Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death in people ages 12-18, and many people have been touched by this heart-breaking issue. There are a lot of resources available to teens struggling with [...]
It’s banned book week. YA novels are often banned for reasons centering around diversity, sexuality, and ‘bad’ language. But teens need diverse role models, books that depict [...]
When I set out to write a novel inspired by the case of Charles Schmid, the “Pied Piper of Tucson,” I knew from the start that I was not the only writer to find a story in this case.
I used to be a good girl, a little too good actually. In school I never talked to ‘my neighbors.’ It took years for me to work up the courage to tear that little label off my [...]
It finally feels like summer, which means I am enervated, craving ice tea, and in the mood to slather on sunscreen and read. There are so many YA summer reading lists out there it’s hard to [...]
As a writer, I sometimes worry so much about pleasing the marketplace that I become afraid to try new things and lose faith in that little voice that is my muse. This past weekend at Grub [...]
Two of my favorite YA novels, The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp and the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, are written by men about boys in trouble. I feel guilty admitting this given [...]
This is the only time of year when I try to be normal and spend a lot of time at the mall. I think of it as my mall pilgrimage and this year my pilgrimage didn’t totally suck. There were [...]
Last week was Banned Book Week. That’s not exactly a cause for celebration, but it’s definitely something we need to pay attention to. I was surprised to learn how many YA books are [...]
It’s almost a rite of passage to have to change the title of your book when it sells to a publisher, and I fully expected that to happen to me. I figured it would be just one more step in a [...]