Writing Prompts

Working at a high school is fantastic because I've been able to sneak in time to write, even for just ten minutes every day. I don't have quiet at home so by creating a Young Writer's Group at school I've been able to connect with the kids and make creativity deposits in my emotional bank. Here are a few of them I've done in the last few weeks or will do in the next few weeks.

• Water has been recently found on Mars. Write a story about the day that NASA finally begins taking applications for volunteer colonists.
• It's a normal day at school until a table of girls begins laughing a little too loudly, they begin to draw attention, because soon the joy on their faces turns to fear as they try to stop but can't. Soon the next table and then the next begins to laugh until the entire room is laughing uncontrollably. Slowly but surely the laughing is creeping towards you. You then....
• Write a story about a town where the old saying "step on a crack and break your mother's back" is real.
• Rewrite the story of Hansel and Gretel in your own neighborhood in 'hood Atlanta. Who is the witch? What is her house made of instead of gingerbread?
• A wizard has offered you a fortune if you agree to give up one of your senses. Tell the story about the day you gave up your.....
• It's your 18th birthday. Tell a story about a city where poor people have been engineered to live only 18 years.

On Creativity

Creativity is an essential function of living to me. I heard something today that rang so true to my spirit. It was Elizabeth Gilbert, and she said that she finds it cruel (I'm paraphrasing here) to tell some people to follow their passion, because few people are truly passionate about just one thing, those that are tend to work in the field their passionate about. A better alternative is to tell people to pursue whatever they are curious about. Isn't that lovely.

I'm curious about a great many things, but pinning my survival on my passions (which could change or may not be very lucrative) seems reckless. I'm curious about plant-based diets, yoga, books, editing, uplifting my people, world peace. and a great many other things. I'm excited about getting older because of my curious nature and it is that curiosity that fuels my creativity.

I've been on a break for the last few days and as a young Mom I'm moving all the time and never have any time for myself, but in that chaos I've had epiphanies. Creativity is essential to sanity. Writing in my journal is a coin in my sanity bank. Trying a new ab workout and blogging is a coin in my sanity bank. We draw from our sanity banks through stress at work, through family obligations, through the constant reminder of student loans. If we don't make deposits then we run ourselves into emotional debt, which can kill you if you let it. So write a poem, do a dance, bake a pie, write something, even just for a second, or one minute.

Write Your Congressman: Beyond hashtag activism

We can call out the media on their racist and discriminatory reporting practices and lament the times, but there are still guns on the streets and racists in boardrooms, public offices and in line waiting to purchase rifles at the latest gun show. I want some legislation passed, and I want it done yesterday. If you want to steal my letter to my lawmakers, please feel free. If you don't please make sure you a) keep it short, b) make your demands clear and c) let them know what city you live and vote in.

You can find your lawmakers here: http://openstates.org/ga/

Dear Senator ,
           I want to take this time of reflection and mourning to urge you to do more than join hands in prayer for those families affected by the Charleston Massacre. I urge you to take action. I implore you to prevent senseless murders like these and others by writing a bill that requires all gun owners to pass a background check and gun safety training course. There is evidence that this kind of action is working in other states. Please see this recent article in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/06/12/gun-killings-fell-by-40-percent-after-connecticut-passed-this-law/)
"In a study released Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, they estimate that the law reduced gun homicides by 40 percent between 1996 and 2005. That’s 296 lives saved in 10 years." - Guo, Jeff. Gun killings fell by 40 percent after Connecticut passed this law. Washington Post.
Now, I am not naive and understand that bills are submitted and passed when there is an idea that everyone is already on board. I challenge you to take a leap of faith and press the notion in this state. Make everyone go on record as for or against the measure. The constitution does not ensure that any American at any time can carry a gun anywhere for any reason. Common sense must prevail and reasonable prohibitions must be enacted to further public safety. There are too many senseless murders conducted with legally obtained firearms. Please help me in preventing more massacres. Please push for reasonable gun control.
Sincerely,
Shanna Miles
Jonesboro, Georgia
Concerned Citizen, Mother, Librarian 

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera : Review

#wndb #lgbt #ya lit

Aaron Soto is not having the best year. His father killed himself and not long after he had a little run in with a suicide attempt himself, a little happy faced scar reminds him of those dark days, but at least he's got a great girlfriend. Completely, supportive and fantastically artsy and cool, she's the reason he's come out on the other side. Still, the Lateo Institutes memory wiping technique is tempting.

When he meets Thomas and begins to develop feelings that he never knew he had he wonders if you can forget who you really are?

The premise for More Happy Than Not had me super excited. Latino kid in New York with real issues to overcome, but still has that slick city swagger, a coming of age story with a taste of science fiction, who wouldn't love that? It is all of those things and the bit characters with names like Me-Crazy are fun to read about. The problem is that the setting is bigger than the plot. Silvera takes great care and time immersing the reader into how it is to live in this particular neighborhood at this particular time while the finer points of the plot are lost. Aaron goes from head over heels in love with his girlfriend to completely gay in two pages without very much internal fanfare. It just didn't feel very believable.

There is also the issue of genre blending. This is contemporary fiction, but bills itself as a blend of CF and SF. Not so. Nearly three quarters of the book are gone before you get any real taste of the Lateo Institutes mind erasing technology. Even with all that the book is still worth a read. Pick it up, especially if you're visiting the city this Summer. You'll find yourself wrapped in music of NY.

A Complicated Love for E.R. Frank's Dime

#wndb Dime by E.R. Frank is about a fourteen year old girl who falls into prostitution after being recruited by a pimp. She's quiet and loves books. She's smart, but doesn't do very well in school.

We're never told exactly what she looks like other than she's a young girl. The most overwhelming characteristic we learn is her crushing loneliness. Her foster mother is a bit of a drunk, mean, and using her as more of a helper for the younger foster children in the home. When the mother puts her out in the cold for some silly infraction an older girl invites her to stay with her and her boyfriend. Feeling like she's being saved the boyfriend dotes on her, buying her clothes and making sure she's fed and she's enamored. Starved for love it isn't long before things turn dark and then darker still.

It is simple. This novel needs to be read.

The psychological manipulation is spelled out so clearly that sometimes it feels as if you're reading a camp manual on how to avoid pimps in the wild. Sex is woven throughout almost every page, but it is never graphic.Told in a non-linear timeline we see the wreckage before the train wreck happens, so there is no hope that our main character will avoid the pain and suffering the reader sees coming. This book is not hopeful, it is raw. This book is real and its necessary. Girls who end up being trafficked are recruited in middle school, sometimes in elementary school. Their childhoods end early and society forgets them. Dime's story is the story of girls in our neighborhoods, in our kids classes and she deserves to have us care.

With that being said....

I am conflicted about recommending it for the Peach Book Award. It's a great book, yes, but with so little representations of black girls in YA, am I comfortable with the only one being that of a teenage sexual trafficking victim? Where are the funny contemporary fiction books with a black girl falling in love or out of love? There are some out there, but they are rarely given the hardcover big publisher push. Why isn't Stephanie Perry Moore as famous as Sarah Dessen? Where are the sci-fi epics with girls of color? They do exist, The Summer Prince is a great one, but they are few and far between. It's because representations are so few I am hesitant about putting this book in the hands of tons of white children across the state who have only the news (see Mckinney), YouTube fight videos, BET (see any 2Chainz video) and Blackish commercials to help them make an "accurate" of young black girlhood. What we don't want and cannot afford is for people to say "that's so sad" and then go an about their day. That is what has allowed the ghetto to become more dangerous than the Gaza strip in some cities. People begin to believe that the misery inflicted on certain peoples is deserved when it is seemingly endless. And what of black girls themselves? What does it do to a young reader waiting to see themselves and when you finally do it's as a slave in the endless parade of historical novels and American Girl dolls or as a prostitute?

What say you? Is no representation better than a single unfavorable one?

I Quit Book Club

I'm abandoning the Book Club. I know that must seem like a horrible thing for a librarian to say, but I've had it. I'm not doing it next year. At least not how I've done it in the past, and God knows I've adjusted it here and tweaked it there. There are some weirder than weird facts about the club in my school. And my school isn't super unique, all but two percent of my kids are Black (that 2% is Latino), 98% are economically disadvantaged and the rest are probably lying, we're nestled in the city's armpit, and most people underestimate the creativity and intelligence there (and that includes the kids).

Lets get to those facts. One, I have kids who devour books, they pick 'em up, three at a time for the weekend. Two, those kids usually don't join the book club. They read too fast for the other kids and leave them in their dust. Three, the kids don't have money for books. Books are given as special treats. Four, poor time management is an incurable plague. Five, apathy is more detrimental than the time management.

To alleviate these issues I would buy all the books, but that meant that sometimes I was unable to get the titles they wanted in the time they wanted. What started out great usually fizzled to a few hard core folks who just like the library by the end of the year.

It is a new day people! The traditional once-a-month, ladieswholunch type book club is back! There will be themed snacks and book related games and door prizes, but just once a month. Sometimes the old way is the right way.

What kinds of programs have you had to scrap and retool?

First Peach Arrival

Wahoo! We've got our first Peach shipment for the 2016-2017 list. As you may or may not know we review titles for inclusion in the Georgia Peach Book Award Nomination list from Summer until October. Any title published in the current year and the prior year are eligible. Hachette has been so kind as to send us a sampling of their lovely titles.

When a shipment comes in it is up to each member to review each title and choose those that seem the most promising and then add those to the selection list for further review. We meet in Spring for a smackdown where the nearly 100 titles are whittle down to just 20. Each member has their own tastes and style so we're all reviewing different titles and what appeals to one may not appeal to another.

As for this shipment two jumped out to me. Stitching Snow by RC Lewis, a futuristic tech punk Princess fantasy and Black Dove White Raven by Elizabeth Wein, a super-fantastic historical drama set in 1930's Ethiopia where a white female stunt pilot adopts her black friend's son and moves to the country to escape Jim Crow and the limits America wants to place on her blended family.

You want to read with me, don't you?

2016 Georgia Peach Consideration List

While I've been toiling away with my high school library responsibilities I've also started to compile a list of "to read" titles for next year's list of nominations for the Georgia Peach Book Award. BookRiot was so kind to publish a list of upcoming titles and there are a few that I'm so excited to read. Take a look at the list and add a few to your Summer Reading List.

As just one member of the committee I lean towards:

• Diverse Books
• Science Fiction
• Fantasy
• Dystopian
• Feminist Storylines

Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill (Quercus, May 12): Where women are created for the pleasure of men, beauty is the first duty of every girl. In Louise O’Neill’s world of Only Every Yours women are no longer born naturally, girls (called “eves”) are raised in Schools and trained in the arts of pleasing men until they come of age. Freida and Isabel are best friends. Now, aged sixteen and in their final year, they expect to be selected as companions–wives to powerful men. All they have to do is ensure they stay in the top ten beautiful girls in their year. The alternatives–life as a concubine, or a chastity (teaching endless generations of girls)–are too horrible to contemplate.
But as the intensity of final year takes hold, the pressure to be perfect mounts. Isabel starts to self-destruct, putting her beauty–her only asset–in peril. And then into this sealed female environment, the boys arrive, eager to choose a bride. Freida must fight for her future–even if it means betraying the only friend, the only love, she has ever known.

Evangelizing to Black Boys: School Library Edition

There is much written about the decline of readership among young people, especially  boys and most specifically, black boys. I won’t go into all the studies that pit this percentage against that percentage. It’s been done and frankly, it’s boring. We all know the issue, so what are we gonna do about it?
First, we have to change our approach. No matter how enticing you make your library or your programs, some kids just aren’t going to come. It requires effort on their end and expending that effort may come at a cost higher than they would like to pay. Books are free, but having to explain why you’re carrying around a book may cost you respect. In some neighborhoods, displaying interest in anything makes you stand out and standing out in any way can be very dangerous, socially and even physically. We have to make it easy and discreet, but above all we have to make it relevant.

Relevancy

One of the main complaints that reluctant readers spout is “Y’all don’t have anything I want to read”. We have to admit that a lot of times they are right. If you have gangs in your school you may not be catching too many fish with Harry Potter as bait. That isn’t to say that you should stop purchasing fantasy titles, but you may need to begin looking at the In the Margins booklist. They highlight titles that best appeal to incarcerated youth. This does not mean these titles have any less literary merit than other titles, just that they have a perspective that is often overlooked. Case in point, Buck by MK Asante. I did a booktalk to an all-male advisory class this week and they loved it. They wanted me to read more and at the end of the period it was checked out. Who says black and latino boys don’t read?

Guns, gangs, sex. I have books on them all, sometimes all three. Does it make you squeamish? Go live in the burbs then. I don't mean to be harsh, but you have to serve the students you have not the students you wish you had.

Make it easy

I’ve become convinced that the trek up to my third floor library is too much for some and that’s okay because I have rolling carts. Just like Shawshank Redemption I go to where the people are. I collect titles that will appeal to a group and then I visit them and check-out on the spot. I set up in the cafeteria and do check-outs there. I waive fees and ignore overdue accounts (until Senior year). I make it easy to browse and I do it often enough that it doesn’t feel odd.

Make it discreet

Now this is something I haven’t perfected. Maybe a front office pick up/drop off in a brown paper bag. I’m not sure. Hey, I don’t have all that answers.
Thoughts?

Conservative Like Me: Religious Teens and those who serve them

There is an article on the SLJ blog that speaks to the service needs of conservative teens, Serving Conservative Teens. When I saw the title it made me think about the zeitgeist that's pushing toward ever more inclusivity as evidenced by the #weneeddiversebooks campaign. The movement brings to mind books for kids of color, books for those who are not white, straight, middle class and able-bodied. In my mind and at a glance it's about getting away from Anne of Green Gables as much as possible. But that's not really inclusive is it? We've just swung the pendulum from right to left instead of snatching the beam down entirely and putting everyone on the same playing field.


Here's a bit from the article:

In the end, “conservative” seems accurate to describe my subject here: teens who prefers not to read about certain kinds of things—sex, drug use, and teens who are perceived as being bad influences—in their recreational reading. Other types of conservative voices might get themselves into trouble with libraries by demanding that books be removed from these public spaces due to religiously motivated concerns. My patrons, however, may not be asking you to remove anything. Rather, they might simply request that you include more titles from different perspectives.

I had to take a look at the books I like to read and the books that I choose for my library and my book talks. I've steered away from purchasing Christian fiction, which to some may seem odd because I am a Christian, but I felt that the library was a place to explore the world without limits on appropriate behavior. This may be wrong. What I should be doing is making sure that I include fiction from that perspective and from that of Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and other faiths. I'd erroneously taken the position that a democratic space is a completely secular space, but that's wrong. An equal space is that in which everyone is served and are free to make their own choices.

So as a librarian I have an obligation to my teens to provide access to books that push their buttons and make them look at the world with uncovered eyes like Push by Sapphire. But I must also make sure that once they've made a choice to fill their minds with stories that reflect a more traditional view of life like Stephanie Perry Moore's  A Love Like No Other, I have that also. The commitment is to the student, to trust that they can choose for themselves what life they would like to read. They CAN make that choice and we have to let them make it without fear that the choice that they make is the wrong one.

Thoughts?

Georgia Peach Book Award Nominations 2015-2016

They're in! We threw it down at the Throwdown yesterday and the books battled it out. More than 80 were recommended by the committee, but after intense deliberation only 20 stand. These are the best of the year's YA titles and include a diverse selection (I'm happy to say) or romance, contemporary fiction, sci-fi, fantasy and everything in between with characters that are Black, LGBT, Nuero-diverse and reflective of the kids who read actually read books from all walks of life. Check them out!

Say What You Will (Review) #diversebooks

Amy and Matthew have an unconventional relationship, and this goes beyond him being a little country and her being a little rock and roll. Amy has cerebral palsy and Matthew has a slight touch (well, more than a touch) of OCD, and then there's the little bit about Amy's Mom paying Matthew to hang out with her too. It's complicated. Complicated and sweet and heartbreaking and raw.

I feel like we don't often get to see into the lives of people with disabilities in media, and when we do it's through rose colored glasses. They are too often set up to be pitied or to be golden-hearted and sexless so that they are infantilized. Cammie McGovern doesn't do this. In her hands, Amy is witty and smart and full of questions and insight and desire for everything. Matthew isn't the knight in shining armor. He isn't the high school jock with a heart two sizes too big who doesn't care that Amy can't speak. While that would be okay it's not realistic. He's got his own issues and instead of him rescuing Amy they get to rescue each other.

While I won't give the plot away, I will say that sex, consent, growing up and growing out are all tucked beautifully into the pages of this amazing novel. Go pick it up!

Diversity During Award Season

It's award season! As a culture we'll ooh and aah over celebrities in gorgeous dresses and ghastly tuxedos as they climb the steps of polished stages to accept awards for Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Album and more. In the book world, there are a number of awesome awards out there too, though they get considerably less fan fare. For some, it's there favorite season for television watching.
But the tea (as they kids say) or scandal for you old folks is that this year's Academy Awards are the whitest awards in a very, very long time in terms of nominations.

What does this mean? Is it discrimination or something else?

I'm not sure, but it's highlighting a lack of diversity in the film world, a lack of good roles and a lack of recognition for the contributions of people of color. We can say the same for book awards, though there are a growing number of awards that target specific demographics I worry about the ghettoization of the award world where the Coretta Scott King award has to exist because otherwise there would be no recognition for books featuring kids of color, or worse no incentive for the publishing industry to produce these titles.

I think the publishing world suffers from the same malady as the Academy in that the voting body is not at all reflective of the viewing/reading body. As in the advertising world, the deciding figures are still older, male and white. Editors in the book industry tend to be young, female and white and the business is largely subjective. Those editors pick books that they like and speak to them. If there is to be real change in the industry then there has to be a change in who the gatekeepers are. Publishing houses are going to have to diversify their editors and agencies will have to do the same.

Publishers can:

• Look at HBCU's and public colleges that aren't Division I. Recruit from smaller liberal arts schools and see what those students have to offer.
• Offer "paid" internships over the Summer or for shorter periods of time. Non-paid internships ensures that you will receive students in a certain income bracket, and cuts yourself off from the perspectives of a large part of your reading body.
• Do short-term "open calls". I know it's a lot of work, but  agents will only pitch what they think you'll buy. 
• Fire all of your cover artists. You guys just really need to re-evaluate how you package books for YA. I mean, that's a post in itself.

Genrefying Your Library is Racist...Maybe

A lot has been said about the new direction of libraries. Whispers and shouts from all walks of the media have been decrying the death of our beloved repositories and many of us are scrambling to compete with the attention of young readers. The library has to compete with television, radio, the internet and social media, so the temptation is to make things easy. What could be easier than the bookstore format? Surely, millions of dollars have gone into corporate marketing studies to suss out the best way to get customers to find what they like and then buy it. Why not apply this golden knowledge to the library?

I'll tell you, good friend. Because it isn't a science. Book publishers pay a lot of money for premium placement in book displays and certain sections. They are the ones who identify the genre for the bookstore and place it on the back of the book. Suddenly, Jodi Piccoult's latest title goes from Contemporary Fiction to Chick-Lit. This wouldn't matter if certain sections/genres didn't have stereotypes and connotations associated with them.

Is Beloved by Toni Morrison classic literature or African-American fiction? One would have her shelved with Flannery O'Connor and Faulkner, the other would have her next to Eric Jerome Dickey and Zane.

When genre placement is left up to the librarian or bookstore owner the opportunity for book ghettos emerge. These make it easier for some people to narrow their search to only those books for gay people or black people or whomever people, but it also creates a barrier for those outside of these narrow markers. If I were to browse the fiction section I may pick up a book and stumble upon a great title that just happens to have a gay main character. With genrefied shelves I'd never stumble upon anything, I'd have to seek it out.

The Dewey Decimal System we all learned in elementary school may be boring, but it is the great equalizer-- democracy for information. Giving it up leaves far too many opportunities to marginalize, overshadow and subvert great books.

January is the Best Month of the Year

So, last year was pretty awesome. I pitched a book (didn't sell it), had a baby (totally, unexpected) and joined the committee for the Georgia Peach Book Award. It was a pretty good year, but this year will be even better. I love January, because it is an arbitrary reset button. I can reevaluate my life and get things back on track that have gone hopelessly off the rails, but I'm going to be better this year than last.I usually make a laundry list of resolutions that are hopelessly impossible to keep, but I think I've found a formula that works.

1. Write the resolution down. I like the app Wunderlist because I can keep my list with me and break it down into action steps. Which brings me to...
2. Break goals down into action steps.
3. Schedule it. I've designated days for certain things so I can make sure they happen.
4. Organize. Get a template, a schedule, a plan. Whatever it is you want to do, someone else has done it so don't reinvent the wheel.

So....here are a few of mine.

• Lose 20lbs (hey, it's vain, but I just had a baby)
• Audition for ACX (I've done it before and should do again)
• Launch a small business (I'll clue you guys in once it's ready

So, Lovelies, what's your resolution?