December Teen Scene Link Roundup

Happy New Year, everyone!

source

Today I am going to post my first teen scene link roundup.... where I post links to things like teens' opinions on books and stuff. These are all the posts I found in December that I think might help you! Keep in mind that most of these posts are opinion posts, so the opinions in each post might differ from teen to teen.

Update: I fixed all the links... a bunch of them were cut off before. Sorry about that!

Teen Opinions

Kate Coursey gives you a teen's perspective on swearing in YA.

Teen Riley Redgate gives you a teen's perspective on romance in YA.

Teenage book reviewer Rida gripes about the problems she's found in YA paranormal romance.

Teen author Steph Bowe on teenagerdom, friendship, and why loneliness is okay.

Canadian Yahong Chi shares her favourite kind of book endings.

YA Confidential interviews 4 teens at once. Here's part one and part two of that interview.

Teen Izzy G on embarassing book covers.

Teen Maggie on what she hates in books.

Teen Laura's biggest pet peeve in YA.

Teens' Favourite Books of 2011

Paper Hangover asked some teens what their favourite books of 2011 were and posted the results.

YA Confidential's best of 2011 from their teen spies, including favourite book, favourite YA relationships, and favourite characters.

Teen Lyla Lee's favourite books of 2011.

Teen Izzy G's favourite books of 2011.

Teen Becca C's favourite books of 2011.

YA Confidential gets their teen spies and analysts to talk about their favourite books of 2011.

I know it's kind of sparse right now, but I'm hoping you guys will help me and tell me some teens to follow, or if there's a blog/website that frequently has teen-related features. If you want more information about my teen scene link roundups, go here and if you have any other questions, just ask or e-mail me!

Interview with A Real Live Bookworm! (aka My Best Friend)

One thing I am fascinated by  is different people's reading habits. It's cool to see the very, very different kinds of books that people enjoy. So what I've been doing once in a while is interviewing some people I know about their reading habits. I started with my brother, and then I interviewed my dad, and now I'm going interview one of my close friends, Emily. If you would like to be interviewed about your reading habits (it doesn't matter if you read a lot or not) then go the "Contact" page above to e-mail me.

Okay, so some more about Emily before we start:

Emily is 17 years old, an avid reader, and a slightly avid writer. She lives with cats galore, piles of books in the hallway and lots of bruises from walking into things since she always has her nose in a book. Wait.... that’s from the picture book The Library... In real life, Emily is allergic to cats, has only two piles of book in her room, and still has lots of bruises from walking into things since she always has her nose in a book. She also loves to sing.

You can find Emily here at her book review blog.

Now to the questions!

What are your favourite kinds of books and why?

I guess that would have to be fiction that mimics real life, like in the Christy Miller series because it could happen. It’s like a fictional character in real life. Also things still based in real life but you know would never happen, like the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa where this girl finds out that she’s half fairy and her dad is king Oberon from a midsummer night’s dream. Percy Jackson as well -you know greek gods aren’t real but it’s still a fun series.

Male or female MCs [Main Characters]?
Actually I don’t have a preference, both are fun to read.

How do you go about picking books to read?
When I'm at home, I look for books I already read and loved and I read those.

When I go to the library, I pull random books off shelves, and then I go sit at a table and read the jackets and then leave the ones I don’t want on the table. I don’t like prejudicing myself by covers.

I also use book review sites sometimes: goodreads, teen readers book club (through our library), blogs... I use one blog a lot called Belle's Bookshelf. [I love that blog too! You guys should definitely check it out.]What makes you put down a book without finishing it?
Poor writing quality, idiotic characters (those characters that just ramble on and don’t shut up), a slow storyline (I had to put down War and Peace because it went so slow), too weird. I’ll only keep reading a book when I don’t enjoy it if a family member has given it to me.

What is your favourite book?
Can I pick like, 15? I guess it would have to be Make Way for Ducklings, because that was my favourite when I was younger. I love those little duckies!!

Does age of the MC matter to you?
Actually no. Most appealing to read would be middle grade, because honestly high schools in books do not match what my high school is like in the slightest.

What do you have to say about relationships in books? What kinds of relationships are your favourite, etc?

I’m... in one? Oh, in books! Haha... I don’t really care whether its friendship or romantic, but I don’t like it when the relationship between two characters takes away from the story. Is there a certain element of a book that would guarantee that you would read it?Something that will draw me to books is adventure. That’s why I like the Warriors, Percy Jackson and Iron Fey series. How long does it take you to read a book? How many books to you read in a week?On average, it takes me a day and a half to read a book considering I read during class all the time... in a week, on average three or four. I read incredibly fast! (Unfortunately then people don’t believe that I don’t absorb all the information... but I don’t scan the pages!) What makes you buy a book?
Either it’s part of a series I’ve already read, and the next book has come out OR it’s a book I’ve read before after borrowing from the library or a friend and I have to have it because I love it so much.

---


Thank you so much, Emily! If any of you guys have any more questions for Emily, I'm sure she'll answer them. Or if you guys want to answer any of the questions in the comments, feel free! Oh and don't forget to check out her blog.

Where To Find Teens On The Web

EDIT: This post was written two years ago, and if you've spent any amount of time on the internet lately, you probably know it's a machine that changes in a snap. Some of these bloggers and teens don't blog anymore, or don't have an online presence anymore, or they have just grown up and are no longer teens. So be aware of that when you're clicking through the links! If I have time sometime, I'll try to make an updated list. Thanks! ~Alyssa

Is it even called the Web anymore? Wow I am supposed to be totally on top of all these terms... ANYWAY. Today I have decided to put a thing together of where you can find teens on the Internet (only a few of them, and they are mostly writers!) as well as some good posts to give you an idea of what teens think about books.

TEENS

-Taryn Albright, 18-year-old writer, blogger, reviewer. She also has an editing service with Kate Coursey called Teen Eyes.
-Aleeza Rauf, 17-year-old fun writer, blogger and reviewer who currently lives in Pakistan. My interview with her here.
-Audrey, a Young Adult who reviews YA.
-Blue Lipstick Samurai, otherwise known as Glenna. 17-year-old writer and blogger.
-Brittany, 13-year-old writer and blogger (host of Teen Writers Summer Blogfest I particpated in with a bunch of other teens.)
-Riley Redgate, 17-year-old writer and blogger. I've really enjoyed her blog in the short time I've been following. (And she has a penname, like me! Except hers is awesome.)
-Kate Coursey, 18-year-old agented writer, has editing service with Taryn Albright (for link, see above!)
-Laura, college student, also particpated in Teen Writers Summer Blogfest.
-Madeline Bartos, spunky young teenager with lots to say to help you get in the mind of a teen.
-Matthew Dodwell, teenage writer from Australia.
-Brigid Gorry-Hines, 18-year-old cool person.
-Noveltee(n), group blog by teenaged writers.
-Emilia Plater, 18-year-old agented awesome person. She likes unicorns.
-Steph Bowe, teenage PUBLISHED author.
-Brittany Clarke, 17-year-old writer and blogger. And I did a guest post for her.
-The Golden Eagle, (another penname!), teenage Chinese-American writer and blogger.
-Through The Book Vine, a book review blog by a Canadian highschooler.
-Amanda, 18-year-old aspiring author.
-Twin Moment, a blog by two teenage girls, Lizzy and Constance.
-Romi, a younger Australian teenager who blogs and reviews. (And writes. I am starting to see a pattern...)
-WORD for Teens, the most awesome book review site ever run by a teen.
-Rachael, 18-year-old writer and blogger.
-Nick Hight, teenaged writer and blogger from New Zealand.
-Yahong Chi, 15-year-old (?) writer, reviewer, and blogger. And Canadian.
-Gabrielle, 18 year old writer and blogger.
-Mint Tea and A Good Book, a collaborative teen book review site.
(If you have any suggestions for teens to add, just comment!)

Yes, there's more of us than you thought, right? Haha.

I really want to make a point here. You may not know this, but there are obviously (see above) a lot of teens out there, reading blogs and websites of YA authors. We know what you say, and our (er, my) ears perk up when anything about teenagers is mentioned. It's fine to talk about teens on your websites and blogs, but one thing that isn't acceptable is not having respect for your audience. (See the link below to read the awesome post on respect by Kiersten White). If you say something degrading about teenagers, or young people in general on your blog, I almost guarantee you that there ARE teenagers that will read what you wrote. The Internet is not a safe place to be mean. (Um... though.... 1. You should never be mean and 2. That includes not being mean to everyone, not just teens). I'm sure all you awesome peoples out there probably know all this stuff, but just a gentle reminder that teens could very well be reading your stuff, and if that makes you tweak the things you say on your blog, then good. :)

Now here's some awesome posts about what teens think about books, etc:

In case you missed some, here are all of the answers to your questions! (And even though this project is over, still feel free to e-mail me whenever with any questions you have.)

This post is a post that YA Highway did awhile ago that includes a bunch of information and links on book review blogs run by teens!

A Thought for The Day, by Laura on what she thinks of saying things like "at such a young age" and "for a teenager".

Check out the blog series Madeline Bartos did called Straight From Your Audience Member.

Here's a post by 13-year-old Brittany on what she thinks of books being called "the next Harry Potter".

Aleeza Rauf has a rant about why series are waaay overdone (and I kind of agree with her).

Also check out ALL the posts on Brittany's blog from the Teen Writers Summer Blogfest that she hosted this July. (There are links in each of her posts to all the other participants' posts.)

Check out all the awesome teen interviews that Paper Hangover does.

Here's a post by Riley Redgate about high school humor.

And some of my posts... more on the "show-don't-tell" concept and how it's similar to puzzles, basically a summary of what I think of books (kind of in response to that awful WSJ article a few months ago), what my teenaged brother has to say about books, and why I think characters are important in books.

I also really, really want you to read this post on respect by not a teen but an amazing person anyway, Kiersten White.

And, last but not least... the completely crazy post that I did awhile on back that includes a list of authors who published books as teens (there's quite a few, actually), another list of writing teens who have blogs/websites and a list of writing magazines and websites that teens can submit work to. All with links, o' course.

(If you have any links to posts that teens wrote about their opinions of books and reading, etc, then please post the link in the comments and I'll add it!)

I hope I helped you guys learn a little bit more about your audience this past week. Have a great rest of the week! (And if you have any suggestions for links to add to anything, just comment!)

Oh, and I would also like to thank everyone who shared about my contest thing on their blog or twitter, as well as everyone who asked questions. So thank you so much! I will now proceed to disappear for a few days before returning to my regular (er... irregular) postings.

*Just a note: all the links on the words "Teen Writers Summer Blogfest" go to different places! So make sure you click on each one!

The Answers To Your Questions! Part 1

So a parachute has nothing to do with this post.
But it's pretty. So just enjoy it.
Source

So in case you didn't know, I asked for inquiries for teenagers from YA authors and writers. (The contest results are here if you entered). I received a whopping 11 questions! Sweet, thanks guys. Anyway, since I have about three (mostly two, since my brother's answers usually include one of three sentences) people answering each question, I am NOT going to include all the questions and answers in one post. Over the course of this week your questions will be answered, each post containing three or four questions. At the end of the week, I have a special post with some links that will hopefully help you get even further into the mind of your teenage audience.


Just remember when you're reading the answers that the views expressed are only the views of a few teens. Other teens might (probably) think differently. That being said, anyone else is free to answer the questions in the comments.


The answerers are Me (17), Friend (also 17) and sometimes Brother (15). (Although I can save you the trouble of reading my brother's answers right now. His answers are either I don't know, I don't care, or Whatever.)


On to the questions!


From Lynn:


Do you prefer edgy reads? (Edgy meaning dark, serious situations.)


Me: When I think about it, I don't usually read books like that. I am sure there are teens out there that find much comfort in books that deal with heavy issues, but I don't. I put down The Perks of Being A Wallflower because it was way too intense for me. However, sometimes I can stand those books. I once read this memoir of this woman who went through horrible, horrible stuff before giving her heart to the Lord. It was pretty amazing, and it dealt with some really tough issues.


Friend: To me, books with deep situations like that aren’t always the best books to read. Sometimes it is just too serious for me to take at that time. Usually I would put a book like that aside and read it a little bit at a time. Either that, or I would have an “edgy” read on the go, and have a fun read at the same time. A fun read meaning that it isn’t serious and just is funny and light. That way there is a mix of both edgy and light.


Bro: I don't know.


Does swearing (not overdone but enough to be realistic to a character) offend you?


Me: No, swearing does not offend me. My dad and I often have a discussion about how swears, really, are just words and it's how you use the word that makes it a swear. (But that is a long discussion that isn't really relevant). Anyway, sometimes a character swearing is quite effective. Although if I read a book with zero swears in it, I am never, ever thinking "the author could have added some swears", even if it was that kind of book.


Friend: I prefer that there is no swearing in a book. Especially the worse swears. “Small” swears like crap and such don’t bother me very much, because I find that all books seem to have those now. However, if I am looking at a book and it has too much swearing for me (even if too much to me means not that much to the author) I seriously consider not getting that book. I know that a lot of teenagers would have a different opinion on that though.


Bro: I don't know, no, it doesn't bug me.


From Kristin Bailey:


I want to know what teens think of authors who like to dress up for their own events in costumes, vampires, steampunk etc. Do you guys view it as fun, or silly?


Me: I have never been to an author event. I'm not quite sure what I would think of authors dressing up... it could be cool but it could also be really weird. I think it really depends on the author, and how well they can pull it off. Some people can pull off those kinds of things really well.


Friend: Hummm…. Kristin Bailey, you ask a great question. I have never gone to a book signing, or at least, not a book signing where I wanted to be there. (Having a family friend who is an author means going to their books signings, even if you really don’t want to.) I think that would be kinda cool to see though! That would show how in love with their books an author is, if they are willing to dress up goofily. One thing – I wouldn’t want it overdone. If it is overdone, I think it would just take away from the person themselves. Everybody would remember the costume, not necessarily what was said. [<--awesome point!] Those are my thoughts!

And that will be it for the day. Check back tomorrow for more answers to questions! And anyone else feel free to answer the questions.

WARNING: Contains Prizes And Chance To Explore Teenage Brains!

I am now going to take advantage of the only one of the many selling points us teenaged writer-bloggers have: that we are your audience! Well, if you are a writer of Young Adult books anyway. If not, then, well... it'll just be interesting for you to find out more about what other people think of reading!

So. I wanted to give you the opportunity to get inside a teen's head and find out what we look for in YA... basically anything you want to know about us (ahem, not ANYTHING but you know what I mean). So, who will this lucky teen be? ME, o' course. Although I will try to rope a few of my friends/siblings into answering questions as well in order to get a wider opinion. (Not that you couldn't just stereotype all teens with my answers because all teens are clones of each other  well that's a secret.)

Now in case you missed all that, I'll summarize: I want YOU to ask questions! Ask anything you want to know about teens, their reading habits, what we want to see in YA... whatever! (There are some examples of questions here!) I would like them to be good questions (not like "what's your favourite colour"), although they do not necessarily have to be reading or writing related. (Paper Hangover frequently does teen interviews and their questions are not always reading related, yet they are still useful!) Also, all you teens out there who read this note that... this time, you're not allowed to ask questions (well, you can, but they won't count for anything).

To ask a question, just think of a question, and then ask it either in the comments of THIS POST (the one you're reading) OR you can send me an e-mail at kazuntai101[at]gmail[dot]com. Put "Ask The Teens Question" in the subject line. After the deadline for questions, I (and my teen team) will answer them here on my blog... either in one post or multiple posts, depending on how many questions I get. Oh, and I will be accepting questions up until Friday, August 19th. New deadline! Monday, August 22.

BUT WAIT! There's more! Everybody who asks a question who will be entered into a draw to win one of THREE prizes!!

Prize package #1: $25.00 Amazon gift card and a critique (by all the teens who will be answering questions) of anything you want whether it be blurb, first page, etc (max 5 pages).

Prize package #2: The chance to either have you either a) interviewed by me and have the interview posted here on the blog or b) guest post here on my blog... as well as a critique of anything you want (max 5 pages) by the teen team.

Prize package #3: A critique of anything you want (max 5 pages) by my teen team.
*Note that all critiques are optional! (So if you want the gift card or interview but not the critiques, then that's OK!)

ONLY people who asks questions will be entered, and ONLY one entry per person UNLESS you share this on any of your socialnetworking sites and then post the links to where you shared below so I know you've shared... then I'll put in an extra entry for you. So that is max TWO entries... no extra entries for multiple questions (although you can ASK multiple questions, actually I'd love it if you did!) and no extra entries for sharing on multiple media sites (although that would be AWESOME if you did!!!!)

WAIT, TEENS AND NON-QUESTION ASKERS! You people will be entered into the draw as well if you share on your blog/twitter/tumblr/facebook/etc and post the link to where you shared in the comments below! (The same rules apply, though... no extra entries for multiple sites but DO IT ANYWAYS PLEASE!!)

(Jeepers there is way too much information in this post... did I miss anything yet?)

Another thing: if you want to ask a question, but you DON'T want to be entered in the draw then just let me know when you ask your question!!

So, even if you don't feel motivated by the chance to win one of the prizes above then it would still be completely awesome if you would spread the news around! Tell people to come here so they can find out everything they ever wanted about what teens think about books!! And please link back to this post, the one and only! (If you guys are awesome enough with this... maybe I'll hold another contest later... hmm...)

Thank you so much everyone!! If you have any questions at all, then first skim through the summary below and then if you are still confused, just ask!

---

I'm now going to summarize everything in list form in order for you not to be confused. But if you aren't confused, just skip this part!

ON QUESTIONING THE TEENS
-ask questions to real live teens about their interests, lives, reading habits, what they think of YA, whatever! Here are some examples.
-you CAN ask multiple questions! In fact, please do!
-ask questions by commenting on THIS VERY POST or e-mailing me with subject "Ask The Teens Question"! (kazuntai101[at]gmail[dot]com)
-all questions will be answered here on the blog after the question deadline
-ALL questions WILL BE ANSWERED. Guaranteed. (Note that it may take awhile though).
-question deadline is Monday, August 22. 
-teens are not allowed to ask questions (sorry!)

ON THE QUESTIONING DRAW
-everyone who asks a question will be entered in a draw to win 1 of 3 prizes (see what the prize packages are ABOVE!)
-Only people who ask questions OR share about this project (including a link to this post!) on any of their socialnetworking sites will be entered in the draw.
-Max two entries per person (one for questions, one for sharing).
-No extra entries for multiple sites or questions... but please do all of that anyway!!
-if you want to ask questions but NOT be entered in the draw, just let me know and you will not be entered!

Spread the word, please!

Ok... I think I didn't miss anything... PHEW!!

Teen Writers Summer Blogfest: Stuff to Know About Your Teen Readers

Hey everyone! I'm still in the beautiful not-too-hot city of Calgary (Alberta, Canada). We walked around the zoo today for four hours, and then we went to the opening ceremony for my brother's soccer tournament (which is the reason we're in Calgary). There is lots of cowboy hats everywhere, because of the stampede. Anyway, apparently in my last post I worded a sentence oddly and accidentally called everyone in my family junk food.

----

So today is the last day of the awesometastic Teen Writers blogfest hosted by Brittany who had the awesome idea in the first place. It's been super cool, and I've uh... met (?? well, I haven't met them but I've found lots of new blogs) lots of cool new bloggers. I also have quite a few more followers, so hi, followers! Say hi! I love comments and e-mails from people, so feel free to do that.

WELL. Today's day is Ask-the-Teens day, where YA writers, authors and bloggers ask us teens things about what we really think about reading. And I have to say, the questions the question-askers came up with are, well, really REALLY good questions. I can tell because as I was reading them the first time, I was already thinking up long, in-depth lengthy answers. :) Oh, and I've also tried to get some answers out of my brother for some of the questions, to get another teen's opinion.

From Jess:

1. Middle grade novels are defined as books for the 8-12 age range. Do teens still read middle grade fiction as they get older (for example, Harry Potter is an example of middle grade that's read by teens and adults) or are they naturally attracted to books with older themes and characters? Is it uncool to still read middle grade as you enter your teens?


I love YA, but I absolutely adore middle grade. For me, there is just something refreshing and fun about middle-grade. I also find the characters more interesting sometimes, more fun or quirky. And a quote from my brother: "Uh, I don't really pay attention to age." The thing is, every teen is different. There may be some teens out there that only read YA, but for me, I love reading a variety of different books about characters of a variety of different ages.
2. This is arguable, but it's been said that the teen years see a decrease in boy readership. Can you mention some books that you know male teenagers seem to be attracted to? Obviously, this depends on the reader, but are there books/themes that male teens connect to more than others?

I am a girl, so I personally can't answer this question but I can tell you some things about my brother (15 years old) and I also asked some of my guy friends on Facebook about their reading habits. ;) So, the summary:

My brother doesn't read often, but that is only because he doesn't pick out books for himself. When he gets a book handed to him, he will be enraptured with it until he finishes it. I think he would read more if he learned to pick out books on his own. (You can read more about my brother's reading habits here.) Anyway, my brother loves the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer (actually, so do I) and he also quite enjoyed the popular Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

My brother's best friend (also 15), says he doesn't read that often but he enjoys the Alex Rider series (I have never read these, but I've heard they're good!!) and The Hunger Games.

Another friend of mine says he is currently reading quite a bit (mostly to reread Harry Potter before it comes out), but he does try to read a book a week in the summer (especially if the book is part of a series). His favourite series: the Inheritance Cycle, Pendragon Adventures, The Nine Princes in Amber, Terra Incognita series and the Keys to the Kingdom series (I have never read any of these except for the Inheritance books).

So... apparently series are popular with guys?? Haha, because that's accurate with a three-guy survey.

Sometimes when I read books that are written for guys, I find that they are way more interesting than (certain) books written for girls.

3. So many books and book series are being turned into films for the teen audience. Are you satisfied with the movie versions that you've seen recently? Can you comment on a few, both good and bad?

The most recent films I've seen based on books are the Harry Potter movies. I have to say that they were very well done, and gave a reader of the books exactly what they might be looking for. Well, except for the sixth one. But especially with the seventh one (part one). That's kind of a boring answer though, because everyone's seen and read HP... I think some movie versions of books are done excellently, and some are done really poorly. The dilemma is being able to transfer a book onto screen while keeping the main ideas, and giving the readers what they want to see live. It's very hard, I think, to satisfy the readers. One of my cousins refuses to see any movies based on books (although I'm not sure whether that's all movies based on books, or just movies based on books she's read.) I'm not quite that extreme.

From Elizabeth:

I would like to know how you go about choosing a book to read. Is it the cover? The title? Word of mouth?

There are a lot of different ways I choose a book to read. One is blogs, o' course, if I read a review and it sounds interesting. I usually don't hear about books through word of mouth, because usually I'm the one recommending books. Though sometimes I do hear about books over and over and over (so obviously these are popular books), and then I figure I should check the book out. :)

But if I'm not going by book reviews, or recommendations...

When I'm walking through a library, I look for interesting titles first (because that's what you see when books are shelved). If the title is interesting, then I don't really take the cover into account (unless I saw the cover before the title). Then I read the blurb. If the blurb is interesting, or it has something that I can connect to (because my sister has Down Syndrome I am into books about characters with disabilities), then I'll put it in my book bag. But whether I actually read the book depends on the writing itself. I also tend to go back to books by authors I like. And I won't go back to authors I don't like. (So make your first book really good!! :D)

Sorry this post was so long, but I will blame the good questions!! :D