Interview with Cool Person Lali!

Today I am interviewing Lali, who was the second place winner of the draw I did awhile ago for my explore-a-teen's-brain contest thing. One of the second place prizes was either an interview or a guest post to be posted here on the blog, but I am excited to interview Lali anyway!

Lali is from Spain and she and I share lots of similarities (one of them being, of course, reading). She also likes to go to museums, hang out with her friends, and paint pictures. She also said that she bakes cakes and muffins like me, and suggests this website for some good recipes!

Lali also wanted me to encourage you to check out Steph Bowe's book, Girl Saves Boy as well as her blog, which you can find here. (I also love Steph Bowe's blog, though I have yet to read her book).
Now, on to the interview!

How old are you?

I'm 16 years old.

What are your favourite kinds of books to read?

I love all kinds of books, however now I'm very interested in philosophical books, like The Elegance of the Hedgehog and Sophie's World, I used to read novels about fantasy like Memorias de Idhun and one of my favourites books is Marina (carlos ruiz zafon the writer) and The Thirteenth Tale.

What makes you a hate a book? (bad writing, bad plot, annoying characters...?)

I'm very exigent with the books, however is just what you said that makes me hate a book.

Do you read any books that have originally been published in the U.S. or Canada?

Unfortunately in my country there aren't books or novels in English, if I read a book in English is because I borrow it from the library or cause my aunt buys it on Amazon, you know? I usually read tales and blogs in english, however I prefer books in Spanish if the writer is Spanish or in English just to improve my second language.

What is your favourite thing about living in Spain?

Well I think that the best thing of living in Spain is the temperature, always is sunny even in winter! However is cold too. The food, there are much kinds of menus and the fruit is very cheap. Other thing is that the party are so  popular, if you compare it to other countries. Other thing is that there are a lot of museums and old and pretty churches, it's an old country (it's in Europe hahaha) Finally I don't wanna to be vain, but I think that the people in Spain is nicer than in England for example, maybe it's because of the weather or something, but the most of the people is always happy.

What is your favourite place?

My favourite place is Madrid, My friend and I like the parks, for example The Retiro. And others parks of my village, we like the cinema, the pool, the shopping mall... many believe me!

What is one unique tradition your family has?

I don't know if it's unique, but my mother use to pray when we go on car.

Do you write? If so, what?

I used to write poetry, I won a local contest, and some tales but now I don't write anything except silly things for my friends, you know?

How did you get into painting? Have you ever illustrated anything?

And finally I paint since I was a child, I love painting since ever, but I've never illustrated anything, I would love to. If you write a book I can ilustrate it, ok¿? hahaha.

And I would like to share with you Lali's beautiful painting:

Isn't that amazing?? :) I hope you enjoyed the interview! And thank you so much, Lali!

Oh! And I've reached 50 followers. :O Thanks so much you guys!! :) You're awesome.

The Answers To Your Questions Part 4

Last two questions! From Abby.

How do you feel about your parents? Do they bug you or are you close? Are they nosy or do they give you your independence? What are your preferences when it comes to parent/teen relationships in books?

Me: Thanks you guys, asking all these questions about parents when my parents actually read my blog... haha. :) Just teasing you. But I guess that kind of gives you an idea of how close I am with my parents, since I let them read all this stuff. Anyway, my parents specifically are really great. They give me and my siblings the perfect amount of independence, and they really trust us with pretty much everything (that is probably partially our fault though). Of course sometimes they bug me... that happens with everyone, I think.... but overall my parents and I are close. I trust them and have discussions with them and talk with them a lot. Although I don't tell them everything, either. I share much more with my friends than my parents, but I'm pretty sure that's normal.

As far as parent/teen relationships in books... hm. I have to say that I have yet to read a book where I am like, "that parent/teen relationship was done brilliantly!" but it doesn't really matter that much, because usually a book has a much bigger focus than a parent/teen relationship, I think. I might not even notice if there was absolutely no parent/teen interaction in a YA book. Also, I find a lot of parent/teen relationships in YA are very stereotypical. Either the MC has some sort of problem with their parent (like one of their parents never notices them or something) or the MC is really annoyed with their parents. Since I have neither problem with my parents, I can't really relate. However (as I've said before) it doesn't really bug me that much if a) I can't relate and b) there's no parent/teen interaction. (Sorry, parents. :D)

E: How do I feel about my parents…. Well to tell you the truth I am not close to my Dad at all. My parents divorced when I was really young and my Dad has never really been there for me. My Mom on the other hand is awesome. We fight at times, and get on each others nerves but there isn’t a thing in the world that I love more than my Mom. She gives me a lot of independence, (aka pretty much lets me do what I want – within reason) and she doesn’t bug me about things that I don’t need to be bugged about (she bugs me about cleaning, cause I hate cleaning and never do it). When I read a book I want the relationship between teen and parents to be a good one, but have it realistic too. I mean, no parent is perfect and no relationship between a teen and a parent is perfect. If it is perfect in a book it ruins it slightly for me.

What about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll? How do you feel about it? Is it realistic, or does it offend?

Me: I'm not into any of that stuff, so when I read it in a book, it's basically like reading about a different world. Which is OK. But I find that it's nice that, even if a character isn't into that stuff or tempted by it, then it still occurs around the character. That's more realistic, to me. Yes, a lot of teenagers have sex, do drugs, etc. But a lot of them don't. Not every teen struggles with that kind of stuff. However we are aware it's around -I know there are people in my high school who do all that stuff. And actually, YA does a pretty good job of this. A lot of YA has sex and drugs in it, but a lot of it doesn't. Yay! :)

E: I don’t think that sex, drugs, or “rock n’ roll” help the story. I realise that a lot more teenagers now take drugs and have sex at younger ages, but I don’t and won’t. I don’t like having all of that in books, it ruins the book for me.

Thank you everyone for asking questions! And even though these are the last questions, COME BACK TOMORROW! I have a really awesome post that will help you guys get even further into the minds of teens (I hope). Anyway, "see" you tomorrow! (Right???)

Oh, also, feel free to answer the questions yourself in the comment. And I have a question: What's the best (as in most realistic) parent/teen relationship that you've read in a YA book? What makes it so special, in your opinion?

The Answers To Your Questions Part 3

Hey guys, sorry I didn't get any questions up yesterday... I was super busy. Anyway, here they are.


From Melody K:

What is a common thing that most teens dislike about their parents?

Me: I think that my parents specifically are pretty great (and also they read this :D), but as far as something that most teens probably dislike about their parents... well I'm just going to take an educated guess. When you're a teen, you're older and therefore have more responsibility, etc. You can now go out and do things you couldn't before when you were younger and your mom walked you to school. I think a lot of teens really value that independence and maybe want more independence than they can get at the moment (even if maybe it's not what they need). Parents get in the way of that independence.

E: (Can I answer this… who knows, my Mom might read it. Just kidding.) The main thing that I would think teens find annoying about their parents are their parents telling them what to do. I mean, who likes that? I know that my Mom will annoy me when she keeps telling me thing after thing to do, and I would guess that others feel the same way.

Bro: I don't know. (Although he was disappointed that my dad didn't want to juggle a soccer ball with him...)

From Jenny:

What 1 movie or TV show do you feel represents or resembles your high school well?

Me: Honestly? Absolutely none. I don't know if American high schools are a lot different than Canadian high schools or something but.... yeah. In all movies and TV shows I've watched, the high schools in them don't really come close to resembling my high school. (At least, overall. There's always a few things that are similar. Like, my school has students too. :D)

E: First off, I don’t know what high schools are like in the United States, but I doubt that they are like the ones in movies. There is only one movie that I felt portrayed high school well. There were still some things that were off, but for the most part it was good. This movie was To Save a Life. Basically it is about a young guy who’s previous best friend kills himself at school. That is the main thing that isn’t the same. We have never actually had someone do that at my school. However, all the tough things that happen, and the drugs and smoking that go on during the school day are similar. I do not smoke or do drugs, but there are people at my school who do. I hate that fact, but it is true. So that is pretty much the only movie that I feel properly represents a typical high school situation.

Bro: None.


Who are your heroes?

Mattie Stepanek!

Me: One of my heroes is definitely Robin Jones Gunn, who is a Christian author of some books that I adore. Another one of my heroes is Mattie Stepanek. He died when he was 14, but he was amazing. He had muscular dystrophy but let me tell you that did not stop him from just doing everything he could to help the world. I encourage you to look up his poems, especially one called "I Am".

E:  My heros…. Hum. In writing, my main hero is Robin Jones Gunn, because she changed my life forever. In real life, however, a few of my heroes are Martin Luther King Jr. because he was amazing. Another hero of mine is Bethany Hamilton. I recently did a lot of research on her because her movie, Soul Surfer, caught my attention. The fact that she went through what she did and not once did she get depressed (Anna Sopia Robb acted sadder in the movie,  but in real life, Bethany was always positive) it just lifted my sprits 200%. Heroes to me are not people like Superman who save the day. A true hero is someone who quietly does what needs to be done, not needing to always be über noticed.

Bro: I don't know.

 When you read a story, what character trait do you usually identify with most?

Me: I don't usually identify with certain traits to tell you the truth. I'm not very talkative and kind of shy (yes I come off quite differently online) but I don't really identify with the kind of shyer, I guess what you would call "geekier" characters. I'm not sure why, maybe it's because a lot of the time those characters feel really, really sorry for themselves or all they want to do is be popular. I'm not really like that. But I also identify with certain things that are the same about characters -not really traits, specifically, but things like a character being Canadian, or having a sibling with a disability (because I'm Canadian, and my sister has Down Syndrome). Sometimes I will pick up a book solely on the basis that it's Canadian or there is a character in the book with a disability. Not so much if there's a shy character though, because I think they're kind of boring and very overdone.

E: Character trait… that is interesting. I would have to say that the character trait(s) I most identify with is honesty and purity. I am not saying that I am always honest. (I try but don’t always (or sometimes, often) succeed) I enjoy characters who are honest and pure because it makes me feel all mushy inside and just makes me feel happy. Like once I hit Robin Jones Gunn’s the College Years, Christy was not as annoying (hate to say it, but sometimes she got on my nerves with her naivete :D) and her way of dealing with everything with honesty and integrity really warms my heart. It makes me sad that there aren’t more books like that.

Bro: I don't know. (Me (suggesting character traits): Being shy? Bro: I don't know. Me: Being not talkative? Bro: I don't know. Me: Saying I don't know to everything? Bro: I don't know.)

The last few will hopefully be up tomorrow, and then I have a special post prepared for Monday! Have a good rest of the weekend, everyone.

The Answers To Your Questions Part 2

So for some reason, the file that I saved all of the questions in I named "awesometastic atk [ask the teens] questions". Yeah, I have no idea why I thought there was a "k" in "teens". It's a mystery....

Oh and I've decided to personalize Friend. She is now E. (And she is a real person, by the way. She's one of my best friends and I am very grateful that she did this for me!)

Anyway, on to today's questions:

From Stephanie, PQW:

Are teens put off by a protagonist that is younger than themselves?

Me: Nope! I frequently read middle grade and I love it. Character ages honestly don't matter to me at all, especially if they're younger. I think a big part of this is, because I'm a really weird, odd person, then I don't go through the same things that other kids, middleschoolers, or teenagers go through. Lots of situations that are presented in YA are completely foreign to me. But I still like those books because they introduce me to a new world that's a place I can discover and have fun in while I'm reading. It doesn't bug me all that much if I can't relate one hundred percent to characters or books. I don't think anyone can relate one hundred percent to a book anyway, unless they wrote it (though even then...)

E: I LOVE it when the protagonist is younger (or same age) as me. If they are younger especially, I can relate what is going on. When a protagonist is older, sometimes the things they do don’t make sense because I have not experienced that time of life yet. When the protagonist is younger that makes it more fun to read because you can chuckle at mistakes that they make, and sometimes even go “Hey! I did that too!” which is a really cool sensation.


Bro: I'm pretty sure when I asked him this question he said, "What's a protagonist?" but besides that, I don't think he cares.

From Wub2Write:

Are teens turned off by dated slang in their novels? Does it distract the reader?

Me: First of all, the person that asked this question said it is cool that I said "jeepers" and I think that is awesome. :) Yes, it is true that I often use quite old-fashioned sayings like "jeepers" or "oh my goodness". However, sometimes, yes, dated slang does take me out of the novel. A character might say some weird phrase and I'll be like, "what? Teenagers don't say that." Unless the character is the kind of person that likes to make up funny sayings or use old-fashioned sayings (or there is some other reason for it), then I think that dated slang sounds weird.

E: Dated slang. Quite honestly when I read that I read it as “dating” slang. I was thinking words like babe, and honey and such. Very confusing. I get it now! :D I don’t think that dated slang is at all turn off-ish. In fact, sometimes the words that I read in novels I pick up and start using it myself! I think that it makes a book better because if it is all the same slang that is being used now and at my school it would seem too much like real life. For myself, rather than dated slang distracting me, it pulls me into a book, lets me absorb it, because I am not distracted by thinking that “That sounds like Jordyn! And that sounds like Randy!” and so on and so forth.

I know that's only two and I promised 3-4 per day, but I'll get more to you tomorrow, okay? And don't forget to feel free to answer the questions yourself!

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.

Quick Note About Explore-A-Teen's Brain Contest

If you don't know what the Explore-A-Teen's-Brain Contest is yet, go HERE. I've gotten a bunch more questions for teens, and I'm hoping that I'll get a couple more soon... so I am NOT closing the contest or questions yet. I'm extending the deadline to Monday, August 22, 2011. I might extend it even more later, but it depends.

AUGH that was so boring. I hate info dump posts.

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND!!!

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!!