Are you jealous? You should be. We had a great time. And - all the teens got free signed copies of So Yesterday, thanks to the One Book NJ Committee. Scott was VERY cool if I do say so myself. Or should I say, MAD cool? Mad Cool, in what way, you might ask? Well, for me, cool is smart and funny and thoughtful. I thought he was all those things even before I saw him speak. I had already gotten that impression from reading his books. Peeps was my personal favorite, although I am looking forward to re-reading So Yesterday. So Yesterday, is the One Book New Jersey Teen Book this year. (I'll get back to Scott's visit, but first let me give you a little bit on One Book NJ).
Each year the One Book NJ Committee, along with young adult librarians from around the state, choose a book that is "a great read" and one that will spark some worthwhile discussion. This was "One Book" worthy on all counts. In So Yesterday, Westerfeld mixes mystery, pop culture and humor to explore the theme of consumerism. How do new trends become the new trend? It begs the question of you - would you be an Innovator, a Trendsetter, an Early Adopter, a Consumer or a Laggard? If you have a dictionary you could work out what they all mean, but why not read the book and meet some of the characters who fit the terms?! It's fast-paced, takes place in New York and "everyone" is reading it. Come on, be a Consumer on this one! We'll be discussing it at our May Teem Book club and I'll try to come up with some fun games and activities to go with the theme. Actually, I'll probably steal an idea or 2 from some Innovators...don't tell.Back to Scott.... Rebecca, Adam, Natasha, Sophia and I took a road trip to Elizabeth Public Library. Here they are getting their free copies of So Yesterday signed by Scott Westerfeld. Sophia is writing an arti
cle about the trip for our magazine, Expresso, so I'll let you read more about the trip in our next issue. I will tell you that Scott read to us from So Yesterday and we got some inside scoop about the book he is currently working on, a fourth in his Uglies series! He also brought his wife with him, Justine Larbalestier. She is also an author and is writing the popular young adult trilogy, Magic or Madness. We have the first 2 books Magic or Madness and Magic Lessons and the third and final book, Magic's Child, will be released on March 24th. Come in and check them out!Scott's advice to young writers is to read, read, read and practice, practice, practice your craft. He also said pay attention when someone is telling a story. We all have friends who can tell a really good story - what is it about it that works? How about those annoying frien
ds who absolutely can't tell a good story - what doesn't work for them? Another thing he likes to do is when he gets halfway through a book - he thinks about how he would finish it, or considers different scenarios than the author chose. It's all about practicing your story telling. You can tell he enjoys what he does and we are fortunate to be able to enjoy what he does as well!We will have other opportunities to see authors and I will keep you posted you can be sure. Who would you love to see? Let me know and I'll see what I can do!
(Scott Westerfield also has a blog. Click here to see it)
Did mention we had pizza?
