One of the things we often hear is that kids don’t read. We’ve seen the studies. But we have a hard time believing them when we meet teen readers in the flesh. They’re smart, passionate, and engaged, and they’re Reason No. 1 that Virginia librarians and authors thought it was important to put on this event. Words from Madelyn Rosenberg
A little history:
Teen ’13 started with
RVA’s own A.B. Westrick and Meg Medina, who both had brand new books come out
last year -- brand new award-winning books
– though they didn't know that when they planned the event, which was a chance
to get Virginia authors together with Virginia readers. The event was hugely
successful. It generated a feeling of community in the very best sense of the
word. There were warm fuzzies in abundance.
So we decided to do it
all over again, with a fresh crop of authors, showing that Virginia grows
readers and writers along with its apples, tobacco and peanuts. Some of the
authors will repeat from last year. Most will be new, ready to talk about their
latest books and ready to talk to lovers of teen literature at the Richmond
Main Library.
Alexis O’Neil, an author
and school-visit expert in California, is currently conducting a study on the
effect meeting authors can have on school-age kids. Though her study is still
in progress, she says it’s clear that a visit with an author can change
attitudes and lives. At the least, she says, it encourages kids to revisit
their own writing with fresh eyes.
But if you’re looking for more reasons to come to
Teen '14, try these:
- Kids like to see
themselves in literature. A number of the authors have stories set in Virginia,
so Teen ’14 also gives kids a chance to see different takes on their state.
- It encourages readers
to Read Local.
- It brings attention to
the programming efforts of local libraries.
- It supports one of
Richmond’s local indy bookstores.
- It supports Richmond’s
local indy writers.
- There will be door
prizes.
- There will be music.
- There will be food.
- It’s free!
The Teen '14 Authors
Author: Kwame Alexander
Author: Gigi Amateau
Author: Vanessa Barger
Author: Cece Bell
Author: Anne Blankman
Author: Martina Boone
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Author: Mary Crockett
Author: Jen Swann Downey
Author: L.M. Elliott
Author: Alison Hart
Author: Meg Medina
Author: Madelyn Rosenberg
SWAY is an antihero comedy about what
happens when high-school senior, Jesse Alderman, who claims to have no
feelings, meets a few people who force him to feel all kinds of things.
Author: Tammar Stein
Author: Tiffany Trent
In THE TINKER KING, the follow-up to the award-winning novel THE UNNATURALISTS, Vespa Nyx and her friends must face the consequences of their actions in freeing New London from the chains of steampunk sorcery, but the price may be greater than any of them are willing to pay.
The Teen '14 Authors
Author: Kwame Alexander
THE CROSOVER is a coming-of-age verse novel about twin
basketball-playing brothers whose devotion to their family and the pursuit of a
championship is disrupted when one brother gets a girlfriend.
Author: Gigi Amateau
Based on true events, COME AUGUST,
COME FREEDOM illuminates a little known corner of American history as it honors
the extraordinary will of one man.
Author: Vanessa Barger
In A WHISPERED DARKNESS, as the nights grow
longer and the shadows take on substance in her new home, Claire Mallory will
have to decide if she is strong enough to fight off the evil spirits, or let
them claim her as one of their own.
Author: Cece Bell
Sudden hearing loss, an enormous
hearing aid, an adorable crush, mysterious bathroom noises, and the quest for a
True Friend—EL DEAFO totally needs her superpowers in this debut graphic
novel by children's book author and illustrator Cece Bell
Author: Anne Blankman
In PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG it is
1931 Munich when the honorary niece of rising politician Adolf Hitler meets a
fearless Jewish reporter who believes that her father was murdered by their
closest family friends, members of the Nazi elite.
Author: Martina Boone
Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old
feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie Watson must find a way to
break free of the family legacy in COMPULSION.
Barrie Watson finds a new kind of prison at
her aunt's South Carolina plantation instead--a prison guarded by an ancient
spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island
and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.
Author: Mary Crockett
Annabelle Manning is thrilled when her DREAM BOY walks into
her chemistry class, until she learns that when dreams come true, so do nightmares.
Author: Jen Swann Downey
Twelve-year-old Dorothea
Barnes can hold her own in any fake Renaissance Faire sword-fight, but she
despairs of ever finding something more important to do with her sword. Then
she stumbles into Petrarch's Library, the sprawling headquarters of a secret
society of NINJA LIBRARIANS.
Author: L.M. Elliott
ACROSS A
WAR-TOSSED SEA chronicles the challenges
facing two London boys who escape Hitler's Blitz bombings, cross a U-boat
infested Atlantic Ocean, and find refuge in Tidewater Virginia with the farming
family of Patsy Ratcliff, the home-town girlfriend of Henry Forester of Under
a War-torn Sky.
Author: Alison Hart
Dogs plus history equals thrilling adventures in
this series, which includes Darling: Mercy Dog of World War 1, and Murphy: Gold
Rush Dog.
Author: Meg Medina
When Piddy Sanchez gets to her new
high school, she's targeted by the school's most vicious bully, Yaqui Delgado.
Whom can Piddy trust, and how can she stand her ground and survive?
Author: Erica Orloff
In Orloff’s IN DREAMS, Iris discovers her
father is actually the god of dreams and her nightmares and dreams follow her
into reality, with both frightening and romantic results.
Author: Madelyn Rosenberg
NANNY X is the story of a special agent nanny, her three
young charges -- four, if you count the dog – a naïve mayor, and a slick mogul
who cannot be trusted.
Author: Kat Spears
SWAY is an antihero comedy about what
happens when high-school senior, Jesse Alderman, who claims to have no
feelings, meets a few people who force him to feel all kinds of things.Author: Tammar Stein
SPOILS is the story of the Kohn
family who won the lottery only to lose what matters most. Their youngest
daughter, Leni, must now fight to save her family. Romance, mystery and
mysticism are woven in a satisfying tale.
Author: Tiffany TrentIn THE TINKER KING, the follow-up to the award-winning novel THE UNNATURALISTS, Vespa Nyx and her friends must face the consequences of their actions in freeing New London from the chains of steampunk sorcery, but the price may be greater than any of them are willing to pay.
Our Teen '14 Celebration is October 16 from 6:00 -8:30 pm.
And for those crafty teens out there, join us on October 14 at 3 pm as we re-purpose old library books to make book lanterns. The books that are made will be placed on display for Teen '14.
We hope you’ll come!
