avengingsybil

April is the Laziest Month

It's not that I'm uninspired when it comes to posting here... just preoccupied. I'm popping in today, really, to encourage you to do yourself a favor and read Elizabeth Scott's sharp, funny Perfect You. Ms. Scott is quickly blazing a trail as a favorite new YA author, and it is with glee that I also tell you that I also have my lucky little hands on the ARC of her follow-up, Stealing Heaven. It seems that "nyah nyah nyah!" would conclude that statement, but of course I am FAR too mature to rub my good fortune in your face like that.

Yes. Well. More soon.

Written material © 2008 Dawn Emerman

Exemplary

Thanks to my awesome book club, I've got a new-old addition to my slowly accumulating roster of books featuring gay teens whose portrayals don't make me want to hurt people. It's Dance on My Grave by  Aidan Chambers. I honestly had no idea that this book existed and it blew my mind. I made no secret of my strong aversion to Chambers's This Is All, but I can't automatically reject an author based on one book. That would be madness. In that spirit, I'm so glad I was prompted to give this one a chance.

Dance on My Grave is over 25 years old, so worrying about spoiling it seems ridiculous, yet I came in totally unspoiled and it made reading it that much more of an amazing experience for me. Really, what I want to know is, did everyone else know about this book all along, or is it a lost gem? I'm curious to hear. Right now, though, I've got a stack of other reading to attend to that is making me swoon, plus I have to do some retroactive homework and read this article (thanks to Amanda for the link) and maybe next week I'll be ready to get into the particulars of why this book made my YA honor roll.

Until then, Happy Opening Day - Go Sox!

Written material © 2008 Dawn Emerman