Falling - Deine Lakaien, I'm Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran

In which I write my thoughts on Lauren Kate's Fallen, specifically the audio book:

Audio Length: 10 hours and 59 min.,

Release Date: 11/12/2009

Narrator: Justine Eyre

Format: Unabridged

** spoiler alert ** This book really surprised me with its plot and intrigue. I was afraid to pick it up after putting down Hush Hush because I couldn't take "yet another teen angst love triangle involving the Supernatural....AGAIN". I have a guilty pleasure for boarding school novels and this one does not disappoint. I do get a little disappointed at how much Luce loses herself in her infatuation for Daniel and how much she comes to depend on him. Frankly she becomes a fairly incompetent character who is left in the dark on most of the plot points, as is the reader. Lauren Kate definitely leaves the ending open to a trilogy and I now want to finish the series to see how it ends. And I know this is getting nit picky but fail on Lauren Kate's part for making the librarian a villain. I loved the secondary characters including Daniel's arch nemesis and the "dark to his light" so to speak, Cam, and Luce's fast friend who reminds me of a fairy raver friend of mine, Ariadne.
 
I do love when I catch mistakes in audio books, they always make me chuckle.I recall when I was listening to the audio book of Libba Bray's Rebel Angels I heard the author stop reading and say to herself how she was going to re-read the character's last sentence in a more convincing manner, i.e. less warbling. In the case of this audio book it was less obvious. The narrator has chosen one way to pronounce a character's name and then a few chapters later completely pronounced it in a different way...twice. 
 
The next book in the series is Torment, where Luce is transported to another boarding school where she learns more about her past lives and begins to distrust that her beloved, Daniel is telling her the whole truth.
 

I've had a good experience reading Maggie Stiefvater's "The Wolves of Mercy Falls" series. The love between Sam and Grace is loving without being too  lovesick. Their comfortableness with one another puts the reader at ease and makes them invested in their star crossed lovers plot. The two also read to each other in a corner bookstore loft, which to me is the ideal romantic situation. I may end up buying them. The visceral description of werewolves in winter makes it a good December read. I have yet to catch up with the final book, Forever.

 

Now that I'm on the subject, what's the deal with authors mass producing trilogy series? Are they following in the footsteps of author before them where a trilogy means not only an extended plot but more fans, more money, and more book tours? Or did they originally have a novel length story to tell that they just broke up into three books? The other series that I can't to finish is another supernatural love triangle involving Carrie Jones' pixies.
 
[images courtesy of goodreads]

Oh...and just for the heck of it, here are links to the songs referenced in the title:

For Falling - Deine Lakaien
For Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran

Conclusion to the Vampire Saga: Vampires are Stalkers

I now present to you the last book I wrote about for my Young Adult Literature class back in the Summer of 2009. I began these posts back in August of 2010 and covered the various adolscent paradigms represented within young adult vampire literature (that ISN'T Twilight) published between 1991 and 1997. I'll relist them here.

Anderson, M. T. Thirsty. United States: Candlewick Press, 1997.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.

Hauptman, Pete. Sweetblood. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

Marrona, Amanda. Uninvited. New York: Simon Pulse, 2007.

Rees, Douglas.Vampire High. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003.

Smith, L. J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. New York:  Harcourt Press, 1991.

Of these titles, Smith's The Vampire Diaries, Atwater-Rhodes, and Rees have continuing books or have created a series around the books. The Vampire Diaries wins hands down for being the most popular series and most promoted within streams of social media. This is amplified and aided by the revamp (ouch) of the series due to fan demand, in which L. J. created another trilogy of books called "The Return". From this stemmed the TV show, "The Vampire Diaries" which is currently in its second season. By far these aren't the worst titles you can find amongst vampire young adult literature today and they all make valid points about the mythology that are both varied and unique. Throw in  a few psychological aspects such as vampirism as an allegory for adolescence and puberty, and you have a way for teens to relate to the material. I hope that you add these to your reading lists or recommend more vampire literature novels that teens (or myself) might like. I leave you, just a week or so before Halloween, with the final installment of the paper, Uninvited, which tells the story of Jordan and her recently dead boyfriend, Michael Green, who begins to exude stalker-like tendencies from beyond the grave.

                          Marrone, Amanda. Uninvited. New York:  Simon Pulse, 2007.

Jordan’s boyfriend Michael Green is the greatest thing to ever happen to her. The most popular new boy in school not only relieves her social anxiety, but also makes her feel that she matters and is loved. Unfortunately, the prospect of facing the entire student body with Michael on her arm is too much pressure for Jordan to handle, and she breaks up with him. Shortly thereafter, Michael Green is found dead and is rumored to have committed suicide. As Jordan copes with this loss through alcohol and drugs, Michael begins appearing at her bedroom window every night begging to be let in so they can be reunited. As his visits become more frequent and intense Jordan begins to suspect that her ex-boyfriend is not dead, but undead.

Uninvited is the best example of the renegotiation of power developmental task. Michael’s visits demonstrate immense power over Jordan by confining her to her bedroom. Readers should recognize the signs of stalking and abuse through Michael’s behavior: keeping Jordan constantly afraid to see her friends, meet new people, or venture out after sunset. At first, instead of confronting Michael, Jordan abuses drugs and alcohol as a means of denial and escape. However, Marrone highlights Jordan’s small victories like keeping Michael outside her window and emphasizes her transformation from victim to heroine when Michael threatens her best friend, Lisa. Ultimately, Jordan is a flawed yet appealing protagonist since she overcomes Michael’s controlling behavior, becomes sober, creates healthy relationships, and moves on.

In Uninvited, vampirism is a metaphor for suicide as well as avoiding conflicts. Both Jordan and her friend Lisa consider using vampirism to escape their problems: Jordan’s lack of self-esteem and parental guidance via absent parents and Lisa’s diagnosis of lupus. Because of the various references to unsafe sex, drug and alcohol abuse, attempted suicide, and other serious issues this book is appropriate for high school readers.



Vampires in High School Part V: Vampires are Closet Diabetics

Since I do want to try and wrap up this review of YA vampire literature in time for Halloween I'll go ahead and shuffle on in a zombie like fashion onto the fifth book of my paper, Pete Hauptman's Sweetblood. Fang you for your patience.

Hauptman, Pete. Sweetblood. New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.

16-year-old Lucinda Szabo has several identities: she is neither Goth, nor punk, but something. To her parents and teachers she is Lucy, to her friend Matt she is Skeeter, and to the online Transylvania chat room she frequently roams looking for “real” vampires she is known as Sweetblood. The catalyst of Lucy’s search for “a real vampire” is a paper she writes for class explaining her theory that vampires are actually diabetics suffering from a dangerous lack of insulin. As her search progresses, Lucy becomes less focused on school and her diabetes and more focused on exploring the vampire culture in her neighborhood which is filled with geographical references to Dracula: Seward High, Harker College, and Carfax Apartments.

Sweetblood is appropriate for middle and high school readers as there is very little sexuality but some instances of underage drinking. The presence of vampires here is more metaphorical and theoretical than fantastical. Outside the Transylvania chat room Lucy meets Wayne, who enjoys the guise of a vampire but does not believe they exist. Several of Lucy’s friends also participate in the goth culture but the book never reveals anyone to be a vampire.

Teens will relate to Lucy’s character who is not only trying to establish an identity for herself. Her screen name is significant because it defines her fascination with vampires and her diabetes, both important aspects of her identity. Lucy is a relatable character because she makes very immature decisions throughout the book that endanger her health and have serious consequences. In addition, Lucy’s rebellious attitude towards concerned adult figures such as her teachers, parents, and psychologist is readily identifiable to young adults. Hauptman’s metaphor for learning and growing during adolescence is portrayed through a monarch butterfly chrysalis which is given to Lucy her love interest, Dylan. Sweetblood is very character driven and relies on the interactions between the characters to show that Lucy is not alone as she believes she is.

Vampires in High School - Part IV

Not a huge introduction required for this book. This was by far one of my favorites to write about firstly because the protagonist is male and secondly because the book takes a fresh look at a teen boy's struggle not only to fit in at a school where he is the only human but also to befriend vampires and pull himself out of the spiral of mischevious behevaior he's been absorbed in. Rees brings a fresh, new look to vampires in high school. Think of Buffy if instead she befriended all the vampires and they attended high school together. Be sure to look for the sequel, Vampire High: Sophomore Year.

Rees, Douglas. Vampire High. New York: Delacorte Press, 2003.


Douglas Rees’ Vampire High is also set in Massachusetts in a world where vampires and humans co-exist but are segregated with their own stores, movie theatres, and school systems. After flunking out of public school fifteen-year-old Cody Elliot is sent to Vlad Dracul Magnet School in the hopes that a more prestigious and strict environment will curb his apathy and force him to graduate. However, on the first day of class Cody discovers that the majority of the students at Vlad Dracul are vampires.

Rees’ take on the vampires is both innovative and fresh. He creates his own terminology to differentiate between vampires, jenti, and humans, gadge, and also uses “Bram” and “Stoker” as insults. His additional vampire conventions also vary widely from most familiar conventions: vampires can eat human food and garlic, walk in the daylight, wear crosses, get sick, have children, and die. There are elements of romance between Cody and Ileana, a vampire princess, but Rees relies more on humor to entice the reader. One neat addition to this book absent from other vampire literature is a shape shifting librarian with perfect reader advisory skills.

The developmental task present in this book is renegotiating power among peer groups and adult figures. Cody must cope with a domineering principal as well as differing peer groups who refuse to interact. By keeping vampire and humans segregated at Vlad Dracul Rees illustrates how cliques may form with intimidating and harmful consequences, such as bullying. Cody serves as the bridge between the jenti and the gadge by selflessly donating blood to help his friend Justin, and also pursuing a vampire romantically. Cody’s desires to be with a girl, make friends, and have a reason to work hard and graduate are relatable desires for young adults. Vampire High is an excellent example of a light-hearted book about vampires and humans and is appropriate and appealing to both middle and high school readers.

When you fall in love with the undead - Part 3

Personally, I am a huge fan of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes ever since reading her first vampire novel, the second books of her Den of Shadows quartet, Demon in My View. Even from a young age of 14 she had published her first novel, In the Forests of the Night and her talent and prowess as a young adult, supernatural novelist has steadily exceeded since. This book is the third of the Den of Shadows quartet and follows a teen witch through high school as she battles her family's issues, her craft, as well as two vampire brothers who have suddenly shown up and begun to shake up her life.

This book falls under the second category of Overstreet's developmental tasks for adolescents within her
allegory of vampirism:  renegotiating relationships and power dynamics between teens, parents, and peer groups.

Atwater-Rhodes, Amelia. Shattered Mirror. New York: Delacorte Press, 2001.

Sarah Tigress Vida is a seventeen-year-old immersed in power, including magic from the Vida bloodline of witches, physical training as a vampire hunter, and the power of her overbearing mother, Dominique Vida. After a recent move to Acton, Massachusetts Sarah begrudgingly attends high school with vampires and finds herself befriending vampire siblings, Christopher and Nissa. By night she attends vampire “bashes” undercover to hunt the powerful vampire Nikolas, who murdered her ancestor. Soon Sarah discovers a connection between Christopher, Nissa, and Nikolas that will jeopardize her title as a witch, her family, and her life.

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes creates a brilliantly crafted world where vampires, witches, and other supernatural creatures are ruled by prejudiced beliefs. The idea of tradition is very strong within the story through Sarah’s character. She learns through her friendships with vampires, who she has been conditioned to despise and destroy, that perhaps they are not all murdering and soulless, but former humans capable of love and mercy. Her world view changes from being dualistically black and white to include shades of grey. This metaphor is emphasized through Nikolas, whose character, clothes, and home are illustrated in stark black and white.

The relationship between Sarah and her mother is another important part of the plot as well. Throughout the novel Sarah begins defying her mother’s authority through menial but astonishing acts like befriending vampires, attending a Halloween dance at school over a Samhain ritual, and developing feelings for the vampire, Christopher. Sarah’s defiance in order to enjoy normal teenage activities is important in the development of her own identity aside from her family and her vampire hunting renown. Shattered Mirror is appropriate for upper middle and high school readers as it contains several instances of violence. The sub-plot of romance and high level fantasy world will appeal to reluctant readers and appease vampire literature fans.

Look for the sequel to Shattered Mirror, called All Just Glass. You can find a preview and a description of the text here.

Growing Pains: Adolescents turning into Vampires

The second installment of the vampire paper I wrote last summer discusses M. T. Anderson's Thirsty, which chronicles Chris' difficult transition through adolescence, into vampirism.

Anderson, M. T. Thirsty. United States: Candlewick Press, 1997.

Anderson’s book takes place in an alternate universe, Clayton, Massachusetts, where humans exist alongside vampires, changelings, and shape shifters and arm themselves against the Forces of Darkness. The highlights in this small town are vampire lynches and the Sad Festival of Vampires, where the town conducts blood rituals to prevent an attack by the evil vampire lord, Tch’muchgar. The story’s protagonist, Christopher, is in high school and on the cusp of puberty. When an agent from the Forces of Light, Chet, comes to recruit Christopher or a secret mission, he can no longer ignore the fact that he might be turning into a vampire.

As the book progresses Christopher becomes more isolated as his transformation into a vampire becomes more apparent. This isolation represents how young adults may feel as they face puberty. Peer pressure is visible when Christopher is approached by a group of local vampire teenagers, who shun him when he refuses to take a human life and sate his bloodlust. Christopher’s only friends, Jerk and Tom, become distant and Christopher’s attempts to woo Rebecca Schwartz are inhibited by his massive canines, perhaps a metaphor for another uncontrollable physical response to girls in male teens.

In Anderson’s world vampirism is treated as a curse that can afflict anyone as early as birth. The allegory of vampirism representing adolescence is very apparent here as Christopher longs for someone to talk to about the overwhelming thirst and blinding rage he experiences. With no one to guide him Christopher becomes a very lost and sympathetic character. Readers will empathize with a young adult’s need for guidance as well as an adult figure they can trust, which Christopher attempts to find in Chet. The pace of the book is fairly slow, but a climactic buildup leads to a twist ending which will leave an impact on the reader. Thirsty contains some instances of violence and is appropriate for middle school readers.

Suddenly Last Summer - In which I wrote a paper about vampires.

To jump right into discussing popular theories about vampire literature and why it appeals to young adults, I bring to my defense my term paper for Deb Taylor's 2008 Young Adult Literature class. The final examination for this course was to pick a topic about young adult literature, flush it out, and find at least six - eight books to support your topic. You could write this paper in the style of a collection of book reviews or in the style of an analytical research paper. Being that it was the summer I chose the former option. My library school friend, April, chose "Hope in Suicide" for her paper topic a year later and read books such as Jay Asher's "13 Reasons Why" and Laurie Halse Andersen's "Wintergirls". I'll have more to say on that later, but this is just to give you an example. Another girl on my class did a presentation of books about boarding schools. Come to think of it, I just now thought of a trend in titles that I should probably elaborate on, which is the triptych of seemingly unrelated aspects of a character's life. For example Louise Rennison's "Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging", Carolyn Mackler's "The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things", Robin Brande's "Evolution, Me, and Other Freaks of Nature", etc.

But I digress...or rather, that is not the subject for this week's post.

I'll post the introduction to the paper and then refresh each point as it relates to the particular vampire book I'm reviewing, which will be posted in chronological order.

The first book up this week is L. J. Smith's first installment to her now epic 8 book series and CW series, "The Vampire Diaries". L. J. Smith began this series of books in 1991. At the insistence of her fans she "concluded" the series with the fourth installment, Volume IV: Dark Reunion. After the success of Twilight there was more fan demand to resurrect the series. And thus The Vampire Diaries: The Return was born. I do not believe the Television Series follows the books very closely, mostly because the main character is from Degrassi and looks nothing like the Elena described in the books.

Without further adieu, the appeal of vampire literature is relevant to young adults because of a theory upheld by literary scholars equating vampirism as an allegory for adolescence and puberty (De Marco 26). Considering the appeal of vampire literature to young adults and the appropriateness of the adolescence allegory, the focus of the stories accumulated for this bibliography discuss vampires in high school.

In her book Not Your Mother’s Vampire, Deborah Wilson Overstreet expands the allegory of adolescence and vampirism to include three categories which discuss developmental tasks adolescents must face and tally how often they appear in vampire literature for young adults. The first task is physical body changes during puberty and the search for identity, the second task is renegotiating relationships and power dynamics between teens, parents, and peer groups, and the third task is increasing sexuality and interest in pursuing romantic relationships (Overstreet 14-15).

Smith, L.J. The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. New York: Harper Court, 1991.

Elena Gilbert’s diary entries help chronicle the beginning of her senior year at Robert E. Lee High School, beginning with the sudden death of her parents. When a mysterious Italian student named Stefan starts attending her school, Elena is determined to win his heart. Following Stefan’s arrival is a sudden spike of sporadic attacks where people are mutilated, seemingly by an animal. As the only vampire in town, Stefan cannot help but blame himself for these attacks though he cannot remember committing them. Isolating himself from his classmates and shunning Elena’s advances only increases her desire to pursue him, even at the risk of her life.

The Vampire Diaries fulfills the third developmental characteristic of developing romantic relationships and recognizing sexuality. The romantic pursuit and obtainment of a relationship between Stefan and Elena is the main focus of this book, the first in an ongoing series of seven. Foreshadowing is very prominent, even occurring from the first line, “Dear Diary, Something awful is going to happen today.” Smith uses a particular convention of vampirism as a metaphor for sex, illustrated through her intimate description of Stefan’s creation into a vampire, as well as his consensual exchange of blood with Elena.

Readers who love plot-driven series will be drawn to The Vampire Diaries as well as through the implied love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and his brother, Damon. Similar to Atwater-Rhodes’ vampires, Damon and Stefan Salvatore are described with opposite personalities: the former is the irreprehensible bad boy, and the latter is the sensitive, sympathetic vampire. Elena is a very weak heroine and portrayed as selfish, manipulative, and conniving. The rest of the cast embodies typical personality archetypes with strong secondary characters. The book’s appropriateness leans more toward upper middle school readers because of violent vampire attacks and the implied sexuality through the exchange of blood.

Supernatural Teenage Love

It's not enough for teenagers now to fall in love with normal, adolescent boys and girls. Not that this is a new thing but I've noticed a trend in Young Adult Literature where a girl falls in love with a supernatural being or vice versa. Libba Bray has a very nice exception in her Printz Award winning book, Going Bovine, where the main character falls in love with a punk rock angel who seems to be everywhere at once. In this instance, she doesn't seem to be used as a romantic trope but rather as an integral part of the Monty Python-esque nonsensical setting of the protagonist's, Cameron, quest including a neurotic, germophobic dwarf, and a Norse God trapped in the body of a yard gnome. Think of her as the Tin Man of "We're off to see the Wizard", only warped.

Young adult literature is expanding now from falling in love with just vampires. The most recent, but by no means groundbreaking, supernatural creatures to come onto the scene are werewolves and pixies.

Case in point:  "Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. In all the years she has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house, Grace has been particularly drawn to an unusual yellow-eyed wolf who, in his turn, has been watching her with increasing intensity."

"For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever."

I wouldn't describe the quality of this book as "fantastic" by any means. The writing style certainly draws you in and absent parents help Grace and Sam's relationship develop to nearly that of an adult level, at least intimately. There's a voyeuristic quality to their relationship as well as the need to save each other from constant dangers of wolves and from each other. Sam is very much a tortured soul having saved Grace once from being attacked by wolves when she was a child, and having to undergo his inconvenient transformations into a werewolf. On the bright side there's a strong heroine in this book, but she needs a few more friends.

I've just found out that not only has this book's rights been published to be turned into a film, but also that it's part of a trilogy continuing with Linger and concluding with Forever. For some reason this bring to mind not only Stephenie Meyer but also L. J. Smith's 8 books dedicated to the love between a girl and two vampire brothers. I'm not sure why these books need to be supported by a series. Perhaps the story really does need to be continued into 8 books (in Smith's case).

Carrie Jones' series, beginning with Need (the second book is pictured here), tells the story of Zara White. Zara suffers a traumatic event involving her parents, moves to a desolate northern state to live with a relative, goes to high school, becomes instantly popular, and discovers that she's in love with a boy who may or may not be a supernatural being. Stop me if this sounds familiar. I may sound a bit harsh here, but upon reading Need, Jones does work with the mold of a very overdone concept and take it to a completely new level involving....wait for it...PIXIES! (Oh, and werewolves or "shifters" as they're referred to in this series). Also a captivating series (mind the pun), I began reading it with no expectations. By the time I recognized the plot points I was too far in to put it down. I've made it through Captivate and am awaiting the third installment soon. Zara's biggest conflict is protecting her loved ones from pixies while trying to have a healthy relationship with her werewolf boyfriend who can't help but resent her a little bit for having ties with pixies, who are his immortal enemies. A big change comes in Captivate, fairly similar to a big change in Twilight: Breaking Dawn so we'll see how it ends.

Now that we're on the subject, why does the transformation from human to supernatural/mythical being have to be triggered by physical contact that's highly sexual? The transformation into a werewolf involve genetics or being bitten, vampires involve a ceremony which centers from being bitten and exchanging blood, and according to Jones' mythology, becoming a pixie happens when one is kissed, a process which they might not survive or at the very least be turned insane by. I just want to know what other people's thoughts are on this topic as it relates to enticing new young adult readers. I'm beginning to wonder if books on normal, human love are not enough for audiences anymore and that one must thrust themselves into universes of fantasy in order to be captivated by the simple story of one person falling in love with another. The fact that these are unobtainable relationships, because werewolves, pixies, fae, and vampires don't exist is what perhaps give young adult readers hope that they are more likely to find a normal relationship.

ALA Day #2 & #3

This day was spent with less volunteering and more attending events. I overshot my commute by an hour so I ended up re-organizing my backpack and writing poetry before my first event.

My first event was a Q&A session with Dennis Lehane, author of Gone Baby, Gone, Mystic River, and Shutter Island. I actually haven't read any of his books but I've seen several movie adaptations. Since it was fairly early in the morning and I hadn't had any coffee yet I was hoping that he'd be funny. The woman sitting next to me assured me that he wasn't. But lo and behold, he opens his lecture with a blond joke. Dennis Lehane looks like a combination of Simon Pegg and the principal from Buffy the Vampire Slayer with a Bostonian accent and a very dry sense of humor. He read us a few chapters from his new book, Moonlight Mile, the sequel to Gone Baby, Gone. Afterward he took some audience questions.

Some interesting quotes about his writing style and where he gets his inspiration:
"I tend not to be a very judgmental human being and this attracts a lot of psychos to you because  I sit and listen to them. And they have the best stories"

"I'm a writer because of libraries." Dennis came from a working class family with no disposable income. They could not afford books so he got a library card for free and began to read books this way.

"I can't read books that don't have a love for the English language."

My second event was a Q&A session with young adult author, Ellen Hopkins. She authors books containing free verse and concrete poems centering around her real life daughter's addiction to meth. She writes other books on differing subjects, prostitution, abuse, but the format is still the same. She read from her newest book, Fallout, which chronicles the aftermath of the lives of Christina Snow's children and the affects her addiction has had on them. Her real life son is only 13 but Hopkins portrayed him to be 17. The other children in the novel are based on qualities from Snow's other five children, specifically the babies that were exposed to meth in utero: OCD, panic attacks. Her advice was to go back to your art, art heals. Discussing the books seemed a very painful ordeal for Hopkins, as she stumbled on her words a lot. I waited in line to get her autograph since they were giving away advanced reader copies of Fallout.

After the reading I had lunch with Danielle and her friend Rebecca where we discussed library shop and looking for jobs.

The rest of my day was spent sitting in on a meeting of the Best Fiction for Young Adults committee. I didn't get there in time to discuss the works I had read but did provide input on a few books. The committee was meeting early the next day to go over the last bit of the list of books and make their decision on what should make the list. There was one lone man on the committee and it was fascinating hearing them debate the merits of young adult literature. Another wonderful aspect of the committee was how they interpreted input from the teen committee who had reviewed the same books into their own critique. Even if no one on the committee liked the book in question, they agreed to push it through because the teens made it seem like the book mattered to them. The particular book in question that none of the adults seemed to like or felt was too graphic but the teens particularly enjoyed was By the time you read this I'll be dead, which discusses suicide and bullying.

I concluded the night by attending the Michael Printz Award Ceremony and Reception where I heard Libba Bray give the most fantastic acceptance speech as she received the Printz Award for her book, Going Bovine, something I recommend everyone pick up. Not all of the speakers were great, some were funny, some were loud, very loud, and some were less than personable. But they'd written something that impacted the Printz committee enough to want to nominate them, so they have important things to say.

Day 3 was uneventful. I was so exhausted from the events of Day 1 and 2 that I did not choose to go to the Library Advocacy Day Rally. I ended up watching a video of the events later on, but at that point I was so exhausted I could not imagine dealing with the sweltering heat and large crowds.

All in all I'd say it was a good Con. I want to go to the PLA conference in Philadelphia in 2011 now so I'd better start saving.