***** for LIE, by Caroline Bock

I met Caroline Bock, debut author of LIE last Friday night at a reading she did with the divine Tara Altebrando (promoting her awesome new book, Dreamland Social Club that takes place on Coney Island) at The Voracious Reader.

LIE explores a hate crime and racism - really tough subjects - and I was intrigued.

Caroline is a dynamic personality - she had us riveted with her reading. First she explained that she had been devastated and outraged when a Hispanic immigrant had been murdered by a gang of affluent white high school teens near her home on Long Island. How could this happen in this day and age and in her neighborhood? Thus the story was born.

The novel's first page has this quote from The New York Times: "The attacks were such an established pastime that the youths, who have pleaded not guilty, had a casual and derogatory term for it, "beaner hopping."

LIE is told through intertwining narratives, both adult and teen. We never hear from the force behind the "beaner hopping", Jimmy, but we learn about him through the three main characters: Skylar - his girlfriend, Sean - his best friend, and Lisa Marie - Skylar's best friend.


The book starts with Skylar, lying about what she knows about the attack. Everybody knows, nobody's talking is the mantra throughout the book.  The character that made my skin crawl the most was Lisa Marie, who is so invested in protecting Jimmy that it is more important than seeing how torn up Skylar and Sean are about not telling the truth. She and the absent Jimmy, control their narratives throughout the book. Caroline expertly shows us how devastating this is, without being preachy.

This would be a great book to discuss with high school students and book groups of all ages, about the effects of bullying, a charismatic leader who compels others to do the wrong thing by making it seem right, (Hitler anyone?) the importance of cultural sensitivity and out and out racism.

When I moved to the exurbs from New York City, I wanted to make sure that my kids would go to a school that reflected the world, and we have that in the Bedford Hills School district. Reading Caroline's book  strengthened my own point of view in the importance of tolerance and some new immigration laws that don't make it so impossible for immigrants to become part of the ever dwindling middle class. A lot needs to happen in this country in that arena.

We are all from somewhere else. The family tree on my mother's side goes way way back, with ancestors coming from France and Sicily, and my dad is British.

What is your ancestry?

The Weekender

Oh yes it's Friday, and that means it's the last day to enter my contest to win one of three signed copies of Edges that I rescued from the Borders in Mt. Kisco. The odds of winning one are pretty awesome. Click on the link above to enter!

It also means the weekend, which is chock full of awesome activities:

Tonight after my workshop at The Voracious Reader, friend and author Tara Altebrando will be joining Caroline Block to read and talk about their new books, Dreamland Social Club and LIE. I hope you can come!

Saturday after my daughter's soccer and a Writopia workshop, Katonal Live is having a block party downtown with four bands. Maybe I'll see you there!

And then on Sunday, after my son's football game, we will all be going to Washington Irving's Sunnyside in Tarrytown for the annual Children's Book Day. There will be over sixty authors, including me! I also had the honor of being interviewed last week by Karen Croke of the LoHud Journal - a Westchester newspaper. The article is on the front page of today's Weekend section. You can read the article online here if you are so inclined.

I will be announcing the winners of the books tomorrow - maybe you're one of them! And maybe I'll see you at one of these events this weekend. At any rate, have a great time whatever you are doing!

Hugs to all. And a kiss. oooox

'Twas a B'Noodles Teen Author Event

Cooper and I went into the city last night for July's Teen Author Reading at the Jefferson Branch of the New York Public Library downtown. I wore my GoGo's concert tee in honor of Sarah Darer Littman, who was one of the readers, giving us a teaser of her new book, Wanna Go Private. She wore hers too, and we reminisced over our great evening at Irving Plaza. (Cooper insisted on taking this picture.)

I had been looking forward to this event for a couple of months, as I know several of the authors, a couple of whom are newbies to the scene. And there were NINE of them!

We got there in time to hob nob with a couple of Cooper's fave authors: Barry Lyga and Michael Northrop.

We sat right in the front to show our love and support.

First up was the beautiful Gae Polisner, whose wonderful book The Pull of Gravity made it's way onto the scene a couple of months ago in May. Gae is an extroverted and generous soul who has some of the funniest status updates on Facebook and de-stresses by having a rigorous swim practice. (Hmmm. Are we on the Dating Game?) Next was Alissa Grosso, reading from her debut novel, Popular. She was awesome too!

Next up with her fabulosity was Sarah, and she sent chills down everybody's spine reading a beautifully nuanced scene from Wanna Go Private. She read the scene where the young teen goes to meet the internet predator for the first time, and ends up getting in a car with him.

Tara McCarthy Altebrando wowed us reading from her starred review Dreamland Social Club, and a very pregnant Melissa Walker whet our appetites for her upcoming Small Town Sinners. Nova Ren Suma read from her wildly popular Imaginary Girls.

Now for the three amazing men who interestingly enough, were all clustered together. First up was debut author Matt Blackstone, whose book, Scary Scene in a Scary Movie came out Tuesday. I can't wait to read it - the title of this post, B'noodles, is coined by a character in his book. Meaning: Uniquely awesome, and that's what this book is. It is about a young teen with OCD who needs to learn how to play it cool. Matt read beautifully and had us all cracking up.

Blake Nelson read from his book Recovery Road, and he also had us in stitches, reading the dialogue from two teen girls in drug rehab. I have been wanting to read this book for some time - as you know the theme is close to my heart!

And last but not least was the handsome and eloquent Christopher Grant reading from his debut novel, Teenie. Chris also knew how to tickle our funny bones!

It was a wonderful evening and I was so happy to share it with my son and some friends. We had so much to talk about when we went to dinner and on the train home.

Thank you so much, you wonderful authors, for writing these books and sharing yourselves with us!

Teen Author Drinks Night

Image by _luba_ via Flickr

I'd been hearing about the Teen Author Drinks Night, organized by the always intrepid David Levithan for a while, but had never felt brave enough, or accomplished enough to go. However,  I knew that it would be good for me . . . so when Judy Blundell, (who has had a long author/editor relationship with David) revealed to me that she had never gone because of her own shyness, and would-I-like-to-go-with-her this fall I both cringed and leaped for joy. How could I say no? Wasn't it Eleanor Roosevelt who encouraged: "do one thing that scares you every day?"

I don't like big parties - especially ones that are held in bars. They are smelly and crowded, and all that standing around makes my legs sore. Plus I feel shy and intimidated, like everybody knows everybody else, and like all I have is a big foot to insert into my mouth. And I am a people person. I LOVE meeting people and getting to know them. (Oh, we human beings are sooooo complicated!) But Sweet and Vicious? How could I not go to a bar with that name? (It says everything I feel about bars and parties right there in those two words.)

Last night was the night. Judy and I had commit to each other and to another shy one, Rebecca Stead - that we would go. It was good timing to be around some author peeps, because I had just gotten the disappointing news that Borders bookstore is not buying copies of EDGES at first, along with B&N who are only stocking it in NYC.

I have to admit, I agonized a little bit over what to wear - but ultimately I went with a black skirt, top, and calf length boots. My daughter let me wear her White Rabbit necklace for good luck - because being part of the publishing world certainly feels like going down the rabbit hole.

Judy picked me up, and we took the 5PM train from Katonah into Grand Central station, then the 6 down to Spring Street where we walked to a bar called Sweet and Vicious, which is right around the corner from David at Scholastic. It was warm enough to be outside, so there were about 16 people sitting around two wooden tables. I went back into the bar to get a drink - my standard seltzer and cranberry juice - and Judy and I sat down at the table with David and saved a seat for Rebecca.

And you know what? It was awkward at first, but we got through it, and we ended up being one of the last groups to leave. Judy and I both got to meet some new people - I had only met David briefly once before, and enjoyed talking to him - Donna Freitas was there - another FSG author who is also a professor of religious studies and whose books are beloved with many starred reviews (and also not at first stocked by the chains). I had lovely conversations with Natalie Standiford and Tara Altebrando. David went out and brought pizza for everyone. Barry Lyga was at the other table and came over to sit with us once people started leaving. He was very funny.

And the consensus was that chain-stores don't have the power they once had. That they're covering their arses. That they stock books once they hear they're doing well. (One friend emailed me in solidarity that the chains didn't pick up her book until she was short-listed for a Printz Award. "This is not a test. It doesn't mean anything.")

The author peeps also like my Dear Oprah blogs, so I will make it a regular staple of my postings. Oprah Mondays perhaps?


It was good for me to go - I felt like I belonged. Judy and I had a lovely train ride back, debriefing and talking more about writing and our process, and how it changes! And now I won't be so scared when I go do the reading at the Jefferson branch of the public library downtown on November 3rd with David and Barry and others. (Although I will of course still be scared - I am human after all!)