sarah · dessen

I did see that article, and as a fan of all different types of teen lit, from your books to the Gossip Girl series, i was a little upset. Yes, there are themes of sexuality at times in a lot of teen books, but do people really think that their kids haven't heard about it already? Come on. I totally agree with you that the appeal of teen books is that there are so many different types, and I highly doubt most people read the Gossip Girl books and want to be just like Blair and Serena. Anyway. ttyl! ~@lison

Ooh.
The Principles of Love. Nice choice.
There are two others out there for that series, which I have read and loved, so I suggest you grab those as soon as you can.

reading two books at a time can be so hard, especially when they are completely different from one another. i don't know if it's just me but everytime that i'm reading more than one book at a time i always get the stories confused, and that can be really crazy.

My mom does it all the time. She'll have like a super natural book and a serial killer and she says its really cool b/c there are just extra story lines. But she's a huge fan of soap operas...

I love tha tyou mentioned Gossip Girls in your entry today. I love the series, and it's gottne me hooked on other books about "rich people", like The Devil Wears Prada, etc. I don't aspire to be like those girls, but I love escaping in the lives of Serena and Blair!

I admit that Gossip Girls has a slight hook grabbing me, but afterwards I don't feel good about reading the books. It's like indulging myself in tons of chocolate... feels good at the time, but not in the aftermath. I like reading about characters I can relate with, I guess. It allows me to sink into the book with more ease.

I just read the article... I especially liked this line: "Sex and shopping take their places on a barren stage, as though, even for teenagers, these are the only dramas left." But oh well.

ok so i read the article && i <33 that line ^^ up there 2!!! the whole thing cracked me up. but ican see where she's coming from... but i still <33 those books. i've never read the clique series but i <3333333 GG && A-list!! errr but i guess that is all i have 2 say...
Ryanne

I am an avid multi-reader! I am not content unless I have an entire stack of books to choose from piled up in a basket near my bed. Currently, my basket holds: Rebel Angels (Libba Bray), Bird by Bird (Anna Lammott), The Truth About Forever (guess who?), Running With Scissors (Augusten Burroughs), Middlesex (Jeffrey Eugenides), Gilead (Marilynne Robinson), The First Five Pages (Noah Lukeman) and The Tenth Circle (Jodi Picuoult- esp. loving this one). Sometimes my best friend teases me that this is a form of OCD because if I see a book that looks interesting, I have to have it then, otherwise I might forget about it! But it's such a fun, comforting compulsion! What bookworm doesn't love a towering stack of intriguing books?
GirlGrownUp, Still Dreaming
www.girlgrownup.blogspot.com

I am so trying to get a hold of the Jodi Picoult book, ack! I love her.

Have you read MY SISTERS KEEPER by Jodi Picuoult? It was amazing.

I was completely drawn in to My Sister's Keeper.
girlgrownup, still dreaming

It was so unpredictable, thats what I loved about it. I never knew what was going to happen next.

I never understood why people couldn't read more than one book at a time. I usually read three together. People are like, "No, I can't do that, I get the plots mixed up" and I just wonder how. I mean, every book is so different, I don't think I could ever get the plots/characters mixed up. But maybe that's just me!

The History of Love... I bought a signed version of that about 2 months ago at a Half-Priced Books store and I haven't quite gotten around to reading it, though it's on the upper end of my "list". I love when you recommend good books because I usually end up agreeing with you when I read them. For example, The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing... I loved it, absolutely.

- Melissa

http://www.myspace.com/happy_girl

I always try to read two books at once, but I fail to be successful at it all the time. Never any harm in trying though, right? lol

I'm reading three books right now, but I'm always reading at least two. I try to stick to one fiction and one non-fiction at a time.

OH MY GOD. I'm listening to THE HISTORY OF LOVE right now on my iPod. How weird is that? I'm fully enjoying it, too, though at times I wish I had the book instead of the audio version because I get confused about some of the mysteries. Still, the guy reading Leo's part is hilarious.

BTW, I can't read two books at once unless one is fiction and the other is non-fiction. And then there's the audio book - I always have one of those going in my car.

Okay, so I was sitting here reading Sarah's journal and having lunch - I work at an art gallery in NYC - when I heard a familiar voice from out in the gallery space. I went out there to see, and holy f--k - KEANU was standing right there! I swear! Usually I'm pretty chill when I see celebrities, but this was a whole other level. I was dumbstruck.

He's even more gorgeous in person!

I'm not a big fan of reading more than one book at once. I do it, when school requires us to read a book and I just so happen to be in another one, but other than that it doesn't work too well for me. It's not that I get lost or confused between the books, I just like to be fully absorbed in a book, and it's easier for me to do that taking books one at a time. That way, I'm also not wasting my time debating over which book to go back and read (because it's very likely that I would do that), and can just pick that one book I'm reading up and continue from where I left off.

By the way, I read some Gossip Girl books, but I'm not obsessed with them. They aren't anything special to me, but I can see why other girls love them.

Great minds think alike. I just read The Principles of Love, and I thought it was excellent. I loved Emily's first novel, Liner Notes. Have you read that yet? You should! It's a book with a built-in soundtrack!

As per the GG/A-List/Clique debacle, a few things . . .
1) Your books are more enjoyable, intelligent, and realistic; and
2) GG and A-List deal with drugs, drinking, smoking, and other racy things with little to consequences, which is why I think they are inappropriate for kids, say, younger than 12, if not 16. ;-)

Sarah, did you see that the list that went along with the article (YA books not about sex and drugs) had Someone Like You listed on it?
-M

After much searching, I found that article you were talking about. Interesting, I must say. I have to completely disagree and agree with her points. I mean, sure. I see what she was saying about it being too much sex and shopping and shallow, irresponsible hehavior, BUT it's just a book. Like it's just a television show or a movie, this is just a fun book. My main point is: at least the girls that are reading these books are literate! I mean, they could be doing something else like video games or something (not that those are all bad either), but no. They are choosing to read... even if it is just for enjoyment. Adults harp all the time that "kids don't read enough these days!" Well, when there is actually something out there that we like to read, they want to hapr on that, too. Not every wants to read a classic or a Jodi Picoult novel about current issues (even though I love them). Sure, there are more middle of the road novels that are amazing, too: your books, Meg Cabot, Ann Brashares! But really... just be happy we are reading anything!

P.s. Did you read the recommended girls' reading list? Someone Like You was on there! You got a Seal of Approval, Sarah!

The History of Love is wonderful, and I am looking forward to reading The Principles of Love at some point. :)

Hello..this is Bri. First time to visit your site and I must say its very nice ^^ I've just recently started this year reading a couple or so books at a time. Right now I'm reading your book Someone Like You and Steven King's Four Past Midnight. Two totally differnent genres I know, but its going well. But if I read two books that are similar in some way or another then I get a little confused...especially if I'm not really "in" to one of the books. And YAY! for you loving things like Laguna Beach. Sometimes, you just want to escape into a big campy story, even if you know your own life will never be anything approximating what's on the page. That is very true...I think everyone thinks that at one point or another. Anywho, like I said, this is my first time visiting your site so I thought I would leave you a peaceful comment. Glad everything's going well for you!

I read Naomi Wolfe's article as well as the list of her recommended YA books (I actually scanned it for books by you, because in my opinion--you are the best :D) Anyway, I agreed with her about the Gossip Girl series. I've read one (maybe two--but they all seem the same to me) Gossip Girl book and one A-List book, and they just seemed dumb to me. I read People to get my celebrity/rich heiress fix, and I read your books for my delightful YA fix. I just thought the books were boring. The point she made about the authors behind the A-List series being hired was interesting too.
My problem with her article and list was that she seemed to be telling parents what their daughters should read--and since the Gossip Girls have careless, meaningless sex and no plot they are bad influences on girls. I like to think we teenage girls have minds of our own, and can just say no to pathetic literature in general.
On the same note, I don't like your books because they show teenagers dealing with issues and then coming to the proper moral decision--I like them because they are much more complex than "Ben slept with Blair, OMG!1!!!1!111"
So, actually, I don't agree with you or Naomi Wolfe. But I still really love your books and your blog :D
P.S. why I didn't really agree with you: who wants their life to be like those girls in Gossip Girl? I would like my life to be like a lot of the characters in your books--they may not be perfect, at times they may suck, but eventually they come to terms with their lives and their grief and their problems...and things generally work out. In real life, closure to grief never really comes, all the ends don't get neatly tied together, and sometimes things don't get fixed. So, I'd say (for me at least) your books are the lovely escape, and definitely one waaay more interesting than a book written by a media company, so that they can advertise their junk.

i just have to say... you mixed them up with the ben slept with blair. ben is a-list-- blair is gossipgirl.

well nevermind, you dont care and it doesnt matter.

Wow...thats all that comes to mind right now since I just found out that you have a livejournal, well "oh my gosh I can't believe this is for real!" also comes to mind but seriously! Anyway I love your works and can't wait for more! You are an inspiration to all of us young writers. THANK YOU!!!

I too like to read a couple books at once - right now am reading JUST LIKE THAT by Marsha Qualey, which I think Sarah fans would really like (especially since we have quite a while to wait for the new book). I am also reading WATCH BY MOONLIGHT, a great historical (but very sad) and a legal thriller called THE COLOR OF LAW. All recommended.

serena and blair, while not idyllic creatures quite unlike (pehaps) scarlett and halley, haven and ashley,nicole and macy, also serve a joyous purpose in the wonderful world of teenage fiction. maybe less noble than the best of sarah's works but all the same they are enjoyable books and i have grown up (not badly, either) reading these books. i'd take it as a personal affront if the books were "insulted" by some sour middle aged spinster who takes it upon herself to campaign against the books. they deal with a (few) real life issues, and the rest of it is very obviously imagination. let's face it: few of us are able to live the blessed lives of paris hilton but i am sure i am not the only teenage girl that would say she would happily give a life of so called normalacy for one single day as dear old paris. not noble, but certainly understandable coming from your typical middle class female just wanting to shine like blair or serena. perhaps in a kinder way though.

i like the way you talk. it has a hint of teenager with a little smart person mixed in.

and i like the "sour middle aged spinster who takes it upon herself to campaign against the books" line.

upon reading naomi wolf's article (and i didnt have to register BTW) i have slightly changed my perspective. i have only read GG and ive always loved it despite my mothers contempt for it (of course she cannot really talk- can u say mills and boons?) the other books naomi mentioned A-List and Clique sound considerably worse- at least in GG (and jenny's spin off "It Girl") there are values like friendship and Blairs silly romantic notions regarding her virginity. these at least present SOME moral grounding. although i must admit that there is alot of "name dropping" in terms of brands and such. but doesnt that make buying your luxury items even more satisfying (i know it sounds sick and twisted) simply because serena had them too? personally.....i love it.

i read both the serieses... that isn';t even a word. what is the plural for series? nevermind.

they're good. and no self respect lost at all.