Event Report: The Greater Houston Teen Book Convention

This past Saturday, April 11, the annual Greater Houston Teen Book Con was held at Alief Taylor High School, sponsored by the Alief Education Foundation, Blue Willow Bookshop, Follet Library Resources, Mackin Educational Resources, Escue & Associates, and more.

One thing I thought this book convention did especially well was their selection of authors.  There was a nice mix of big names, steadily working authors, and newbies.  Debut author Henry Turner's ASK THE DARK even came out the week of the event.  There was also a diverse mix of authors, which is particularly important in Houston, currently the most diverse city in the US.  Our students need to see that someone like them can have a career as an author.  As Ally Carter said in "The Secrets That Bind Us" panel, just knowing S.E. Hinton was a teen girl from Oklahoma opened her mind to the possibility of writing professionally, and every kid deserves that.  The diverse authors included Jason Rynolds, Aisha Saeed (Vice President of We Need Diverse Books), Lydia Kang, David Levithan, Guadalupe Garcia McCall, and Jen Wang.

I noticed a few areas for improvement.  One of the panels I attended was crowded and another was extremely crowded.  I like the idea of teens getting to see as many authors as possible, but I think more smaller panels would help spread people out.  Most of the panels included five authors.  Another was that they stopped selling refreshments before the closing speech, at which point the event was supposed to go on for another two hours.  I know I wanted to buy a bottle of water and just used the vending machines instead.  I think many people could've still used a drink and a small snack at that point.  I do give the event props for having multiple food trucks during the lunch hours.  That was delicious.

I was a little late getting to the event because I had trouble finding Alief Taylor High School.  (David Levithan assured me that his escort got lost on the way too.)  The first panel I attended was "The Secrets That Bind Us" with Ally Carter, Henry Turner (who has the voice of a late-night DJ), Lindsay Cummings, and Justine Larbalestier.  They briefly introduced their books and then launched into a Q&A.  I was particularly interested in Cummings' story - she was bedridden for three years and did little other than read and write.  She wrote THE MURDER COMPLEX when she was eighteen because MOCKINGJAY made her so angry.  (I read it for this year's Cybils; it's a good book.)  They had a variety of opinions on plot twists.  Turner works his out in revision; Carter likes them best if they surprise even her; and Cummings plans them first because they're her favorite part.  None of them liked rereading their work.  When Carter needs to remember a continuity detail, she likes to ask Twitter and ask her fans to tell her if she's mentioned something before.

Review: Just One Day

Forthcoming sequel JUST ONE YEAR
By Gayle Forman
Available now from Dutton (Penguin)
Review copy

 JUST ONE DAY was not what I expected.  I highly respect Gayle Forman, so I was expecting to love the novel.  But I expected a romance.  Allyson and Willem meet and have a whirlwind day before he disappears.  In my head, based on the summary, I figured JUST ONE DAY would be all about finding Willem again and the true lovers reuniting.  As Forman is an excellent author, what she delivered was much better than what I'd assumed.  JUST ONE DAY really is Allyson's story.  Willem shook her world up, for better or worse, and she has to decide how she wants to live her life and repair her relationship with herself before any sort of  romance is going to work.

Upon physically looking at my bookmarks in the book, Willem and Allyson's relationship is not insignificant.  At least two thirds of the book are basically what I expected.  But that third that was so unexpected lingered in my mind.  Allyson's freshman year of college is not easy.  She's hurting, she's separated from her best friend and not doing well at making new ones, and her grades aren't what they were in high school.  As everyone must, however, Allyson learns to adjust and reassess her goals.  Part of the shock of college is being truly responsible for your life choices.  Allyson's college experience doesn't resemble mine in any way, but it was emotionally authentic.  Sometimes it was hard to read because her struggle hit so close to the bone.

If there's one thing Forman does really well it's play your emotions.

I have to give props to the entire cast.  I'm sure many reviews will go on and on about how hot Willem is.  I'll admit that he's intelligent and fun, but he has some douchebag qualities.  Part of Allyson's growth is not idealizing Willem and figuring out if she wants to be with the guy who actually exists.  But I want to say a few things about characters who might go unheralded.  I love Kali, who emphasizes her words, and all of Allyson's other roommates, who might not be the people Allyson first assumes.  (Who is?)  Dee the chameleon is priceless and I want a book all about him.  I like that Melanie falls in and out of the narrative because she has her own life and is adjusting, albeit in a different way than Allyson.

You should read JUST ONE DAY if you have any interest in contemporary YA, amateur Shakespeare, Paris, or impeccable characterization.  Forman is one of YA's crown jewels and I think her new duet will only add to her reputation.  I'm certainly looking forward to companion novel JUST ONE YEAR.