“The hole is what lets it change.” What a moment it is – the moment of recognition, the moment when you feel like someone has seen you. For me, this moment of connection sends an almost physical jolt through me. One of the things I loved the most about Linda Urban’s artfully crafted, painfully beautiful book The…
What’s the scariest thing you can think of? A thing that is almost universally feared? Spiders? Clowns? Public speaking? What about … creepy dolls? You know the kind, the kind that have heads that seem to sit uncomfortably on their cloth shoulders, the ones with porcelain arms and legs that bend in unnatural ways, the…
They’re coming for us. All of us. “You’re going to keep reading that book even though it gave you a nightmare last night?” My boyfriend teased as I rolled over and reached out for The Fifth Wave. I’d just finished briefing him on the intense, very scary nightmare I’d had thanks to The Fifth Wave, the book…
“You are not the future I wanted. I can’t believe the same stupid shit is still happening. I wanted you to be better! Be better!” I wait for it, you know. I wait for that minute, that second, when I will become tired of dystopias. And sometimes it comes to me in a flash. Sometimes…
The beauty of Koningsburg prose was how acutely she captured the aches and pains of being an outsider, a loner, a kid that was a little different. There’s something particularly middle-grade about that, I think, the aches and pains of not just figuring out who you are but understanding that who you are is a little different…
Welcome to anyone reading this who attended the New Mexico Library Association’s pre-conference on middle grade literature and library services this past Wednesday as presented by me and Ellie Simons! I hope you enjoyed yourself and learned at least a few new things to try in your library. Let me apologize for the technical difficulties…
This year I decided it was time for our library to try out Spring Break programming. I’d be reading about all these amazing youth programs happening at libraries, getting all inspired and fired up, and I decided five days with no school just seemed like too big of an opportunity to pass up. Maybe we’d…
I am part of the Poison blog tour, dedicated to spreading the word about the amazing work of the late Bridget Zinn, librarian and YA author. There are dozens and dozens of blogs participating, and I encourage you to visit them all to read more about Poison. You can also go to Bridget’s site to read more…
It started back in November. At the 2012 YALSA YA Lit Symposium (another fine year at the Sympoisum, let me add! I’ve been to all three. I’ve loved, learned, and networked at all three more than any other professional event I’ve ever attended. Oh, and I’ve presented at every one too! I am double plus…
It’s my first programming post – how exciting! One of the things I resolved to do when I resolved to start posting more often was to post not just book reviews/feminist rants/author interviews and giveaways but to also talk a little more about the programming aspect of my work. I LOVE and have been so…
