I originally wrote this at the beginning of the year when a friend asked a bunch of us to share an issue we were passionate about for a story. It turned out she only needed a paragraph. Here’s what I wrote. We’ve all got issues close to our hearts. One of mine continues to be…
Five Bookish Things I’m Thankful For This Year
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you’re all surrounded by friends and family today. It has been a really tough month, hence the lack in posting regularly, but I want to share several bookish things I’m especially thankful for today, 1. TLR’s new regular contributors: Erin, Keely, Cassie, and Claire. Without them, I’d have little copy…
Looking For a New Contributor to Teen Lit Rocks
I’m sure most of you have noticed that I haven’t been updating as much. The truth is that I have 4-6 books to review professionally each month, in addition to 8-10 movies and other features, so my ability to create original content and update the blog on a regular basis has fallen off quite a lot lately. I definitely…
Two Brilliant Historical Novels to Read
Because of the snowstorm, I’ve been catching up on some of my ARCs, and I ended up reading two historical novels back to back, both of which were so wonderful, I really hope all of you will give them a chance: SALT TO THE SEA by Ruta Sepetys and OUTRUN THE MOON by Stacey Lee. Both…
Book Discussion: Love the Author But Not the Book?
via GIPHY I’m lucky enough to have met and interviewed many authors, and I can tell you without a doubt that authors are fabulous, funny, clever, and kind. Almost all of them are more approachable and easier to really talk to than the countless actors and other celebrities I’ve interviewed as an entertainment journalist. But the downside to…
Zodiac: My Virgo Sign
To promote today’s release of the paperback of ZODIAC by Romina Russell, I’m sharing what I know about my astrological sign, Virgo. I’ve always been aware of being a Virgo, because my immediate family growing up was split in half — three of us (my mother, oldest brother, and me, the baby) were September birthdays,…
What NOT To Do When A Friend Hates a Book You Love
None of us is immune. We finish a book we LOVE, start evangelizing to our friends about it, wait with baited breath for them to finish, and then… crickets. Or worse, the friend gives it a meh and moves on to the next book. Sometimes it’s an entire author you fangirl but your friend says,…
Commentary: Where are the Big Girls in YA?
I consider myself a demonstrated advocate of Diversity in YA. I help run the We Need Diverse Books Twitter chats, and I started the YA Diversity Book Club with three friends to make sure that our regular readers are able to get more recommendations for books that feature diverse themes. But today I want…
Answering Readers’ Questions
Sometimes we get interesting emails or comments here at Teen Lit Rocks — mostly asking us questions about page-to-screen YA adaptations, so we’ve decided to answer a few readers’ questions. 1. Are you really a movie critic? Yes. And I’m also a professional book reviewer and entertainment writer. That’s why I’m kind of lazy about…
Join 100 Good Deeds for #DeedADay Challenge
Disclosure: I was sent a complimentary 100 Good Deeds bracelet as a thank you for joining the #DeedADay movement. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed are completely my own. Ah, New Year’s. It’s time to determine how many books we’ll read, pounds we’ll lose, miles we’ll run, and new projects we’ll start (and hopefully finish)…