Format

Okay- 

So I figured since I already did a pathetic little introduction thing,  it would probably be a good idea to set up a format of some sort that you can depend on. I don't know about you, but I usually find comfort in structure. (Also, I tend to ramble sometimes, so I feel like I need to keep myself on some sort of leash).

HOLY--- a book!

I suppose I should start off with some "qualifications" that can help classify a piece as YA lit. So you know what to expect, I guess. Believe it or not, this is actually something we debated the first week of class - and it was something that I, personally, had never really thought about. I always just thought of YA lit as YA lit - ya know? (I'm really articulate, can you tell? D: )

As a class, we eventually decided that YA lit can be classified by the following criteria:

• Told through the viewpoint of a young adult with an adolescent voice (angst, anger, emotional – true to life)
• Focuses on characters in that particular age group (around high school age)
• Focused around more advanced and serious topics like violence, sexuality (as opposed to middle school books being about “finding my place in the world”)
• Conflicts are more internal (as opposed to external in middle school lit); often about a character being out of his/her comfort zone or about becoming an adult

I'm sure there are more, but for now, we'll just stick to these, shall we?

With that, in this blog I plan to:

1. Pick a YA book that covers some "tough stuff" and read it
2. Give you guys a brief teaser for the novel at the beginning of an entry
3. Label things with a spoiler warning (because really, who likes being smacked in the face with spoilers?)
4. and then talk about the book as a whole and a lot about feelings and why the book was important and what it meant to me and why and blah blah blah~

I know that for a while  it'll seem like I'm just talking to myself (which I do a lot of normally, to be honest), but it is my hope that people will eventually come here to converse about the issues that these books bring up. I can only hope that my blunt honesty will give you a bit of courage to open up and talk. 

The entire point of this blog is to let readers like you use literature as an ice breaker. -- To talk about things you might normally shy away from mentioning because they're not "normal." To let you know that it's okay to not be okay sometimes. To let you know there is hope even when things suck.

Anything goes here. You will not be shunned for your feelings. You will not be defined by things that have happened to you or things you have done in the past that you are ashamed of.

You will be accepted with open arms here - You are not alone. 

AndIloveyouokaybye.