Meg Cabot once said, somewhere, (this is not a direct quote because I can’t remember where I read it or what it actually said), but the JIST of it was:
“If you are an author who blogs, don’t use your best stuff on the blog, because you might want to just write it down, save it, and throw it in a Princess Diaries book one day.”
And while I do think this is good advice for any author (except maybe not the Princess Diaries part. Take that out), all this really tells me is that I could never be an author. Because I use ALL my good stuff on my blog. And, yeah, I know what you are thinking, buddy. Really? That’s her good stuff? There is more than ONE reason why she could never be an author… YES YES I KNOW. But the point is that I love blogging. I love the instant feedback, where immediately everyone knows what you wrote 20 minutes ago, and I love the way you can just throw your best stuff out there and just be you. The blog is such a lovely medium for writing, because it allows anyone to be a writer, a reviewer, a journalist, or whatever they want. The freedom is exhilarating. But, as with any type of thing where everyone can do it, the field gets a little, um, crowded. Thankfully, the good ones rise to the top. Because some people are just better at blogging than others. Some people just can get there and hold your attention. It’s the same with any kind of online writing. You have to be really good to stand out. It’s the same even when you are reviewing something. TV blogs learned real fast that online, snark and style gets you everywhere. Book review sites… meh. YA book review sites were a dime a dozen. So, you liked the book, so you didn’t. Great. Who cares. And then I found Forever Young Adult. Which is pretty much effing amazing.
Hello. Seriously. Let’s first start with how they evaluate books.
BFF CHARMS? BONUS FACTORS (ie the jordan catalano factor)? SWOONWORTHY SCALE? (I’d like to also add that “swoonworthy scale” has inched its way into my daily vocabulary. YES I TALK ABOUT SWOONWORTHY SCALES DAILY, GOT A PROBLEM?) and my personal favorite:
relationship status
rather than using stars or a numerical system, neither of which really captures how we *feel* about a book, we’ve decided to sum up our judgement in typical teenage fashion: do we *like* this book? do we like LIKE this book? do we actually want to spend all of eternity with this book because OMG LOVE? or will we totally avoid it in the hallways cos it’s really pesky and annoying and we wish we’d never said hi to it in the first place?!!
so yeah, relationship status… speaks volumes.
So basically stars and the like can just jump out the window now, kthx.
If this isn’t your favorite YA book review site by now, you are clearly deranged.
So a week or so ago, two of the FYA ladies announced that they would be going to BEA (Book Expo America).
DUDE REALLY? I’LL BE AT BEA TOO! LET’S MEET UP! That’s basically how the conversation went. With a little less “dude” and a little more Jellicoe Road.
SARAH/POSHDELUXE, ME, and JENNY
HEY-O yeah that’s a picture of me with Sarah and Jenny of FOREVER YOUNG ADULT. SO FREAKING AWESOME.
Also, they included ME in their post about day one of the zoo that is BEA. FREAKING AWESOME.
ALSO, FYA is starting a book club, and the first book is none other than BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. Which is the best book I’ve read. In a LONG time. So there’s a summer reading assignment if I’ve ever heard one. A summer reading assignment. From Summer. HAHAHAHAHA!
Hokay, let’s wrap this one up before I kill you all with my hilarity.
