Teen Troves

The National Book Foundation, which awards the prestigious National Book Award, announced the 2008 Finalists. The following titles were nominated for the “Young People’s Lit”:

• Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Underneath by Kathi Appelt
• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp

We’ve reviewed one of the nominated books, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and have reviewed Laurie Halse Anderson’s Twisted.

Past winner’s/finalists include:

•  The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (2007 Winner)
• Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr (2007 Finalist)
• Sold by Patricia McCormick (2006 Finalist)
• Godless by Pete Hautman (2004 Winner)

Last night Entertainment Weekly aired the final movie trailer for Twilight, out in theaters November 21st. Take a gander and share your thoughts with us!!!! You can also check out the detailed analysis of the trailer over at the MTV blog!

In honor of banned books week I thought I’d put up the meme going around. Most people are using this list, however, we’ve found a more recent list.

Keep the meme going by Highlight/bold the titles you’ve read and posting it on your blog! Use either list!

1. Harry Potter J.K. Rowling
2.  Alice series Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
3.  The Chocolate War Robert Cormier
4.  Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck
5.  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou
6.  Scary Stories Alvin Schwartz
7.  Fallen Angels Walter Dean Myers
8.  It’s Perfectly Normal Robie Harris
9.  And Tango Makes Three Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
10.  Captain Underpants Dav Pilkey
11.  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain
12.  The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison
13.  Forever Judy Blume
14. The Color Purple Alice Walker
15.  The Perks of Being A Wallflower Stephen Chbosky
16.  Killing Mr. Griffin Lois Duncan
17.  Go Ask Alice Anonymous
18. King and King Linda de Haan
19. Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger
20. Bridge to Terabithia Katherine Paterson
21. The Giver Lois Lowry
22. We All Fall Down Robert Cormier
23.  To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee`
24. Beloved Toni Morrison
25. The Face on the Milk Carton Caroline Cooney
26. Snow Falling on Cedars David Guterson
27. My Brother Sam Is Dead James Lincoln Collier
28. In the Night Kitchen Maurice Sendak
29. His Dark Materials series Philip Pullman
30. Gossip Girl series Cecily von Ziegesar
31. What My Mother Doesn’t Know Sonya Sones
32. Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging Louise Rennison
33. It’s So Amazing Robie Harris
34. Arming America Michael Bellasiles
35. Kaffir Boy Mark Mathabane
36. Blubber Judy Blume
37. Brave New World Aldous Huxley
38. Athletic Shorts Chris Crutcher
39. Bless Me, Ultima Rudolfo Anaya
40. Life is Funny E.R. Frank
41. Daughters of Eve Lois Duncan
42. Crazy Lady Jane Leslie Conly
43. The Great Gilly Hopkins Katherine Paterson
44. You Hear Me Betsy Franco
45. Slaughterhouse Five Kurt Vonnegut
46. Whale Talk Chris Crutcher
47. The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby Dav Pilkey
48. The Facts Speak for Themselves Brock Cole
49. The Terrorist Caroline Cooney
50. Mick Harte Was Here Barbara Park
51. Summer of My German Soldier Bette Green
52. The Upstairs Room Johanna Reiss
53. When Dad Killed Mom Julius Lester
54. Blood and Chocolate Annette Curtis Klause
55. The Fighting Ground Avi
56. The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien
57. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Mildred Taylor
58. Fat Kid Rules the World K.L. Going
59. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things Carolyn Mackler
60. A Time To Kill John Grisham
61. Rainbow Boys Alex Sanchez
62. Olive’s Ocean Kevin Henkes
63. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Ken Kesey
64. A Day No Pigs Would Die Robert Newton Peck
65. Speak Laurie Halse Anderson
66. Always Running Luis Rodriguez
67. Black Boy Richard Wright
68. Julie of the Wolves Jean Craighead George
69. Deal With It! Esther Drill
70. Detour for Emmy Marilyn Reynolds
71. Draw Me A Star Eric Carle
72. Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury
73. Harris and Me Gary Paulsen
74. Junie B. Jones series Barbara Park
75. So Far From the Bamboo Grove Yoko Watkins
76. Song of Solomon Toni Morrison
77. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes Chris Crutcher
78. What’s Happening to My Body Book Lynda Madaras
79. The Boy Who Lost His Face Louis Sachar
80. The Lovely Bones Alice Sebold
81. Anastasia Again! Lois Lowry
82. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret Judy Blume
83. Bumps In the Night Harry Allard
84. Goosebumps series R.L. Stine
85. Shade’s Children Garth Nix
86. Cut Patricia McCormick
87. Grendel John Gardner
88. The House of Spirits Isabel Allende
89. I Saw Esau Iona Opte
90. Ironman Chris Crutcher
91. The Stupids series Harry Allard
92. Taming the Star Runner S.E. Hinton
93. Then Again, Maybe I Won’t Judy Blume
94. Tiger Eyes Judy Blume
95. Like Water for Chocolate Laura Esquivel
96. Nathan’s Run John Gilstrap
97. Pinkerton, Behave! Steven Kellog
98. Freaky Friday Mary Rodgers
99. Halloween ABC Eve Merriam
100. Heather Has Two Mommies Leslea Newman

Out of 3,869 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, as compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association. The ALAOffice for Intellectual Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported

Books we’ve reviewed in no particular order:

• Forever by Judy Blume
• The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
• Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
• Fat Kid Rules the World by K.L. Going

At long last we have the conclusion to the Twilight Saga!

Undoubtedly you have read a number of mixed reviews on Breaking Dawn. Some loved it, some loathed it. Me? I subscribe to the former.

For me, it was second only to Twilight. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I didn’t particularly care for New Moon or Eclipse. Don’t get me wrong there were aspects of each that I enjoyed. In New Moon I loved getting to know Jacob better and learning the history and folklore of the werewolves. In Eclipse, unlike many others, I enjoyed the introduction to the “love triangle” between Edward, Bella, and Jacob.

*****Possible Spoilers!***** 

Many of the criticisms I’ve read of the book describe how utterly predictable and unoriginal Breaking Dawn was. Perhaps this is so, but I find that very few books either surprise me or are pleasantly unpredictable.

I felt that in BD Bella FINALLY stepped up and was no longer the whiny, doormat that she portrayed in the previous books. Some argue that her new found independence was a bit bittersweet because it only came after she was turned. But I think she showed quite a bit of backbone when she became pregnant and was determined to proceed with the pregnancy despite the pressure from everyone around her.

Another aspect of the novel that I loved and that helped me view Bella in a more positive light was getting Jacob’s point of view (POV). By seeing Bella from Jacob’s POV I was able to get a little better understanding of what exactly he, and Edward for that matter, see in Bella. I’ve never really been able to understand why Jacob and Edward were both so in love with Bella. I found her rather annoying and, overall, I just wasn’t  impressed by Bella’s character throughout the series but getting a glimpse of Bella through Jacobs eyes  helped me understand the attraction a bit more.

So, overall, I enjoyed Breaking Dawn, it was my second favorite book in the series.While I enjoyed it, I know there was a huge backlash from fans who were horribly disappointed in this final episode of the series. Meyer responded to the fan reactions and you can it here.

I’ve read a lot of reviews, both good and bad, regarding Breaking Dawn since it’s release. I’ve compiled a list of the reviews for you all to check out. They’re listed alphabetically by the blog/blogger. Read at your own risk, but most reviews indicate marked whether they contain spoilers or not.

• 3 Evil Cousins
• Book Binge
• Book Nut
• Em’s Bookshelf
• Interactive Reader
• Liv’s Book Reviews
• New York Magazine
• One For the Books
• Oops. . . Wrong Cookie
• Sassymonkey Reads
• The Compulsive Reader
• The Book Brat
• The Book Smugglers (Part 1)
• The Book Smugglers (Part 2)
• The Lit Connection
• The Ravenous Reader
• Ramblings on Romance
• Reviewer X
• USA Today

Stephanie Meyer has created an awesome playlist to accompany Breaking Dawn. The following playlist was created from the playlist on her website.

Check out Variety’s review  of the film Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

Check out the movie trailer here.

The controversy over the leaked copy of Midnight Sun, containing the first twelve chapters of Stephanie Meyer’s much anticipated novel which relays the events of Twilight from Edward’s point of view, made the Wall Street Jounral. Check out the entire article. While I still think she reacted like a whiney brat, I concurr with others around the blogosphere who think that she will eventually finish the project. Espeically if the potential payout is 5 million freaking dollars…….

Because of an illegal copy of Midnight Sun, Edward’s version of the events in Twilight, that recently began circulating on the internet we may not EVER get a published version of Midnight Sun. The following statement was taken from Stephanie Meyer’s official website:

“So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn’t like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn’t dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.”

Is it just me or does this sound like she’s having a bit of a tantrum? I can understand that this must be very frustrating and that she must be very angry but why should millions of fans be punished because someone betrayed her trust and distributed the manuscript without her consent. The above excerpt makes ME angry. She really does sound like a petulant child in her response. To read the entire statement visit her official website.

What do others think?

Stephanie has posted the official Midnight Sun draft, which contains the first 12 chapters, here.

My Friend Amy is sponsoring a Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Check out all the deets below!

Book Bloggers: You work hard. You read books, you write reviews, you maintain relationships with your readers, publicists, and authors. You are constantly running to the post office to mail your giveaways and participating in carnivals to help boost traffic. You sometimes want to faint when you see the size of your TBR pile, but faithfully you read. And you do it because you love it. Book blogging is for most a hobby. But it’s a hobby that takes a lot of work and time. It’s a labor of love.

I’ve been blogging for three years but only really got into book blogging in the last year. I have found, without a doubt, that book bloggers are the kindest, most open minded, and supportive group of bloggers on the internet. With book blogging, it’s about community and a love for the written word.

The Readers: We love you! You don’t have a blog, but you read our reviews and share your thoughts with us. You enter our giveaways and click on our Amazon associates link. We do this for you and appreciate your readership. We hope you’ll join in the fun and festivities of BBAW! (we’ll have a special contest just for you!)

Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Acknowledging the hard work of book bloggers and their growing impact on book marketing and their essential contribution to book buzz in general, I am excited to announce the first Book Blogger Appreciation Week. Think of it as a retreat for book bloggers and a chance for us to totally nerd out over books together. And of course, shower each other with love and appreciation.

Register: In order to experience the maximum impact of the week, I invite you to register your participation (just like a retreat)!

To register, just send an email to bookbloggerappreciationweekATgmailDOTcom with your blog url and what you consider your niche…i.e, general book blog, classics blog, personal blog with a healthy dose of books, YA books blog, etc. Then, add one of the two buttons at the bottom of this post to your sidebar. If you are a reader (no blog) just send an email announcing your plans to follow along.

Why bother? If you register, you will be added to a book blog directory which will exist long after this week is over. Additionally, you will receive one raffle entry into the daily giveaways during BBAW here at My Friend Amy.

Awards: Oh yes, there will be awards. The Oscars of Book Blogging. Nominations start next week.

Spread the Word: If you are excited about this idea like I am and the other book bloggers who are helping, please consider writing a post on your blog announcing this event and inviting other book bloggers and readers to join.

Help Wanted: If you have a talent for designing buttons (like those below) and would like to donate some of your time and skill to me, please email me personally at mypalamyATgmailDOTcom.

You can use these nifty little buttons to promote the cause as well:

Check this crap out! They’re pushing the release of the 6th Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by SEVEN months!!!! WTF? Instead of having to wait till November, we have to wait until July 2009. What a bunch of crap!

Although now we get Twilight moved up to November 21st from December 12th, but DAMN.

Not cool Warner Bros., not effing cool.

by Elizabeth Scott

The thing is, you can get used to anything. You think you can’t, you want to die, but you don’t. You won’t. You just are.

Five years ago, when she was ten years old, “Alice” was abducted and since that time she has been living a nightmare. Her captor, Ray, has violated Alice in every way possible, leaving nothing but a shell of the girl she once was.

This book can be summed up in one word: heartbreaking. Heartbreakingly honest. Heartbreakingly sad. Heartbreakingly hopeful. Heartbreaking because we see these stories every single day, knowing too that many other horrific stories have yet to be told.

Scott highlights our human nature to not rock the boat; like the characters in the book we often turn a blind eye to the suffering of others because it’s just to messy to address. We know something is “not quite right,” but we’re all too often of the mindset that someone else will take care of it.

But what if they don’t? Are we any less responsible, for example, than the villain of Living Dead Girl, Ray? While we may not be evil to the extent that he is; we are doing nothing, turning our backs on a situation we know to be wrong. A quote from one of my favorite movies, The Boondock Saints, addresses this sin of omission: “We all must fear evil, but the evil we must fear the most is the indifference of good men.”

I also found myself, perhaps to others dismay, feeling sorry for Ray. It’s clear that he too experienced abuse and it warped his mind, creating a monster. It’s heartbreaking the ripple effect that abuse can create.

It’s no secret that I’m an Elizabeth Scott fangirl and there’s no doubt about it, Living Dead Girl is her best work yet. It’s compelling in its simplicity and heartbreaking in its honesty. Don’t miss it!

Other reviews:

Reader Rabbit