Failing Forward

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It's been a crazy few weeks working on getting our DigitLit Book Clubs up and running ... well, trying to get them up and running anyway!

As I head to bed tonight, I'm going to remind myself that FAILURE is GOOD ... that is all!

North Texas Teen Book Festival

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:

Website: http://www.northtexasteenbookfestival.com/