On This Page...
Books Recommended
by Teens
Books Recommended
by MSW
Books by MSW
More about MSW
Writing Ideas
Submit Your Writing
Send suggestions
or just say, "Hi!"
Conferences Etc.
for Teens
(These may have deadlines, so don't wait)
More sites for Teens
Web Site for teens interested in writing fantasy and science fiction:
Need research? Try the
New York Times page for Learning
A Page about Books and Writing For Teens
Meredith Sue Willis Updated May 1, 2010
My Home Page
Welcome to my page about books and writing. This site isn't very fancy, but it does have information about books and other things that might be of interest. Also, I'm always looking for suggestions-- especially for books you like. Please write to me at meredithsuewillis@gmail.com .
Reading Recommendations from High School Students in Park Ridge, New Jersey!
Special Welcome to:
Park Ridge High School,
Park Ridge, New Jersey
Summit Academy Charter School
in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York
East Hanover Students,
East Hanover, New Jersey
New Stuff:
Writing Contest for students through Grade 12
WORDLE
Copy in an essay you'rve written or
any other text,
and make a word cloud!
Read samples of my books here
And Here
A blog about Books for Teens
Learn to write college essays from a recent graduate!
And what about if you get more rejections than acceptances?
A disappointed student warms up to her college...
New Place for Writing Exercises!
More Writing Exercises
Featured magazine that publishes teen writing!
More magazines that publish teens
Book Reviews by Teens and Adults
\
Books Recommended by Teens
The Following List is from the Ninth Grade English classes
at Park Ridge High School in Park Ridge, New Jersey
The 5 People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Alburn
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Emma by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
Curtain by Agatha Christie
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dupont
Looking for Alaska by John Green
The Pelican Brief by John Grisham
Carrie Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King
Call of the Wild by Jack London
What Dreams My Come by Richard Matheson
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
Killing John by Nicholas Sparks
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Stoltz
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Series:
Artemis Fowl Series
Eragon series by Christopher Paolini
Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The Pretty Little Liars (series) by Sara Shepard
Goosebumps Series by R.L. Stein
Authors:
Judy Blume
Meg Cabot
James Patterson
Samiel Cameron of South Orange, New Jersey recommends these books:
Manchild in the Promised Land
.... is indeed one of the most remarkable autobiographies of our time. This fictionalized account of Claude Brown's childhood as a hard, streetwise criminal trying to survive the toughest streets of Harlem has been heralded as the definitive account of everyday life for the first generation of African Americans raised in the ghettos of the 1940s and 1950s. When the book was first published in 1965, it was praised for its realistic portrayal of Harlem — the children, young people, hardworking parents; the hustlers, drug dealers, prostitutes, and numbers runners; the police; the violence, sex, and humor. The book continues to be a hit generations later, not only because of its fierce and dignified anger, not only because the struggles of urban youth are as deeply felt today as they were in Brown's time, but also because the book is affirmative and inspiring. Here is the story about the one who "made it," the boy who kept landing on his feet and became a man.
Running with Scissors
The story of running with scissors is a memoir about Augusten Burroughs. While most memoirs invoke an annoyance for the self-pitying victim, Scissors does anything but. The book describes Burrough’s rocky childhood in the 1970'sw Massachusetts. His Bipolar mother identifies with suicidal poets such, as Anne Sexton; his professor father drinks instead of dealing with the family’s issues, and the psychiatrist who treats him seems to have more problems than the entire family combined.Two things make Burrough’s book so compelling: his wit and his personal depiction of the wild going ons in this strange family. Through the eyes of an observant teenager, Burroughs captures the 70's spirit of questioning every institution and tradition from mental monogamy to traditional education. Although he conveys the pain of this period, Burrouogh doesn’t ladle on the disapproval of the neo-conservatives, and instead captures this strange time in America—from the corny TV shows to the obsession with talk therapy. As funny as this book is, Burroughs memoir is shocking and disturbing because its all real. I highly recommend this book!!!
The Da Vinci Code
It is a considerable acheivement of Dan Brown to have written a thriller that is both fascinating and fun. The Da Vinci Code takes us in hot pursuit of nothing less than the Holy Grail, which turns out not to be the legendary cup of Christ, but a trove of documents proving dramatic facts about Jesus that the Catholic Church has been suppressing for nearly two millennia. After Brown’s hero, Robert Langdon, a Harvard professor of religion symbology delivers a lecture in Paris, police summon him to the Lourve, where the renowned curator Jacques Sauniere has been murdered. The dead man left behind an enigmatic message that mentions Langdon’s name. The scholar soon realizes he is about to be charged with the crime, and accompanied by Sauniere’s
granddaughter Sophie, he flees.The novel alternates between conventional chase scenes and scholarly digressions. Brown keeps the book fast paced, the puzzles leading to the Grail exceedingly clever, and there are a flurry of surprises and betrayals before the mystery is finally solved. Whatever the reader makes of the religious theories put forth, Brown has a great deal of interest to say about the early days of Christianity. How much of this is fact and how much is fiction??? Read the book and make up your own mind.
Samiel M.S. Cameron of Columbia High School, Maplewood, New Jersey, has had articles, essays and original poetry published in several community newspapers and statewide teen periodicals. Samiel's essay
"Colorism" won her the annual 2006 Silver Award for Literary from the NAACP - N.J. ACT-SO.. Samiel was recommended by South Orange Rotary as one of 21 students to travel to Japan as a student ambassador. Samiel aspires to become a journalist.
Courtney Zanosky of Park Ridge, New Jersey, says, "I would highly recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green. It's my favorite book to date.
Christine M. from Bergen County, New Jersey says:
I read a whole lot. My mom yells at my sister to read more, and then my mom yells at me for reading too much. I like a lot of fantasy. I really like historical fiction with swords, arrows, and chivalry instead of now-a-days guns and problems. I really like Harry Potter, and let's face it, who doesn't? I really really like Lord of the Rings. Phanthom of the Opera is a good book, and so is Timeline. Twilight is a really good chick book, and the Inkheart series I am a little old for, but the sequel just came out, and it was wonderful. I really like a lot of books!
Christine lives in Bergen County, New Jersey.
Nathan Weinberger from Brookline, Massachusetts suggests :
1. Any of the multiple series set in the Forgotten Realms universe by R.A. Salvatore. He has written seven or eight different series following pretty much the same group of characters. The series do go in a certain order, but you can get away with reading them out of order. All of the characters seem like real people and I would read the books even if they didn’t have a plot because the characters are so well written.
2. The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind. They are set in a really interesting world with magic and swordfights. Really interesting characters and plots.
3. The Swong and Sword series by Elaine Cunningham. Also set in the Forgotten Realms universe, they follow a half-elf and her dandy companion on all sorts of adventures. They are funny and great.
4. Spearwielders Tale by R.A. Salvatore. A trilogy about a man who is kidnapped and taken to the magical land of Faerie just because he is the perfect size to fit into a dead heroes armor. These books are hilarious and also really well written.
5. Evermeet: Isle of Elves by Elaine Cunningham. The Forgotten Realms has a series of stand alone novels that take place in one of the main cities in the Forgotten Realms universe. This is a complete history of Evermeet starting with the Elvin gods and the creation of the elves.
6. The City of Splendors by Ed Greenwood and Elaine Cunningham. Another in the Cities series. This one takes place in Waterdeep and follows many different characters for about a year.
7. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. This book is 1500 pages long so it shouldn’t be stepped into lightly. I am only half way through it but so far it is really great.
Nathan Weinberger of Brookline High School in Brookline, Massachusetts enjoys, along with reading, dance including hip hop, street jazz, and tap.
Books for young people Suggested
by Tricia Idrobo (see her blog here)
Beyond the Dragon Portal
A guy tries for ten minutes to merge onto a busy boulevard, cursing out the drivers that pass as ignorant and selfish. Finally someone gives him a break. Once on the road, he goes by several merges further on, also with long back-ups of cars waiting to get on. His friend suggests allowing in one of the cars. “Why should I let in any of those idiots?” he responds. “I’m in a hurry.”
It is just human nature to assess our own motives as reasonable and justified, and
the motives of others as selfish, despicable, or even evil. This habit, while bad enough on the interpersonal level, can become deadly when practiced by groups or nations. Yet that mindset can be transformed by the simple act of getting to know the “enemy” or “other” and engaging in problem-solving.
I love stories that confront us with this truth. In the middle-grade novel Beyond the Dragon Portal (2005- Melissa Glenn Haber) Sadie travels to Dragonland to find her lost sister. Just when she thinks she understands this strange land and is fired up with anger against the enemy who is killing her dragon friends, she discovers that the truth about the Dragons’ war is much more complicated than she thought. I don’t want to give anything away, but this well-crafted story cleverly enables readers to get an insider’s view of the “enemy” and of war.
The People of Sparks
I love books for their characters and story. But they truly carve a place in my heart when their themes resonate with me and make me think. That is what gives a novel depth. I am a lover of themes!
In particular I’m keen on themes that make me reflect not only on the world as it is, but on the way it could be. For example, The People of Sparks (2004- Jeanne DuPrau, Book 2 of the Ember series) is an endearing children’s novel of a girl and boy caught up in a deteriorating conflict between their people and the people of the city to which they have fled. The characters are memorable and the story is engaging. But its depth is achieved through exploring the themes of understanding, mistrust and hatred. The main characters Lina and Doon act in a dangerous situation with the simple but profound solution of helping rather than hating. Their actions completely transform the situation in Sparks.
Children reading the book witness a wonderful model for dealing with inflamed group emotions. “Helping rather than hating” is a theme that resonates deep in the heart.
Books for young people by MSW
and some of her friends
Ice
This novel by Edward Myers is about two teenagers and a car accident. It was a Silver Award Winner in the Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Awards. You can read a sample chapter here from this unusual Young Adult novel about a boy who was driving--on the night his girl friend was killed.
The City Built of Starships
Here is Meredith Sue Willis's young adult science fiction novel. The City Built of Starships is a science fiction novel set on a planet with two suns. A young native has to go on a quest from the desert to the city. Click on the image to learn more.
This is a book about a girl whose mother is white and father is black. In the story, she meets her white cousin for the first time! If you'd like to read the first chapter, click on the book cover.
My 100 Million Dollar Secret
My 100 Million Dollar Secret is by David Weinberger, a well known journalist and blogger . This is about a boy whose father is a newspaper man on a crusade against the Lottery. Then the boy wins -- a tremendous amount of money! So the story is about how to hide something from your parents without lying, and also about how to spend and give away lots and lots of money. It has just a hint of love interest; it has an evil capitalist who runs the rival town newspaper. There are some mean girls who get a mild comeuppance, a little sister who picks up lice at school every year, and lots more. Even adults who’ve read it were enthusiastic. You can read this one for free! Go to http://www.my100milliondollarsecret.com/
Blazing Pencils
Meredith Sue Willis's how-to-write book is Blazing Pencils, a book of writing ideas for teens and college students. It gives ideas for writing fiction and nonfiction. If you want more information about the book, click on the image.
Magazines and Other Places that publish teens
Writing Ideas.
Books Recommended by Teens
Books Recommended by MSW
Send suggestions or just say, "Hi!"
To learn more about Meredith Sue Willis and her books, visit her biography page or her book page.
Playing Around -- A site with software for making your own comix.
I have a thing about parrots and parakeets. Even if you don't, here's a site about th
e strange and wonderful monk parrots of Brooklyn, New York: green parrots that live in big flocks in the city all year 'round. You can go on parrot spotting tours. Or, if you live in New Jersey, there's a different flock in Edgewater, N.J.
I saw one on my bird feeder once.
Do you have a younger sib who is interested in books and writing?
I have a page for them too: Kids!
This web site is always being revised-- please send suggestions and ideas for books to MeredithSueWillis@gmail.com or click on the feed-back page.
Writing Exercises
Here are a just a few exercises to get you going on some writing-- I put new exercises on my main Writing Exercises page often, and if you like to write, you might look there for ideas. For Poetry Writing Exercises, try Teachers & Writers' Writenet.com virtual poetry workshop.
Also, take a look at WriteFix online.
Exercise #138
Here's one especially for elections! Write a that begins with "Wake Up America!" But here's the trick: Make the speaker not be yourself! Try it in the voice of someone from a different political party or even a different country or in the voice of a person from a different time.
Exercise # 131
Think of three people. Write about each of them getting angry. What characteristic gestures do they use? What tones of voice? Emphasize their physical action and how it shows their anger, but feel free to include dialogue and what is going on inside them.
Exercise #14
Write down an actual overheard telephone conversation - it might be someone in your family or a stranger on the train on his cell phone. I once overheard a man talking passionately with what seemed to be his girl friend - and then calling his wife to tell her what time he'd be home! After you've written the observed half of the conversation, write again, making up what the second person said.
Exercise # 124
Take this extremely short and dull bit of dialogue. Rewrite it, adding more. First, write it as a conversation between a teenage boy and an elderly woman. What you add may include longer speeches, more speeches, a setting, descriptions of the people, how they say things, their gestures, and anything else you want to add. Now write it again, as if spoken by two people in love, of any age. Then try it again as... ???
Here is the bare-bones dialogue:Hi.
Hi.
Where were you?
Nowhere.
Exercise #104
This exercise is a picture prompt. Either
(a) continue the story from"The plane went streaking over the fields. Suddenly.... " or
(b) put this particular yellow propeller plane into a piece you're already writing.
By the way, since precision is almost always a good thing in writing, can you name the kind of plane this is? See below.
Submit your writing:
(SASE = Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope)
Featured place to submit:
Young Voices Foundation Writing Contests
826 NYC Review. New York City only! This magazine is special for students up to age 18 but only from the five boroughs of New York. To submit, mail your work to: The 826 NYC Review, 372 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Their website is http://www.826nyc.org/ . When you get there, click on "Writing Gallery."
Bookworm Magazine , by and for kids, accepts work from people up to age 16. It was started by high school student Sophie McKibben when she was 11 and wanted wanted to give kids a place to have their writing and art published and shared. Since then, Bookworm has published kids from all over the United States, as well as from a number of foreign countries. If you have something you'd like to submit to Bookworm, you can send it by email to: bookworm.mag@gmail.com or by regular mail to: Bookworm Magazine, P.O. Box 167,Ripton, VT 05766.
The Claremont Review pays for publication! See their web page at http://www.theclaremontreview.ca/ They say they showcase "inspiring young adult writers."
Creative Kids. P.O. Box 6448, Mobile, AL 36660. For up to age 15. Accepts a wide variety of writing and artwork.
Green Sky, Blue Grass is an annual national arts magazine for and by high school students. Send up to 5 poems, 2 short stories/essays , or 5 photogrpahs/sketches/paintings with an SASE to Green Sky, Blue Grass, Palmer Trinity School, English Department, 7900 SW 176th St., Palmetto Bay, FL 33157.
Hanging Loose publishes all ages but especially encourages high school age writers to submit. Send all work to High School Editor, Hanging Loose, 231 Wyckoff Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217. Please also send a note identifying yourself as a high school age writer, and telling your age. Be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient return postage. Send 3 to 6 poems, or 1 to 3 short stories, or an equivalent combination of poetry and prose.
The Mad Hatter is a mostly poetry publication for "precollege" students. Send work, school or home-school affiliation, and SASE to The Mad Hatter, Journal of Student Creativity, 320 South Seminary Street, Madisonville, KY 42431 . For more information, go to their Website at http://www.hopkins.k12.ky.us/gifted/mad_hatter.htm .
Merlyn's Pen-- is interested in fiction by young people. Issues are free, but only accepts submissions part of the time.
National Council of Teachers of English. 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, IL 61801. If you are not already aware of the 8th grade and 11th grade writing competitions sponsored by NCTE, write them and find out.
New Moon This is a magazine for girls eight to twelve. Actually, it's a whole web site with a magazine. Click on "submissions." Watch for their new web zine coming in March 2008.
Read. Xerox Education Publications, 245 Long Hill Rd., Middletown, Grades 7 through 9. Runs students' jokes and poems often. Has a special feature for student writing each year.
Scholastic, 50 West 44th St., New York, NY 10036. Scholastic publishes Scholastic Scope and Scholastic Voice magazines for students. Both accept student writing. They also sponsor the annual Scholastic Writing Awards Program for grades 7, 8, and 9.
Seventeen is shard to get into. It's at 850 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10022. For girls 12 through 18. Try the "Free-for-AII" column.
Teen Ink for people 13 to 19. Lots of good articles and fiction and poetry written by teens. Click on "How to Submit"-- Submitting is free, but you have to pay for a subscription.
Also, take a look at The Tracking Way.
The Weekly Reader now has a special site for teens--including student writing! They also recently launched a blog and are in the process of creating a large online collection of student writing.
Upwords Poetry! takes poetry submissions and also has a lot of resources and information for teen writers.
You might also take a look at Writing.com which is a place to store writing and explore different genres
Young Voices Foundation has writing contests and more for students through Grade 12
Contests & Conferences 2010
I put information about contests and conferences here when someone tells me about them. Please let me know if you hear of any at MeredithSueWillis@gmail.com.
Scholastic Writing Awards http://www.artandwriting.org/
For Teen Writing Contests see http://www.springfieldlibrary.org/YA/teen_writing.html
Every year, November Is National Novel Writing Month--
They have an adult and a youth version at Nanowrimo
More sites for Teens
Web Site for teens interested in writing fantasy and science fiction: http://www.davidbarrkirtley.com/teenwriter/
http://www.fundsforwriters.com/writingkid.htm
http://www.youngimmigrants.com/
Here's something different: a website where the profile and information is supposed to be made up! Take a look at http://www.redcarpetsuperstar.com
Don't forget to send feedback!
And...
Thank You for Visiting!
Meredith Sue Willis
The plane is called a Piper Cub
Biography Blog Contact Home MSW Info MSW Writing Online Online Classes Order Books Teens Writing Exercises
