in there and living the same experience as those people she is writing about. She also takes influence from stories shared by friends and relative.

7. Laura has made tortillas! Yumm... I need to make some homemade torts soon!
8. Dika’s character is based on a real Bosnian refugee she once tutored
9. She’s faced a lot of the same fears experienced by Sophie in the novel
10. Laura describes writing some of her favorite images as a dreamlike experience…I should definitely try this—just write and relive an image through the outpouring of thoughts
11. She actually did experience the falling white flowers!
12. Like Sophie, she knows of the kindness of strangers in dangerous situations—including her own travels through Mexico
13. Writing the novel was an emotional experience for Laura…read it and you’ll know why
14. Laura writes several things at one time…sometimes that’s the best way—you just need a break, you know?
15. Laura makes an effort to experience an event using all 5 senses...she has the experience, she journals about it, and then when it comes to writing…well, it just comes out naturally. She writes in the same way she experiences!
16. Her next novel has romance in the Andes Mts.! Gotta read it! --The Indigo Notebook

READ RED GLASS!

What I've Been Doing Lately

I've actually been reading quite a few books this week, so I haven't had time to write any reviews. Actually, I've been so busy getting this blog going and doing a bunch of stuff to get it found on Google and other major search engines and joining blogging sites and commenting in discussion forums that my reading frenzy was rudely pushed aside by the online world. Plus, who needs to read more when I've got a bunch of reviews to write? Well, I'm really trying to hold back and not bombard this blog with daily reviews. I mean, I have over 100 books listed on Goodreads. So, really, I've been trying to hold back on the reviews and not bombard this blog with a new review every day. But, guys, I missed it! I missed reading!


So, the other morning I got wind that the BLA librarians and staff had just put out a bunch of new books, and it just happened to be that I had 1st period conference, so I headed out there before all the good books were gone. Then, I get there and I run into to my students, the crazy Stephanie World Traveler and Daniela with the Short Hair doing the same thing I am. But,, luckily we didn't fight over any books, and I was able to walk away unscathed with 4 or 5 books with great titles. By the end of the day several girls had already eyed them on my desk. And, now they are eagerly waiting for me to finish so they can get their hands on them.


What have I finished? Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Sott (which I passed on to Alexis,) and North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley. And my favorite? North of Beautiful. OMG! All all I can say is Wow! I am now going to read everything by this author. Everything about the novel is nearly perfect. Everything is connected--the maps, the geocaching, the dragons, the collages, China... and there is this one great love scene that Addie will love! Not only that, but there is a Chinese-American boy with a crooked smile and girl he sees as beautiful no matter what! Look out for my full review coming soon!

Caught in the Act...of Crazy Teen Love

YA Fiction Meets the PG-13 Version of Fatal Attraction. That’s basically what you see in Peter Moore's novel, Caught in the Act, when Ethan Lederer, a good kid with a good reputation, falls for the new girl dressed in all black. As Ethan puts it, he was doomed from the minute he first laid eyes on Lydia Krane, and it doesn’t take long for him to be captivated by her Carebears t-shirts, Goth clothing, and black dyed hair. But more than that, Lydia understands him in a way no one else does, or so he thinks. She is also the only person who knows his whole smart guy status is a façade built on parental expectations, late night cramming, and cheating when necessary. And then things start getting weird. I don’t want to spoil all the bizarre, psychotic complications in the plot, but let’s just say the whole tattoo thing ranks pretty high on the crazy scale.

You know, the story really grabs you from the start, and you find yourself rooting for Ethan and Lydia as they have all these meaningful encounters in the early chapters. Then, the author hits you with all this drama, and I don’t just mean figuratively, as both Lydia and Ethan take the lead roles in a modern day interpretation of Macbeth in the annual school play. By the end, everything unravels for Ethan as he finally faces up to some of his choices and decisions, but not without a heavy cost. Caught in the Act is not a psychological thriller, but it has enough twists and beyond nutty behavior to keep you turning the pages. Lydia leaves her imprint on Ethan and makes you think twice about breaking up with your current gal or guy just for somebody you think you really know. Enjoy th new YA Macbeth!

Sweethearts...Unfinished Business

With a title like Sweethearts and an image of a pink sugar cookie, many readers might assume this novel follows the popular YA romance storyline of two childhood best friends who fall in love after realizing they are meant to be with each other. But, Sara Zarr’s novel is more than just a sugary love story with a nice, neat build up and an “ever after” resolution. In Sweethearts, you will find words, images, and characters that resonate in readers a “bruise of longing” familiar to all who have ever loved. You will find Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick, two seventeen year old high school students who are dealing with more than the typical teen identity crisis. And, you will find the kind of love story that pulls on your emotions and leaves a mark—an imprint of what love is. You know, I love the kind of story that ends with the big happy ending and deep declarations of love, but even though Sweethearts is not this kind of novel, it is now one of my favorites. The entire novel seems anticlimactic when it comes to the big love story and it left me in a slump for days. But this is the beauty of the novel. You want things to move between them—to get to the core of their raw emotions, but things just feel unfinished between Jennifer and Cameron, and this is what the entire novel is about. It’s about how love is always unfinished.

As for the plot, Jennifer reinvents herself as Jenna Vaughn, leaving behind the nine year old version of herself to become the nice, thin girl with a boyfriend and two supportive parents who never does anything spontaneous. But in doing so, she also loses pieces of Cameron Quick, her only friend and confidant from elementary school and the only one who shares her painful, childhood memories. So, when Cameron comes back for Jennifer, he finds a girl with a lot going for her yet a girl he still remembers as the only person he has ever needed. Together they must come to terms with the girl and boy they used to be and the circumstances they faced with one another as children. Again, the huge love scene is missing, but the ending is very memorable as Jenna describes the intricacies of love. Also, I love how the novel comes full circle with the last sentence—you’ll see what I mean.

Smart Boys & Fast Girls... Make Great Couples

Ok. We've all heard this story before...first time varisty star athlete falls in love with senior star athlete, girl star athelete not doing hot in math, girl star athlete needs a tutor, tutor is actually a really cute, cocky guy with a girlfriend. So, what happens? Well, you don't need math to figure it out. It's the YA kind of book teenage girls love to read (not to mention anybody else who ever had a high school crush or romance). Stephie Davis creates an authentic voice in the narrative of Natalie, a teen track star. Natalie's voice shows what it feels like to work your way through the high school bureaucracy of cliques. Jocks have standards, the brainiacs have standards, but isn't wonderful when the two can sort of mesh? Well, without giving away the ending, you will surely enjoy and reread all the tense, fresh, flirtatious conversations between Natalie and her fake boyfriend, Matt--the supersmart boy who easily grows on any girl with his confidence and cuteability. Smart Boys & Fast Girls--they make great couples.

Living Dead Girl...A Shock to Your System

For those of you who have read previous YA novels by Elizabeth Scott...be warned. Living Dead Girl is not a teenage romance; it is a gripping, dark novel about a fifteen year old girl who has been living with her abductor, Ray, since the age of ten. Elizabett Scott does not shy away from an intense narrative that at times reads like an intimate dream sequence, or rather, nightmare. The ugliness of sexual abuse and abduction, as well as the sinister pleasure motivating pedophiles, will be a shock to many readers who have very little knowledge or experience with the subject matter. Childhood sexual abuse is something you hear about on the news or something that happens to someone else, but through the author's use of the first person point of view, this novel takes you further into the realms of darkness than possible on a news report. It is amazing how raw and brutal the narrative reads, and with that in mind, I feel the novel is inappropriate for anyone under the age of 16. I mean, I'm a lot older than 16, and I found many of the scenes to be disturbing. It's not that the scenes are explicit, but the bare, gritty details of those things Alice chooses to share are darkly intimate and painful. In Alice we hear the voice of an empty, soulless body only available for Ray, her abductor. Her mental state has been warped to the point that she will do anything to have someone else take her place. The only splinter of light in this novel is the end, although it is ambiguous and any hope taken from it will be on the part of the reader. I commend Scott for writing something so compelling and original. She has graduated from entertaining YA fiction to something more of literary genius.

Special Thanks to Some Special People

Before I start “blogging” away, let me say thanks to a few people. Please bear with me—these are my fifteen minutes of internet fame.


I’d like to thank my husband and kids for being so understanding and supportive while I type away at my netbook or read a book with the word teen in the title…like Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. They all think I should be a published author!


I’d like to thank Stephenie Meyer who doesn’t know me, but who inspired me to write. I mean, I had never heard of a thirty-something soccer mom who wrote her “genre” novel based on a dream.


I’d like to thank a girl with cat ears and her island of misfits who got me to read Twilight, which got me to this point.


I’d like to thank the BLA librarians at STISD for ordering every book I want to read.


I’d like to thank all those sophomore girls who love romance and who read everything I recommend.


I’d like to thank my principal and her counselor sister for encouraging my interest in grad school.


I’d like to thank a couple of professors, Emmy Perez and Phil Zwerling, for really complicating my life with revisions and pushing me as a writer.


I’d like to thank my students who have read numerous versions of my poems, future pieces of novels, and plays and never tell me the truth about what they really think. They all think I should be a published author!


Last, I’d like to thank the Lord Almighty by which none of this at all would be possible.

If We Kiss...Everything Might be Ruined

If We Kiss is definitely an entertaining read by Rachel Vail that follows the story of Charlie's crush and first kiss with a ladies' man (or boy). Kevin is the boy all girl swoon over, but who has a reputation for making out with any available girl. Kevin also happens to be her best friend's boyfriend. Wow--the complication of 9th grade love! And of course, there is George, who is of the best friend, next door neighbor status. Kissing George, according to Charlie, would be like kissing a cousin. Oh, but kissing Kevin is a growing thing--even Charlie can't believe she likes doing something so disgusting and something that could ruin her friendship with Tess, not to mention something that could end up totally weird since Kevin's dad and Charlie's mother are dating. Overall, a fun book and a true to life voice. I remember having some the same feelings and probably saying a lot of the same things as Charlie. But, Charlie's voice is too much like someone from middle school and the book is probably a favorite more among the 12 and 13 year olds. It is possible, though, that Rachel Vail's narrative reads at a younger level because Charlie has never been kissed. In that sense, Charlie is more innocent and naive than the average high school freshman.

All We Know of Love... is Pain Sometimes

All We Know of Love by Nora Raleigh Baskins is an episodic novel that follows Natalie Gordon's quest to meet her mother after an absense of four years. Natalie recounts how her mother practiced leaving her before she really left her behind to live only with her father. As she travels by bus to her mother's home in Florida, Natalie meets several people with whom she is able to connec, if only for a brief moment, and it is through these other characters that the author is able to bring forth the idea that all people have searched for love, been hurt by love, or have dealt with the consequences of love. The author leaves Natalie's narrative to provide the reader with brief, personal episodes of the parallel experiences shared by these other characters. The interesting thing is that only the reader sees these stories, as they are not stories shared in dialogue with Natalie.

Another wonderful thing about this novel is how Natalie is very truthful about her experiences and her uncertainties. In her search for answers from an absent mother, Natalie falls in love with someone who needs her physically but who can not give her the love she is seeking, and it is these scenes that shape the book for a slightly older teen. What Natalie reveals is freightening for parents--teens can easily become entangled in emotional relationships in order to feel needed and loved.

Overall, this is a really good read, and I would have given it a five; however, I'm a romantic at heart and for a book to be a five, I really want to see the "love story." Not that there isn't one here, and actually the ending is really just a new love story.

How I Got Here

Ok. So, this is my first ever post. I’m nervous about it. I mean, to blog? To have my own blogspot? My students are impressed (or so they say). They’re probably thinking I already have a whole live platform in the classroom. Yeah, but I’m too busy talking about First Emperor Qin Huangdi and his forced labor projects or the more interesting love tomb of Shah Jahan. I teach world history advanced placement. Yippee. Basically, I have to teach about the entire world from before ancient times (what’s before?) to the 20th century by the time May comes around. Let’s just say it can get pretty hardcore.

So, yeah, I have a forum, a lectern, a right to free speech as long as I say what the college board wants. BUT, what I really want to talk about is books (mainly YA) and writing (mainly my own). And, not that I don’t already do these two things because I cram it in when I can or trade plot details with some of the avid readers of YA stuff enrolled in my class…sophomore girls. Those same girls who are the heroines in many of the novels I enjoy reading.

Well, a funny thing happened. It all started with an Excel Spreadsheet where I listed every YA book I have read since last March. But, then I found Facebook and Visual Bookshelf and all of a sudden I feel so cool—so “with it.” Then, I started writing book reviews and posting to Visual Bookshelf and my school library. Then, I tried submitting them to websites like YA Book Central. Then, I realized I can do all this through a blog. So, Athena’s Books is born. My own podium for saying whatever I want about any novel I want, and hopefully, others care what I have to say. If not, well, it’s better than a spreadsheet. But, I do know of a few kindred spirits who will read my blogs because they love the same books I love.