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TEENREADS.COM
NEWSLETTER
AOL Keyword: The Book Bag
Teenreads.com
May 1, 2001
Dear
Reader,
Seeing as how this week's 5
Best Books feature (a new addition to Teenreads.com --- read on to learn more about
it) is for people boycotting the prom, I thought I'd tell you a little about my own senior
prom. Now, contrary to all the other adolescent experiences I've blathered on about in
this newsletter, my prom did not actually end in complete humiliation --- shocking, I
know! Of course, it started off as something of a humiliation, what with me having no date
and at the very last minute having to invite my best friend's younger brother...but this
is a happy story so I'm stopping right here with the self-pity routine.
To make a long story short, I had a genuine Pretty In Pink moment (minus Ducky and that
hideous pink dress) when I walked into the tackily decorated hall looking like a total fox
(I'm casting all modesty aside here, as you can see). See, five or so months back I had
decided to give up eating whole boxes of Girl Scout cookies alone in the closet and
started exercising instead. So there I was looking like a fox, safe (and maybe a wee bit
smug) in the knowledge I was going to a great college, and accompanied by a shockingly hot
guy who, three years later, would become a Tommy Hilfiger model (this is the absolute
truth...believe me I kick myself everyday for not realizing sooner that my friend's little
brother was highly attractive and not so little).
It was then that I had my High School Epiphany (you all will have a life-changing high
school revelation at some point, trust me on this): high school really wasn't as bad as I
always had made it out to be. I had tons of fun doing stupid stuff with my friends. And,
oh, how I wish I hadn't spent so much useless time worrying about people who really
weren't worth worrying about.
Does this mean that it didn't please me immensely to see that shocked look on the faces of
all those people I spent too much time worrying about? Of course not! I'm only human.
Got a good prom/school dance story? Tell me about it: Babyswingster@aol.com.
Because We Love You This (you can't see me, but my arms are really far apart) Much......
We've added a bunch of new stuff to Teenreads.com.
Along the left side of the home page you will find five new and (in my humble opinion) absolutely fabulous features:
Question of the Week, Word of Mouth, This Week In Book History, Author Birthdays and The 5 Best Books...
And just in case you are still not totally convinced of our love, we are giving away free copies of
DREAMCATCHER by Stephen King to two
randomly-chosen contributors to Word of Mouth.
For details on how to enter, click here.
NEW THIS WEEK...
Teenreads.com
Chats With...
Caroline B. Cooney,
author of THE RANSOM OF MERCY
CARTER
Teenreads.com writer Audrey Marie Danielson chats with YA author extraordinaire Caroline
B. Cooney about that the countless injustices faced by the Native Americans in Colonial
times, the ever-so fine line between fact and fiction, and much more.
THE RANSOM OF MERCY CARTER by
Caroline B. Cooney
Ben Franklin was once asked who had it easier, the Indians or the settlers. His answer?
"Too much care and pain is necessary to support our type of life." Perhaps this
also answers the question of so many colonial parents, including Mercy Carter's: "Why
and how did captive English children so readily become Indians?"
And...
Cherie Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld, authors
of ANNE FRANK AND ME
Teenreads.com writer Jesse Kornbluth chats with Cherie
Bennett and Jeff Gottesfeld about the transformation of ANNE FRANK AND ME from play to
novel, the surprisingly widespread practice of Holocaust Denial on the Internet, and more.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?...Not Poets!
April is said to be the month that's cruel / It's gloomy outside, you've got tests at
school / Your boyfriend acts like a total tool / You want to write verses that are cool /
What can you do and not be a fool?
Check out our Poetry Month feature and find
poems that are a lot better than this one.
Never Forget: Remembering the Holocaust Through
Literature...
On April 19 (the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising) Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust
Remembrance Day, was observed. In honor of all Holocaust victims, Teenreads.com brings you
a selection of notable memoirs and works of
fiction.
We'll Miss You Joey...
From Blink 182 to Green Day, many contemporary punk rock bands have taken cues from The
Ramones. And Joey Ramone, the band's bassist and lead singer, understood better than
anyone that the glory of punk rock was to sing fast, sing loud, look cool and have fun.
Thinking about dying your hair blue and starting a band? I suggest you check out our Joey Ramone/Punk Rock tribute first.
More Reviews...
ELLA IN BLOOM by Shelby Hearon
After the death of her sister and a disastrous attempt at reconciling with her estranged
family, Ella starts to "bloom," learning eventually that she is a good person,
not some perfected mirror image of her mother.
FEELING SORRY FOR CELIA by Jaclyn Moriarty
From anonymous love notes to co-ed slumber parties to a hottie track star named Saxon to
liturgical dancing (whatever that may be) to a James Bond inspired rescue plot, this
hilarious and touching story has it all.
NORY RYAN'S SONG by Patricia Reilly Giff
In the time of An Gorta Mor, or the Great Hunger of Ireland --- when over one million of
Ireland's eight million people died of sickness and starvation --- Nory Ryan and her
family must struggle to stay alive in the face of a terrifying famine.
STILL GOING STRONG...
PLAY BALL
Give some of these baseball-inspired books the ol' college try!
NEW AND NEWISH IN PAPERBACK
In celebration of the under-appreciated softcover, Teenreads.com is bringing you reviews
of nine new (and newish) paperbacks.
WHALE TALK by Chris Crutcher
T. J. Jones --- a wise-cracking, socially-conscious rebel --- decides to teach the
"cool" kids of his school a lesson by heading up a varsity swim team comprised
of all the kids who are always picked last in gym. There is also an interview with Chris Crutcher.
DREAMCATCHER by Stephen King
King's latest horror thriller promises to do for walks in the woods what CARRIE did for
proms. Be afraid...be very afraid.
TROY by Adele Geras
Each day the men of TROY go out to fight --- and their women are left wondering if they
will ever see them alive again.
CRACKS by Sheila Kohler
There are secrets hidden in every sentence of this story about a group of classmates
reunited after several decades under mysterious and sinister circumstances.
GIRL IN BLUE by Ann Rinaldi
Sarah is determined to live her own life. Her father, however, has other ideas.
RECENTLY REVIEWED...
Memoirs, Memoirs Everywhere...But Which Ones
Do You Read
LIFE IS A MOVIE STARRING YOU by Jennifur Brandt
GIRL TALK by Julia Baggott
DOUBLE OR NOTHING by Dennis Foon
TEEN ASTROLOGY: The Ultimate Guide To Making Your Life
Your Own by M. J. Abadie
READERS RECOMMEND...
"One of my new favorite books is DREAMLAND by
Sarah Dessen. It's about this girl in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend. I passed
it on to one of my friends and she agreed that it was amazing and something all girls
should read."
ENTER THE 2001 CLAUDIA ANN SEAMAN POETRY AWARD CONTEST...
Established in 1983 by the Seaman family in memory of their daughter and sister, Claudia,
this contest is open to all aspiring young poets in grades 9 through 12. The winner is
awarded a $500 cash prize and the chance to have her or his poem published in the literary
magazine Hanging Loose. Interested? Go check out the contest guidelines.
Have a great week! And remember, if you have any ideas for the newsletter or
Teenreads.com, or if you just want to say hello, write to: Babyswingster@aol.com.
--- Sarah Brennan for Teenreads.com
Talkback@Teenreads.com
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