Reading, Writing, and Me

500 Words or Less by Juleah de Rosario (384 pages)
Overview: Nic Chen is not whole. Starting senior year, she's a fragment of parts she doesn't know how to reconcile. She's at the top of her class. She's Kitty's best friend. But she's also the girl with "whore" written in bright orange lipstick across her locker. Who's missing her boyfriend. And her childhood best friend who's abandoned her. It isn't until she's tasted with writing everyone else's college essays that she starts to piece together who she really is. Overall: 5

Characters: 5 I loved Nic. She sees the world in an interesting and beautiful way. She's critical and analytical, but she is also full of longing and emotional connection. She challenges the double standard and inequality. She questions the people around her and how they've changed- how some have been allowed by the world to change more than others.
The parsing of the parental relationships is also intere…

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (496 pages)
Overview: Frances has always known her across the street neighbor Aled Last in the periphery. He was Carry Last's sister until she disappeared. Now he's head boy Daniel's best friend. When she and Aled are thrust together on a drunken train ride home, Frances learns she's a lot closer to Aled than she thought. He's the mysterious creator of her favorite narrative podcast, Universe City. But when his identity surfaces on the internet in connection to Universe City, it all starts to fall apart for their friendship, and  Aled's life. Overall: 5

Character: 5 Frances, Aled, and Daniel are all extremely real people. France lives her life caught up on the dream of getting into Cambridge. If it's not helping her admissions prospects, she's not doing it- unless it's under a pen name and involving Universe City fan art. Over the course of the book, she realizes that the Frances in her head that she projects and the Fran…

There are few authors who are no longer with us that have maintained both relevancy and joyful readership like Roald Dahl. Like Harry Potter, even if you've never picked up one of his books, you at least know a few of his stories; though very few children graduate from childhood without having read one. While his books have always carried some controversial qualities, there's a reason so many of his books have been children's (and adult) favorite since his first books were published 1940s.

Dahl understood the most important ingredient in long lasting children's literature- appealing to adults as well. Children love story time, an activity that is guided by their parents or teachers. To have a book read aloud, the person reading has to get some amount of joy from it. By not being afraid of witty wordplay and advanced words, Dahl bridged the gap between parents and children. He wrote more about kids and less at or for kids which gave him an undeniable authenticity in hi…

Pride by Ibi Zoboi (September 18)
Overview: Though it's billed as a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, this story is all its own. Zuri is a proud citizen of Bushwick. She loves her family, her neighbors, and the character that surrounds her. She and her many sisters have spent months speculating about who is moving into the renovated home across the street. They don't expect Darius and Ainsley Darcy, wealthy, private school boys that don't fit with the vibe of the neighborhood. Despite their differences, Darius and Zuri grow closer, and between dealing with her sisters and mounting college applications, they find a spark that might be too hot to ignore. Overall: 4 

Characters: 5 The characters are very well formed. Probably because they are so steeped in the vivid world Zoboi paints, we feel their essence from the very first page. From the refined Darcy twins to the chaotic group of four sisters all cooped up in one bedroom, the people in Zuri's world help us learn about …

The Lake Effect by Erin McCahan (391 pages)
Overview: Lake Michigan is beautiful. That's why the town of South Haven draws so many tourists, or in this case, seasonal workers. Briggs gets the chance to return to the lake for a summer to work for an old woman looking for live in summer help. Though the lake promises beautiful days and abundant fun, it also opens him up to many new worlds. That of his Serbian employer oozing with spunk, the unintentionally mysterious girl next door, Abigail, and the whole crew of townies who fill his afternoons with beach volleyball. The time away also offers a fresh prospective on the family he left behind and his future priorities. Though he knew about the weather, the Lake Effect was something much greater than he anticipated. Overall: 5

Characters: 5 Wow. So, I have to  say that when the book started, I was fine with Briggs but nothing special. He was the kind of guy who came from a somewhat privileged background that was a machine towards wealth …

Hole In The Middle by Kendra Fortmeyer (September 4)
Overview: Morgan is like everyone else starting senior year. She's easing into adulting and thinking about her future. She's living in an apartment with her best friend Caro and trying to figure out how to break it to her super driven, successful, fitness guru mom that she doesn't really want to go to college. Morgan also spends a fair amount of time at the doctor's office because she has a peach sized hole straight through her abdomen.
There's been one rule her entire life. Don't let anyone know about the hole, and, besides Caro and Caro's boyfriend Todd, she's succeeded. One night, though, she cuts herself a crop top and goes out to a club called Mansion where she shows off her true self, in all her glory. Photos spread like a wildfire on the internet, and she's approached by a new doctor who thinks she might have a cure. Though it  comes with press crews, a boy who has a lump that won't disa…

I was lucky enough to be a part of the awesome blog tour for Sadie which came out yesterday, September 4. Now that most of you have probably devoured it in one, long night, you can dig into how Summer's created what is arguably the biggest YA book of 2018.  You've written in a variety of genres within YA, have you found a favorite or one that you want to write more in?
I will always love writing gritty, realistic contemporary novels (it’s my wheelhouse!), but I wouldn’t mind exploring different genres; sci-fi, spec-fic, horror—I don’t think I’ve done that enough to feel a pull back to one, so I better get to work!
As I am a teen author and I encourage my readers to write and share their work, what is the most valuable thing you've learned over the course of your career, especially having started so young as I hope to?
I think it’s important to dedicate yourself to the improvement of your craft, to be able to recognize when what you’ve done is good enough and when it can be b…

Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff (372 pages)
Overview: Waverly never quite fit in when she was younger. When she and her best friend Merabeth start high school, they decide that was going to change. With Waverly's brain and Merabeth's social skills, the girls rise to the top of the social ladder. But, when Waverly finally gets it all, she feels lost and empty, simply acting a part she has no attachment to.
That's when she meets Marshall Holt. Through a relaxation technique Waverly finds to fight her insomnia, which involves breathing in the aroma from a candle while counting, she finds herself transported to a party where no one can see her except for school slaker/stoner Marshall Holt. Through these odd dreams that only the two of them remember, their notions of who they have to be are slowly dismantled. Waverly feels like she can let down her guard and show her true self, while  Waverly inspires Marshall to start thinking of himself and putting work into his classes…

It's back to school season which means that schools are refreshing their handbooks, and students are hitting the store for the perfect first day of school outfit. Just remember to check the dress code before you fall in love. While boys can easily pick out a few pairs of shorts, shirts, and maybe some jeans, girls will spend hours crawling through the store, aisle by aisle, looking for something that might not get them sent to the office, or, worse, sent home.
For many tween and teen girls, back to school comes with plenty of anxiety before you realize that the school wants you to wear clothes that simply don't exist. For some it causes mere frustration, for others, it can create a real problem. Lower income families quite literally can't afford to make a wrong move when buying new clothes for back to school. If the item might get flagged, it's not bought because clothes are expensive and not being able to wear the shirts you bought to school because they're not t…