The Other Views: Love Triangles in YA

http://karenmkrueger.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/in-love-with-love-triangles/

"After all, why have one boy when you can have two?"



http://sueysbooks.blogspot.com/2009/09/on-love-triangles.html

Fun list of the top ten YA love triangles of all time.



http://www.tor.com/blogs/2010/04/bizarre-love-triangles

A student comes one day with a "Team Jacob" water bottle and the next day with a "Team Edward" shirt...


http://www.loveromancepassion.com/the-1-reason-women-love-triangles-in-romance/

The #1 reason women love triangles in romance. I think that says it all.


http://www.persnicketysnark.com/2010/05/love-triangle-are-we-gender-biased.html

"We want the protagonist to choose the right guy...for her. Sometimes we get confused and like the right guy...for us."

The Other View: Mystery and Horror in YA

Here's what other people are saying about mystery and horror in YA:

Monster Librarian:
http://www.monsterlibrarian.com/horrorfictionlistya.htm

I think this might be my new favorite website. Fantastic reviews of all that's new and scary in young adult literature, as well as mentioning content.

Familial Dysfunction in Young Adult Horror Fiction:
http://www.ils.unc.edu/MSpapers/3127.pdf
Here's my true geek coming through...I actually think this is fascinating! A study in how young adult horror novels almost always have a dysfunctional family, and resolving the family issues is the real resolution of the novel.

So You Want to be a Horror Writer?:
http://www.darkecho.com/darkecho/horroronline/wannabe.html

This is someone who completely disagrees with me, and thinks that selling a horror novel (especially if it's your first) has astronomical odds. Still, of all the horror novels sold in the year she refers to 21% were young adult...and I just think that number will keep rising.

Horror for Readers:
http://www.conknet.com/~fullerlibrary/ReadersAdvisory/Horror%20Kathleen%20Sipling.htm

Gives great definitions and examples of horror and its subgenres.

A New Era of Gothic Horror:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6600683.html

Great article from 2008 that agrees with me...horror's coming back.

Mystery Genre Study:
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6600683.html

A series of questions to ask yourself about your mystery novel.

Writing Young Adult Mysteries:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/114390/writing_young_adult_mysteries.html

Quote: Young adult mysteries are often better-written, more exciting and more unique than adult mysteries.
Darn right they are!

The Edgars:
http://www.theedgars.com/

And of course, the award every mystery writer wants to win, the Edgar Allan Poe award.

The Other Views: Boys Reading YA

Now you’ve heard my opinion…want to know what other people are saying about boys reading? Here’s a few links.

When did YA books become YAwns for Boys?
http://bostonbookbums.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/when-did-ya-books-become-yawns-for-boys/
Great article about how publishers are only publishing teen books for girls.

Guys Read by Jon Scieszka
http://us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yreaders/guysread/index.html
A site put together by Jon Scieszka, tackling this issue head-on. However, on the recommend list, there are very few books for teens.

Boys and Reading: Tips for Making Reading “Boy-Friendly”
http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2009/08/boys-and-reading-tips-for-making-reading-%E2%80%9Cboy-friendly%E2%80%9D.html
Even though this is more for younger boys, it still has useful tips (boys are visual learners, that’s why they like comics and manga…I never thought of that.)

Reading is for the boys (and girls)!
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/676
An in-depth, scientific look at why boys don’t read, and what teachers can do about it.

YA Novels Teen Boys Will Like
http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/resource/readlist/favya1.html
A look at some lesser-known titles that boys would read if they just knew about them from the Children’s Literature Network.

Library Thing: Do boys read?
http://www.librarything.com/topic/45803
If you want to join in a discussion about boys reading, here’s a good one.

Changing the Cover of YA books for Boys
http://tabwriter.blogspot.com/2010/03/changing-cover-of-ya-books-for-boys.html
A post about how boys won’t pick up covers with girls on them…Thank goodness they didn’t put Katniss on the front of Hunger Games, huh?

Keep Boys Reading
http://ink-spells.blogspot.com/2009/12/keep-boys-reading.html
This has an excellent list, reading levels included, for boys (though again, mostly for the middle grade group.)

Gender and Reading Habits Part One: Let’s Hear it For the Boys
http://www.comixology.com/articles/41/Gender-and-Reading-Habits-Part-One-Lets-Hear-it-for-the-Boys
Fascinating article comparing boys and YA with girls and comic books: boys don't read YA books, so YA books aren't created for them; girls don't read comics, so comics aren't created for them.

What Is It With YA Book Covers?
http://www.liakeyes.com/?p=1880
Another blog post bringing up the fact that no boys would be caught dead buying the girly covers seen on most teen books.

Thanks for participating in the discussion this week! Let me know if there are any great articles that I missed!