Mundie Moms

Friday, June 17, 2011

A Great Article on Adults Reading YA Books

Cassndra Clare shared a fabulous article on Facebook today that the Library Journal posted about adults reading YA and the crossover appeal. FINALLY someone writes an article about something we've known for years, YA books are fabulous reads and they're not just for teens.

The article, Not Just For Teens, A 35 Going on 13 Special, mentions books from Suzanne Collins, Stephenie Meyer, J.K. Rowling, Allie Condie and our favorite, Cassie's TMI series. Here's what they said:

According to Publishers Weekly (4/25/11), the most recent book in Clare’s “Mortal Instruments” series, City of Fallen Angels (published on April 5), set an in-house record for first-day ebook sales for Simon & Schuster’s children and adult divisions.

This is just one of many quotes I'd like to add to the post as they make a lot of great points. I also love this quote:

But whether with teens or adults, YA material in every format is increasingly popular. All librarians, adult services included, should become more familiar with the literature and buy in greater quantities to serve the expanding audience.

It's a great article and if you get a chance, be sure to go here and read it. Thank you Cassie for bringing this article to our attention.

Blog Tour: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Published by Penguin/Razorbill
Released on October 18th, 2007
Source- Book to review from publisher
4.5 stars- It's A Thought Provoking Read

Jay Asher's brilliant first novel is a moving, highly original story that focuses on a set of audiotapes made by a girl before she committed suicide, and which explain to 13 people the reasons why she decided to end her life. Told in a highly effective duel narrative -- alternating between the girl s voice and the thoughts of a boy who is listening -- this honest, poignant story reveals how other people's actions shape, and by extension can ruin, an individual's faith in people. Intensely powerful and painfully real, Thirteen Reasons Why reveals how brutal high school can be, the consequences of spreading rumors, and the lasting effects of suicide on those left behind.

I'm not sure why I waited so long to read this book, and let just say this book is powerful as it's one that will make you think. It will make you think about things you did to others as a teen and it will make you think about the things you do now, even the little things that can and do effect people for better or worse. Thirteen Reasons Why took me back to high school and made me think about all things that happened then. The good, the bad and everything in between. It's not just the big things that effect people, but it's the little things that we don't even think of that can change someone's life, like the story's main character Hannah points out.

This is the first book I've read by Jay Asher and what a phenomenal job he's done with Hannah's story. Not only is the book from her perspective via the tapes she has sends to those who effected her life before she killed herself telling them how they did so, but it's also told from Clay's point of view. His thoughts and feelings are played out as he wonders when he'll be mentioned on the tapes, and why. Like those before him, he wants to know what it was that he did to make Hannah do what she did. Through Clay's listening to the tapes I felt like I got to know Hannah more. Her story is heartbreaking, intense, sad and I couldn't help but want to reach out to her in so many ways.

Like Clay, I wondered how no one started to see the signs. It was so heartbreaking knowing all that Hannah endured with the vicious rumors, and lies that were going around about her and her withdrawal from everyone. It was frustrating that no one did anything to tell her she could get through this, or to say they were sorry. I wanted so badly to tell Hannah she was better than they were and she was stronger than she knew she was. This is a book I highly recommend to teenage readers and fans of YA. It will make you realize that the things we say and do, no matter how insignificant we think it is will/can have a lasting impression on people. The story also proves that it takes one person to speak up to be the support that someone else may need to change their life for the better. This is a thought provoking book with a powerful message and I highly recommend picking it up. There are some things discussed in this book that may not be suitable for all readers.

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About the Site:
Last month Penguin launched the 13RW Project at www.13RWProject.com as a place for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why to record their thoughts, stories, videos and photos relating to the book, and to view what other readers from all across the country have shared.

Book News:
Thirteen Reasons Why is the story of a girl named Hannah Baker who takes her own life. But before she does, she records several cassette tapes explaining why and sends them to the people she feels pushed her toward that decision. The story is told from the point of view of Clay Jensen who spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah’s voice as his guide. He becomes a first-hand witness to Hannah’s pain, and learns the truth about himself—a truth he never wanted to face.

The anti-bullying anthem was published in hardcover in October 2007 by Razorbill, and quickly became a word-of-mouth favorite among teenaged readers with fans claiming, “This book changed my life.” The novel has been on the New York Times children’s hardcover bestseller list for 65 weeks, foreign rights have been sold into 30 countries and it has been acquired by Universal Pictures and will star Selena Gomez.

About the Author:

Jay Asher lives on the central coast of California with his wife and son. His favorite part of being an author is speaking with his readers at schools and libraries across the country. Be sure to visit Jay on his site, follow him on Twitter and on facebook.

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To celebrate the paperback release of 13 Reasons Why, Big Honcho Media & Razorbill/Penguin have given us 2 copies we're giving away!!


To Enter, please fill out the form below.

- Open to US residents only

- You must be 13 yrs & older

- 1 entry/per person, per email

- the giveaway ends on July 1st, 2011


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