Connecting YA

You're missing

2006-10-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

" Coffee cups on the counter, jackets on the chair
Papers on the doorstep, you're not there
Everything is everything
Everything is everything
But you're missing" -
-- Bruce Springsteen

Man's World

2006-10-01T09:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you with access to Novelist, my October column"Man's World" is up. In these five young adult novels, male teenage protagonists struggle with the most basic of questions: what is it to be a man? The books are:

Bang! By Sharon Flake
Head Lock by Joyce Sweeney
King Dork by Frank Portman
Storky by Debra Garfinkle
Rooftop by Paul Volponi

"got a wife and kids in baltimore"

2006-09-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the good folks at Baltimore County Public Library, in particular the big Fish, Jim for hosting me this week.

Wages of Sin

2006-09-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

Things Change is featued in new article "Inexcusable: Rape and Dating Violence in Teen Fiction" by Tom Reynolds on the Novelist database. .

The Hitter

2006-09-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Core Collection: Sports Books for Reluctant Teen Readers. Article in September 1, 2006 issue of Booklist.

Youngstown (and other Ohio Cities)

2006-09-19T21:10:00.000-07:00

Things Change has been nominated for the Teen Buckeye Book Award. The Teen Buckeye Book Award program is designed to encourage students in Ohio to read literature critically, to promote teacher and librarian involvement in young adult literature programs, and to commend authors of such literature. The Teen Buckeye Book Award catagory was added to the existing Buckeye Children's Book Award in 2003.

Red-Headed Woman (at least in this picture)

2006-09-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

The shoterst, and in someway most satisfying review, of Nailed from the rebel librarian.

Man at the Top (well, top five)

2006-09-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

Nailed is listed by Mother Reader as one of the top five YA books of the year, along with

King Dork, by Frank Portman
Geography of Girlhood, by Kirsten Smith,
Crushed, by Laura McNeal and Tom McNeal
Over a Thousand Hills, by Hanna Jansen, Elizabeth D. Crawford,

All the Heaven Will Allow

2006-09-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

From my myspace page: I'd just like to comment you. I didnt know you existed until about a year ago. When I read this book. I could not put it down. And Ive read it like 5 times..I can relate to it so I would like to thank you for writing such an awesome book. Im tryin to read more. Im not big into reading. I have to realllllly get into a book from the begining to finish it. but yours made me do that.

No Surrender

2006-09-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) is sponsoring Ally Week Oct 15 - 21 to prevent bullying and harassment. A national youth-led effort empowering students to be allies against anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying, harassment and name-calling in K-12 schools.

I'm a Rocker

2006-09-06T05:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, not a rocker, but I've got my own mp3 thanks to the Library Loft @
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. Also check out their cool my space page.

The Price You Pay

2006-09-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

Not too late to sign up for the NCTE 2006 ALAN Workshop which will be held Monday – Tuesday, November 21 - 22 in Nashville, TN. The theme is ”Young Adult Literature: Key to Open Minds." I'll be speaking on a panel with Nancy Garden and Julie Anne Peters, hosted by C.J. Bott. We're the first author panel on Monday morning. The topic is "DON'T LOOK AND IT WILL GO AWAY: YA BOOKS, A KEY TO UNCOVERING THE INVISIBLE PROBLEM OF BULLYING."

Across the Border

2006-08-27T12:58:00.000-07:00

Nice review of Things Change from British Columbia Library Association's teen summer reading review website.

Land Of Hope And Dreams

2006-08-26T11:10:00.000-07:00

Nailed has been nominated for both the Quick Picks and Best Books for Young Adults lists produced by members of the Young Adult Library Services Assocition. Things Change appeared on the 2005 Quick Picks list.

Local Hero

2006-08-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

I have an article in the Summer issue of the ALAN Review called "Stargirls, Stray Dogs, Freaks, and Nails: nonconformist protagonists in YA fiction." I'll also be presenting at the ALAN workshop this November.

Secret Garden

2006-08-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

For those with a subscription to the Novelist database, my July 2006 "What We're Reading" column is up. Called "Secret Garden" (all these columns share names with Springsteen songs) it looks teen ficiton that is a little more serious than Gossip Girl, a little more sexual than Meg Cabot, and no doubt a lot more controversial than most young adult novels for showing teenage girls thinking, talking, and engaging in sexual activities. This crop of four new books by female authors (and one by a male/female writing team) go deep into recounting what happens when teenage girls enter the secret garden of love, sex, and all its gritty complications.

A Bad Boy Can be Good For A Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart
Good Girls by Laura Ruby
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Sandpiper by Ellen Wittlinger

Galveston Bay (and all other TX places)

2006-08-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Nailed is nominated for the TAYHAS list. The objective of the Tayshas project is to motivate young adults to become life-long readers and to participate in the community of readers in Texas.

Dancing in the Dark

2006-08-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Nice review from a New Jersey newspaper. of Things Change called "Summer reading takes a dark turn."

Further On (Up The Road)

2006-08-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

Nailed has been nominated for Teen's Top Ten (TTT). TTT is a part of YALSA’s Young Adult (YA) Galley Project, which facilitates access to advance copies of young adult books to national teen book discussion groups. See full list of other nominated titles, and get ready to vote in Octoberl

Badlands

2006-08-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

Two wonderful posts from the fascinating YALit Lovers blog: the first about how I'm their favorite author (those quotes around the word favorite are a real plus), and then the insightful comment about my hair compared to Helena Bonham Carter. This blog is OK!

Jersey Girls

2006-08-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

One very strong, other not so much, reviews of Nailed from Mock Printz grew out of Bergen County Cooperative Library System in NJ.

The Big Payback

2006-08-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

David Lubar got all mused up about my cover story; read his ode

My hometown (well, home state)

2006-08-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

Nailed is nominated for a Great Lakes Book Award. The 2006 Great Lakes Book Awards will be presented Friday, October 6, at a luncheon during the Great Lakes Booksellers Association Fall Trade Show in Dearborn, Michigan.

Cover me

2006-08-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

A very "interesting" cover for August 2006 School Library Journal.

My Beautiful Reward

2006-07-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

Or three men and a frame; here's photo from ALA / New Orleans of picking up the Scholastic Lifetime Achievement Award. (note, I'm the one not in a tux and you can't see my chucks)

Cynthia

2006-07-19T17:44:00.002-07:00

Nice review of Nailed from Cindy, a retired school librarian (easily found thank to this beta Blog Search tool)

She's the One

2006-07-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Great new web page from Connecting Young Adults and Librarians co-author Michele Gorman with links, lists of her other publications, and how to hire her as a workshop trainer.

Raise your Hand

2006-07-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

and open you ears to this shout out positive review of Nailed rom the Loud Librarian.

Two hearts

2006-07-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

Two more positive reviews of Nailed from public library teen review blogs:

Jefferson-Madison Regional Library and Sellers Public Library

TheLong Goodbye

2006-07-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

My final professional book from Neal-Schuman is now out, along with a companion web page.

Living Proof

2006-07-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Nice teen review of Nailed:

Nailed, Patrick Jones

Reader: Chris K. Age: 17 Today's Date: 6/22/06

I enjoyed the book alot. I've been in the place where Bret was, loved a girl then she broke my heart. I loved this book. I think he hit it right on the head of the nail. I would give this book to anyone and tell them it's a good book to read. I couldn't put it down. He stated every point that needed to be stated. To all the people who are the freak, the outsider, or even the odd one out - read this book. I liked it alot. I would nominate this book for an award. I give it a 5Q for quality and a 5P for popularity.

One Step Up

2006-06-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

Another nice review of Nailed; this one from the Interactive Reader blog

Growin' Up

2006-06-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

Long, thoughful, and very positive review of Nailed in long review about the high school experience.

Tougher than the rest

2006-05-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

Few people are writing harder edged teen fiction than Gail Giles, so I'm awed and honored with her positive comments about Nailed on her blog.

Working On The Highways / School Tour 2005 - 2006

2006-05-21T13:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to students, teacher, and librarians who hosted me this past school year. For those interested in booking a school visit, just jump over to my author visit website.

Academy of Holy Angels / Richfield (MN)
Big Lake High School / Big Lake (MN)
Carman-Ainsworth High School / Flint (MI)
Central High School / Evansville (IN)
Creative Arts High School / Pittsburgh (PA)
Crestwood High School Library / Dearborn Heights (MI)
Douglas County Youth Services / Lawrence (KS)
Fenton High School / Fenton (MI)
Hill-Murray School / Maplewood (MN)
Hopkins Alternative Program / Hopkins (MN)
Hudson High School / Hudson (WI)
Lake Fenton High School / Fenton (MI)
Langley High School / Pittsburgh (PA)
Lapeer East High School / Lapeer (MI)
Lapeer West High School / Lapeer (MI)
Lawrence High School / Lawrence (KS)
Lincoln Northeast High School / Lincoln (NE)
Middle Creek High School / Apex (NC)
Minnechaug Regional High School / Wilbraham (MA)
North Branch High School / North Branch (MN)
Notre Dame school / Hamilton (ON)
Roseville Area High School / Roseville (MN)
Sabis International Charter School / Wilbraham (MA)
Signature Charter School / Evansville (IN)
Snohomish High School / Snohomish (WA)
Stony Hill School / Wilbraham (MA)
Swartz Creek High School / Swartz Creek (MI)
Topeka West High School / Topeka (KS)
Watertown High School / Watertown (MN)

The Promised Land

2006-05-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

This is my pal Kaitlin - a soon no longer to be high school student -- whom wrote an article with me called "The Promised Land: Where Readers and Writer's Meet" for the spring issue of Media Spectrum. This is the journal of the Michigan Association for Media in Education.

Stand On It

2006-05-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Since all my books current and forthcoming feature characters wearing Chucks, I've noticed with interest the number of YA titles with All Star covers: Best Foot Forward, Totally Joe, Chloe Leiberman (Sometimes Wong), Minerva Clark Gets a Clue (Minerva Clark) , and Walking on the Boundaries of Change: Poems of Transition

The New Timer

2006-05-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

Random Reads: Teen Book Reviews: Nice review of Nailed from the Random Reads website, including this nice line: "Patrick Jones is clearly a Young Adult author to watch as he cements his future as a novelist with staying power."

The Big Muddy

2006-05-17T16:12:00.001-07:00

Final school visit of the 2005 - 2006 today at Big Lake High School here in Minnesota. Just a great day talking to lots of students, including seniors who managed to at least pretend to be interested with less than ten days of high school left in their lives.

57 Channels

2006-05-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Morning at Lake Fenton High School speaking with two folks from Flint YWCA about dating violence. Nice video report available from WNEM -Channel 5 (former home of Jim Peyton of weather watcher cartoon fame for us locals)

East Street Shuffle

2006-05-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Great time today @ Lapeer East High in Lapeer MI visiting mostly 11t5h and 12th graders, including many sporting colorful Chucks.

My Best Was Never Good Enough

2006-05-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Mostly negative review of Nailed from Mindy!

Lucky Town

2006-05-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

Great day at Lapeer West High School in Michigan; my second visit there with great group of students / teachers / readers / future writers.

All the Way Home

2006-05-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Had a great time today visiting Watertown Mayer High School here in Minnesota in an event co-sponsored by the Watertown Branch of the Carver County Library. The book club (two of whom wore chucks) is part of YALSA's Teen's Top Ten program.

Candy's Room, Mary's Place, and My Space

2006-05-10T05:16:00.000-07:00

At the urging of Canada (the person, not the country), I've dove into my space.

We Shall Overcome

2006-05-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

Two weeks overdue (no fine, however) is a quick note on the new Bruce Springsteen release: We Shall Overcome / The Seeger Sessions. While there's no E-Street band and no new Bruce songs, this tribute to Pete Seeger is another fine addition to the eclectric Boss catalog.

Tonight in Jungleland

2006-05-07T07:58:00.000-07:00

Neat new feature at Amazon: the plog (which I assume is a the love child of a blog and a plug) for authors. What a very cool tool for an author to stick out in the Amazon jungle of authors.

All I'm Thinkin' About

2006-05-03T09:09:00.000-07:00

Mostly positive review of Nailed up at the alt teen blog / brave and brass book blog. The review points out, as have a few others, about Nailed being message heavy. Now, having been a reviewer for VOYA for twenty years, I certainly know the subjectivity of the review process. What's always perplexed me as a reviwer of teen books is whom is the review / book for because its not the same. The review is for the librarians reading the journals making purchasing decisions; the book is for teens. As I do school visits promoting Things Change, I'm struck by how difficult it is to pull from many teens the "ideas" and "themes" of the novel. They can talk about characters, plots, and scenes, but even with some guidance, the bigger picture / points don't come easy. So, yes, I agree in retro that Nailed is a little message heavy, but in my experience and in my opinion, if you want kids to get somethin' out of a pleasure read other than pleasure, you have to make it clear: maybe not hammer it; but you gotta let it stick out a little.

Human Touch

2006-05-02T15:50:00.000-07:00

Spent morning autographing (and selling out of Things Change paperbacks) at International Reading Association annual conference held this year in Chicago. The power point of the presentation (on nonfiction for kids) is up at presentations webpage.

This Hard Land

2006-04-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

Nice little back and forth on SLJ webste about walking that hardline between providing information and engaging in censorship.

Give The Girl A Kiss

2006-04-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

Nice review of Nailed from YA author Lara Zeises over at livejournal; she's the author of Contents Under Pressure among other finely edged YA novels.

Don't Look Back

2006-04-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

Texas Library Association loves to have me speak anyway. At TLA sigining and speaking back on planet Houston.

I'm Goin' Down (South that is)

2006-04-27T04:53:00.000-07:00

In Alabama this morning to present about reaching reluctant teen readers. Handouts available at presentations page.

Seven Angels

2006-04-26T06:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the students / faculty at Academy of Holy Angels for hosting me yesterday for a book discussion / author visit. I was exhausted making the trip there, walking the three blocks down the street from my house to the school. Pictures - I hope - forthcoming.

The Ties That Bind

2006-04-20T04:42:00.000-07:00

In the acknowledgements section of Nailed, I forgot to list someone: Alex. Alex (now part of Hennepin County Library's Teens Online group) read an early ms version of Nailed, made lot of great comments and suggestions, but by the time I got ready to actually publish, somehow I'd lost touch with her. So until the paperback comes out; I know its not much, but its the best I can do, my gift is my blog entry, and this one's for you -

She's Got Soul

2006-04-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here's the new tribute album to the great pop band The Dbs. One of the tracks ("She's Got Soul) is performed by the Chicago based The Injuired Parties, fronted by fellow Flintoid Larry Dean. Larry also provided the song titles (such as "Throw the Lions to the Christians") for Bret's band in Nailed.

From Small Things (Big Things One Day Come)

2006-04-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

Back in the early 1990s, I put together the "Young adult librarian's help/homepage." It was designed to gather resources on and off the Web to help librarians serving teens. Well, things change and the torch has been pased to people like Miranda Doyle (see pix) and her page/plog: http://www.teenlibrarian.com/blog.html. Check it out for lots of info, including new interview and a review of Nailed.

Countin' on a Miracle

2006-04-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Link to the almost all positive review of Nailed from Kirkus.

Living On The Edge Of The World

2006-04-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

This February, I made a visit to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (the enemy of my hometown of Flint from the CANUSA games). One of the schools I visited was for homeless kids (The Notre Dame House). The teacher recently shared with me that my visit there had a "profound impact" on the homeless students. So much so, they're calling their graduation ceremony "Things Change" .

Leap Of Faith

2006-04-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

I'm headed to Atlanta in about a week to stand in the shadows of Giants like Chris Crutcher, Isaac Asimov, and Don Gallo by accepting the Catholic Library Association's St. Katharine Drexel Award. This award was established in 1966 under the title Certificate of Merit and renamed in 2002. Presented by the High School and Young Adult Library Services Section through the St. Katharine Drexel Award Committee, the St. Katharine Drexel Award recognizes an outstanding contribution to the growth of high school librarianship.

Lift Me Up

2006-04-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Recent email in re Things Change (now in paperback):

I want to thank you for getting my sister to read!! She was NEVER interested in books or reading!! They are reading your book "Things Change" in her reading class and now she's hooked!!!!!!!! She said you came to her class and she was impressed she says she can't wait for your next book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know people must tell you stuff like this all the time but, I really mean it!!!!! She has Dyslexia and can't read that well so she never really read; ( She's only read TWO books all of the way through!!) So when she checked out your book to read what she missed I was shocked (She's always had a Library card but, only used it on movies and one book!) This is new!! So Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Streets of Fire

2006-04-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

For those with a subscription to the Novelist database, my April 2006 "What We're Reading" column is up. Called "Streets of Fire" (all these columns share names with Springsteen songs) it looks at four new and one older teen novel, where the teen protagonists treat the truth like hot coals. In all of these books, the young men play with fire, and they get learned.

Buried Onions by Gary Soto
Freaks by Annette Curtis Klause
Inexcusable by Chris Lynch
Invisible by Pete Hautman
Surrender by Sonya Hartnett

Two for the Road

2006-04-05T09:29:00.001-07:00

Very strong review of Nailed (complete with a Rats Saw God reference) by Di Herald, author of books such as a Teen Genreflecting.
Belated link to nice review of Nailed (which is released today 4/4/06) in Publishers Weekly children's bookshelf.

Devils & Dust

2006-04-01T06:59:00.000-08:00

Two nice reviews of presentation that Michele, Tricia, and I did at PLA.The YALSA new weblog contains an extensive if unsigned summary , and the Librarian in Black gave us kudos.

Jessy Don't You Lose Heart

2006-03-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

Nice snarky (but not funky forbid) post on Perks of Being a Librarian blog about Nailed

Something in the Night

2006-03-29T06:06:00.000-08:00

I'll be a guest of the YA Author's Cafe on Tuesday, 11 April 2006 starting @ 8:30 EST. To participate, simply click on the chatroom link to enter the chatroom. YA Authors Cafe uses Chatzy, which is clean and simple to use for even the most inexperienced chatters. You don't have to set up an account or join anything.

Prove it All Night

2006-03-27T16:42:00.000-08:00

I'll be on LIS Radio on Tuesday, 4 April @ 7:00 CST: This is a new and exciting series of interactive webcasts brought to you by the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Loose Ends

2006-03-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

I was at Hudson (WI) High School on Wednesday, then flew to Boston for Public Library Association conference on Thursday/Friday/Saturday, now getting ready for school visits at three schools in Springfield MA area tomorrow (27 March) and then a training on Tuesday. Got a nice review of Things Change from a student there posted on Amazon.

Greetings from Richfield, MN

2006-03-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

I don't intend this to be an online diary detailing my daily existence, but rather a place to put up links to reviews of my works, information about school visits, and related writing related stuff. The title of each blog entry is the title of a Bruce Springsteen song or cd, thus the first entry.