Tumblr for Teens @ BFL

For everyone dying to read to read the next book in The Diviners series by Libba Bray (libbabraysactualblog​)… we’ve got a treat for you. There’s an exclusive excerpt of Lair of Dreams over at entertainmentweekly: Start reading now! 

YASSSS. I’ve always felt that Blood Red Road by Moira Young was the YA version of Mad Max movies because of the landscape, terrain, and now it definitely fits with Fury Road because BRR has a female protagonist and there is a badass gang of girls called the Free Hawks.

OK ARE YOU EVER IN NEED OF BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS BUT DON’T KNOW WHAT TO READ NEXT?

I present to you, straight from the internet, whichbook:

Here’s how it works: You click the link, and choose four categories and the extent to which these categories matter:

Then click “go” and it’ll come up with a number of books you might like.

DON’T LIKE THE CATEGORIES? NO PROBLEM - see this little thing:

THIS LITTLE THING WILL TAKE YOU TO THIS SLIGHTLY LARGER THING WHERE YOU CAN CHOOSE A BOOK BASED ON THE FOLLOWING:

YOU NOW HAVE NO EXCUSE TO NOT BE READING SOMETHING BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU WANT THIS SITE WILL COME UP WITH IT.

Great question!

First of all, make sure you know what each character wants from the argument. Why are they arguing? What are their motives? What are the stakes? 

Then you need to look at each character’s voice. How have you made their voice distinct from others in regular dialogue? Apply that same voice to the argument. Everyone has different argument styles and so will your characters. Some people are calm and collected, other people yell at the drop of a hat. Determine the argument styles of your characters.

But the most important piece of advice is to read the argument out loud. By saying the dialogue out loud, you should be able to hear the parts that sound clunky and wrong. Once you’ve zeroed in on what isn’t working, rewrite it differently and repeat until you’ve found something that you feel fits the characters. 

But that’s just the dialogue. An argument is so much more than just words. Remember that people move around while arguing and make gestures. If any of your characters have a nervous habit, maybe they would be doing that movement in the argument. Think about how your characters move and how being angry would exaggerate that movement. 

If all else fails, grab two friends (or however many people you need for the argument) and get them to act it out for you. It might help you to pinpoint what isn’t working.

June 3rd 1808: Jefferson Davis born

For Jen Brooks’ character Jonathan Aubrey, high school sucks. He’s friendless, barely getting by in his classes, and crushing on a girl who doesn’t notice him. But fortunately – or unfortunately – for him, he has the power to change his life. Or, at least, to change the alternate worlds he creates for himself in Brooks’s debut novel In a World Just Right.

After coming out of a coma as a kid, Jonathan has the ability to create alternate worlds – ones where he can be everything he’s not in a reality. Though feelings of grief and loneliness often cause isolation, Brooks knows these are universal feelings.

“I don’t know if readers are fascinated by these feelings, but I think all people can relate to them.”

Kylie Boazman reviews the portrayal of autism in How to Fly with Broken Wings by Jane Elson at Disability in Kidlit:

Anyone buying the book will note that the publisher’s description and all of the reviews mention that Willem has Asperger’s, so it’s clear to readers that his standardized traits are meant to represent autism. Willem stims, dumps facts on people at random, counts obsessively, interprets words literally, doesn’t want his food to touch, and reduces facial expressions to “happy face” and “sad face.” Although I always appreciate seeing young characters with anxiety, it’s hard to see Willem as a positive representation of autism for other kids when the author won’t identify him as such.

As in many literary depictions of autism, Willem seems to check off all of the diagnostic boxes without having much of a personality beyond this. Willem isn’t always treated with respect or dignity, particularly when he’s reduced to facts about airplanes and telling people that he can fly. There are also moments that Elson’s writing verges on tropes: in the middle of the book Willem suddenly becomes a magical autistic detective, the likes of which are too often seen in books or on television. He pulls out several pieces of physical evidence and lines of argument to prove that one person wasn’t involved in gang riots, although these abilities are never previously mentioned.

As casting news and developments for Shadowhunters, the new TV adaptation of the Mortal Instruments, are announced, a set of Cassandra Clare’s fans have gotten more and more rowdy. They’ve sent racist Tweets out about the casting decisions. They’ve released private direct messages sent from Clare. And now the fighting within the fandom and the harassment Clare has received - including threats on her life - has driven the author off of social media.

“I have watched this fight between my fans unfold with horror and sadness,” wrote Clare in a Twitlonger post. “But I have also received a constant stream of hate, threats and insults for 2 straight days because of it. I cannot control the behavior of others, and I will not take sides against any of my fans, because I love and appreciate you all. I hope the fandom works this out, but I cannot make that happen — for everyone who asks me to attack one group, there are people asking me to attack the other ‘side.’ The result of my doing that would be terrible. I cannot be online now, so I am going offline and will return when I can. I am not angry, or flouncing away. I just need a break. Thank you for all those who sent good wishes and told me to take a break. I do really need it.”

Though Clare is now offline, many YA authors have Tweeted or posted messages supporting her.