Teens’ Top Ten participants are invited to share reader responses on The Hub. This is a post by Ally Bolin.
Songs Jess from Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum (published April 5, 2016) would enjoy.
Continue reading Literary Jukebox: A Tell Me Three Things Playlist
October is an exciting month for any YA lit fan, because it includes Teen Read Week! In honor of this annual celebration of young adult literature, YALSA invited book-loving teens all over the world to apply to share their enthusiasm for reading in a guest post for The Hub. Thirty-one talented young writers were chosen, and we’ll be featuring posts from these unique voices all month long. Here’s Megan Doehner.
Fantasy novels kinda get a bad rep. Sure, when you hear “fantasy” you automatically think of unicorns and princesses, right?
WRONG. Fantasy novels are so much more than that. They let you escape to another place that only exists in the imaginations of authors, and they are generous enough to share their wonderful worlds with us.
Even if you’re not a huge fantasy fan and think that magic and stuff is just a waste of time, I’d still recommend branching out and trying new things. I found some of my favorite books by exploring new reading genres, and firmly believe in the “Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it” attitude.
Here are a few fantasy novels that I think you’ll absolutely love.
Cinda Williams Chima’s novel The Demon King is a perfect example of one of those books that will absolutely blow your mind. Action, romance, adventure, spying, and, of course, who doesn’t love a little magic thrown into the mix? Honestly, this is probably my favorite series in the history of my reading repertoire, and trust me, I have a large library in my collection.
Here’s a little teaser to get you excited.
Han Alister never thought he was going anywhere other than the streets, he was an amazing streetlord to say the least, but he knew that thugs in his position rarely survived past twenty. If only there were something more, a way to get away from it all, a way to get those telltale trademark silver cuffs off his wrists…Raisa ana‘Marianna doesn’t want to get married, plain and simple. She still longs to see the world and find her true love, not be forced into a marriage simply to gain diplomatic ties. She knows she’s in line for the throne, but has never truly met the people she’s bound to rule. What better way to find out about them than to become one of them for a day? Fates have been sealed as these two strangers’ lives slowly intertwine with one another’s, creating a powerful thrill that’s sure to capture your heart. Continue reading Fantasy Novels Get a Bad Rap
October is an exciting month for any YA lit fan, because it includes Teen Read Week! In honor of this annual celebration of young adult literature, YALSA invited book-loving teens all over the world to apply to share their enthusiasm for reading in a guest post for The Hub. Thirty-one talented young writers were chosen, and we’ll be featuring posts from these unique voices all month long. Here’s Natalie Harris from California.
Poetry they say can only consist of roses that are red and little violets that are blue, but they are wrong. There is more depth to poetry than you could ever imagine.
Spoken word poetry is poetry that cannot just be left alone on paper. It demands to be performed, to be shared with someone, and to fill the world with the verses you have created.
Spoken word poetry can be whatever you want it to be about. It can be sad, funny, joyful, serious, even a little bit weird or silly. It’s a way to express yourself, and like Sarah Kay says in her TED Talk in 2011, “It’s not just the average write what you know, it’s about gathering all the knowledge and experience you’ve collected up until now to help you dive into the things you don’t know.â€
I had never heard about spoken word until I immediately fell in love watching Sarah Kay’s TED Talk in my 7th grade English class. In the TED talk she performed her poems “B†and “Hiroshima.†She also talked about spoken word and her organization called Project V.O.I.C.E which educates and inspires people about spoken word poetry.
I wanted to know more about spoken word after I heard Sarah Kay, so I looked for more spoken word poets and I loved what each one brought to the table. Taylor Mali continues to make me laugh with his poems “Totally Like Whatever†and “The the Impotence of Proofreading,†I stare in awe when Rives finishes his poem “Mockingbird,†the way Lemon Andersen speaks gives me chills, and the way Phil Kaye pours his feelings and personality into every word and every poem he says is magical. I can only hope one day I’ll be able to do the same, and that all of us will be able to craft our words with such wit and beauty. Continue reading Spoken Word Poetry: The Art of Performing and Storytelling
