Writing about reading, Emily Wenstrom’s role at Book Riot, “put[s] a little pressure on an activity that used to be pure leisure. So she says in her article “What Writing about Reading Does to Your Reading.” Oh, Emily, I hear you! Not that I write about reading for my living. Instead, it is a self-assumed burden I willingly embrace to keep me current and creative in the world of young adult literacy.
It’s mid-month and time to write my next script for Shelf Life. The mantle lies heavy even though my husband encourages, “You’re a pro at this now. Just do what you’ve done before; count on your track record.” Oh, I wish I were that kind of writer. Every next time conjures the doubts of the first time, success disappearing like a puff of smoke on a strong breeze.
Like Emily, I too try to read across genres, plunging myself into story worlds that intrinsically hold little allure for me. It has led to great discoveries though like Tillie Walden’s graphic novel On a Sunbeam and Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. Full disclosure: if I were reading only for myself, I’d eschew fantasy forever, but the genre appeals heart-and-soul to so many teen readers! I have discovered the joys of pushing myself beyond my “comfort zone” and redrawing those boundaries, all good.
I have tried to theme each month’s offerings, but that’s falling apart. I’d started March thinking “mystery,” and I guess I can market this month’s six titles that way, but it’s a stretch. I love these books though, and I’m keeping them. Each one features incredibly strong, smart young women, and in this month celebrating INTERNATIONAL WOMEN maybe I could highlight that. Then I realize, with a bit of a guilty pang, that almost ALL the books I feature depict strong, smart young women….Maybe that’s the truth: smart, strong young women have become the heroes of their stories! That’s MY truth, anyway, and I’m sticking to it!
I’ll link to this edition of Shelf Life when it’s “in the can,” hopefully by next weekend. In the meantime, if you want to read a great book that herald’s TODAY’S (and maybe FOREVER’S) TRUTH, check out one of these:
Jump off; Find Wings 
I think there has been a turn around in books written for young adults. So many more with strong women as the central character. It’s funny how others see the strength in us that we ourselves don’t see.