Edgar Nominee: Torn to Pieces

I had originally put Torn to Pieces by Margot McDonnell aside, since I figured out the plot by page two. But the point of reading the YA Edgar nominees of this year was to get a full picture of what’s happening in YA mystery. So I felt I had to read this book, too.

And I’m glad I did. After a bit of a choppy start, I got absorbed by the story of 17 year-old Anne, whose mother goes missing. At first, Anne’s thinking it’s just another business trip (her mother is a ghostwriter who travels a lot), but eventually, she realizes something’s wrong. She asks her grandparents for help, and they give her a sealed envelope with a letter from Mom.

Meanwhile, there’s hot guy Tal, mysteriously odd Evan, and a host of other weird stuff that you’ll just have to read the book for, because I’ll give too much away otherwise.

The verdict on this book? It’s a mixed bag. It had a distinct romantic suspense, chicklit-ish flavor to it: Mom has money, buys clothes, hot boys at every corner… Not my cuppa joe, but alright. The mystery/crime components were a little contrived, a bit like taking half a dozen Lifetime Network movie plots, and blending them together. There was an awful lot going on, and all in one book.

And yet… This was a mystery. The first of the nominees that actually had a mystery with a crime (several, in fact), and a main character solving them. And the author wasn’t afraid to put the lead in deathly peril on a regular basis—kudos! After reading a few cop-outs, this was like a breath of fresh air. And I think this is just the kind of book a teen girl with a love for mystery would really dig.

I think the plot could’ve used a little less of a heavy hand. But Torn to Pieces was an actual mystery!

Hot dang.

Early Linkatude

Friday links (a.k.a. time-wastery) come early, since I’m actually hoping to get some writing done tomorrow. So here you go:

It’s a book! It’s a movie! It’s a website! No, it’s a digi-novel. When the TV writers strike was going on (last year, was it?), apparently CSI creator Anthony Zuiker was bored and came up with this hybrid entertainment. It’s not written for teens, but seems to fit the demographic anyway. Plus, looks like Duane Swierczynski is in on the crime, so I have high hopes. The novel, Level 26, is out this week. I bought myself a copy, so I’ll let you know what I think. You know how I like to do that.

I thought this article in The Wall Street Journal about Facebook as a parenting tool was funny. It was so much easier to be a teen back in my day. And don’t these helicoptering parents know better than to comment on their kid’s Facebook page?

Nathan Bransford asks if books for kids should be rated for content (like movies and TV), which I thought was a very interesting discussion. My initial answer is yes, but I’ll have to think about that one for a while to be sure. Plus, the comments are interesting to follow. Wish we could get some teen feedback on that one.

Newsweek has an article about the effects of 9/11 on millenials, or the now grown kids of that hellish day (first I heard that term, but okay). Interesting, though I think the conclusion that today’s focus on service in a result of 9/11 alone is a bit easy. I would argue the current economic and political climate is a more logical (and current) infuence. But read for yourself.

For you unpublished writers out there, Pikes Peak Writers is opening up submissions for their 2010 Fiction contest. And speaking of new writers, check out this story about a 17 year-old’s 10-book deal. You go, M’Lin!

For you teens: vote for your 2009 top 10 reads at YALSA. But be speedy, because voting ends September 18.

And to the people who keep sending me e-spam, saying they’ll buy my timeshares: I don’t have any. Really. Not even if you email me every day.

Edgar Nominee: Bog Child

Last week, I talked about Siobhan Dowd, who died far too early, and left two manuscripts behind. I read one of them: Bog Child, Edgar nominee this year. I was careful not to let the fact that Ms. Dowd was no more cloud my opinion of this book. The point of my reading all the nominees was, after all, to take an honest look at YA mysteries. Heartbreaking stories aside.

So I cleared my head and began reading. Bog Child is set in the eighties, in Ireland, during the time of the Troubles (as the book calls them). We’re knee-high in Irish/British politics, right along with Fergus, who’s preparing to take his exams (A-levels, for those of you familiar with the school system over there): stress #1. Then along with his uncle, he finds a buried body in the bog: stress #2. It’s the body of a child, later revealed from 80 A.D., and an archeologist comes in with her pretty-but-troubled teenaged daughter (stress #3) to examine and study the remains.

Meanwhile (thought we were done, huh?) Fergus’ brother Joe is in prison for his IRA activities, and has just become part of the hunger strike aimed to get the prisoners special status from Thatcher (remember her? I wish I didn’t…). And no one in the family, including Fergus, seems to be able to persuade Joe to eat: stress #4. To make things worse, his brother’s old friend is pressuring Fergus to run packages across the British-controlled border: stress #5.

It took me a chapter or two to get spun up on the IRA/eighties politics. I was hairbrush singing along with Madonna right around the time this hunger strike was happening, after all. And I can imagine an American teen might have some trouble grasping the book too—though a challenge is not a bad thing. However, once I got my bearings reading this book, it completely sucked me in. The writing is great—lots of showing, no telling. Fergus is easy to relate to: he has his plate full, and just wants to get the hell out of Ireland and become a doctor.

This book has so many layers (see all the above-mentioned stresses), it would have been easy for the story to feel scattered. But reading Bog Child was like listening to an orchestra, with the author as the brilliant conductor. It was perfect.

But… In context of the Edgar nomination, I have to say that the mystery component was, in my opinion, not strong enough to warrant a win, and I’m even not persuaded it should’ve been nominated, despite the brilliance. This is not a mystery—not even crime fiction, even, unless you reaaaaallly stretch the term. Yes, there’s a dead body with a mystery. But it just doesn’t fit the genre beyond that.

And yet.

You must, must, must read this book. It sings.

Choose Your Literary Adventure

The most interesting thing about writing for and teaching teens is that I’m so much more aware of how different high school is in the States versus Holland, where I grew up. In Holland, middle and high school is split by academic level, for instance. And for English, German, and Dutch classes, I was allowed to pick what books I read—something I assumed was the same here in the U.S..

I was wrong, apparently. This article in The New York Times talks about how some schools are changing required class-wide reading of classics, and allowing kids to pick what they read. Fascinating stuff—and how exciting that students get to be active participants in their reading. Nothing against To Kill a Mockingbird, but there are lots of contemporary works that are just as exciting (Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains, anyone?). Plenty of new classics waiting to be discovered. Plus teens should be able to make their own book choices, I think. But read the article and draw your own conclusions.

I don’t have much other linkage for the Friday this time around. So if you’re looking for distraction, go to YouTube and check out some kittens. That should tide you over for the day. And who doesn't love a kitten?

Digging Deep

I’ve started reading Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd, an Edgar nominee in the YA category this year. More on the book once I finish it, hopefully next week.

But this book made me think about something. As always when starting a new read, I first flip to the back of the book, to find out something about the author. I’m a writer myself, so I’m nosy that way. Bog Child is Siobhan Dowd’s third novel, the bio with nice picture said. Her first novel won several awards (I believe in England or Ireland), and she lived in Oxford with her husband Geoff.

Lived.

Siobhan Dowd died in 2007, at the age of 47. Bog Child was one of two unpublished novels she left upon her death. Needless to say, this made pause a while. It reminded me that people die (never a nice thing to think about), even writers, and of cancer (the big C and I have a history, so this pisses me off), and too young. And sometimes, they leave books behind for us to enjoy, thankfully, as did this author.

So as I pondered all this, I thought of my own writing. What if I kicked the old bucket tomorrow? What stories will I leave behind?

And what story will I regret not having written?

These are big questions, I know. Most of us don’t want to think about our mortality—there’s good TV on for one, better books waiting to be read, and Twitter that needs updating. But Ms. Dowd’s bio has been bugging me enough for the past few days that I thought of the story I haven’t written. Da Story. The one I need to tell. I’ve been putting it off, because it’ll require me to dig deep, but no more chickening out. Time to step up to the plate. And bring it.

So how about you? What’s your story?

Think about it. Twitter will wait.

Friday Linkage

For some time-wasting--er, research on your Friday, here are some cool links I found this week:

ITW has a call for submissions out for their 2010 Thriller of the Year award. Hey ITW people! Why no YA category?

Cheryl Klein, senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books, has a plea for agents on her blog, asking everyone to simmer down now a little. I thought it gave some interesting insights into what it’s like to sit on the editor’s side of the desk.

YPulse has an interesting opinion piece, discussing why teens are not big tweeters.

Check out this British ATM with Cockney rhymes: A nice flashback to my days in England. Oy.

Thought this was funny: coaching for those facing jail time, or What to Expect When You’re Going to Jail. Just in case you’re rich and got busted, you can get all prepped for the slammer at $100 an hour… Or you could just rent HBO’s Oz series.

A was asleep at the wheel or something, because I only just realized Vanished by Kat Richardson is already out. I don’t normally do vampires, but Ms. Richardson manages to blend the fangs with a butt-kicking mystery. So I picked up my copy, and I recommend you all do the same.

If you’re young and live in the Colorado Springs area, check out the Young Lyrical Lounge open mic night. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Finally, I hope you’ll all send some good thoughts my way today, as I’m throwing a Hannah Montana birthday party for ten second-graders. And no, you’re not invited, unless you’re Hannah Montana.

Got Ink?

The Instore Marketing Institute gives more information on Borders expanded kids section called Borders Ink. I had snarky comments about their toys and merchandising ready, but then read that there will be a section for the 8-12 year-old reader.

The article (and Borders?) calls this the independent reader; I’m assuming this is middle-grade. I really, really like how this age group is no longer tossed in with younger kids’ books, or with YA for high school age teens, as was previously done (at least at my bookstore and library). There’s just a big difference between YA and middle-grade readers, and mixing the books up only leads to confusion.

Ever pick up a book, thinking it was YA, only to find it’s a middle-grade written for a 10 year-old? I have. Not cool, however brilliant said book is.

And tweens need their own bookshelf. Life is hard enough already when you're ten.