Midnight Sun Leaked

So from dancing around some other blogs, I discovered that Midnight Sun (Meyer's Twilight from the POV of Edward) was leaked. So naturally, I went looking for it. I am about read Ch. 1-12 on my laptop and ruin my eyes. Twilight is my favorite of the four. And I need something to redeem Breaking Dawn.

Where have I seen this before?

I am in the middle of reading Ghostgirl by Tonya Hurley. I have to say I grabbed this puppy off the shelf primarily because of the black silhouette of the "Tim Burtonesque" goth-chick cartoon. And it doesn't disappoint. It's cute, morbid and strangely light. But, I'm 100 pages in and already this book reminds me of something.

Beetle Juice! Beetle Juice! Beetle Juice!

Charlotte Usher could be Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin's lost, dead daughter. And Scarlet could be Winona Ryder. I wonder if the book will have any parallel to that ginormous, creepy statue that pins Catherine O'Hara to the floor (if I remember correctly). Wait, there is Petula, the token bitch girl. She looks like she's going to get it.

Book pick o' the week

My book pick of the week is Playing With Matches by Brian Katcher.

Leon Sanders is a 17-year-old self-proclaimed loser looking for a good woman who understands him. That's a tall order for a teenage boy who's only 5'6" and ignored by every high school girl who crosses his path. During one of Leon's pity parties, he cracks a joke and befriends Melody Hennon, tormented by her classmates because of her severe facial burns. Leon and Melody eventually start a relationship but Leon just can't get over Melody's scarring especially when his dream girl, Amy Green, starts to make a play for him. You can only imagine how Leon screws this all up.

Katcher's debut novel is hilarious and sharp. He portrays Leon as a typical teenage male, honest and often misguided. Leon's friends are more accepting of Melody than the reader or Leon would have guessed. Some minor characters, like Dan (the super creepy classmate) and Dylan (the reformed bully) are often the most surprising and insightful.

This piece of realistic fiction is a worthwhile read. So get on it!

Mis-casting of Twilight?

Is anyone else surprised about the casting choices of Twilight? Don't get me wrong, I think Kristen Stewart is awesome (She's currently on the cover of Vanity Fair) and who doesn't love Cedric Diggory. Yet, I would've thought, Twilight being the insane teen money-maker it is, that they would've gotten some bigger names for the film. I mean Peter Facinelli as Carlisle?! Right now he's best known for being married to Kelly Taylor.

This leads me to think that either the director/producers didn't want bigger stars or couldn't get them. If the latter is the case, then I'm truly surprised at those stars who turned it down. If the moms of teenage girls are also placing holds on Breaking Dawn, then one doesn't have to stretch the imagination far to see the blockbuster potential of this movie. Seriously, was Jeff Bridges too busy to audition for the role of Charlie?

**Kellan Lutz who plays Emmett is also in the new 90210 where Jennie Garth, married to Peter Facinelli, will be reprising her role as Kelly Taylor.

I work at a library. How the hell did I miss this cover?

Creative WriTeen

This summer I taught a creative writing class for my teen patrons. I cleverly called it Creative WriTeen. (I doubt I made that up.) I don't claim to be a master craftser of writing, but I figured I could teach teens a thing or two about writing. Speaking of crafting, this program was way more attended than the craft program I developed. (No takers on gocks this summer.)

Utilizing the SMART Board and online resources, I developed 8 lessons about fiction writing, poetry, screenwriting, and even reviewing. These kids were amazing! They participated in everything. One even emailed a guest author to get advice on his script! They arrive to class with poetry, skits, fantasy stories all written on their own time. And they share.

I definitely learned that if a 13-year-old is stealing time from his/her summer vacay to write a poem or a novella, I can certainly utilize my laptop for more than surfing Petfinder.

The Annex

I started this blog on a whim. I write a blog for the teens at my library. Since that blog is theirs, I wanted one for me. Here I can write all about teen fiction, young adult authors, new movies, pop culture, etc, etc. Everything I do at work, except I can use words like ass and crap.

Right now I am sitting in my home office next to stacks of books. Or as Bob calls it, "the annex." I'm almost done with Breaking Dawn and while I want to savor it, I need to finish it. I have 3 other books on my nightstand waiting to go. And they are so overdue.