Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves (True Stories)

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves (True Stories)

Dear Teen Me includes advice from over 70 YA authors (including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder, to name a few) to their teenage selves. The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss! Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he'd had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you'll find friends―and a lot of familiar faces―in these pages. A Look Inside Dear Teen Me Pages 32-33 Pages 68-69 Pages 70-71 These letters from 70 YA authors were originally published in a still-active blog of the same name. Though supposedly writing to themselves as teens, the contributors offer not private messages but public advice and reassurance, usually on topics of widespread interest ranging from the lighthearted—hair care and fashion choices—to abuse, bullying, bulimia, and boyfriend behavior (probably the most common theme, as only 14 of the 70 are men, and some of those are gay). Perhaps because the lineup leans heavily toward younger white writers of paranormal fantasy, there is a certain uniformity of tone and outlook that comes through in frequent references to dance and theater experiences, college plans, and traumatic memories often related to bad parents or being smart or shy, rather than racial or ethnic identity. Nonetheless, along with plenty of (now) amusing anecdotes and hard-won insights, the letters dish up proof that, as Mike Jung puts it, “time was on your side, though, and you made it!” Each letter ends with a brief biography and photo. Grades 8-10. --John Peters "These letters from 70 YA authors were originally published in a still-active blog of the same name. Though supposedly writing to themselves as teens, the contributors offer not private messages but public advice and reassurance, usually on topics of widespread interest ranging from the lighthearted―hair care and fashion choices―to abuse, bullying, bulimia, and boyfriend behavior (probably the most common theme, as only 14 of the 70 are men, and some of those are gay). Perhaps because the lineup leans heavily toward younger white writers of paranormal fantasy, there is a certain uniformity of tone and outlook that comes through in frequent references to dance and theater experiences, college plans, and traumatic memories often related to bad parents or being smart or shy, rather than racial or ethnic identity. Nonetheless, along with plenty of (now) amusing anecdotes and hard-won insights, the letters dish up proof that, as Mike Jung puts it, 'time was on your side, though, and you made it!' Each letter ends with a brief biography and photo."― Booklist "A winning collection for both teens and former teens, alike."― School Library Journal "In 2010, writers Anderson and Kenneally launched a blog where authors posted letters written to themselves as teenagers; more than 70 of those entries are gathered in this book, from Tom Angleberger, Ellen Hopkins, Mitali Perkins, Dave Roman, Sara Zarr, and more. The letters are self-deprecating ('Let's just start by ripping off the Band-Aid,' says Robin Benway. 'You need to let your bangs grow out'), encouraging ('Go ahead and embrace life on the social fringes,' advises Beth Fantaskey), and revealing ('Even though you don't drink, a certain very cruel, very callous guy is drinking―and there's nothing I can do now to stop that thing from happening,' writes Carrie Jones). The breadth of emotion and experience the entries cover guarantee that almost any reader will identify with some of the situations and anxieties expressed. "― Publishers Weekly Miranda Kenneally is the author of Catching Jordan (fall 2011), Stealing Parker (fall 2012), and Bad, Bad Thing (spring 2013). She is the co-creator of the blog Dear Teen Me. Miranda is represented by Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency. E. Kristin Anderson is the co-creater of the blog Dear Teen Me. Her poetry has been published worldwide in literary journals. She is also an assistant editor at Hunger Mountain for their YA and Children's section. Look out for Ms. Anderson's work in the forthcoming anthology Coin Opera II , a collection of poems about video games from Sidekick Books.