Meg Rosoff's top ten adult books for teenagers. From the Guardian.
This makes me want to make such a list myself. But right now I have to go write a novel. Have a good day!

The glamorous, the mysterious Ms. Lola Douglas swings by the Boyfriend List website today because she's promoting her second book. More Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet is the sequel to True Confessions of a Hollywood Starlet -- and the first one is just out in paperback.

Here's what Kirkus says: "The continuing travails of 17-year-old Morgan … come across with delightful zing, yet address serious subjects. … Douglas manages the lightest of styles while delving into deep issues for adolescents. Fun, breezy entertainment with thoughtful undertone."

I haven't read the second one, YET, but I thought the first one was a really admirable mix of Hollywood glamour and smart, sensitive storytelling. I highly recommend it for a winter vacation read that's fun city but not at all toxic.

Here is the boyfriend list Lola wrote for her main character, recovering addict and child star Morgan. (Brad Renfro! Aaron Carter!)

And now, Lola takes the Fly Survey (it's all about superheroes, because the heroine of my book Fly on the Wall is a superhero freak) -- and reveals herself to have excellent taste in heroes and a radical sense of humor as regards her own superhero name. And she points us to some awesome name generators -- thanks, Lola!

(I tried all three name generators, and my best one was: The Elderly Unplugged Refridgerator Woman)

The Fly on the Wall Survey
questions by me, answers by Lola Douglas

1) If you could be a fly on the wall somewhere, anywhere – where?
Assuming time and space were no obstacle, I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall of the writers’ room of GILMORE GIRLS during the reign of Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband Daniel. Because Amy Sherman-Palladino is my idol. Even more than Drew Barrymore.

2) If you could have one superpower, what?
I used to think I’d like to read minds, but after watching that dude on HEROES have a near-nervous breakdown from having that gift, I think I’ll go with the ability to make myself invisible. That way I can eavesdrop on conversations and go on super secret spy missions, but would still have some sort of control over what I was hearing.

3) What is your superhero name? Why?
According to this site I am The Underwater Vice Principle Trainee.
But according to this one, I am Scary Sister, my nemesis is Jasmine the Ugly, and my costume is a bulletproof bikini.
That’s tempting, but this site tells me that I am The Awesome Weirdo. So I’m going to go with that. The Awesome Weirdo. Because I am a weirdo dipped in awesome sauce.

4) Who is your favorite superhero?
Spider-Man, and not because of the Tobey Maguire movies. I’d been talking about having/wanting Spidey Senses long before T-Mag suited up in spandex.

5) Favorite non-super hero?
Is it clichéd if I say ma mere?

6) Recommend us a superhero movie.
THE INCREDIBLES. Yeah, I know it’s animated. But it’s funny as all get out. Smart, too.

7) If you could turn in to any animal, what? Why?
I’d so be a pocket puppy, preferably owned by a rich animal lover who liked to buy me Swarovski-crusted collars and had a pink leather carrier to tote me with her everywhere.


8) Do you (or have you ever) read comic books? What? When?
When I was younger I was into the whole Archie-Betty-Veronica love triangle. (I’m definitely more of a Veronica than a Betty.) As an adult, I like reading a good graphic novel every now and then – like Craig Thompson’s BLANKETS. Haven’t been able to get into manga, though.

In Britain, the award for best Young Adult book is called The BookTrust prize. This year's winner is Henry Tumour -- about a boy whose brain tumour talks to him in a comic and abusive fashion. It's by Anthony McGowan. His only novel out here in the USA is HellBent, which looks pretty awesomely fun to me. That one is about a boy who finds himself in hell -- a corner of hell designed for his own particular torture. It's "lined with bookshelves and droning educational radio programs. Then he realizes that his personal version of Hell might be someone else's idea of Heaven -- and vice versa. He sets out on a filthy, funny, and forbidden journey to search for his opposite number, accompanied by his repulsive pet dog, a depressed cross-dressing Viking, and Clarence, his personal devil."

These are next on my list, I'm telling you. Only right now -- I am reading Cupcake! By Rachel Cohn! Which isn't out until next year! hee hee hee heh heh heh I am so pleased.
It is living up to the hype, too.

My fellow-Memphis adventuress pal Ally Carter
whose spy-girl book I absolutely love,
has written a sequel.
The first one is: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You.

The second one is: encoded.
You have to crack a code to find out the title before the book comes out.
And it's a contest. You go to Ally's blog, read the contest rules, and crack the code.
She gives hints.
She also gives prizes.

Like $100 gift certificates and advance reading copies AND -- if you're cracking the code with a school group -- a free school visit for Ally to come talk to your assembly.

The Boyfriend List is on the South Dakota Library Association's YARP list! It's a short list of "quality literature" for their young adult reading program. I am psyched to be in such good company!

I was tagged for this alphabet meme by Tanya Lee Stone, my teen titan pal and author of A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl.

(I was also amused by novelist Sara Zarr's version on the letter Z).

If you do this meme following me, I say, do the letter B, for Boy Book.

TEN WONDERFUL THINGS THAT START WITH E
(not in any particular order, just as they came to mind on a fall morning at 8:35 am)

1. Edamame, hot and salty, when you're hungry at a Japanese restaurant and it's cold outside
2. Eden Ross Lipson, who nominated me for PEN and has been a children's book maven and supporter for many years (she formerly edited the children's section of the Times book review)
3. Eric Liftin, architect
4. Eating out, on this guy's advice
5. Elephants who paint
6. Entertainment Weekly
7. Epicurious
8. East Coast seashore. I love that Atlantic ocean. Rocks. Cliffs. Wind. Lighthouses.
9. Editors who really care about their jobs.
10. Endings. That is, when you finish the novel you are writing that has almost (but not) killed you.

FIVE BAD THINGS THAT START WITH E

1. Ecoli
2. Evesdroppers
3. ....

you know? I am in a good mood. I can't concentrate on badness right now. So I'll give you three more good ones.

3. Elements of Style, by Strunk and White
4. Ear flaps on winter hats
5. English literature of the 19th century. I love that Dickens, those Brontes. Even Wilkie Collins. Yes, I even love Wilkie Collins.

If you're in the mood, tag, you're it!

--E

Is anyone else procrastinating by keeping tabs on the Cybils YA book nominations?
I am.
If you have a favorite book published in 2006, you should GO NOMINATE IT. One book per person in each category -- and no use nominating something if it's already been nominated.

Also, the Teens Top Ten list is out! During Teen Read week, teenagers voted on their favorite books. And this year, over 5000 ballots were cast -- which I am pretty sure is more than double last year -- so yay!

I've read more than half of these, and it's really a great list.

1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic Press, 2005).

10. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers)

I voted.

I remember, too, that people like me were not always allowed to vote.
That is, females.
We were not allowed to vote. For years and years and years. It was a long and difficult fight to win the vote.
It's kind of hard to believe, now -- but very important to remember.
So let's use the right to vote with pride and intelligence.

I also got some excellent brownies. There is usually a bake sale at a voting booth.

Here we are! Last night's line-up at the Jefferson Market Library was part of a series of Teen Author Reading Nights that host David Levithan announced would continue -- since the turnout for the first two was so great. Thank you all for coming!

Here we are in all our glory, such as it was.
From left to right, standing in back:
Jordan Sonnenblick, Barry Lyga, Natalie Standiford, David Levithan, Blake Nelson
then sitting:
E. Lockhart, Micol Ostow
missing from photo: Natasha Friend

I have a bad cold and had such a coughing fit during Natasha's reading from her book LUSH that I had to leave the room and then suck cough-drops during my reading. I felt germy and gross and sorry. But other than that, it was such a lovely event to be part of.

By the Way, Barry Lyga, author of The Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl, was a surprise guest!

You know you love Rachel Cohn's books. And if you don't, get thee to a book store and start with Gingerbread!
But I'm assuming you already love her heroine, Cyd Charisse, and that you're just dying to get your hands on Cohn's new book about her: CUPCAKE.
It doesn't come out until January, people!
To get in the running for one of TEn free copies, all you have to do is get ahold of a cupcake, photograph it, and post it on her myspace in the comments!

Rachel writes: Show the love in a photo. I'm giving away several advance copies of the book - contest details here. And for those without the technology to post a photo, don't worry - there will be another contest in December that won't require a camera or the know-how to post a photo on MySpace.