What are YOU doing to celebrate Banned Books Week?

You may have heard that I am up to my EARS in Banned Books Week celebrations. All month, at my main blog, I've asked readers to send in photos of themselves reading banned books. (Keep 'em coming! I'm accepting submissions through the end of Banned Books Week!) In return, I've been sending readers some fabulous buttons to declare their own banned book-reading awesomocity. Here are the buttons:



And this week, for every single day of Banned Books Week (which started on Saturday, the 25th, btw), I've got an interview with a banned author of SCANDALOUS books. So I hope y'all will check that out and leave these authors some love!

In any case, I wanted to show y'all what I'M reading in celebration of Banned Books Week, since everyone has been so forthcoming in sharing their own favorite banned books.

When I was about ten (that's me in 4th grade, right there), I was pretty busy tearing through all the Judy Blume I could get my hands on. I had always been an advanced reader, and my mom was pretty good about letting me read what I wanted. (I remember picking up Patricia Cornwall and John Grisham from my dad's bookshelf when I was in 7th grade. I eventually got bored and traded them for some Piers Anthony Dad and I found at the bookstore.)And , at the time, ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET. was like my Bible.

One night my dad took me to get a new book and I came home with FOREVER..., one of Judy Blume's most famous books. I was so psyched to read it and I showed my mom but she did not share my enthusiasm Actually, she sort of panicked. She took it and hid it away and told me that it wasn't appropriate reading for me. I was like what the heck, mom? It's by JUDY BLUME. How could anything Judy Blume wrote be scandalous?

(This goes to show that my pre-pubescent self hadn't quite picked up on the sexual subtleties of TIGER EYES and DEENIE, which remain some of my faves.)

Anyway, I never wound up reading FOREVER.... But as an adult I have not one but TWO copies of Blume's most banned book. And, putting my money where my mouth is, so to speak, I figured I'd get my read on with the one book I was personally forbidden to read.

And I loved it.

I'm not going to go into a detailed review, because I'm probably the one person on the planet over the age of 18 who hasn't read FOREVER.... But I loved this book for its sensitive but uninhibited explorations of sexuality. I loved that the characters in the book were real teens that I related to as a kid who grew up in the 90s, even though they were written in the 70s. And I think that their experiences carry over in a way that remains real and relatable for today's teens.

Part of me remains surprised that this book was written in the 70s. It's pretty explicit, and I have to commend Judy Blume (or, THE JUDY, as I think of her) for not pulling any punches. Authors like Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, who are writing contemporary YA and selling jillions of copies, still get challenged every year for being too racy. And I'm really glad that they -- and other authors, myself included -- have THE JUDY to fall back on. She paved the road for writers who want to keep it real, and that's freaking awesome. So if you, like me, never got around to reading FOREVER... as a teen, I hope you'll go pick up a copy soon.

And, for the record, I hereby forgive my mother for not letting me read FOREVER... as a kid. I wasn't ready for it. Though, I'm pretty sure I would have been so scandalized by the first sentence of the book that I would have hid it from myself in the closet and forgotten about it until I was ready.

Heading back to school could be way worse, I promise.

Yeah, I hear it's that time of year. You're donning your backpacks weighed down with textbooks and homework and bidding your beach gear goodbye. Woe! I mean, I bet you're kind of excited to see friends you haven't seen in a while, right? Or maybe that crush you meant to call all summer but never actually, um, got up the nerve? (Totally been there.) I get it, though. School can be a bummer. I don't think I know anyone who likes homework, even for their favorite class. So I thought I'd share a few reads with you that could lend a little perspective. At least you're not starting the school year in one of these books.

SHADOW HILLS by Anastasia Hopcus (Egmont 2010)
Persephone "Phe" Archer has been having dreams since her sister died. Nightmares, really. And when she found out that her sister had been having them, too, Phe knew where she had to go: Devinish Prep in Shadow Hills. Her sister had written about it in her journal, had even requested information from the school. And Phe just knows that there are answers there, answers she can't find at home in California. But as soon as she steps foot on campus, she knows this isn't your average boarding school. For one, the nearby cemetery is just a little too nearby. As is the hospital. And when she meets Zach, a strange, beautiful boy who seems to attract metal like a magnet, Phe falls hard -- and her curiosity is intensified. When Zach finally confesses what Phe already suspects -- he's different, descended from the people who survived the epidemic that wiped out Shadow Hills in the 1700s -- he puts her in danger. But Phe isn't exactly average either, and as her visions -- and her feelings for Zach -- intensify, she realizes that even if it kills her, she's going to uncover what's going on in Shadow Hills. This paranormal mystery will have you guessing until the very end, and while I wouldn't want to go to school in Shadow Hills, I absolutely can't wait to visit Devinish Prep again in a sequel. (Please?!)

MY SO-CALLED DEATH by Stacey Jay (Flux, 2010)
Karen Vera has been transported from her fabulous position atop a cheerleader pyramid to DEAD High. She'd known there were risks to being a "flyer," but she didn't imagine that she'd die -- let alone become "genetically undead." Now Karen has to deal with things like her weirdo roommate who mostly cries and performs goth-y rituals under a blanket. And then there's the snacking on animal brains to prevent rot. And, oh yeah, someone in school has been harvesting her fellow student's brains and way too many signs are pointing to crushworthy Gavin. This hilarious mystery will have you hooked from page one, with its fabulously imagined world in which the teenage undead can play, complete with plenty of zombie puns. I'm really hoping that Stacey Jay will continue Karen Vera's story as a series, even if I'm not inclined hang out at the DEAD High campus any time in the near future.

CANDOR by Pam Bachorz (Egmont 2009)Candor is the perfect city where perfect teens live perfect lives and make their perfect parents proud. Oscar knows why -- his father, the founder, developed technology that makes even the most rebellious teens conform. Oscar gets kids out…for a price. Then he meets Nia, an artist and a rebel, and he finds himself smitten. Oscar wants to change – he wants to save Nia, whether that means getting her out or hiding her in plain sight. But the powers that be are stronger than even Oscar realized, and soon he is asking himself what sacrifices he is willing to make for love. Candor is terrifying and heartbreaking, a story that clearly resonates a Stepford vibe and keeps the reader guessing through the last page. It will make you feel a little crazy. There is nothing in the world that could make me register for classes at a high school in Candor. But this book is gripping, stunning, and the twisted sort of read that makes you want more.

My Inner Nine Year Old is Screaming at Me

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a marine biologist. I mean, I also had a dog-eared copy of Emily Dickinson's COMPLETE POEMS, and I'd like to think that that part of my Inner-Nine-Year-Old is okay with my career choices. But the part that wanted to go in the ocean and learn about whales? She's none too pleased that I sucked at high school chemistry, opted out of honors physics, and took the liberal arts path.

And during Shark Week, she is seriously pissed. Like, whoa, grown-up-self, you could be out there cage-diving with Mike Rowe and that Survivorman guy with fancy freaking cameras and satellite shark tagging thingies being all like LOOK AT ME I KNOW SOME SHARKS! Instead, you are sitting back on your grown-up sofa with technology no more advanced than your laptop being all LOOK AT ME I MAKE WORDS.

Yeah, whatever, Inner Nine-Year-Old. I know. Every year during Shark Week I sort of wish I wasn't a writer, too. I sort of wish I was a writer-cum-ichthyologist. Ichthyologists freaking study SHARKS and sharks are the coolest things ever. The other night I was sitting around with my boyfriend being all HEY DO YOU KNOW WHAT SHARK CAN GO IN FRESH WATER AND EAT PEOPLE IN JERSEY? BULL SHARK, BABY! And he was all uh...

Watching The Discovery Channel (and The History Channel and NatGeo etc.) is totally inspiring. I got into cryptozoology via television documentaries. Several years later my fascination with crypdits lead to the first draft of a YA novel that I'm working on RIGHT NOW. And Shark Week? Crap, man. That just inspires me all over the place. For example, here is a picture of a mohawked shark plushie I made in 2007.
I am THAT into Shark Week. And to appease my Inner-Nine-Year-Old, I have no doubt that I will one day have to write a shark book. Shark poems (yes, I've written them) and shark plushies won't do. Later this week I'm making a shark dress to wear to a Shark Week-y event at a local theatre. I'm sure this offering will not suffice, either.

In the mean time, I have pulled the book SHARK GIRL by Kelly Bingham from my shelf. I've wanted to read this book for ages because 1. it's a verse novel and I love verse novels and 2. it is called SHARK GIRL, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. What better time than Shark Week to curl up with a highly-praised novel about a teen shark attack survivor? None, say I.

Anyway, I'd love to know what your Inner-Nine-Year-Old wants from you. Or what sort of shark-related antics you're up to this week. Holy crap, so much awesome!

Interview and Scavenger Hunt with Claudia Gray

We're celebrating the relaunch of The YA-5 with Halloween in July week! Together with YALITCHAT we've gathered four spooktakular authors who write about things that go "bump" in the night! Yesterday was Heather Brewer's turn and if you missed the interview and scavenger hunt to win a signed copy of ELEVENTH GRADE BURNS or a Bathory Bats T-shirt, click here! We hope you enjoy the interviews and insights with these fabulous writers as well as the scavenger hunt (see details at end of each interview) throughout the week. Click here for the transcript of last last night's YALITCAHT Spooktakular with Heather Brewer, Claudia Gray and Nancy Holder.For now, boo! Up next, Claudia Gray!

1. You could write about anything in the world but you choose to write about things that go bump in the night, why?

ANSWER: I've always been interested in the ghoulish. In high school, I was always that weird kid sitting in the back of study hall reading DRACULA instead of doing her work. So this was a pretty natural subject for me.

2. What do you say to people who think YA books can't be scary and romantic?

ANSWER: I'd think anybody hooked into YA literature these days knows better. If that's not true, and somebody out there actually believes that, I wouldn't say anything -- just hand over a copy of one of the really great series out right now (maybe Kelley Armstrong's?) and let them figure it out for themselves.

3. Vampires or werewolves? Or is that a dumb question?

ANSWER: That's like asking, "chocolate or peanut butter"? I'm a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup kinda gal.

4. Is there anything about you that we’d be surprised to find out--aside from the fact that Claudia Gray is a pen name?

ANSWER: Would you be surprised to know that I turned to writing fiction in part because my plan to be a tax attorney didn't work out?

5. What are you afraid of?

ANSWER: Inadequacy. Serial killers. Spiders. Cancer. Heights. Disappointing the people I love. Roller coasters that go upside down. Bird feet.

6. What are you dressing up as this Halloween?

ANSWER: I don't know yet! I've always wanted to rent one of those big, elaborate Goth Queen outfits with a huge wig and purple, red and black lace Marie Antoinette gown, but I need the right occasion to wear it. Maybe I need to be the one throwing a grand party some Halloween.

7. Would you rather read a book that was suspenseful or scary?

ANSWER: For me, they're pretty much the same; I find suspense a lot more frightening than many more straightforwardly "scary" things.

8. Ok, admit it, you watched Blair Witch with one eye open, right?

ANSWER: I LOVED "The Blair Witch Project," up until the moment in the movie theater, just when the suspense was at its height and nobody could breathe, when somebody's cell phone rang. And kept ringing. Because it took them about five minutes to get to their phone and turn it off. The ring tone: "Take Me Out To The Ball Game." Kinda spoiled the mood.

9. Have you seen Paranormal Activity? Were you scared to death or did you not even bat an eyelash?

ANSWER: I haven't seen it, actually! Maybe I'll rent it with some friends at Halloween, if nobody has a big party.

10. Tell us about your next book.

ANSWER: The next book of mine to be released will be AFTERLIFE, the fourth book in the EVERNIGHT series, in which we finally learn Bianca and Lucas' ultimate destiny, and Mrs. Bethany's big plan. The next book I'm writing is FATEFUL, which in my head has two other titles: WEREWOLVES ON THE TITANIC, which tells you what it's about, and YES, ACTUALLY, THE SITUATION CAN GET WORSE. HarperTeen didn't go for that last title. No idea why.

---ENF OF INTERVIEW---



And now for the first few clues in the Claudia Gray portion of the scavenger hunt.

1. In HOURGLASS, who orchestrated Balthazar's escape?
2. Name the TWO anthologies Claudia is featured in?
3. What is Claudia's favorite candy (hint: answer is in this interview)?
4. When will AFTERLIFE be released?

Visit Claudia's website for the answers!

Prize: A signed copy of EVERNIGHT paperback or STARGAZER or HOURGLASS hardcovers (3 winners, one prize each).

Purchase Claudia's books!

Visit Michelle Zink's or Nancy Holder's or Heather Brewer's interview and scavenger hunt pages!

SCAVENGER HUNT RULES

The scavenger hunt lasts all week! You must answer all the questions CORRECTLY to win the prize from THAT author! You must be a member of The YA-5 blog to win! You may enter more than once to better your chances of winning at least ONE prize. But you may only win ONE prize for the week. Each day a new author interview will be posted along with new questions. You must visit the author's website to learn the answers to the questions posted here then post your answers in the comments section on The YA-5's site in order to win a prize. Contest ends July 23 at midnight Eastern time. Winners will be announced the week of August 2, 2010.

Interview and Scavenger Hunt with Heather Brewer

We're celebrating the relaunch of The YA-5 with Halloween in July week! Together with YALITCHAT we've gathered four spooktakular authors who write about things that go "bump" in the night! Yesterday was Nancy Holder's turn and if you missed the interview and scavenger hunt to win a signed copy of POSSESSIONS or THE EVIL WITHIN, click here! We hope you enjoy the interviews and insights with these fabulous writers as well as the scavenger hunt (see details at end of each interview) throughout the week. On Wednesday, Heather Brewer, Claudia Gray and Nancy Holder will be chatting at Midnight Eastern over on twitter during YALITCHAT's Spooktakular celebration! For now, boo! Up next, Heather Brewer!

1. You could write about anything in the world but you choose to write about things that go bump in the night, why?
ANSWER: Because darkness is in my nature. Ever since I was very young, I’ve been drawn to spooky things, intrigued by them. They say to write what you know, and what I know tends to lurk underneath my bed at night.

2. What do you say to people who think YA books can't be scary and romantic?

ANSWER: I say that they don’t truly understand what YA is. YA is such a broad spectrum of topics that there’s room for anything and everything. And when you think about it, there’s not much difference between a cute boy giving you goose bumps and the hair on the back of your neck standing on end because of the skeery thing behind you. In both cases, your heart rate increases and your adrenaline rushes. The emotions are strangely similar.

3. Vampires or werewolves? Or is that a dumb question?

ANSWER: Without a doubt, Vampires. I’m not a dog person. And I could never make out with anybody that needed to wax that much.

4. What are you working on now?

ANSWER: I’m currently working on the first book in my new series about a vampire slayer. It’s called: THE SLAYER CHRONICLES: BEGINNING. Fans of THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD will know exactly who this series is about. BEGINNING will hit stores Fall 2011.

ANSWER: I’m also working on BLOODBOUND, a series about a strong girl, swords, and giant, drooling monsters. That series will begin Spring 2012.

5. What are you afraid of?

ANSWER: Clowns. And water. But mostly clowns.

6. What are you dressing up as this Halloween?

ANSWER: I still haven’t decided yet! But considering the insane amount of costumes I own, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Last year I was a zombie. This year I may be a vampiric squirrel. It depends on my mood.

7. Would you rather read a book that was suspenseful or scary?

ANSWER: I have to choose?! I think these things go hand in hand. In a perfect world, anyway.

That being said, I’m still looking for the book that will really scare me. Hopefully I’ll find it someday.



8. Ok, admit it, you watched Blair Witch with one eye open, right?

ANSWER: Nah. Blair Witch was funny! And now, every time I’m in a wooded area, I wander around shouting, “Josh! Joooosh!”

9. Have you seen Paranormal Activity? Were you scared to death or did you not even bat an eyelash?

ANSWER: Haven’t seen it. After the disappointment of Quarantine (which turned out not to be horror, but just a two hour screamer video), I’m hesitant to see Paranormal Activity. The previews look like it’ll be a similar deal. But please, if I’m wrong, someone correct me!

10. What's next for you now that Vlad is going to be out of high school?

ANSWER: A lot of fangtastic travel and tons of writing, as I finish up BEGINNING and the first book of BLOODBOUND. And, as always, reigning over the Minion Horde. :)

Thanks for stopping by, Heather. You are truly one of a kind! xoxo

---ENF OF INTERVIEW---



And now for the first few clues in the Heather Brewer portion of the scavenger hunt.

1. In Bloodblound, what is Kaya's power?
2. What grade is Vladimir Tod in?
3. What is "minion bling?"
4. Does Heather own a dog? (hint: answer can be found in THIS interview)

Visit Heather's website for the answers!

Prize: A signed copy of ELEVENTH GRADE BURNS or a Bathory Bats T-shirt (2 winners, one prize each).

Purchase Heather's books!

Visit Michelle Zink's or Nancy Holder's interview and scavenger hunt pages!

SCAVENGER HUNT RULES

The scavenger hunt lasts all week! You must answer all the questions CORRECTLY to win the prize from THAT author! You may enter more than once to better your chances of winning at least ONE prize. But you may only win ONE prize for the week. Each day a new author interview will be posted along with new questions. You must visit the author's website to learn the answers to the questions posted here then post your answers in the comments section on The YA-5's site in order to win a prize. Contest ends July 23 at midnight Eastern time. Winners will be announced the week of August 2, 2010.