I had the privilege
of attending the North Texas Teen Book Festival (#NTTBF15) with my 13-year-old
daughter. Just for the day, I wasn't a literacy coach, I was Hope's mom going
into her world and celebrating with her the excitement of seeing, hearing and meeting
literary writers that she has only heard their voice through written words on a
page.
I decided that while
at the festival I wanted to have a deeper understanding of what was causing
teens, like Hope, to become avid readers who now have this thirst for the next
book of a series or to experience a new up and coming author? I mean, it was a
Saturday afternoon, the day most school districts were kicking off a week for
spring break, and yet thousands of youth are attending a book festival.
Hope was the perfect
YA to attend this festival with since she had previously researched what the
day would entail. She had the schedule highlighted with the panel discussions
we were to attend and even made sure we had the opportunity to experience a
variety of topics and authors.
Once at the
festival, one thing that caught my eye immediately was the amount of books
these teens were carrying around. They were carrying books. Lots and lots of
books. They were like sponges soaking up new literature and having deep discussions
about plot, making connections and at times asking panels of authors' questions
that provoked deep thinking. I couldn't help smiling when authors would say,
"That is a great question." And it was.
Silly, personable,
approachable and just fun! These authors know how to have a good time with
teenagers. Social media were being blown up with Tweets, selfies and posts to
Instagram. To think that they had come to spend the day to hear their favorite
authors, but also had the privilege of actually meeting them, have them know
their name, make a quick connection. Pictures! Lots of pictures!
Here is Hope with her
favorite author Allie Condie. Hugs and pictures and the excitement of finding
out that Allie Condie's sister's name is Hope. What an unforgettable moment.
Hope with Lauren
Myracle and Sarah Mlynowski; two flamboyant authors with a zest for meeting
readers.
Hope and Patrick
Carman. He is so teen friendly that he walks into the crowd with a selfie-stick
taking pictures.
As I sat listening to
the panel discussions I was very impressed with the way these authors were
connecting with their YA audience and reassuring ballrooms filled with teens to
become who they were created to be and to take chances with their own passions,
all the while sharing real-life experiences from their youth. They also explained
that while traveling their own literacy journeys that they only became better
by learning through their failures. It was powerful to hear author Jennifer Han
say, “I don’t listen to the negativity, but try to grow and take away from real
criticism that will help me grow and learn.” Author Alex London talked about how a
little bit of him is dispersed through his characters and how he takes real
life experiences from his teen years and incorporates them though out his
novels. The list goes on and on with all of these fantastic authors and how
they approach writing a novel.
After the book festival is was evident that the most important
constant variable that causes YA audiences to read is the hope given to the
main characters in their novels to overcome adversity in a world where there
seems to be no way out and no solution for a positive outcome. Through these
characters, authors are empowering the youth of today, giving them the strength
to believe that they too can save the world and make a difference. Words. A
voice. A teenager as a hero. All perfect elements for a YA novel causing this
massive literary shift for our youth.
As Hope’s mom, I
can’t thank them enough for instilling a love of literature, a desire to read
more, make connections with others and the hope that someday she too will change
the world.
North Texas Teen
Book Festival:
