C.O.R.A Diversity Roll Call #6: YA You Don't Know

It's time for this week's C.O.R.A Diversity Roll Call question! I encourage you to join in, I look forward to doing them every week! I'll address these questions.

Your assignment this week is to inform readers what they are missing. With your help, maybe we can begin dismantling misconceptions and introduce readers to a more diverse pool of writers. Please address one or a few of the following:

1) Provide a list of YA writers of color that you think deserve more exposure.

2) Showcase cover art that does not reveal the race/ethnicity of the characters. Do you think these covers accurately represent the storyline?

It's hard to just find authors of color on the Internet through Google especially if they're not well known for whatever reason. I thought I'd go on a treasure hunt. My library is awesome and it has a pretty big YA section. I spent some time looking through all the YA books in the library for books by and about people of color.

How did I look for the books? I just stared at all the titles. I judged a book by it's cover. I looked at last names. I randomly pulled books off the shelves and checked. I remembered a lot of books just from years of looking at the YA section in the library even if I had never read them before. Sometimes it was blind luck, like just a feeling I had.

This is not a good way to look for a specific kind of book! But it's interesting because there are more books out there than I thought. And these were mostly books that I could judge from their cover, inside blurb or author photo in the back. I imagine there were more in the stacks and also out in the world, in people's homes and other libraries and even more that I didn't know about because there was no hint of ethnicity in the outer characteristics of the book.

So I made a list of books I thought people might not know about. I focused mostly on African American authors with a few others. And I'll talk about some covers as well.

Maid Machinegun by Aaliyah.

Song for Night by Chris Abani (I think this is more adult than YA though)

Sofi Mendoza's Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malin Alegria. The cover definitely shows a teen girl looking lost, like the title suggests. I think she could be a variety of ethnicities but the title gives away that she is supposed to be Hispanic. I think the cover goes well with the title, I can't comment on the book.

Maya Running by Anjali Banerjee.

Dominion by Calvin Baker.

The Black Canary by Jane Louise Curry.

Afrika by Colleen Craig. The cover deliberately puts the girl in a dark shadow which I think is interesting. At first you might think this girl is black but you can't assume that. The book is called "Afrika" so it leads you in that direction, but reading the product description and the reviews on Amazon, I think the main character is white. I think the cover is ambiguous on purpose so people will pick up the book for a variety of reasons. I wouldn't call it misleading.

Bucking the Sarge by Christopher Paul Curtis. No mention or hint about race with this cover. It's all about the most important color-- that mighty mighty green. The only reason I knew this was about a black teen was from browsing the stacks before. I like this cover because it's very appealing and fun and more people will feel invited to pick up the book. I haven't read the book so I don't know how much race plays a role but it sounds like a good read. Also, Christopher Paul Curtis won a Newberry so that says something really good about his writing!

Indie Girl by Kavita Daswani. I think this cover is sort of glamorous. I just picked it because it prominently displays the race of the main character on the cover but on the other hand she looks so cool, that's what made me look at this book in the first place. It looks like chick-lit and if readers like that type of story and book and cover and all that goes with it I think this cover will make them pick up the book irregardless of their race or the race of the girl on the cover.

Fresh Off the Boat by Melissa de la Cruz.

X-Indian Chronicles: the Book of Mausape by Thomas Yeahpau. Not sure how I feel about this cover. I'm not really a fan of drawings but is it an image that will turn people away just because they don't feel the book is for them or will speak to them? I think it might. But is the cover true to the story? I don't know because I haven't read the book. Just things to think about.

Acting by Sherri Winston.

Hang On in There, Shelley by Kate Saskena.

How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life by Kaavya Viswanathan. Oh, is this the Harvard girl that got busted for plagiarism? Haha. Well, I'll still talk about the cover. Seems like when they don't want to make race prominent on the cover the person is in shadow or colored weirdly, like this one. I prefer the "Bucking the Sarge" approach of picking a symbol or something else other than a person to put on the cover. Anyway, this cover seems cheesy enough and the thick hair may be a giveaway.

Chandra's Secrets by Allan Statton.

Imani All Mine by Connie Porter.

The Professor's Daughter by Emily Raboteau. I highly recommend this one if you're into literary short stories. I wouldn't say it's YA but that's where I found it. The stories are about a young lady who is half-white, half-black and they are superbly written.

He Forgot to Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Discovered this book in the library and added it to my mental TBR pile. The last name made me take a look. It's about a Mexican teen and a white teen who become friends through the shared experience of not having a father in their lives. The cover doesn't hint at race in any way but instead suggests a journey and loneliness. I think it's a lovely cover.

Joseph by Sheila P. Moses.

Skunk Girl by Sheba Karim.

Hot Girl by Dream Jordan.

Spellbound by Janet McDonald.

M+O 4Ever by Tonya Hegamin. Funny, I chose this cover because the kids on the front were dark but vague, that whole shadow thing. One of the reviews on Amazon said this, "It’s too bad the cover art doesn’t more clearly show the girls’ ethnicity; more books with girls of color prominently displayed are needed." I found this in the library and leafed through it because I'm clued into the shadow technique on covers. I think we definitely need more books with girls of color as the main character that are also widely read for everyone. How do we make this happen? We can change our culture or tweak the cover. One is easier than the other, unfortunately.

Response by Paul Volponi. Another shadowed covered. This is also in my mental TBR pile. The story is about a black teen who gets beat up in a white neighborhood. Funny, those shadowed figures on the cover may be the teens who beat him up! There is a real ominous feeling from the cover. In fact, the figures on the cover are more like symbols than people so I like that.



So I hope I gave you some ideas for books to read. I think this exercise has further confirmed that I much prefer stuff on covers to people, personally. But I also don't think authors and publishers should have to omit faces of color from book covers just so more people will give it a try. So it's a Catch 22 of sorts. I think we just have to encourage kids and teens to just have a love for reading because when you really love reading then you'll be looking for anything. When you love reading the most important thing is that it's a really good story.

Writing Tip Wednesday #4

What can we learn this week from Elizabeth Lyon's book Manuscript Makeover?

Without reservation, I recommend that you begin your novel with a scene. One reason why is because of the problems inherent with sequel and summary. Sequel means that readers have been deprived of the suspense of the off-stage scene that occurred before the opening of the novel. Now they are held hostage to "listen" to the reaction of the character or characters. It also means that the author will be tempted to narrate too much, to retell the scene that triggered the emotions and quandary, and tell, tell, tell-- everything. More than not, sequel beginnings feature one character alone with his or her thoughts and feelings. I don't recommend that any unpublished novelist begin with one character alone, because the character will inevitably turn inward, which means lots of telling versus action. [...]

Scenes are based on forward-moving action. They operate to get the story launched, to put the characters into situations where they must overcome obstacles and move toward commitment to a life-changing quest. Scenes also contain sounds, smells, temperatures, touch-sensations, and visuals. They create the verisimilitude, the sense of reality that is missing in narrated summaries or thought-based sequels. Scenes are more dynamic than sequels or summaries.

I am always amazed with how good novels begin so close to the action. I think it's pretty bold but it's also the thing to do. The advice not to start with one character alone is interesting but it makes sense. What else can the character do but think? Unless she starts talking to the wall. Although, I think it can work sometimes, depending on the structure of the book. I think the trick is to keep these tips and "rules" in mind but play around with the narrative until you find the most interesting way to really tell the story.

I really need to read that book front to back. I'm working on it!

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

This has nothing to do with the review but I won an ARC of Love You Hate You Miss You from Elizabeth Scott on her blog. I am so excited. I'm gonna read it as soon as I get it! Thank you Elizabeth!






Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott


I'm not sure what I was expecting but as soon as I read the first page of Living Dead Girl I knew that I wasn't going to get anything I could imagine. I started reading the book and after the first few chapters I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go on while I was still compulsively turning pages and devouring every word.

Living Dead Girl is Alice's story, but that's not her name. She was kidnapped when she was 10 years old and another girl was born in her place, the Alice that fulfills her kidnapper's every need. When she was 10 her biggest concern was whether or not to share her new lip gloss. Now Alice steals to eat and waits for the moment that Ray will murder her.

The prose is stark, sparse, told from Alice's point-of-view, a dead, hollow narrative that I have never experienced in a novel. I could hear her voice in my head and feel her pain and desperation. The violence in this novel is not graphically described but the imagery is strong enough to make you flinch and squirm anyway.

Most disturbing is the way Alice has evolved during her captivity with Ray. This is no longer a regular girl and how could she be? She is intricately connected to Ray and you see just how well he has molded her in his image and for his pleasure. The real beauty of this story is how self-aware Alice is about how she is yet powerless to stop it and something beyond resigned to her situation-- really the only way to describe it is in Alice's words: "Living dead girl."

The reason this book is so hard to read is because there's no humor, there's no lightness and even as I kept reading and searching I couldn't find anything resembling hope. Yet I recommend this book because the voice is unlike anything I've experienced before and I was utterly captivated by it. I can't imagine writing a book like this. You will definitely be haunted by Alice's story.

Give it a try but be prepared to have a very emotional reaction to what you're reading.

TBR Tuesday (3)

I have this book in my apartment, ready to go.



Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

The wrong angle

Trina: "Hey," I say, though I don't really know them. The boyed-up basketball girl barely moves. The others, her girls, step aside. It's okay if they don't speak. I know how it is. They can't all be Trina.

Dominique: Some stupid little flit cuts right in between us and is like, "Hey." Like she don't see I'm here and all the space around me is mines. I slam my fist into my other hand because she's good as jumped.

Leticia: Why would I get involved in Trina's life when I don't know for sure if I saw what I thought I saw? Who is to say I wasn't seeing it from the wrong angle?

Acclaimed author Rita Williams-Garcia intertwines the lives of three very different teens in this fast-paced, gritty narrative about choices and the impact that even the most seemingly insignificant ones can have. Weaving in and out of the girls' perspectives, readers will find themselves not with one intimate portrayal but three.

I first learned about this book from Paula's Diversity Roll Call post and I knew I wanted to read it. Rita Williams-Garcia is an author I admire for her gritty stories yet tender writing. School violence is an important topic that should be explored in YA literature. I like that she's taken us away from the guns and more sensational manifestations of violence and brought it back to more of an everyday level, something that is a reality for many students.

I read an interview with Rita and she said it took about 4 years from start to finish for this book. I'm looking forward to enjoying her hard work. I'm sure the words will seem effortless.

I've been reading a lot of heavy books later. I think next week I'll go for something lighter!

Upcoming reviews:

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia
Undone by Brooke Taylor
Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Boy Toy by Barry Lyga

I never would have picked up this book if it wasn't for the review on MssJos's blog. So I have to thank her because this novel is awesome.

It's the kind of book I wouldn't pick just by appearance in the library. I think the cover makes the book a little sexier than it is but at the same time I'm like, what's that about? Even the inside blurb is weird and strangely vague. Makes it sound almost like a sports novel and baseball is not my thing. I only like to read sports novels about basketball (How closed minded of me!).

Yes, I've definitely passed on this book for a couple of years and I'm sorry that I did.

In some ways Boy Toy is what you'd expect but mostly it's completely different from what you can imagine. Talk about bringing characters to the brink. Author Barry Lyga is fearless.

I think to give a proper sort of summary you have to get a bit spoilery. Five years ago, Josh Medel's life changed when he was molested by his 7th grade history teacher when he was 12. Now, age 18, a senior in high school, he's been trying to keep it together by maintaining a low profile in his small town, focusing on his sport baseball and on his grades so that he can get into his dream Ivy League school. There are only a few weeks of school left so it seems like everything should be ending but Josh's recovery is just beginning. Rachel, his former best friend, is ready to learn the truth, whether Josh likes it or not and in learning how to trust Rachel and others around him, Josh discovers a truth about himself.

And there's baseball. And best friends. And parents. And secrets.

The book is long. It's 416 pages but it is utterly captivating. Josh's voice just leaps off the page. You are instantly in his head from page one. The book occurs in the present and also in Josh's 12-year-old past. It's amazing how Lyga writes from the point of view of Josh describing himself at 12-years-old with this dual consciousness yet you know both versions of Josh are wrong about many things. The immediacy of Josh on the page was what drew me further into the story. It commanded me to keep turning the page. Sometimes I had to stop and catch my breath, think about what was happening, go over in my mind. I could feel every word in my brain.

I love books like that.

Josh isn't the only excellent character in this novel. Every character is carefully crafted and completely real and complex. For such a long novel there aren't many characters and it really shows with the time devoted to each one so that the reader is really able to get to know them. Even the predator, Josh's teacher Eve, is given time to become real and in the end, well, there's something else there. You could almost feel a little sorry for her.

The best part about this book is that it takes it's time, drawing you in, explaining things, getting to know the characters. Every section is carefully written. The pacing is excellent. The build up is breath-taking. The ending is just what you always feared but at the end it's what you needed. I felt a sense of satisfaction once I finished the book, sadness too, and lots of pride for Josh and everything he was able to achieve.

The sex in this book is never gratuitous or overly graphic. It's disturbing but for other reasons than how it is described. I wouldn't let that deter you from the novel. You'll be so caught up in Josh's story that quickly you'll be moving on to the next thing. The sex is nothing if not-- using that strange literary term-- earned.

Above all, Boy Toy has excellent writing. His dialogue is particularly strong. There's humor wrapped up in all of this, lines that made me laugh out loud. It was a delicate mix that I really appreciated.

Here's a tip! For more than half the book I was reading Josh's best friend Zik's name as Zeke... but it's actually short for Isaac! Get it? The end of Isaac? Haha, I'm dumb.

I could tell you more about this book and what goes on there. I feel like I've barely begun to scratch the surface. But you need to try this out for yourself. It's a challenging read but in an important way. So I hope you give Boy Toy a chance.

My favorite part (page 228-229):

"See, forgiveness doesn't happen all at once. It's not an event-- it's a process. Forgiveness happens while you're asleep, while you're dreaming, while you're in line at the coffee shop, while you're showering, eating, farting, jerking off. It happens in the back of your mind, and then one day you realize that you don't hate the person anymore, that your anger has gone away somewhere. And you understand. You've forgiven them. You don't know how or why. It sneaked up on you. It happened in the small spaces between thoughts and in the seconds between ideas and blinks. That's where forgiveness happens. Because anger and hatred, when left unfed, bleed away like air from a punctured tire, over time and days and years.

Forgiveness is stealth.

At least, that's what I hope."

Highly recommended! Now in paperback!

Sunday Weekly Word Count [3]

This weekend I tried to clean up my apartment but I'm so good at distracting myself it's no good. Oh well! Only I live here. Well me and some spiders and other bugs I kill occasionally. Ew.

So I'm in the middle of reading two books. I really need to read faster so I can post more reviews! I read a couple graphic novels I want to comment on, I just haven't done it yet.

This week I surpassed 60,00o words in my first draft. So yay but also, when is it gonna end? Can I get to the fame and fortune part yet? haha.

It was a good reading day and writing day. I also twisted my hair for a long time in a while. I really don't like my hair lately. Ever since I used some Miss Jessie's shampoo and conditioner (once!) it's been going downhill. I used some locking gel with the twisting and that seemed to work well.

Now it's almost another work day. But hey, I can't hate on work too much. At least I have a job. For now...

5/3 and 5/4- FAILURE. I was out of town and didn't write. I suck. Where is my discipline!

5/5- Words: 2178
Pages: 6

5/6- Words: 842
Pages: 2

5/7- Words: 480
Pages: 1


5/8- Words: 526
Pages: 1.2

5/9- Words: 2141
Pages: ~ 6



That brings my weekly word total to 6167 words and 16.2 pages. Not bad for missing two days.

Excerpt:

It was Saturday so Somerset was crowded with middle schoolers carrying designer bags and soccer moms wearing sweatshirts that said Hottie across the bottom. It took two seconds for me to remember the exact reasons I never went to the mall.

“I just need some shirts,” I said, heading toward Macy’s with Caitlin on my heels. “We don’t have to be here forever.”

“But Loren, you said I could get something too!” Caitlin said. “I have to look.”

I couldn’t get to the men’s section fast enough. They had some shirts and ties boxed up together so you didn’t have to match anything. I grabbed a couple of those, one with a blue shirt and another with a plain white shirt. Red didn’t look that good on me but it was one of the school colors so I got a red shirt, a red tie and a black and red checkered tie along with a couple of black shirts That had to be enough. I couldn’t wear something different for every away game. Principal Johnson liked to say it often on morning announcements—“School is not a fashion show.” He probably hoped that each time he said it somehow it would come true. But school remained a fashion show.






I want to go to the mall. It's been so long!

Flashback Friday! [2]

TGIF. It hasn't been a long week but it was long enough. Let's kick the weekend off with a blast from the past.


Flashback Friday featuring Both Sides Now by Ruth Pennebaker




Summary:

Witnessing her mother's battle with breast cancer, a teenage daughter finds her own strength.

Liza's mother has just completed an exhausting, but promising, treatment for breast cancer and her future looks bright. Liza takes the same approach to her junior year of high school--work hard, think positively, and keep everything under control. When tests reveal that a riskier, more painful treatment is needed, it seems Liza's mother has given up. But she hasn't. Her mother's courage shows Liza that life isn't about control, it's about living.

Drawing on the author's own experiences with breast cancer, this unforgettable novel reveals that positive thinking is not always the answer to tragedy, but that facing pain can bring great strength.

Why You Should Read It:

This book has always stuck in my mind. I've read it at least twice. I love Liza's voice. Everything is just leaping from the page. The characters are real and compelling. Family is very important in this novel and I think Liza's family is crafted well. The mother-daughter relationship is strong and it's unusual, beautifully punctuated by the inner-thoughts of Liza's mother which are scattered through out the novel.

Although the plot builds around the heavy topic of breast cancer the book is a solid, enjoyable experience. Liza has her own steady build of experiences as her family life is changing all around her. It's crazy how much life moves forward even though terrible things are happening all around you. That's one aspect of the book I like the most. I still think about this book because the experiences and situations and people in are so real. The writing is excellent. The details are delicate and well-crafted.

For a rich, poignant read you should check out this book.

Sampler:

(I just took this from Amazon)

It's foggy and misty this morning, but I can see the finish line the minute I turn the last corner. It's about a block away. Lots of people are standing around it, clapping and yelling. There are pink balloons everywhere, and they bob up and down in the wind.

When I cross the line, a woman in a white sweatshirt and aviator glasses gives me a big pink button that says I Raced for the Cure! I pin it on my T-shirt while I'm still jogging up and down. I look around, but I don't see Mom anywhere.

So I turn back and jog along the sidewalk, watching all the people who are still finishing the race. At first, they're all runners like me--young kids, college students, middle-aged guys with babies on their backs. But the farther back I go, the slower people are moving. After I've gone four or five blocks, you couldn't even call it a race. It's like a party that's walking very slowly. There are mostly women in long, wavy lines with their friends. They're talking and laughing and pushing strollers.

Mom and her friends are almost at the end of the crowd. She's with three women from her support group. They're all wearing pink T-shirts and visors that say I'm a breast cancer survivor!

"Liza!" Mom's waving at me. I jog over next to her and slow down to walk with her and her friends.

"You remember my older daughter, Liza?" Mom asks the other women. She pushes her hair back when she talks, the way she always has. Mom has a very pretty face, with deep blue eyes and soft skin and short, dark brown hair. Even though she doesn't like to exercise that much, she looks happy today. "Liza's a runner--when she's not doing lots of other things. She's the real achiever in the family."

The other women and I smile at one another and nod. I've met all of them before. There's Barbara, who's short and peppy and probably the most cheerful-looking person I've ever met in my life. She almost always has lipstick on her teeth from smiling so much. Then there's Jeannette, who's taller and more serious, and Libby, who has pale skin and big brown eyes.

The three of them have very short hair, like Mom's. That's because they all had breast cancer and went through chemotherapy a few months ago.

When Mom and the other women talk about chemotherapy, they call it "chemo," for short. I think it helps to give something a nickname like that, so it doesn't sound as scary. Besides, chemo isn't as bad as most people think. It kills the cancer cells in your body and saves your life. That's what you have to keep telling yourself.

"You think we'll win the race, Liza?" Barbara asks. She winks at me, and Mom and all her friends start laughing. Right now, the five of us are walking so slowly that it's going to take a year to finish. They might have taken the finish line down and gone home by the time we get there.

About ten minutes later, we turn the final corner. The finish line is still there, with all the pink balloons flapping around. By now, it's gotten hotter, and the fog and mist have disappeared. The sun is shining, bright and golden and beautiful, and you can see the soft green hills in the distance. That's a good sign. I always look for good signs, and I almost always find them, too. It's amazing.

People are yelling when we cross the line. I think it's because we're practically the last people to finish the race. Mom and her friends hug each other, and they all hug me.

Around us, all I can see is a small crowd of women wearing pink. They move together and apart and together again, and their faces look hot and red from the sun. They're laughing and crying at the same time, in a way that's hard for me to explain. I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before.

I hug Mom again. She's laughing and crying, like the rest of the women. For a few seconds, I don't know what to say.

What should I say? The day's beautiful and we've finished the race and I feel so happy to be alive--like something wonderful's going to happen any minute now. Something wonderful's going to happen, bursting out of nowhere, the way the sun just came out. Everything is going to be all right. It's such a strong feeling, like a surge of something very powerful, that I know it must be true. I wish I could explain it better. I wish I could make Mom and her friends understand. I wish I could make everybody in the world understand.

"Let's go, babe," Mom says. She stretches her arms up, over her head, and grins at me. "I need to get to the closest shower. It's an emergency."

I drive us home. I got my learner's permit last summer, and I'm starting driver's ed classes this week, so I need to practice driving as much as I can. The trouble is, I don't have very good depth perception. That's why I have this bad habit of running over curbs. Dad says I shouldn't worry about it, though. It's a bad habit to focus on mistakes, because that's negative. As long as I act like I have confidence in my driving, I'll start to feel it, he says.

Other Books By This Author:

Ruth Pennebaker also wrote Don't Think Twice and Conditions of Love. Both of these novels are excellent. I love her entire body of work. For years I would pray to see something new every time I went to the library. I'm still waiting for her next book! So, Ruth, if you see this, please publish another YA book!