Ten writers for children. All with something to say.

9/6/10

And we're back...







Summer is over. My oldest graduated from high school, my youngest is already into Week #2 of her junior year of high school, and, to punctuate the fact that autumn is upon us, the first high school football game was last Friday. (We won 46-6.)



Sadly, I was not productive over the summer. I'm awaiting revision notes on one novel, but I did write a synopsis of what I hope will be the next one. A big highlight of the summer was when Good Morning America featured The Gardener on the segment "Best Summer Books for Kids." One thing I did a lot of this summer was read. I read a lot of YA, but I also read a lot of grown-up books. Some of my favorites were:








Sena Jeter Naslund is the director of the brief residency MFA program at Spalding University, where I got my MFA. If you haven't read her previous novels, like Ahab's Wife or Four Spirits, you are missing out. This is her latest and it was amazing.





Bartholomew Fortuno is the thinnest man in the world, on display at a museum of living oddities in New York City in the early 1900's. Do I really need to tell you more?












Birthmarked, Fever Crumb, and I Am Number Four are all recent YA novels. They all kept me riveted.






The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith is a YA forthcoming in November from Feiwel and Friends. I begged them for an ARC a few months ago. Glad I did, because this book rocked. It's as close to Stephen King writing for teens as it gets.




The Passage. What can I say that you haven't already heard? I know this book is everywhere but the hype is true. I loved this book and can't wait to read the follow-ups.


These are really just a few of the books I read, because I think I read close to 30 novels this summer. And my hands-down favorite? Drum roll please.................





The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise takes place at the Tower of London, and is the story of one of the Beefeaters who works and lives there. I fell in love with this book. There were parts where I laughed out loud, and I wept at the end. Loved loved loved this book.

So what did you read this summer?

8 comments:

Andrew Smith said...

Hey! Thank you for that! Made my day!

Stephanie said...

Well good,always nice to make someone's day:)

Edie Hemingway said...

Stephanie,
It's good to have One Potato...Ten back again! And, if you haven't been busy writing this summer, you've certainly been busy reading. Thanks for this great list.

Christy said...

What a big summer and even bigger fall, with your graduate/new college student. Congrats!

Thanks for the great reading list. Reading counts as being productive--recharging your batteries.

David LaRochelle said...

I second what Christy said. Reading DOES count as being productive. Sometimes I feel guilty when I take time to read, but then I need to remind myself of what I tell students: reading is one of the best ways to improve your writing. I'm looking forward to hearing the check in from other Potatoes.

Stephanie said...

I always tell myself that reading is part of my work. I mean, I always tell kids at school visits that they can't be a writer without being a reader first...

Lauren said...

Reading is a major part of being a writer... and actually, I think it is a major part of being a human being and living a rich life-- and what a rich summer you have had Stephanie!
Congratulations on the transition of your oldest daughter- where is she now? Being in the same boat, I know what a meaningful summer this has been.

Mark said...

Congratulations on making it through a graduation!! Great list, too. I've been a Philip Reeve fan for years, though I have yet to read Fever Crumb.