What is it about scars? I tend to think about them as a kind of record of my clumsiness: there’s where I fell off the see-saw, there’s where I cut myself opening a can, there’s where I burned myself trying to … Read more

Thanks to the awesomeness of my web designer, all my goodreads reviews now magically appear on my website here. I hope you’ll take a little time to explore the reviews–and keep an eye out for more. The YA … Read more

What’s the status of color and other forms of diversity in YA publishing? How does YA publishing compare to the state of things in the industry as a whole?

A couple of weeks ago, Roxane Gay of HTMLGiant published A … Read more

A week ago I did a general post on historical fiction. Today I want to add that historical fiction is a way to preserve (or imaginatively recreate) stories that have gone unrecorded. I’ll give you an example of what I … Read more

And mad props to Blythe Woolston, fellow Carolrhoda Lab rat  and author of The Freak Observer. Blythe’s novel is one of five finalists for the ALA Morris Award, which goes to a debut YA author for being kickass … Read more

Audiobooks are the best. Seriously. For the record: I think listening, while different from reading off the page, is just as legitimate. 

I can read so many more books a year thanks to audiobooks, and I’m extra blessed that my … Read more

Reading the Kirkus list of best YA historical fiction and best children’s historical fiction from 2010 ups my desire to write a historical novel.

There are so many amazing stories and settings from the recent and distant past that are … Read more

Catching up on blog reading, I came across bad book news about my old stompin’ grounds of East Texas in this Bookshelves of Doom post. Turns out that a superintendent in Quitman, Texas (not far from where I grew up), … Read more

Actually, I hope you won’t, but if you’re going to, you should check out this hilarious post from Forever Young Adult (what other site offers  a Sweet Valley High drinking game?).

Full disclosure: the title of my post is ripped … Read more

Okay, everyone should support the DREAM Act. But especially folks who think books and ideas matter. The undocumented immigrant population in our country is a rich fund of experience, stories, and intelligence, and I want to see these strengths represented … Read more