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Reading from Violet in Private with Lisa McMann (Wake) and Linda Gerber (Death By Bikini)
Wednesday, August 6
Books of Wonder
18 West 18th Street
NYC
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Win-It Wednesday: Bloody RED Heart
Thank you for all the amazing ideas for Violet in Private promotion--I am going to use some, and I will credit the idea people accordingly once I get organized--really! Remember to pre-order the book at your local bookstore if you want to be sure it's there. I would love, love, love that. Now, the winner of Lauren Baratz-Logsted's fantastic Secrets of My Suburban Life is... Lenore! I just won one of her contests, (yes, I love giveaways too!), but I promise her winning was all luck! Lenore, send me your address.
I've been putting off this giveaway for, oh, six months, because I kept thinking I might keep this book. I have two copies, but only one is signed and signed and signed by many of the 58 amazing girls who contributed to Red: The Next Generation of American Writers--Teenage Girls--On What Fires Up Their Lives Today, and also by the uniquely awesome editor of the book, Amy Goldwasser. Amy made sure that each and every word in Red came directly from the teenage authors, which is what a true editor does.
I can't rave enough, so I won't go on. I'll just say that this book will break your heart, ignite your passions, make you want to sing and dance and celebrate all teenage girls and how freaking smart and insightful they are.
Here's just one example, Aarian Marshall, reading from "Burning in Heaven":
See more on Red's YouTube channel, and read the authors' works on The Huffington Post.
To win the signed--yes, the signed--copy of the book, tell me this: What would your RED essay be about? (Enter through next Tuesday at midnight; double counts on your entry if you post about this on your blog or in a bulletin--just tell me.)
And have a Happy Wednesday.
PS-You can still win a copy of Violet by Design here at Shooting Stars magazine and a full set of Violet books here at Book Chic's blog. Good luck!
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Comments (19)
Ah, this book is amazing. Those girls are amazing. I borrowed this book from my English teacher, and was so sad when I had to give it back.
If I were to write an essay, it would most likely be about living in a family where all the siblings are adopted, or about the effect reading/reviewing has had on me. Or, knowing me, I would set out to write something along the lines and come up with something entirely different.
Posted by The Compulsive Reader | July 2, 2008 12:15 PM
Well, I don't really know what my story would be about but I thought of a pretty cool idea last night for the Violet in Privet thing.
Every person who enters the contest needs to make a flip book (www.flip.com) about Violet on the Runway/ by Design, and advertising Violet in Privet. The best wins a really cool fashion related prize. If they post it somewhere, bonus points!
Posted by Hillary | July 2, 2008 12:40 PM
If I had to write an essay I think it would be about being the black sheep of the family and how hard it is to break free from everyone's expectations of wanting me to be something I'm not, but what they all are. And just how these expectations have affected me growing up.
Posted by Cyndi | July 2, 2008 1:56 PM
Yay Yay Yay! And a good thing too, I was trying to think of an answer for your question this week and came up with nothing! It does sound like an interesting book though!
Posted by Alea | July 2, 2008 5:04 PM
I think I would write about how tough it is being a teenager and forging your own identity. It's not all "High School Musical" real high school is hard and teens are tougher and stronger than they're often given credit for. Sounds like a great book. I would so love to win it!
Posted by Aimee C | July 2, 2008 5:26 PM
My essay would likely be about drumline. In HS, I lived drumline. The other girls in the pit were some of my best friends and we had many shared experiences. Drumline is a bit cult-ish, but . . .
Or perhaps my essay would be about the intersection of drumline and my grandmother's funeral. That was a rough weekend.
Posted by Liviania | July 2, 2008 5:26 PM
Tolerance, acceptance and the lack of it in our society. Different it outomatically considered bad. I'm not talking about black sheep, I'm talking about people's lives: I talked to a guy who told his parents he was gay and they kicked him out of the house and declared he was dead. A kid in my school tried to kill himself last year for pretty much the same reason.
Sounds like a good book..
Posted by Irene | July 2, 2008 6:56 PM
I just saw you on the contributors page in Teen Vogue!! I just ordered your books and can't wait to read them, heard good things! :)
Posted by Katy | July 2, 2008 8:33 PM
I would write about global warming and our environment.
Posted by Grace | July 2, 2008 9:32 PM
To be honest, I'm not sure what I would write about. I shall ponder this!
Posted by Kelly | July 3, 2008 4:29 PM
I guess I would write about being tolerant of other people that are different and the phrase "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" isn't some kindergarten thing...you should actually apply it to your life.
I would also kind of tie that into the fact that people often kill themselves or cause school shootings slightly based around how people treat them. It has an impact and you have to keep that in mind...even if the person's actions later are their own...try not to contribute to their anger or self-hate.
-Lauren
Posted by ShootingStarsMag | July 3, 2008 4:42 PM
I guess I would write about being tolerant of other people that are different and the phrase "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all" isn't some kindergarten thing...you should actually apply it to your life.
I would also kind of tie that into the fact that people often kill themselves or cause school shootings slightly based around how people treat them. It has an impact and you have to keep that in mind...even if the person's actions later are their own...try not to contribute to their anger or self-hate.
-Lauren
Posted by ShootingStarsMag | July 3, 2008 4:42 PM
Hmmm, can I enter even though I'm decades past my teenage years? My tween would love this book if we won!
My essy would be about how hypocritical parents can be (based on my experience as a kid and as a parent). You know, the "do as I say, not as I do" advice like "don't drink", "drive the speed limit", etc.
Reading the Red essays available online and seeing the video excerpt brought the high school experience right back to me - I think we often feel like our High School persona reflects our *true* personalities, who we will be for the rest of our lives (makes for interesting reunions) ... I'd like to think I'm a little less rash these days, but still fun!
Posted by Dawn | July 4, 2008 7:11 PM
My essay would probably be like what it feels like to have all this pressure on you because you're going to be the first person in your family to finish HS and go to college. Or it can be how it feels like to be the daughter of parents from another country and how the you have to blend the two different cultures. I can also write about how parents can be two-faced and how not to treat family.
Posted by Carol | July 5, 2008 3:37 PM
My RED essay would be about family feuds. About finding out that you actually had another aunt, who was estranged from the family for years, and kept secret for 12 years of your life. About the uncles who threaten each other. About the dramas of having an uncle who takes advantage of the others. About the grief of a grandmother's death. About how the grandmother tried to bring everyone together with her failing health before she left, but only tore the family more apart. It'll be a story about how these feuds continue into my generation, the cousins who can't help but feel anger and sadness for the state of the family. Even so, we've promised to try to keep ourselves together, and not let those dramatics tear what we have together.
I actually didn't know that such a collection of stories exist. Even though I'm not American, I think that Canadians do share a lot of same values and life styles as Americans. So I think that the book can be interesting to read.
Please enter me in the contest. Thanks. =)
Posted by Carmen T | July 6, 2008 12:47 AM
i would probley write about teen suicide and how it is increasing ever year i did a paper about it for english and i got realy into and i think it would be cool to help people and tell them about the warning signs
Posted by kaylee | July 6, 2008 8:39 PM
I would probably write about all of the hardships that girls I know face every day...
Posted by Ink | July 7, 2008 6:38 PM
I would probably end up writing about my experiences through the years on the internet (from aged about 10 to now) and how that helped shape me, disucssing both the mediums involved (websites, forums, blogs,etc.) and the subjects being discussed (fandom, then YAlit, and then human rights/social justice, which ended up opening up into other fields as well).
It would be a bit long, but I'm kinda tempted to write it now.....
Posted by Marie | July 8, 2008 7:16 AM
I would write about my high school life and how it isn't as wonderful as it may seem because popularity will not matter in the future.
Posted by kriste | July 9, 2008 11:03 AM