What a Girl Wants: Book Recommends

Colleen over at Chasing Ray asked the What a Girl Wants Panel for their recommends this season. Here's my response. Check out all three of her posts though. What a variety!

Lorie Ann Grover says: "When Colleen asked for a book recommend for What a Girl Wants, I went back and scrolled through my goodreads. What have I read this past year, that I'd want to place in the hands of a teen girl? There are so many books! Certainly every readergirlz main feature and postergirlz recommended read. But what rises to the top for me, personally? I've chosen three:

Justina Chen's North of Beautiful because every girl should be challenged to discover her own definition of beauty. Teen girls will identify with Terra as she charts her path away from her constraining, abusive father. They will cheer when she finds truth and beauty through art, and she gathers insight through her new friend Jacob. The beautifully crafted sentences and rounded characters will hold readers with hope and call them to find their own north of beautiful.

Laura Resau's Red Glass is my second recommend. With rich, beautiful language, readers will join Sophie on her journey into Mexico during a summer road trip. An eccentric cast, cultural diversity, and a hint of magical hope infuse this work which will expand the scope of teen girls today. Whether they be touched by the Bosnian war refuge or the six year old Mexican boy who has crossed the U.S. border illegally, the readers' experiences and empathy will be broadened.

And Beth Kephart's House of Dance is my third recommend. The lyrical beauty of Beth's prose just may incite teen readers to reach out to an older generation. As Rosie is charged with tending to her grandfather dying of cancer, she uncovers the life that he loved. Through ballroom dance instruction, Rosie's confidence blossoms until she can stand and give back herself. The sense of community and family love found in this gentle journey will resound in teen readers.

So there are three books of hope, I just realized. As I say to teen readers, "There's hope. Look." (Loose Threads, 2002)"

Colleen Mondor: Oh Justina Chen! Oh Beth Kephart! Can I say how much I love their books? Justina's Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies) remains one of the funniest and most normal books I've read in ages. And yet it is anything but typical it's just that any reader can see themselves in Patty's frustrations. And Beth's Nothing But Ghosts is a revelation, plain and simple. Such gorgeous writing and such a light touch when it comes to family drama and romance and coming-of-age. A book to sink into!

Colleen went on to say:

"And Lorie Ann Grover. Well, good grief, where to begin with my friend Lorie Ann. She writes for teens and toddlers and she is (in my mind) the beating heart of the readergirlz. When I grow up, I will be as powerful and talented and compassionate at Lorie Ann. She makes my world better."

And I say:

Colleen, I'm in awe of all you accomplish and provide the literary community. AND your amazing love and sacrifice for your family is inspiring. Seriously. Inspiring. Thank YOU! xox

rgz Teen Read Week: Read Beyond Imagination

Yay! Teen Read Week is here! I'm so excited. :~)
Here's our lineup for tonight. Hope you can join us as we Read Beyond Imagination. Woohoo!

ALA 2009: The Men

Okay, Justina is going to smack me for focusing on the men, but come on. In a sea of beautiful ladies, it is nice to encounter a man. Right? (I'll post the ladies next.) So here are the ones I crossed paths with...


M.T. Anderson was brilliant. I've been waiting to meet him for many years. Feed is one of my all time favorite books.

Ed Masessa works for Scholastic Book Fair and loves to tease me. We had a very fun reunion at the Scholastic Brunch.

David Levithan was extremely generous and fun to be around.

Christopher Meyers was absolutely hip and sincere. He asked immediately how tall I am. :~) I appreciated getting to look up to him!


And finally Richard Peck. How awesome to compare shoes. The man is definitely dapper.

Okay, Justina. Go ahead and smack me now.

My divas

This is such a fun photo that Holly snatched at my signing for Bedtime Kiss for Little Fish! It makes me miss my peeps! *waves from Chicago*

TLA Top Ten (and a few more)

Justina asked me to share my top 10 moments from TLA. I found I had a photo for most!

1. Getting to travel with Justina and Dia. Although we missed Holly Cupala and Melissa Walker dearly!


2. Packing up the gifties for publishers who are supporting TBD '09!


3. Finding Jodie Cohen on the floor. She's now at Listening Library. We formerly worked together at Simon and Schuster. Note: she's wearing heels!


4. Meeting the legend Sharyn November who probably has her eyes closed here because she can't believe the ruckus the co-founders of rgz are making over her.


5. My massive fan girl moment over Gary Schmidt where I kept mentioning the breeze, the breeze in Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Oh, my.


6. Happening upon Joan Bauer and putting two and two together to remember we first met at SCBWI National where we listened to Karen Hesse speak. I lurve Joan's work!


7. Our presentation to over 200 fantastic Texas librarians!


8. Our signings where S&S provided Hug Hug! and On Pointe for conference attendees.


9. Coming upon Justina's shrine of stars!

10. And then meeting Meg Cabot after working together multiple times with rgz!


There were so many highlights, really:

Authors: Sara Zarr, Ally Carter, Jennifer Zeigler, Justine Larbalestier, Walter Dean Myers, Margo Rabb, John Green, Scott Westerfeld, two Brown Bookshelf co-founders, and Cynthia Leitich Smith (and more, more, more!)

Publishers: the Little, Brown staff--Victoria Stapleton (Who I just love. She brought a chair into the Publishers' Reception. So appreciated. And her humor just cracks me up!) Kate Sullivan who helped carry my bags. How sweet is that? Laura Antonacci from S&S and her full team.

Librarians: our power lunch with Lorienne Roy and a midnight meeting with Beth Yoke. Susi Grissom and Joanna Nigrelli, our Texas hosts. An entire conference full of passionate, generous librarians. Just wonderful!

Here's to a great conference, and the rumor of TLA '10. I hope, I hope, I hope!



And sweet thanks to the librarian who asked me if my hair color was natural and another who gave me the "Best Shoe Award" for the entire conference. *wink*

Find Beauty Challenge: Me!

So, of course, I had to make one! Here's my submission for the Find Beauty Challenge!



Appearances: Miss Erin, Ellen and Emily, Jackie Parker, Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey, Cathy Garber, Kato the dog, Justina Chen Headley, Holly Cupala, and me! Yay!

North of Beautiful: Find Beauty Challenge, Justina

Oooooh. How sweet and beautiful is this? THANK YOU, JUSTINA! xox

Writing Retreat, 3/09

It's going to seem like I retreat frequently. But I don't. Really! It's just that this opportunity came up and so we HAD to go, right?

One weekend with members of the team who could make it: postergirl Jackie Parker, divas Dia Calhoun, Justina Chen Headley, and me, here:

Two fantasies and two contemporary novels were being born. And a few good photos. This is my favorite!


There are always surprises when you go to a place sight-unseen. The next photo looks perfectly normal. But it's a skylight! The eroding mud hill was LOOMING over us. Did it make for faster typing as we all worried we'd be washed out to sea? Um. Yes.

Of course dinner out is a highlight, the chance to share how the writing day went. Just in time for happy hour!


Then back to writing in the morning!


All in all, I'm liking this retreat lifestyle. Good friends, good writing, good fun.


Until next time...maybe the whole team will make it!

North of Beautiful

Okay, I'm home but have to post in order of the events. So I'll start with last Sunday. The launch party for North of Beautiful was amazing!

I may have a snippet of a video to post, but in the meantime, here's Justina speaking about true beauty.


Miss Erin and her mother surprised everyone by driving over to attend the event. And then Miss Erin sang for Justina!


It was a crying moment for certain. So, sweet!

Many thanks to Brenda Gurung for hosting as Justina signed for over one and half hours!

The week has brought amazing things. Not only was North of Beautiful on the home page of Barnes and Noble, the novel has now garnered 3 starred reviews! Everyone is cheering!

At the same time, the Find Beauty Challenge is underway. Here are the deets from Justina's blog:

"Tell the world what you find to be Truly Beautiful! Just upload a 90-second video describing what real beauty means to you...and you could win yourself an iTouch! PLUS, for every uploaded video, I'll donate $10 (up to $1,000) to Global Surgical Outreach, an amazing group that helps kids with cleft lips and palates in the third world.

Here's what to do:
1. Record a 90-second video essay about what's truly beautiful to you!
2. Upload the video onto YouTube.
3. Then...send a link to north@marthabee.com. (Martha Brockenbrough--tech guru and my friend of much wonderosity--will link your video to the North of Beautiful YouTube channel.)
4. Tell all your friends to RATE your video."

Here's to good friends, true beauty, and beautiful book launches! Brava!

Asian Delights and Burgers

So, I've been with the rgz ladies for two years now. And the ladies, LURVE Asian food of all varieties. And we almost ALWAYS end up at a Chinese restaurant or having Thai food.

Now, I'm up for trying new things, and my appetite is slowly growing in this direction, but sometimes a girl wants a burger. Period.

I had to laugh my head off on the way to my retreat with Dia Calhoun last week. We were so hungry, and so, I randomly picked a little diner in a tiny town. Somehow I missed the sign:


I mean I focused on the sign that said margaritas all day for $2. Only after emerging from the bathroom did I realize we were in a Chinese diner. Hence, Dia's laughter.

Thankfully, they had those little fried wonton filled with crab and cream cheese. *sigh* What's a girl to do? Maybe I was just missing my friend Justina CHEN Headley afterall. :~)

Mitali Perkins Visits Seattle

Okay, before I post the retreat photos, it's back to Mitali Perkin's visit and the celebration of the release of Secret Keeper!

So, the ladies turned out to the Bellevue Barnes & Noble store.


Pictured here: Justina Chen Headley, Mitali Perkins, Jackie Parker, me, Holly Cupala, Sarah Woodard, and Dia Calhoun. Special thanks to Brenda Gurung, the beautiful and passionate, for hosting!


We were only missing our beloved rgz diva Melissa Walker!


It was definitely a day of hugs! It's always a blast to get to hang with Jackie, postergirl for rgz, and author of Interactive Reader blog o' awesomeness.


Mitali's reading and backstory for Secret Keeper was inspiring and beautiful. She spoke of sisters, secrets, and sacrifice. The novel truly has the most amazing sacrifice. A heartbreak for certain!


Then we were off to the Bellevue Library for a writing exercise on creating place. Mitali got us all thinking of how descriptions of place can reveal your characters. Thank you, Darcy Brixey for hosting!


By then, we were all sporting bindis. Here's rgz Sarah with her sister, Elizabeth.


We ended the evening over dinner, sharing stories, talking books, and laughing--a lot. We all have a heart for YA lit, and so we are back to work. Until the next launch that is. Thank you for visiting, Mitali!

Vision Boarding Step-by-step

So, you get a great group of people together...

Eric, Emily, and Ellen

Dia Calhoun

and make a huge mess by cutting up piles of magazines.

Justina Chen Headley

On a piece of poster board or cardboard or canvas, glue down those pieces that appeal to you in some way. Don't worry about the composition, but go with what feels right and natural.

You'll be surprised when you end up with an awesome vision board that reflects who you are right now:


or your hopes for the new year.

Try it out! Visualize through words and images and surprise yourself.

Poetry Friday: Trust, a haiku

This past week my dear friend Justina Chen Headley sat down and read my new board book Hug Hug! It is so encouraging to have words valued. This haiku springs from her care and time.

Trust

A friend holds your words
cherishing the thoughts and sounds.
Seedlings of hope sprout.

Lorie Ann Grover, 2009

Catch the full roundup at A Year of Reading!