Serving Underserved Urban Youth Presentation at Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference

Resources

Library Services to Youth in Custody website – booklists, discussion forums, collection development resources and sample policies, and more. YALSA-Lockdown email list – booklists, program sharing, and a chance to hear from practitioners. The searchable archives are a great resource! ASCLA Library Services for Youth in Custody Interest Group – this new interest group has a discussion forum and is developing more resources. The Beat Within – a weekly publication of writing and art by incarcerated youth. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention – this branch of the Dept. of Justice has research on youth in custody and offers grants that may be a funding source for library programs serving youth in custody. The National Reentry Resource Center provides research and resources for organizations who work with young people who are reintegrating into the community after adjudication.

Public Library Outreach Examples

Alameda County Write 2 Read program Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Outreach program Johnson County Library Read to Succeed program Austin Public Library Second Chance Books program Colorado State Library Read to the Children Project Charlotte and Mecklenburg County Dream It Do It technology outreach program

Learn More: Recommended Books and Articles

Beyond Books: Restorative Librarianship in Juvenile Detention Centers by Isaac Gilman Partnering with Jails to Improve Reentry: A Guidebook for Community-Based Organizations, created by the Urban Institute Literacy: A Way Out for At-Risk Youth by Jennifer Sweeney Library Services to the Incarcerated: Applying the Public Library Model in Correctional Facility Libraries by Sheila Clark and Erica MacCreaigh Extreme Teens: Library Services to Nontraditional Young Adults by Sheila Anderson Using One-to-One Tutoring and Proven Reading Strategies to Improve Reading Performance with Adjudicated Youth by Gail Coulter The Importance of Literacy for Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System by Mindee O’Cummings, Sarah Bardack, and Simon Gonsoulin Back on Track: Supporting Youth Reentry from Out-of-Home Placement to the Community by Ashley Nellis and Richard Hooks Wayman It’s All About the Kids: Presenting Options and Opening Doors by Joni Richards Bodart Reaching Out to Young Adults in Jail by Patrick Jones From Classroom to Courtroom: Our Role in the Community by Kathy McClellan Additional Works Cited Kathy, McLellan, and Suellentrop Tricia. “Serving Teens Doing Time.” VOYA 30.5 (2007): 403-07. O’Brien, Natalie, Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, and John Shelley-Tremblay. “Reading Problems, Attentional Deficits, and Current Mental Health Status in Adjudicated Adolescent Males.” Journal of Correctional Education 58.3 (2007): 293-315. William, Drakeford. “The Impact of an Intensive Program to Increase the Literacy Skills of Youth Confined to Juvenile Corrections.” Journal of Correctional Education 53.4 (2002): 139.

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July 2010 Reading Log

YA

• The Eternal Ones by Kristen Miller
• Girl Parts by John M. Cusick
• The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau
• Gringolandia by Lynn Miller-Lachman
• Black Hole Sun by David MacInnis Gill
• The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
• Candor by Pam Bachorz
• The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle
• Virgin Territory by James Lecesne
• Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Middle Grade

• The Cruisers by Walter Dean Myers
• The Magnificent 12: The Call by Michael Grant
• The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter

Graphic Novels

• Cat Burglar Black by Richard Sala
• Mercury by Hope Larson

Kids and Teens Nonfiction

• Whaling Season: A Year in the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist by Peter Lourie

Adult Fiction

• Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
• Some Sing, Some Cry by Ntozake Shange

Currently Reading

• The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
• Nevermore by Kelly Creagh
• Wicked Girls: A Novel of the Salem Witch Trials by Stephanie Hemphill

Coming to a bookstore near you!

Just a quick heads-up that Rosemary Clement-Moore’s very funny novel Highway to Hell, the third book in the Maggie Quinn: Girl vs. Evil series, comes out today. I think it’s the best one in the series so far – check out my review here.

The Hungry Cities Chronicles by Philip Reeve

Last week I walked by the far end of an enormous parking lot.  A heavy winter’s worth of snow was pushed and piled up on the asphalt, criss-crossed with dirty tire tracks and trash.  It was a desolate corner.  I imagine that the world Philip Reeve created for his Hungry Cities Chronicles looks a lot like that parking lot – only in Reeve’s world, each of those tire tracks is miles wide and as deep as a ditch.  After the world was devastated by the Sixty-Minute War, cities desperate for natural resources raised themselves up on massive caterpillar tracks and wheels and began to hunt down smaller cities in order to steal their food, fuel, and resources.  The first of those Traction cities was London.

Hundreds of years later, Municipal Darwinism has left the earth bleak and bare, and London is running out of prey.  The Guild of Engineers, not a particularly friendly bunch, have hatched a secret plan for London’s future.  When young Tom Natsworthy, apprentice Historian, accidentally stumbles on some of the city’s secrets, he is plunged into an epic adventure that will follow him through five continents, four books, and the rest of his life.

Philip Reeve’s world-building is nothing short of astonishing.  The history of Municipal Darwinism unfolds slowly, and Reeve has clearly put a lot of thought into the development of the world that his characters inhabit.  The cities rise in tiers, with the poorest inhabitants living in the lowest tiers – where cities that have been eaten are processed , and where the mechanisms that run the Traction Cities make it hot, noisy, and almost uninhabitable.  Jokes and bits of history can be found in many of the names, from London’s elevator system (The Tube) to the improbably named airships that Tom encounters (The Visible Panty Line.)

We meet only one uncomplicated character in Reeve’s world – Tom, who is good and brave to the point of becoming uninteresting.  But Tom does manage to make a few mistakes, and plenty of complexity is provided by his traveling companion, Hester.  While Tom is almost too genially likeable, it is sometimes impossible to relate to Hester.  She is prickly, jealous, and hell-bent on revenge.  As the stories go on, we learn that she has absolutely no regret for killing people – in fact, she almost enjoys it.  In the final books she is traveling with a Stalker – a half-zombie half-machine created specifically to kill – and it is not difficult to find more humanity in the Stalker.

And yet Tom loves her – and she loves him back fiercely, and sometimes dangerously.  Being in love in the world of the Hungry Cities is not likely to end well.  Betrayal, death, or abandonment are the usual outcomes.  Sometimes all three!  And attachment is not only dangerous for the characters – reader beware!  You will get attached to these characters, and they will die.  A lot.  Mr. Reeve has no misgivings about killing off favorite characters left and right.  They live in a dark world where people (and cities) show no pity.

This series is a true epic, where actions and decisions have real consequences, even if the effects are not ever seen by the character.  Even the tiniest choice can ripple out through the world of the books, and it is these massively flawed characters who are making the decisions.  The core cast of characters will come across each other over and over, and the threads finally come together in the final book, A Darkling Plain.  Reeve keeps the action constant right up until the end, and the conclusion is immensely satisfying.  I cannot recommend these books highly enough.

The Hungry Cities Chronicles on the web.

Philip Reeve on the web.

Weekend Links on a Tuesday

• The recent discussion of literary awards that use race as a criterion started over at Planet Esme.  We’ve heard from Roger Sutton, Mitali Perkins (twice!), Yuyi Morales, and back to Esme again.  I don’t think there’s an easy answer here – there are legitimate points being made on all sides of this conversation.  In the end, I think the quoted fact that less than 3% of children’s books in 2007 were authored by African Americans is a good indicator that there is still a need for these awards.  Kids should not only be able to see themselves reflected in the books they read, but also in a visible profession like writing.  We talk a lot about reading role models – why not writing role models?

• The New York Times looks at teen sex and promiscuity, with results that might surprise some worried parents.

• BookMoot explores the way that authors use video and book trailers to reach out to online audiences, with some great examples.

• Over at Jen Robinson’s Book Page, Jen has started a conversation about how we can encourage reading aloud.  She mentions President Obama in her ideas – and it just so happens that today he slipped away on a surprise visit to do a read-aloud in a classroom.

• On the Powells site, Sara Zarr has some really great thoughts about recurring themes in an author’s body of work.   Are your favorite authors writing the same thing over and over – and does it really matter?  (Hat tip to Confessions of a Bibliovore)

• Buy Valentines featuring art from children’s authors, support Save the Children.  This is win-win, people!

• Chasing Ray wants to know whether there are really topics that can’t be addressed in a YA novel.  I absolutely agree with what Colleen has to say here.  And Margo Lanagan herself stops by in the comments to clarify some things about her book, Tender Morsels.

• Haven’t seen anything creepy yet today?  Fix that right here.  Coraline comes out this weekend!

• Why won’t teens ask for help when they need it?  What can we as librarians do to help them without scaring them away?  Join in the conversation at the YALSA blog.

• Kenneth Oppel’s new Matt Cruse book is going to be amazing.  Can I have a space elevator please?

• The brilliant Walter Dean Myers talks to Public School Insights about his upcoming book, and about our responsibility to at-risk young people.  The take-away quote: “The first thing we have to do is change the norm. When these kids go to school, their norm is depressed. It’s been dislocated downward. So they have these low expectations of themselves–not of their abilities, but of what’s acceptable.”  The first three chapters of Dope Sick, Walter Dean Myers’ new book, are available for download here. (Hat tip to Guys Lit Wire)

• Publisher’s Weekly explores the market for comic books and graphic novels targeted at girls.

• Libralilly Blonde has some concerns about doing readers advisory over email, and some advice about improving RA.

• Watch it for the Karate Kid Medley.  Watch it for the amazing author cameos.  Watch it because Jarrett Krosoczka is adorable.  Just watch it.

• Finally, in case anyone out there needed another reason to love John Green: he’s buying free drinks for librarians on Friday.  Seriously.

Weekend Links on Wednesday

• I know that there’s something intrinsically wrong about it, but that doesn’t change my compulsive love for book art. And oh man, these are some beauties.  My eyes got really big when I got to the Alice in Wonderland one. Thanks to Fuse #8 for the fabulous find.

• Laurie Halse Anderson wants to know what an author should do when a review gets the facts very wrong.  I agree with many of the commenters – a brief correction note coming from the publisher seems like the wise course of action.

• Lisa Chellman reminds us that good and bad reviews aren’t everything – in the end, it’s each reader’s own response that matters.

• Oh boy oh boy oh boy this is going to be gorgeous.

• A look at the word appropriate, and the ways that the word is sometimes used to keep materials out of YA collections.

• Eric Holder, President Obama’s nominee for Attorney General, supports an extension of the Patriot Act that would continue to allow FBI access to library records.  (Hat tip to the Electronic Frontier Foundation)

• Over at YPulse they’ve put together a list of hip hop and rap organizations that are doing good in the community.  Anybody who puts the words hip hop in a sentence with the words education or activism has immediately got my attention.  These groups  are doing some great work.  And how can you not love Hip Hop Chess Tournaments?

• Kids ♥ Authors Day is coming!  Pretty soon I’m going to have to actually make a decision on which event I should go to.

• I don’t know how I’ve never seen Judging the Books before – this is right in my wheelhouse!  The 1980s, YA books, and making fun of book covers?  I’m there!

• Jody Gehrman, author of the very sweet Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, blogs about how she hates it when writers use replacement words like crap or frigging instead of using curse words.  I am in agreement with her up to a point – if the character would use curse words in that situation, then they should be there.  I don’t agree that words like crap and frigging don’t have any place in fiction – real people use those words, so why shouldn’t fictional people?  Just keep it true to the character and I’ll be happy.

• Speaking of cursing – I know you all saw Neil Gaiman’s twitter reaction to winning the Newbery, right?  Made me laugh out loud at my work desk.  Delightfully vulgar!

• Something that is not especially kidlit related – if you’ve never read John Updike’s essay on Ted Williams’ final at-bat, please indulge me by giving it a look.  This is the piece that I will remember him by.  Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu

The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas

Antonia Lucia Labella only wants one thing in this world: to be the first living Patron Saint.  Ok, so maybe that’s not exactly the ONLY thing she wants.  She would also be pretty happy to get her first kiss, preferably from smolderingly handsome Andy Rotellini.    And she’d like it if her mother would get off her back about her clothes, and maybe let her go out on a date once in a while.  And…  ok, so there are a lot of things that Antonia wants.  But being a saint is first among the many.

While the YA heroine with a quirky obsession is an enormously overused trope in YA literature, Antonia felt very real.  I think this is partly because her infatuation with sainthood is woven into all facets of her life.  You can see the roots of her interest in the saints in her interactions with her mother and grandmother, in her stories about her father, and in her own strong faith.

Catholicism is so central to her life that it is not surprising that she would look for ways to make it a more active force in her life.  She does this through her regular petitions to the saints for intercession in her day-to-day life, but also through her letters to the Vatican in hopes of becoming a living saint.  Through her petitions for sainthood, Antonia tries to make herself an active participant in her religion.  Antonia’s letters to the Vatican are very funny and very heartfelt:

I am writing to inform you of a grave oversight in the area of patron saint specialization, to replace my earlier letter this month about a Patron Saint of People Who Make Pasta…  But there are even more pressing matters at hand than pasta.  dire even!  Like the fact that, as yet, there is no Patron Saint of the Kiss, and, to be more specific, the First Kiss!  I ask you: How is this possible?  Young Catholic girls and boys everywhere are in DANGER, not only because of the Vatican’s general need of a reality check in all matters teen-related (I mean, can you be more out of touch about us?  Please!), but specifically with regard to your total lack of foresight in the area of kissing. Let me tell you what happens when there is no Patron Saint of Kissing, especially for us kissing virgins.  I mean, not that I am one or anything – I’ve kissed plenty of boys in my day.  Though, not to say that I overdo it either – I don’t want you to think I’m unchaste or something – but anyway.  As a result of this deficiency, teenagers, who shall remain nameless to protect their identity, might possibly be praying to saints whose specialization is not kissing, and sources tell me that when this happens, it’s like intercessions gone haywire!  (pages 175-176)

Her letters are completely charming, and they make me hope that there’s someone opening letters at the Vatican who really appreciates them.

I loved that the book, like Antonia, was genuinely open to the possibility that miracles happen in life.  Antonia’s petitions to the saints are regularly granted – although not always in the way that she would like.  And there is a very small subplot that leads the reader to believe that Antonia herself is capable of miracles – could she really be on her way to sainthood?

For Antonia, the Saints are “a virtual Rolodex of thousands of men and women to call upon for help in very specific situations, and not just Jesus, who I see as an abyss of possibilities.  With Jesus, you never know what you are going to get, if he was busy or just not interested in your little dilemma and ignoring you.  But with the Saints!  At least with them you have everything narrowed down.  Like, if I thought I might be coming down with strep, a little word to St. Ethelrelda, , Patron Saint Against Throat Diseases, and I’d be good to go” (pg. 36).  In case any of you are in need of intercession, I thought I would share a few potentially useful Saints.

Saint Jerome, Patron Saint of libraries and librarians

Saint John of God, Patron Saint of book sellers and publishers

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Patron Saint of teenagers

I highly suggest taking a peek through this massive directory of Patron Saint Specializations – and if you don’t find the Saint you need, maybe you should recommend Antonia for the job.

Donna Freitas’ on the web

The Possibilities of Sainthood on the web

Have Your Cake

If I were making a list of things that make me happy, childrens and YA books would rank pretty high. And so, of course, would cake. Who doesn’t like cake?  And thanks to the magic of people who make astonishingly detailed cakes and post pictures of them on Flickr, I’m able to bring these two things together today.  I hope you’re not hungry!

If we’re talking about children’s book authors who have inspired bakers to greatness, the conversation begins with one man: Dr. Seuss.  His books have been the jumping off point for some awe-inducing cakes, like this terrifyingly life-like Grinch.  Many of the man’s greatest hits have been celebrated in cake form, from The Lorax to a very tasty plate of Green Eggs and Ham.  But when it comes to Seuss cakes, one book dominates them all.  With striped hats, angry fish, and piles of chaotic red-and-white, there is no shortage of gorgeous cakes based on The Cat in the Hat.

For fans of everyone’s favorite boy wizard, I’m pretty sure that Hogwarts and everything in it has now been made into at least one cake. Hop on the train at Platform 9 3/4 – don’t forget Hedwig and your spell books!  Grab a treat on the train, and wait for your first view of the castle.  Once you make it to Hogwarts, the sorting hat will put you into a house.  Grab a broom and head out to the Quidditch pitch – maybe you’ll be the first the catch the golden snitch.  While you’re at Hogwarts, watch out for basilisks and dementors, books that bite, and giant killer chess sets.  And don’t forget to read the books!  For you, readers, I tried.  But sadly, there are no Voldemort cakes on Flickr.  This is a grievous omission in the world of Potter cakes, and somebody out there needs to get baking!

I have to say, the cake creativity for YA phenomenons pales next to the kidlit cakes.  But I can hardly ignore the Twilight books (looks like New Moon got passed over by the cake bakers).

Comic books and manga are well-represented in the world of amazing cakes.  If you’re looking for traditional comic book heroes, you’ll find them all: Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, the Hulk, Batman, and my personal favorite, this hysterical Wolverine from the X-Men.  For you manga fans, cakes range from Dragon Ball Z and Shin Chan to Fruits Basket and Death Note.  Yes, that is a cake of L from Death Note, and yes, it will make you giggle.  Look at those angry, delicious eyes!

It’s easy to find beautiful cakes from deep in the Hundred Acre Woods, but almost all of them are of the Disney-fied Pooh.  Kudos to Guernseybabycakes, the maker of this sweet classic Pooh cake.  Of course, before we move on from AA Milne, it wouldn’t be right to leave out Eeyore.

Cakes from the once upon a time world of folk and fairy tales also tend to be Disney-fied – although the books make it into some of them.

Mr. Milne isn’t the only classic children’s author to have a cult cake following.  Beatrix Potter cakes are going strong, with Peter Rabbit leading the way.  But if you look closely, you can find a few daring bakers who have gone beyond Peter’s popularity.

Other popular picture books have their own cakes, too.  Curious George is an especially big choice with the picture book cake-making crowd.  Eric Hill’s Spot and the Rainbow Fish each make an appearance.  And my personal favorite picture book cake is from Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are.  (Another note for bakers –  where are the In the Night Kitchen Cakes? Come on – “Milk in the batter!  Milk in the batter!  We bake cakes and nothing’s the matter!”  It’s calling out for a cake representation.  I might do this one myself!)

Among the chapter books, the winner out of the gate is Alice in Wonderland,  with the Narnia series coming up close behind.  Beloved characters like Paddington Bear and Pippi Longstockings have some pretty impressive cakes, too.  This Roald Dahl cake, featuring many of his characters climbing out of a tall stack of books, is an absolute beauty.

Hope that’s enough cakes for you.  As for me, I’m going to go find something sweet to eat.  If you have a favorite book-related cake, I’d love to see a picture!  Especially if anyone finds some YA book cakes.  They must be out there somewhere.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

This review contains spoilers.

Being able to hear everyone else’s thoughts sounds like it could be a pretty good deal. You’d hear the answer to every question your teacher asked, and you’d know exactly what to buy your mother for her birthday. The downside is that everybody else can hear your thoughts, but even that has its positives. You would never have to get up the guts to tell your boss that you deserved a raise, and your mom would already know how much you wanted a pony for Christmas.

A virus has been released in Prentisstown that makes men’s thoughts audible. And since every resident of Prentisstown is a man, everyone knows what every other resident thinks. It is called the Noise, and it is definitely not a good thing.

“There ain’t nothing but Noise in this world, nothing but the constant thoughts of men and things coming at you and at you and at you, ever since the Spacks released the Noise germ during the war, the germ that killed half the men and every single woman, my ma not excepted, the germ that drove the rest of the men mad, the germ that spelled the end for all Spackle once men’s madness picked up a gun.” (page 13)

Todd Hewitt goes through his life hearing the nastiest, most salacious thoughts of his neighbors. Todd is the last boy in the town, and as he approaches his manhood it becomes clear that the men have been keeping a secret from him. While Todd hunts for apples in the swamp outside of town, he discovers something that shouldn’t exist: a patch of silence in the Noise. The silence leads him to a girl – something else that doesn’t exist in Prentisstown. And the girl leads him to constant revelations. The things he had believed to be true in his life are unraveled one by one. After his discovery of Viola in the swamp, Todd’s world “keeps getting bigger” (page 100) as he runs from the lies of Prentisstown and from the violent and controlling men who perpetuate those lies.

This book was excellent enough for me to overlook the fact that it features no less than three of my personal literature pet-peeves: phonetic spelling, a cliffhanger ending that doesn’t complete the story arc, and the death of a beloved pet. That’s right, this is a book where the dog dies. Despite that, the story’s constant action make it difficult to put this book down. The reader makes every new discovery about Prentisstown’s past along with Todd, and each new piece of information adds to the urgency of Todd’s escape.  For me, this was a major part of the reason that Todd is so easy to relate to, which in turn makes the scenes of violence feel so immediate and terrifying.

The language of Noise in The Knife of Never Letting Go are worth an in-depth look – both Todd’s voice and the constant overwhelming voices of the Noise surrounding him. The way Ness illustrates the Noise, with fonts and text sizes changing and overlapping, paints a vivid picture of the chaos of words that has surrounded Todd his whole life. It is easy to accept other people’s noise as the truth, but as Todd learns over the course of the book, the truth can be covered up and twisted even in men’s Noise. Todd notes that Noise is not truth, but “what men want to be true, and there’s a difference twixt those things so big that it could ruddy well kill you if you don’t watch out” (page 23). Voices of animals are used creatively and often humorously, and even some plants get in on the action. The most effective use of the animals voices is Todd’s dog, Manchee. At first Manchee’s voice is comic relief – as Todd notes in the book’s wonderful opening sentence, “the first thing you find out when your dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say” (page 1). But both Todd and the reader change their opinion of the dog, and he becomes a moral center for the book. While Todd’s connection to Manchee grows stronger because of his Noise, the connection between Todd and Viola is made difficult because of her lack of noise – Todd feels cut off from her because she is not constantly telegraphing her thoughts and emotions. At first he doubts that she can be thinking or feeling at all. The effect of the Noise, even on those who do not have it, is profound.

I was delighted to see Lisa Chellman’s recent post on the relationship between Ben and Cillian, Todd’s adopted family.  I also read them as a gay couple, although there is no explicit discussion of their relationship in the story.  I highly suggest reading Lisa’s thoughts on how they are portrayed in the book, and how their portrayal should be celebrated.

Though stylistically they are very different, this might be a good recommendation for readers who loved The Hunger Games. Both feature young characters growing close while trying to escape a violent dystopian society, and both have constant action that keeps readers engaged.

An earlier version of this review is cross-posted at The Well-Read Child.

Patrick Ness on the web

The Knife of Never Letting Go on the web

Weekend Links

• Self-censorship in book purchasing is something we all need to think about as often as possible.  Thanks to David Levithan for his moving reminder of why.  (Hat tip to Persnickety Snark)

• Alternative Teen Services suggests some graphic novel adaptations to help make Shakespeare more accessible to teens.

• Over at YPulse they’ve summarized an interesting report on the possibilities of using mobile devices for classroom learning.

• The Gray Lady on the Wimpy Kid Phenomenon.  Did everybody love the new book?  I haven’t read it yet – it was snatched out of my hand by an eager patron.

• Once again, Shannon Hale has a really well thought out post up on literacy and reading.  I think I’m going to start printing these out and handing them to parents who insist on pulling their kids out of the Graphic Novels section. Along with a copy of Rapunzel’s Revenge.

• Ever wonder what goes in to making a book?  The Digital Marketing Team at MacMillan have an informative (and tongue-firmly-in-cheek) video for you! (Hat tip to Big Bad Book Blog)

• Linda Braun explains why it is so important for every person who works with teens to read the recently published report Enhancing Child Safety and Online Technologies.

• Jennifer Lynn Barnes has calculated the number of hours that have been spent on Twilight.  And that’s her low-ball estimate.  Unbelievable.

• Did you all see that Paramount is making a movie based on Jake Wizner’s hysterical Spanking Shakespeare?  I’m intrigued.  (Hat tip Fuse #8)

• Is it wrong that I’ve added every single book from this roundup to my to-read list?
  

• Katsa’s stubborn ability to remain true to herself in the face of society and even love is one of the many reasons that Graceling is a great book. Some people believe that Katsa’s choices make Graceling anti-marriage. Kristin Cashore talks about those assumptions on her blog.

• And finally, to all those people who told little-kid-Laura that I read too many books and should go make some real friends: Ha! Reading was teaching me social skills and increasing my empathy all along!  I feel so vindicated.