I had planned to spend today's blog raving about Mutemath, which I will do in a moment. But because I read and write in the YA world, I have to mention the whole mess with the National Book Awards. (Long story short: Lauren Myracle's Shine was announced as being nominated and then removed from the list.) Libba Bray's blog said almost everything there is to say, and the only thing I have to add is the sentiment flooding twitter yesterday: the positive to come from all this is that more people will read Shine.

And now, for my concert review! Last night I saw Mutemath here in Jacksonville. They were amazing. They could have sold out a much larger venue, but they chose to introduce the new album Odd Soul in small clubs. And let me say, the fans really lucked out with that decision. They rocked to a crowd of under 200 the same way they would have in an arena. The soulful base riffs and percussion with New Orleans flair sound even better live, and Paul Meany has the voice of an angel, if an angel sang for an alt-rock band from Louisiana. The high points for me were Spotlight and Typical, but the new stuff also sounded great.

See you tomorrow for RTW!

Here's a little taste from last night:

I'm not a big fan of birthdays, but this year was pretty sweet. I had a date at my favorite French restaurant, and I finally saw the final Harry Potter. (Believe it or not, HP was still showing at our theater a month before it comes to DVD. And the theater was still half-full.) My husband also finally broke down my defenses and bought me a Nook Color.

I've resisted e-readers for a while, but I accept that this is where the future is going. My kids will grow up with iPhones and tablets, and they'll wonder how we ever lived without them. And now that I've had a few days to play around with my new toy, I have to give it my stamp of approval. I'm not 100% converted yet, because I do still love 'real' books. But here are the things I like about the Nook Color:

* I can download a book in about five seconds from my couch, and it cost less than a hardcover for new releases.
* I can turn the page with one finger.
* I don't need a light to read in the bed.
* It fits in my purse.
* I can actually read my email instead of squinting at it on my phone.
* I can pull up recipes in the kitchen, also readable without squinting.

Just like with Harry, I guess it's the end of an era. How do you feel about the e-reader revolution?

Music for today: Helena Beat by Foster the People

Every Wednesday, the fine folks over at YA Highway post a writing or reading related question, aptly named Road Trip Wednesday.

Today's question: What has your writing road trip looked like so far?

I love to read. In college, I couldn't imagine majoring in anything other than English. I longed for a career that would allow me to get paid to read, and I thought of becoming an editor. At that time I also volunteered at a local middle school, and found that I really liked hanging out with 'tweens.' In my Masters program, I found the perfect compromise. By becoming a middle school English teacher, I could read a lot and share my passion for books with young people.

I enjoyed teaching, and I loved getting to know the kids, but like so many other teachers, the bureaucracy of education wore on me. Fast forward five years, and two kids later. Toni Morrison once said, "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." That truly did apply to me. I was looking for a certain kind of book, and I never found exactly what I was looking for. Something inside me just kept whispering, "Write." I could see these characters, and I had to put them down on paper.

I had never written anything creatively before, and when I finished my first draft, I felt pure joy. I knew that this was what I was supposed to do with my life. I was scared to death to let anyone read it, but I started with my husband and moved on to a few close friends. My insecurity held me back, and I finally stuck Novel #1 under the bed. Novel #2 is now sleeping right beside it.

I am now in the process of deep revisions on Novel #3. This time is different. I am so passionate about these characters and this story; I can't wait to get everything just right, because I want people to read this story.

My favorite pit stops along the way have been meeting many fabulous members of the writing community, both at writing conferences and here, in the blog-o-sphere.

Thank you YA Highway, for helping to bring us all together! Happy 100th Road Trip Wednesday :)

Music for today: Overloading on Mutemath's Odd Soul to get ready for the concert next week!

Thanks to Katy Upperman for tagging me in Ten Random Facts! Here are ten random facts about me:

1. Cookies are my favorite food.

2. I always do the taxes in our house, even though I'm the wordy/writer type and my husband has a degree in finance and economics and works for a bank.

3. I don't eat mammals.

4. I have never gotten a speeding ticket or been in an accident with another car, but I have hit three stationary objects with three different cars.

5. I'm a cat person, yet I have two dogs and only one cat.

6. In my lifetime I have played eight different musical instruments, and I currently play none. If you don't use it, you do lose it.

7. The last group of sixth graders I taught graduated from high school last year.

8. I hate shopping for clothes.

9. Most of the people I would love to meet are fictional characters. Five of them are Lily Bard from Charlaine Harris's Shakespeare series, Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye, Richard Papen from The Secret History, Victor Mancini from Choke, and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games.

10. I am so thankful for how God works through people, even when people don't realize that God is working through them.

Now it's my turn! I tag Eve at Functioning Insanity and Michele at Chasing Chase to share Ten Random Facts.

I guess the music for today has to be Days are Forgotten by Kasabian, since I heard it every time I got in the car today.

I am happy to report that I'm currently reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, thanks to the many great suggestions I found on last week's Road Trip Wednesday on YA Highway. It is the first book I purchased on the (gasp) Nook color I got for my birthday. If you've read my blog before, you may know that I've resisted an e-reader for years. My reaction to the Nook deserves its own post, so I'll save it. And now for this week's question:

What supporting character in a YA novel would you most like to see star in their own novel?

This is a tricky one. Is there a character in the Hunger Games who couldn't star in his or her own novel? I doubt it. The last book I read was Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, a perfect start for October, and I would love to know more about ghost/witch Liza Hempstock. But my all-time, most beloved supporting character is not from a YA novel.

I love Pam from Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse series. She's snarky, complicated, and fashionable. She can be cruel and caring at the same time. Pam starring in a Southern vampire/chick-lit scenario would be delicious.

This question got me thinking not just about supporting characters, but about antagonists, too. Wouldn't it be interesting to see a novel from the 'bad' guy's perspective? Because the bad guy never thinks of himself as the bad guy. In his mind, he has reasons and motivations for the terrible things he does. Kristen Cashore touches on this in Fire, her companion to Graceling, but she still has a strong, good protagonist. But what if we kicked it up a notch. What if instead of Harry Potter, we had The Invincible Tom Riddle?


I had a conversation with a group of writer/teacher/librarian types about how bad a bad guy can be in YA and still be redeemable in the end. The general consensus was that you can't have a character shoot someone or kidnap people and still end up with him as your hero. What do you think? Does it cross a line in YA to portray someone who hurts another person as a main character, even if he sees the error of his ways in the end? Would you like to read a novel with a naughty main character?

Music for today: Lions in Cages by Wolf Gang

What a fun day in the blog-o-sphere. Jamie over at J'aime... was kind enough to award my blog a Liebster Blog Award. The Liebster Award showcases bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. Thank you so much Jamie! Once the Award has been bestowed on your blog, pay it forward and recognize 5 other bloggers. Here are my pics:

1. Laurel Symonds at The Unemployed Book Lover

2. Katy Upperman on her blog at KatyUpperman.com

3. Jennifer Pickrell on her blog at JenniferPickrell.wordpress.com

4. Lisa Stiles Lofland at Behind the Mystery

5. Allyson Richards on Ally Writes

I also learned that the next book I have to pick up is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

Happy Wednesday!

**I'm updating this post because it perfectly answers YA Highway's Road Trip Wednesday question: What was the best book you read in September? I can't wait eat up all the juicy suggestions from fellow readers!

I mentioned last week that I would save the review for White Cat for another time, and here it is!

As I started to sum up the back story for White Cat, my respect for Holly Black only grew. She brilliantly creates a complex world and trusts the reader to 'get' it without having to explain. Genius that she is, Ms. Black just tells the story. Through the characters, the reader learns to navigate the world in which they live. But I digress...

White Cat opens with Cassel Sharpe standing on the roof of his prep school, with no idea how he ended up there. In Cassel's world, curse workers can manipulate other people physically and emotionally with a touch of their hands. Cassel has every reason to think he's been worked; everyone in his family of con artists and gangsters has the ability to curse. Everyone except for him. But being the black sheep of the family is the least of his worries. Cassel is sure he's responsible for the death of his best friend, Lila, daughter of the local mob boss. Cassel has to find out who is working him and why, and how it's all related to the mysterious white cat who won't get out of his dreams.

From the first chapter, I couldn't put White Cat down. Cassel is one of those characters who you wish you could have over for pizza in real life. This story has the perfect balance of a teenager's struggles with family, school, and friends, the intrigue of life in a crime family, and the complexity of an urban fantasy world. Think The Sopranos meets Harry Potter.

I can't say much about the sequel without spoilers, but I loved Red Glove, too. I'm just glad the fall release season is upon us, and I'll have plenty of other series installments to keep me busy until #3.

Music for today: Trojans by Atlas Genius