It’s a Thanksgiving tradition! At this time each year, the bloggers here at The Hub pause to take stock of what we’re thankful for in the world of young adult literature this year.
- Sharon Rawlins
I’m thankful for the continuation of The Walking Dead TV series (it just keeps getting better & better) and it has inspired me to read the comics it’s based on; for the great books I’ve been listening to on my long commute to work (A. S. King’s Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future was my latest “listen/read” and it was great, as all her books are); my fellow bloggers who write such inventive and inspiring posts; and my YA colleagues and the teens I meet who get me when I gush over the latest YA book I’ve read & loved. And, lastly for John Green, because, well, he’s John Green! -
Faythe Arredondo
This year I am grateful for Isabel Quintero and her book Gabi, a Girl in Pieces. It was the first time I recognized people I currently know and grew up with and read about situations I have witnessed. I am also thankful for Lauren Oliver’s Panic which has characters who are low-income and struggling to get by. We don’t see enough of those characters! - Whitney Etchison
I’m thankful that YA lit creates a love for reading in people young and old! - Geri Diorio
I am thankful for the YA literature community. The authors who write amazing things and who open themselves up on social media so their readers can “meet” them. The librarians who share book recommendations and who do not judge what people choose to read. The teens who are such huge fans of YA lit, who run into the Teen Center at the Library, shouting about the book they just read – they are so ardent in their love for the written word! And the YA Lit bloggers who read and write and argue and share so much because they care so much.
- Jennifer Rummel
Here’s what I’m thankful for this year:
For the librarian world: I’m thankful for all the authors, publishers, and librarians who work hard to put amazing books in to the hands of teen readers.
For myself: I’m thankful for all the great books I’ve read this year and for social media for the chance to talk about all the amazing books, bookish items, and library issues. - Julie Bartel
I’m thankful for books that take hold and don’t let go, like Grasshopper Jungle, Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future, the Raven Boys Cycle, and Midwinter Blood. I’m thankful for authors who continue to entertain, enlighten, and expand my world. I’m thankful for the work of the amazing team behind We Need Diverse books and the ongoing conversation that is already helping to reshape the YA landscape. I’m thankful for excellent Twitter conversations, amazing bloggers (especially those here at the Hub), and for the opportunity to write about the books and authors and community I love. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to work with some amazing teen bloggers during our Teen Read Week extravaganza. And I’m thankful for the amazing readers, librarians, authors, editors, and other members of the YA community that inspire me and make me laugh and make me think. - Carli Spina
I am thankful that I have access to great libraries and know wonderful librarians who introduce me to interesting new books all the time. I’m also thankful for all the great new graphic novels that have come out this year, especially El Deafo by Cece Bell. - Kelly Dickinson
I’m thankful for the young adult literature I read as a teen that both reaffirmed and challenged my emerging world view, including titles like Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books, and David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy and The Realm of Possibility. I’m thankful for the young adult novels I’ve read as an adult that have continued to pushed me to look at the world and myself with fresh eyes–and have reached right into my chest squeezed my heart with their humanity & emotional honesty; here I think of books like Aristotle & Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, The True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, Fire by Kristin Cashore, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, or I Am J by Cris Beam. And finally, I’m incredibly thankful for all the diverse books that speak to my students–for both the stories in which they find themselves and the stories that expand their vision of the world. - Lalitha Nataraj
I am grateful to the community of authors, librarians, publishers, and readers who have rallied together to address the critical importance of telling and sharing diverse stories. #WeNeedDiverseBooks - Allison Tran
I’ll wrap up this post by saying I’m also thankful for the #WeNeedDiverseBooks movement. I’m so thankful this movement is encouraging readers everywhere to stop and think about their reading, the options presented to them by the publishing world, and the need for books to reflect the realities of all kinds of different people.
For more YA lit warm fuzzies, check out last year’s post and the year before that. What are you grateful for in YA lit this year, readers?
-Allison Tran, currently reading How it Went Down, by Kekla Magoon
