Inside Jacket

I remember Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott being a good book.  Sadly, it has fallen ill to the passage of time.  I read it much too long ago and I simply can not remember anything about it.  And that my friends is a very sad thing because Elizabeth Scott rocks.  I have no hesitations in recommending her books.

I can tell you what Love You Hate You Miss You is about from reading synopsis’s myself.  In fact, I’ll share with you from Scott’s website:

It’s been seventy-five days. Amy’s sick of her parents suddenly taking an interest in her. And she’s really sick of people asking her about Julia. Julia’s gone, and Amy doesn’t want to talk about it. No one knew Julia like she did. No one gets what life is without her.
No one understands what it’s like to know that it’s all your fault.

Amy’s shrink thinks she should keep a journal but instead, Amy starts writing letters to Julia. And as she writes letter after letter, she begins to realize that the past holds its own secrets–and that the present deserves a chance.

Looking over some of the reviews myself, it feels vaguely familiar but yet I cannot recall any feelings nor basic details about the book.  However, other reviewers were very enthusiastic about Love You Hate You Miss You and sad that it didn’t receive more attention at the time of it’s release.  Hey, it’s Elizabeth Scott, I say go read it despite my not being able to remember anything about it.  Will it stand the test of time?  For me, obviously not.  But I didn’t dislike it in the least.  I don’t think all books have to have staying power.  It was a good read at the time.

As a side note – I find it interesting to note how our feelings for a book change over time.  Do you find yourself  not being able to remember basic plotlines of books that you’ve read in the past?

Links of interest: My book reviews of Something, Maybe, Living Dead Girl.  Elizabeth Scott website and blog.  Other blogger reviews.
Genre:  Young Adult
Publisher:  Harper Teen.  May 26, 2009.
Hardcover, 288 pages.
Love You, Hate You, Miss You is available from your local independent bookstore, Powell’s, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

Copyright 2010. Maw Books Blog

Maw Books has an affiliate relationship with several bookstores, including Indiebound, Powell’s, and Amazon . When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, Maw Books earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog. There is no cost to you.

A few weekends ago, a large kerfluffle erupted over an article posted to the Wall Street Journal website regarding Young Adult books and their often dark, disturbing content and themes. Hundreds (if not thousands) of people have responded via blogs, Twitter (check #yasaves), and other news sources. Two of my favorite replies so far have been provided by NPR and Sherman Alexie. I would also like to add my own thoughts as the YA buyer for the store.

Adults and teens read for many reasons. Some books are pure entertainment, some are for edification, some are just read because everyone else is reading them. The ability for books to be an escape is just as strong for a YA reader. To be able to jump into someone else’s life (regardless of whether the reader’s life is easy or difficult) provides an opportunity for empathy and a certain amount of “This could be me.” The mental exercise of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and realizing the mistakes we all make and the crappy decisions we all have to face is a skill that fosters understanding and compassion.

Reading can also be the starting point for discussions among friends and between caregiver and child. We’ve all had “that friend” who was too reckless, too depressed, too thin. And sometimes we don’t know what to say. Whether we are the parent, or the friend, or the person that everyone else is worried about, these books provide language to start these conversations, to say to someone, “I’m worried about you.” If you are the parent of a teenager, I recommend reading the books that your kids are reading so that if they do have questions, or need answers, or want to share their feelings and concerns about someone, you have some of that language at your disposal.

As the YA book buyer, there are two other points that I think got really lost in the original article. First, how fabulous that we are discussing the “problem” of kids reading! I have seen plenty of parents and uncles and grandmothers come into the store, hoping to find a book that will hook their young reader. If kids are reading, that is cause for celebration, not for hand-wringing. Secondly, if I was that customer originally cited in the WSJ article, I would ASK THE BOOKSELLER FOR SUGGESTIONS. We are here to help you. We know books. Books are our job. We have a secret delight in matching just the right book for just the right person. If you see me on the bus, I am reading. If I’m not reading, I’m listening to podcasts about books. I follow book blogs. I read these books so that if you need a YA suggestion, I’m going to have some ideas for you. Not every book is right for every reader, but, with our help, hopefully we can find a great match.

–Sarah

When people ask me why I started Young Writers Studio, I don’t always have an easy answer. Sure, it’s a wonderful blend of my two occupational passions: teaching and writing. But in truth it has very little to do with me, and everything to do with supporting, encouraging and honoring the voices and stories of our local young people.

This Sunday Young Writers Studio will be celebrating the second issue of our semi-annual publication, Snippets from the Pens of Young Writers. While there are many high-quality places nationally where kids and teens can submit for publication (Teen Ink, Stone Soup, and New Moon, for example) what seemed to be missing was an avenue for publishing the unique poems, stories, essays and more by the young people of Whatcom County. The overwhelmingly positive response to our first issue confirmed that we were on to something.

In Volume 1, Issue 2, thirty-one Whatcom County writers ages 8 to 16 share their thoughts on issues ranging from the loss of a loved one to the legalization of gay marriage. Self-reflection and imagination soar from the pages in images of hedgehogs thwarting playground bullies, the rich smells of homemade spaghetti sauce, pencils stolen from another’s desk, and the safety of one’s one bedroom. Biographies of famous Americans are woven in with personal narratives and tales of superheroes and gambling cats, drawing parallels between the lives of individuals past, present, and completely fictional.

Everyone is invited to join us in honoring our community of young writers in the Readings Gallery of Village Books on Sunday, June 12, at 4 p.m.  Contributors will be invited to read and sign copies of the book. Copies of Snippets, printed on the Espresso Book Machine, will be available for purchase. Proceeds from book sales will go to support Young Writers Studio’s free programming in local public schools.

In the words of Ian Brown, age 13:

            Home is transforming a blank, white sheet of paper

            Into a schooner riding on stormy seas,

            Or my cat balancing on the edge of a chair.

               -From “Homemade Spaghetti Sauce”, page 76

For more information about the event on Sunday, June 12, 4:00pm, click here.

You can read more about Young Writers Studio by visiting their website: www.youngwritersstudio.org

There are readers and then there are book lovers. Rachel falls into the latter category. When you need a good fantasy recommendation, seek out Rachel. This girl knows her stuff! And now she's heading up our Fantasy Book Group, which meets the 3rd Saturday of each month at noon, and our Young Adult Book Group, which meets the 2nd Saturday of every month at noon. These groups are open to anyone, so we'd love to see you!

You can also check out Rachel's book reviews by visiting her blog.

Our book group coordinator, Cindi, took some time to ask Rachel some questions. Enjoy!

1. Why did you want to start, not one, but two book groups at VB?

I actually mentioned my desire to start both a Young Adult and a Fantasy book group during my job interview. As a customer, I loved Village Books, but the store struck me as out of the loop in the fantasy scene. I have talked to a lot of other people who feel the same way, and shop elsewhere for this reason. The Young Adult section seems much more up to date, but still we don't have a large young adult demographic. The book groups are just one of the ways I would like to work on improving our perception in both those areas. In general, though, these genres have a lot more in common than is immediately apparent: they are both underappreciated, often labelled trite, and considered easier to write. Book groups are the perfect opportunity for those who love these genres to meet others with the same passion, and discuss not only specific books, but why some of these stereotypes about young adult and fantasy exist, and how the actual books disprove them.

2. How long have you been a fan of fantasy and why?

I was converted into a fantasy fan when I read Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness quartet in eighth grade. From there, it didn't take much reading in the fantasy genre to notice a clear trend: women in fantasy are often tougher, smarter, and cooler than those in other books (or at least that's how it struck me in junior high). I couldn't get enough of these women who seemed more powerful, and less inhibited than women in other works. I believe that fantasy was able to help lead the way into writing stronger women, because people were more agreeable to reading about an opinionated woman in an unrealistic setting, so they could justify her strength as fantasy. Of course, all fantasy stems from and spills back into reality. Still I never actually prefered fantasy over other genres until I started writing. When I realized that most of what I was writing was fantasy, it became a necessity to ensure I read plenty in the field I want to publish in. Now I'd say about 75% of what I read is fantasy.

3. Some have said that Young Adult (YA) literature is more exciting in today's market than adult fiction, what do you think?

I agree! I do not say this to be insulting to adult fiction. Rather YA literature deals with discovering who you are. Most adult fiction deals with REdiscovering who you are. Both are important journeys, but I've always been most drawn to that period when you're finding your place in the world for the first time.

4. Have you been in book groups before?

No, I haven't, and the reason why is very relevant here. I tried a few times, but it never worked out. Every book group I attended looked down on fantasy (and sometimes on young adult), and would say, "we want to read REAL books here." I read all kinds of books, but I feel strongly that fantasy and young adult deserve as much respect as any other genre and they don't always get it. I would be perfectly comfortable in a book group that didn't read fantasy exclusively, but I don't feel welcome in one that spits on the genre.

5. Describe your reading taste.

I will read anything, but, of course, I have favorites. Currently, I primarily read fantasy, though I also read a lot of young adult as well. The foremost reason for this is because I'm trying to publish my own fantasy works and it's important to know what's current in the genre you're working in. Honestly, though, I just enjoy a good story. The best way to really know someone's taste is by specific books, so here are some books I loved (you will see a lot of fantasy and young adult, but then others pop up in there!): Love, Inc. by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout (YA), The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy, The Black Jewels by Anne Bishop(F), The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison(YA, F), Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (YA, F), The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella, Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan (YA), A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (YA, F), Sabriel by Garth Nix(YA, F), Looking for Alaska by John Green (YA), His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (YA, F), Shogun by James Clavell, Graceling by Kristin Cashore (YA, F), The Other Boleyn Girl by Philipa Greggory, Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson (YA), Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (YA), Blood and Chocolate by Annete Curtis Klause(YA, F), Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (F), Aurelia by Anne Osterlund (YA), Druids by Barbara Galler-Smith and Josh Langston (F), Midnight Never Come by Marie Brennan (F), Secrets of Jin-Shei by Alma Alexander (F)

6. Tell us something about yourself that is unique to you and might surprise us…

I do not re-read books. This is a shocker to a lot of book lovers, but my reasoning is that there are so many amazing books out there that I haven't read yet that I cannot bring myself to spend (I won't say waste) my precious time re-reading things. I have re-read books in the past, usually by necessity, and I have never found a book that I enjoyed reading as much as the first time.

Clete Barrett Smith is a high school teacher and Bellingham resident. He is holding his book launch for Aliens on Vacation at Village Books on Thursday, May 5, 5:00pm.

    I’ve never actually been to many of my favorite places.   

    But I had fantastic tour guides.  

    I’ll never forgot hopping on the back of a horse as Larry McMurtry took me across the beautiful yet dangerous plains of 19th century America over thousands of pages of the Lonesome Dove novels. Or all the times Pat Conroy showed me the tension simmering below the Southern hospitality of his beloved South Carolina. (Although I do confess that sometimes I wish I could forget the things that Stephen King showed me whenever he pulled back the curtain on Derry, Maine.)   

    I don’t feel too silly about falling in love with these places I’ve never been. At least I could buy a plane ticket someday and visit them to see for myself. What really kills me is becoming obsessed with a locale that does not even exist. What I wouldn’t give to spend a long weekend sightseeing around Westeros, the setting for George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels.   

    It was this longing to journey to an imaginary land that inspired me to write stories of my own. When I was in second grade a family friend gave me a box set of the Chronicles of Narnia. I started reading on a Sunday night and the next morning faked a major illness so that I could stay home from school and read all day. This continued for the rest of the week until I finished the series.   

    When the last book was done the thing I desired most was to visit Narnia. (At the time I thought I would never forgive my parents for the fact that our house did not contain a single wardrobe.) So I had to invent a Narnia of my own.   

    My parents used to take me camping near Mt. Baker, which proved to be the ideal setting. I launched twig-and-leaf versions of the Dawn Treader from the banks of the Nooksack River and defended our campsite from talking wolves and other evil minions of the White Witch with branch-swords.   

    It wasn’t until I got older that I realized how lucky I was to spend my childhood in a place of such natural beauty. When I wrote my first book, I wanted it to take place somewhere that would seem as special as those locales from my favorite novels. That setting wasn’t hard to find.   

    My story, a middle grade adventure titled Aliens on Vacation, concerns a 12-year-old boy who discovers that space aliens are using his grandmother’s bed & breakfast to hang out on Earth in disguise. The destination for these space tourists from all over the universe? A fictionalized town up in the forested wilderness near Mt. Baker, very close to the spot of all of those magical childhood camping trips.   

    I had so much fun revisiting these places as an adult, hiking along the Nooksack and taking notes for my story. I was able to reconnect with those feelings I had about the forest as a kid: that it was a fantastic place where anything could happen.   

    As my first book gets ready to go out in the world, my greatest hope is that I can serve as a tour guide for a new generation of young readers, and that the Pacific Northwest will become one of their favorite places in the world.   

    Even if they’ve never actually been here.