Anderson's Books Young Adult Literature Conference (Illinois) Sept. 24, 2011

I'm always plugging the wonderful Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, IL. Their 8th annual Young Adult Literature Conference is coming up on September 24, 2011 at Hotel Arista in Naperville (a gorgeous ecologically-minded structure off of I-88 in the western Chicago suburbs).

Here's the deets:

Other featured authors include Ilsa Blick, Franny Billingslly, Jeanine Cummins, Julie Halpern, Jeff Hirsch, Michelle Hodkin, James Kennedy, Sarah  Darer Littman, Colin Meloy, Carson Ellis, Elizabeth Miles, Elizabeth Scott, Kristina Springer and Bill Willingham. 


While I'm only familiar with a few authors here (including Colin Meloy of the band The Decemberists* who just wrote a children's book), I'm looking forward to the breakout sessions and meeting new people. I am not going to be shy so I can make some new friends in the children's lit community! I really can't pass this up since it's close to home and Anderson's does so well hosting events.


If you're near-ish to the Chicago area, consider attending! Find more information about registering here. 


*The Onion AV Club has a project where bands come to their offices and choose from a list of pre-selected song covers. Watch The Decemberists cover '80s/'90s alternative giants Sugar here.

Links Roundup!

Here are a few articles I found noteworthy from the past few weeks:

•  The Atlantic did a piece recently called, How Young Adult Came of Age (as in the genre). The New York Times shared an articlewith similar themes on why boys aren't reading as much as teen girls.
• The Observer outlines the state of the book review industry. Although Goodreads is mentioned, I personally think not enough credit is given to bloggers - the ones who aren't paid and are reviewing for the love of books in general. I think more of us are looking to our peers rather than online journals.
• An NYT reviewer read the same book on a dozen different devices from e-readers, to tablets to cell phones. An interesting look at all the ways you can read!
• From mega-lit agent Janet Reid's blog: you don't have to know much about the query process, but just know not to do this.
• Lastly, an outstanding collection of writing tips linked from a variety of helpful blogs.

 

Chicago's ComicCon: Wizard World

I attended my first ComicCon on August 13 in the northern suburbs of Chicago. My husband bravely endured his loathing of crowds to see the nerd culture spectacle with his very grateful wife. (I should mention the the event was so packed it took us longer to turn into the convention center than it did to drive there).

You may already know, but comic conventions are increasingly more about pop culture stuff which appeal to comic-loving crowds rather than an event solely to buy and trade comics. San Diego's ComicCon features every buzzed about TV show and scoops movies like Cowboys & Aliens and Super8 a year in advance. Most of my entertainment choices fall into these categories, so it's really cool to see celebrities from shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer get such rabid fan recognition.

Here's James Marsters, Spike from the Buffy & Angel series:

I snapped a few pics before my husband chastised me for being sneaky; some actors have paid photo ops if you want to pose with them (and wait in hours-long lines). I wasn't really interested in that, I wanted to capture the ambiance! But, I didn't want to be tacky so I refrained after that. Thus, no pic of the incredible Patrick Stewart (of Star Trek, X-Men, and most noteworthy to me, an episode of Ricky Gervais' wickedly funny Extras).

Of course there were storm troopers and Jedis:

I thought frantically about costume options the night before (I have a Princess Leia wig) but realized 24 hours time does not result in an awesome costume. My husband and I just dressed like we usually do and enjoyed the spectacle.

But next year.

For my writerly angle, I attended Felicia Day's panel, whose main gig is writing and starring in the web series The Guild, hilarious shorts about online gamers who end up meeting in real life. The show makes a ton of gaming and nerd culture references, but overall the stories tap into the weirdness of relationships and everyday pitfalls like dating. Next to her is Vork from the series, who apparently co-writes some of the episodes.


I respect Felicia because she made this webseries from the ground up out of her love of online gaming and the desire to do something creative. She's the ultimate fan-girl turned celebrity. You can see how cool she is just by her fan interactions. Felicia acted in the last season of Buffy, and starred in producer Joss Whedon's online project Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog which also starred Neil Patrick Harris and that mildly famous Castle actor Nathan Fillion.

I didn't get a picture, but the cast of Boondock Saints, a movie I did not enjoy but my husband loves, reunited at Chicago ComicCon. One of those actors is Sean Patrick Flanery from a short-lived '90s show called The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Even though George Lucas produced this show, practically no one I know remembers it! I loved it and was sad it was cancelled. Seeing the actor appeased a little slice of adolescence for me.

I was impressed to see all the artists represented at the con. We bought a book from an independent artist of the most adorably freakish monsters. Some great art is represented, and a few authors were there, too. Someday, maybe I'll have a booth in a crowded aisle of a convention...

Have you been to a convention like this? Are you freaked out by grown men and women dressed as characters from video games and movies you've forgotten existed? Or are you marking the next event on your calendar? Do share!

*Note: all photos taken by me personally at Wizard World 2011.

Book Review: Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy, Humor
Published: 2010

Paranormalcy is a fast, fun read about an orphaned girl named Evie who works for an agency that classifies and controls paranormal creatures. Evie's gift is her ability to identify the true nature of paranormals, which she doesn't think is much of a gift, but so far in life, it has provided her with a purpose and a place to stay at one of the headquarters for paranormal containment which she calls the Center, where she is looked over by a guardian and a tutor.

I've been itching to find a book like this. It's not easy to find a YA paranormal plot that doesn't take itself too seriously. Evie's best friend is a mermaid in a tank who talks to her via computer voice through a communication device. Every time the mermaid swears (which is often) it results in a bleep. Evie's weapon of choice for taking in rogue paranormals is a pink taser nicknamed Tasey. She knows her life is weird and  longs for the normalcy of high school with her own locker, like she sees on her favorite teen drama Easton Heights. But she isn't a tortured herione. Sure there's a lot she doesn't know yet, like why the faery Reth is so interested in her decisions, and why her tutors at the Center aren't willing to share information about her past. She's not helpless, and her narrative is realistic and seems like an actual teenager, alternating between big responsibilities and boredom.

When an unusual paranormal is picked up who can shift into the appearance of anyone, instead of staying away from his holding cell like she is warned, Evie befriends him since he's her age and someone new to talk to. Through their discussions she discovers the Center's teachings might not be the only way to view the existence of paranormals, specifically the need to control them.

There's a lot of action and plot development to keep momentum. The end sets up for another book, with a pretty good foundation where the stakes actually mean something. A clever, fun read.