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By: Becca F (ReadingTeen),
on 8/23/2016
Review by Sara... LAST SEEN LEAVING By Caleb Roehrig Series: No Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (October 4, 2016) Language: English Goodreads | Amazon Flynn's girlfriend has disappeared. How can he uncover her secrets without revealing his own?Flynn's girlfriend, January, is missing. The cops are asking questions he can't answer, and her friends are telling stories
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By: LAURIE WALLMARK,
on 1/26/2015
How to make your young adult LGBTQ characters fully realized instead of being stereotypes.
http://www.malindalo.com/2010/06/avoiding-lgbtq-stereotypes-in-ya-fiction-part-5-resources/
By: Edi,
on 10/8/2012
I’ve met Jamie Campbell Naidoo exactly once and that was at JCLC. I was familiar with his reputation, as he has written and researched multicultural children’s lit for a while. More about him:
Jamie Campbell Naidoo
Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies in 2008, Dr. Naidoo worked as an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in children’s literature, literacy/library services to Latinos, and materials and programs for libraries serving young children. He has worked in both school and public libraries in Alabama as an elementary school library media specialist and as the Coordinator of Juvenile Services in a public library.
Jamie is actively involved in numerous professional associations such as the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking (REFORMA), and the United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY). He has served on several prestigious national and international book award committees including the Caldecott, Pura Belpré, and Américas awards and regularly reviews children’s and young adult materials for Library Media Connection and REFORMA.
I attended Naidoo’s session at JCLC entitled “Rainbow Family Collections” and as I was taking notes on his presentation, I soon realized I’d have to blog it and, afterwards, he graciously gave his approval for me to share my notes here.
Naidoo began his session by reinforcing the need for children to see themselves validated in books. He explained that ‘rainbow families’ can be those with GLBT parents and/or children. Either situation has been represented in children’s books. Regardless of their situation, children in rainbow families have an information need that should be respected. This respect is communicated through librarians’ attitudes, how welcoming the environment is that we create and how inclusive our programming is. Naidoo was quick to point out that some communities are more accepting than others and that there are ways to present information, to code it if you will, in ways that rainbow families recognize that they are welcome.
Naidoo suggested having materials that challenge gender stereotypes. Including books with single parents will allow children to infer if a character is single, if there are two mommies, or whatever may be their norm. Naidoo reported that while rainbow books are becoming more diverse, their characters are predominantly White, young and rarely are they differently-abled.
I hadn’t realized how tough it can be for GLBTQ children and teens to read, or want to read books with GLBT characters, who are possibly questioning their identity or not ready to share information with family or friends and they’re going to worry about being seen with this book. This book that librarians love to put stickers on and point at as being a rainbow book.
When evaluating rainbow books, issues to consider include the following.
He mentioned many book awards which help with the selection of quality books. They include
Naidoo shared several specific titles and publishers, some which he recommending more strongly than others.
Manu series: bilingual picture books from Spain
Keesha and her two mommies and other books by Black owned Dodi Press
In closing, Naidoo reminded session attendees that the balance to having gay books isn’t in having anti gay books but
click for preview!
rather, in having books with heterosexual characters. I’d add that we’re simply redefining the norm, that’s the challenge!
While Naidoo’s presentation was heavy on children’s literature, he presented concepts that are quite applicable to YA lit and most appropriate for this blog. I hope you’ve gotten as much from his presentation as I did. I didn’t take notes on everything he said because as typically happens in these sessions, the talk gets to interesting, that I stop writing and consequently miss the really good stuff. He talked about using books with animal characters with little kids, to have large crowds of people in signage so that the children who are sensitive to rainbow families will see the child with two daddies. Allow children infer their own situation into the story. He promoted finding ways to get through to the children, to making that the intent.
Needless to say, I was glad I attended this session! In addition to learning ways to meet the needs of GLBT children, I learned that Naidoo has recently written a book to help with the selection of materials for GLBT children. No, I haven’t read it, but I have quite high expectations for it and feel comfortable recommending it to readers looking for quality GLBT books and CDs for young people.
If you are interested in more information, email me or leave your information in the comment section and I can send a copy of the handout from the session which includes a list of recommended board books, picture books, beginning reading books and chapter books as well as informational books, media and periodicals and resources for services and programs.
By: LAURIE WALLMARK,
on 5/25/2012
Look on the left column on Lee Wind's blog for a list of books with gay teen themes and/or characters.
http://www.leewind.org/
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By: Read Now Sleep Later,
on 7/20/2011
A gay suburban hip-hopper freaks out her Christian high school - and falls in love - in this righteously funny and totally tender YA debut, for real.
Listen up: You’re about to get rocked by the fiercest, baddest all-girl hip-hop crew in the Twin Cities - or at least in the wealthy, white, Bible-thumping suburb of Holyhill, Minnesota. Our heroine, Esme Rockett (aka MC Ferocious) is a Jewish lesbian lyricist. In her crew, Esme’s got her BFFs Marcy (aka DJ SheStorm, the butchest straight girl in town) and Tess (aka The ConTessa, the pretty, popular powerhouse of a vocalist). But Esme’s feelings for her co-MC, Rowie (MC Rohini), a beautiful, brilliant, beguiling desi chick, are bound to get complicated. And before they know it, the queer hip-hop revolution Esme and her girls have exploded in Holyhill is on the line. Exciting new talent Laura Goode lays down a snappy, provocative, and heartfelt novel about discovering the rhythm of your own truth.I cried about 6 times in 360 pages, and I laughed about 30 times or more. Esme's voice is so vivid that I felt every twinge of hurt and every sweet burst of joy she experienced. I loved that she's a booklover, and a biker, and a writer. I loved the way she thinks! Though I have to admit, at times some of the lyrics sounded weak to me (this, from a brain mostly hardwired more for showtunes than hip-hop--I'm no expert, is what I'm saying) they got progressively stronger throughout the book. And anything I might have found lacking in the lyrics, the prose made up for in spades.
By: L. M. Baldwin,
on 8/13/2010
The Necessary Hunger by Nina Revoyr 1997
Simon & Schuster
Nancy Takhiro is a high school basketball star and she is in love with Raina Webber, her biggest competitor. Raina has a girlfriend and Nancy can't work up the courage to tell her how she feels. When Nancy's father falls in love with Raina's mother, the girls soon find themselves living together. They become good friends who are fiercely competitive with each other (they play on opposing teams). Together they will face the crazy world of college recruitment. Nancy isn't ready to leave the world of high school and L.A., Raina is ready to go.
The future is unforeseeable but their senior year is here and it's going to be one long journey.
"And there were certain topics we never touched upon-our missing parents, what my father might know about me, my utter lack of love life-because we couldn't have talked about anything real without talking about what existed, and didn't exist, between us. But the irony of our holiday crisis, the unforeseen result, was that our friendship, having survived it, was actually stronger. Because of the pain we'd experienced and the knowledge we'd gained, there was a fullness to our relationship that hadn't existed before. We appreciated it now, we meant more to each other." (pg.259) This quote is rather lengthy but it sums up the feelings of both girls for a large part of the book. The Necessary Hunger doesn't really seem to have a plot. It's mostly about Nancy trying to work up the courage to tell Raina how she feels and this takes an incredibly long time (368 pages). The book is a decent length, but I had a hard time concentrating in some places and it probably could have been pared down a little. I could only take so much of Nancy talking about her passionate feelings for Raina and then not acting on them. I also got tired of watching Nancy watch Raina and Toni (Raina's girlfriend) hang out and get in arguments. The end is extremely dissatisfying and yet, realistic of young, first love.
The best part of the novel is the snippets about the lives of Nancy's teammates. I LOVED all the basketball mentions in the novel. It's set in the 1980s before the WNBA was created, so the girls are wondering what's next for them after college. Some want to play pro overseas, others don't. Some of them make costly mistakes, some aren't good enough basketball players to get scholarships, others didn't apply themselves enough in school to get academic scholarships. Most of the girls are facing junior college. Nancy and Raina are one of the lucky ones from their neighborhood. At times, I wondered if people really treat high school basketball stars the way these girls get treated. Random people stop them on the street, especially young kids in order to praise them. We have a decent basketball team and the stars of the team are quite popular, but I doubt a junior high kid is going to stop the star girl or guy player. But that could just be me. Chicago is a big city and there's lots of star players so it's hard to know them all, but then again L.A. is a big city. Anyway, the author writes great descriptions of basketball games from the atmosphere of the crowd, the peeling paint of the gym, to the adrenaline of the players. It's an intense experience and while I don't play basketball anymore, it brought back some good (and painful) memories. The predictable ultimate basketball showdown occurs between Raina and Nancy, but you might be surprised by who wins.
Next to the intense basketball scenes and the glimpses int
By: Jessamyn West,
on 5/13/2009
Erica says it better than I can — regarding the discrimination lawsuit the Library of Congress lost because it rescinded a job offer from a hired applicant who disclosed that he was transitioning into becoming a woman — “Hey, Library of Congress. Cut that shit out.” Thanks to the wonders of YouTube you can hear Diane Schroer herself talking about transgender discrimination.
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By: Terry Lee Wilde,
on 1/26/2008
February 4-29, 2008
Engaging the Reader from Start to Finish!!
Instructor: Terry Spear
Cost: $25.00 payable by PayPal
Deadline to Register: January 30th
For more information go to:http://www.pasic.net/classes.html
Slow starts and sleepy endings to scenes and chapters can ruin a manuscript's chance of being published. Conversely, solid hooks can make the sale – as workshop instructor Terry Spear demonstrates, with six publishers currently hooked for six manuscripts. Setting such practical matters aside, what author wouldn't be thrilled to hear someone say, "I couldn't put the book down"? Strong hooks are a vital ingredient in strong writing. In this online class, which features lectures, discussion, practical exercises, and handouts, she'll teach students how to captivate readers with great openings, scene hooks, chapter cliff hangers, and intriguing back cover blurbs. Participants can learn how the hook in all its environments, from the query letter through the novel.
About the Instructor:
Terry Spear has published in many genres, including historical romantic suspense, contemporary, urban fantasy, and under the name Terry Lee Wilde, young adult paranormal and fantasy romances. She's the author of Winning the Highlander's Heart, is a debut paranormal author for Sourcebooks with the urban fantasy, Heart of the Wolf, coming April 1st, Don’t Cry Wolf, April 2009, and The Vampire…In My Dreams is already out. Deadly Liaisons is coming in November, Relative Danger,TBA. She also writes nonfiction for numerous genealogy, WWII, teen,and family magazines, and has had romantic fiction published inmagazines. Currently, she's working on a sequel to Heart of the Wolf, Betrayal of the Wolf.
Her website: http://www.terryspear.com/
Deadline to Register: January 30th
For more information go to: http://www.pasic.net/classes.html
By: Terry Lee Wilde,
on 1/8/2008
I'm going to suggest this title to my wife to take a look at and add to her list from your recommendation.
As a side note, I love your style of writing for your reviews. It's very engaging.
www.HippiesBeautyAndBooksOhMy.com
*adds to goodreads*
Great review!! I look forward to reading this book!
Awesome review!!
When people say 'what do they mean by 'strong voice' I'll send them here.
Love your work :-D