NaNoWriMo has arrived!

November 1st kicked off National Novel Writing Month and with it the beginnings of many, many novels. That's right NaNoWriMo, as it is called for short, is the opportunity to pen 50,000 words in one month. With great gusto, writers everywhere are embarking on the challenge for as many words out as they can, leaving behind the inner editor and saying, "I can do it, I don't care what voice is trying to hold me back!" The goal is to just get writing, no matter what, and then thinking about any possible changes later. The Young Writers Program is just for kids with the goal of finishing a novel, so girls can join in, too!

I know, I know, it sounds out of reach. 50,000 words? New Moon said it on the blog last year and I will say it again: it can be done! It is a wonderful chance to just totally let go of all inhibitions and write! In fact, I am doing it this year, though unofficially, because I started on October 31st. This is a little late notice, but you can still join in, or just learn from the website. It is a fun one to browse, with lots of inspiration and support. Their message is all about having fun and just letting yourself go (and write write write).

So come ahead and join me and the other writers if you would like. If you begin tomorrow, you can still make it with 2000 words per day. And guess what? There are NaNoWriMo participants who have actually had their novels published (with some polishing, I think, though...).

Sound fun? Then by all means, join in.

Happy writing (or whatever activity brings you great pleasure), Bissy (Elizabeth!)

Weekend Reads: Rules

This Friday's weekend reading comes from Marissa, 11, in New York. The book is Rules by Cynthia Lord. Enjoy your weekend and give yourself some time off, maybe by diving into a soul-satisfying book!

"Normal. Average. Regular. Twelve-year-old Catherine doesn't think least she doesn't think her family's normal. David, Catherine's younger brother, is autistic. David doesn't learn from watching others, so Catherine and her parents have to teach him everything.

Catherine is determined to create the illusion that her brother is like everybody else. So she creates rules to teach him. But he's not always is able to follow them. Every time Catherine encounters a new situation she creates a rule for David. 'Don't take your pants off in public,' or 'Sometimes people laugh when they like you. But sometimes they laugh to hurt you.'

But it's the summer where Catherine meets two new friends: One Kristi, her new next door neighbor, who could be everything she hoped for, and Jason, who can't talk, where Catherine's perspective is changed. She starts to think about what she has that Jason doesn't, and the way Kristi treats her and her brother. Catherine begins to wonder if there is only one normal or if there is an average after all.

This fantastic novel will make you think about reaction, perspective, and normalcy. I finished it in a day, the writing is great and the plot is intriguing."

Girl's Best Friend

It takes guts to be a girl in this world. There is no denying it. It is an exciting and fruitful position to have, but it takes a certain amount of courage. There are media images to combat, stereotypes to face, and the ongoing processes of connecting to and holding onto the true voice within herself. Every girl is brave.

One brave girl who has shown up in the news lately is twelve-year-old Shea Megale. Together with her five-year-old companion dog Mercer, she is trying to get the news out about Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a condition that has resulted in her use of a wheelchair to get around. Mercer, Shea, and her mother recently did a television interview to promote Shea's new book, Marvelous Mercer. Shea is remarkably well-spoken, showing the world just what girls have in store for it in terms of an ability to make a difference. "I want to do things to change the world. I think kids like us can," Shea says on the Marvelous Mercer website. She sounds like a New Moon girl!

Marvelous Mercer tells the imagined story of Mercer's nighttime adventures, taking part in the physical activities like ice skating that Shea herself cannot because of her SMA. One point that Shea's mother makes in the interview is that the Marvelous Mercer books (the book is planned to turn into a series) help take the focus off of Shea by focusing people's attention on her dog. It takes bravery to attract the amount of attention that Shea does just by going to the store, and it takes even more to channel her experience constructively by writing. Her "disability" is transformed into a heightened ability to imagine.

This leads me to my questions for you readers. If you had been inventing the English language, what would you have called the word "disability" instead? To me, it's always seemed like it shouldn't have anything that suggests a negative the way the prefix "dis-" so wrongly does. Do any of the alternate terms out there? Or does something like "unexpectedly gifted" ring more of a bell in your heart? I want to know.

What about companion animals? There are all kinds--seeing eye dogs, hearing ear dogs, the list goes on... Do you or someone you know have a special companion animal who makes a difference? In the television interview, Shea pointed out that of all the miraculous things Mercer can do for her, like turning on the lights and opening doors, the most valuable of all is being her best friend.

Bravery has many forms, and this evening I want to celebrate all of you brave girls out there.

Adios for now, Elizabeth

Hi, I'm Elizabeth!

Hi, my name is Elizabeth! I am the new blog coordinator, so you'll be hearing from me on here a lot. I hope that means I'll be hearing a lot back from girls! You have such valuable voices.

I know how good it feels to be a girl and have a place to use your voice, because when I was eleven, I joined the editorial board for New Moon's series of four books. They were published in 1999 and 2000, about three years after the editorial board was formed. Each book was on a different subject--Money, Friendship, Writing, and Sports--and the book series had a separate editorial board from the magazine, which we called the BGEB (Book Girls Editorial Board). First we brainstormed what would be in them at a special meeting in New York City, then we all went home (to such varied locales as Alaska, Hawaii, Minnesota, and more) and started writing. We kept in touch through the internet. Once our writing was combined with excerpts from back issues of New Moon, we got to see the galleys, the term for the almost-finished version of a book. We gave our last input, and they were published by Crown, with our names on the cover page! Even though that was a long time ago, I still keep those memories close at heart. The best part was learning how powerful girls can be.

In my bio for the books, I wrote that I loved "anything that involves making something," and that's a good way to introduce myself in the present day, too. I discovered over the past year that I could design and make my own clothing, and it was so liberating! My clothing choices didn't have to depend on what the stores sold anymore. Now in my early twenties, I am still passionate about writing and making things, especially sewing clothing, as you have gathered. My dream is to be a full-time writer and advocate for girls and women. Nature and health are my two newest interests that I know are here to stay, and I have every plan of discovering many more passions and interests as my life proceeds.

Sometimes leaps and bounds in life aren't as far away as you might expect. I want to let all of you know that I am thrilled to be the new blog coordinator--I've got lots of ideas for topics to encourage your voices. I'm going to go get reading what you've sent in!

Until next time, Elizabeth

Tales of a Female Nomad

If you are anything like me, you have an intense passion for traveling and, if it were at all possible, would do so for the rest of your life. Rita Golden Gelman is doing just that. In her memoir, "Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World", Rita journals her fantastic journey across the world. From Mexico to New Zealand, she conquers the world...all by herself!

After a divorce, Rita finally sees an opportunity to do what she's always wanted to do, travel the world. Shying away from the tourist spots Rita makes it a point to live and experience the day-to-day lives of the natives, a wise choice that only made her journey more valuable. She states in an interview, “I like to stay in one place long enough to become a part of a community.” This is an important piece of advice for all travelers. Rita believes there is strong distinction between being a tourist and being a traveler...Rita, of course, being the latter of the two.

While reading this fantastic story the idea that women should avoid traveling alone began to diminish. If Rita can do it, why can’t we all?! Of course, being safe and listening to your conscience are the most important things to keep in mind when traveling. I have had the opportunity to travel a great deal, primarily in groups, but I have found that the most unforgettable experiences were being able to go off and explore on my own. The ability to choose my own path and see what I want to see is one of the most empowering feelings. Rita’s strength to grab life by the horns is extremely inspirational. In an interview, she claims she has no idea where she’ll be in a year from now, there are not many people who can say that.

At 64, Rita has no intention of ending her travels anytime soon. From her years of roaming the earth Rita has learned that “There is joy in opening up to the world and in reaffirming the oneness of humanity. And age frees us from many daily responsibilities; we have no excuses to put off pursuing our dreams.”

Ever Been the NuGrl?

If there's one thing I love, it's blogs. I love how they give you peeks into people's lives and personalities. I love that you can use them to chronicle the year you got your first horse or all the books you've read about broccoli. I love that they can be a locked, private haven, or a place where the world listens as your ideas take center stage. And I love the New Moon blog because it gives us lots to talk about between issues of the magazine.

Our friend, Cheryl Dellasega, creator of Club and Camp Ophelia, has created the bloggrls series -- novels about girls told in a blog format. One of the coolest things about the first bloggrl books is that a teen girl created all the illustrations. And guess what? Cheryl's publisher is looking for another teen to illustrate upcoming books. Read on to hear it straight from Cheryl.

"If you've ever been new to school, known someone who was new, or face being new in the future, check out the story of Sadie, aka nugrl90, whose life gets turned upside down when her parents split and her mom moves her to a different school district. In ninth grade, the school nurse gave Sadie a diary and suggested she write about her feelings (as if!); instead, she decides to create a blog that chronicles her year as a new girl.

Tenth grade turns out to be a year full of challenges. Sadie has to make a tough decision about the boy she loves and learns her best friend has betrayed her. Meanwhile, at home, her WS (wicked sister) finds endless ways to torment her, but at least her beloved dog, Homer, can always be counted on to provide comfort.

In addition to a "Clicktionary" of blogspeak (send me your favorite saying and I'll send you a t-shirt and cyberframe), the book has illustrations by Karina Lapierre, a teen girl who read the story and got a contract with Marshall Cavendish to provide drawings. Want to be the next girl artist who gets paid to illustrate the next book and has her name on the cover? Go to www.bloggrls.com and find out how. Or, if you're a writer and would like a chance to win an iPod, enter the Bloggrl Writing Contest--more info is also available at www.bloggrls.com"

I know there are some talented artists and writers out there -- I hope you will try your hand at some of the contests! I'd also be happy just to hear your thoughts -- do you keep a blog? Do you think blogs can work the same way as a diary? Have you ever written something in your blog and wished you hadn't? Have you ever found unexpected friends through blogging? Tell us all about it!

Math and Makeup?

"Math Doesn't Suck". Yes, that is the title of Danica McKellar's new book that tries to get girls interested in math. "I thought it (math) was just for nerdy white guys, but it's not...I want to tell girls that cute and dumb isn't as good as cute and smart," said Danica. Oh, boy. While I think the book is getting at something important, does it really need to have "cutesy graphics and teenmagazine staples...syrupy dollops of just-between-us-girls encouragement" (Peg Tyre author of the Newsweek article) to get girls engaged? Girls today are taking as many high-level math courses as boys do. So why do we need to encourage them? Most girls take math because they need as a supplement their career choice. Hardly any girls pursue a "pure math" job, like a mathematician or engineer. "We've gotten girls to take math. We've gotten girls to use math. But we haven't gotten them to love it," explained Patricia Campbell who reviews math and science programs for the National Science Foundation. I can really understand that people want girls to learn to love math, but is this approach really going to reach girls today? Here's a sample problem from the book: "Say you have $50, and you want to buy a fabulous blue sundress that costs $62. Bummer! Not enough money. But wait, there's a sale tag that says it's 1/5 off. Do you have enough money now?". Reality problems are useful and I understand that many girls might like this angle. If it helps them get interested in math, great. However, is it necessary to have inserts like "three miniprofiles of drop-dead-gorgeous mathematicians" (Peg Tyre)? Oh, well. I really hope that this book does help girls get involved with math and see that it's a career worth pursuing.

Peace, friends.

A Childhood Lost

I would have probably never read Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi unless my English teacher hadn’t assigned it. (It’s not too often that I wander into the graphic novel section in the library.) Most of the time we fear reading books given to us by teachers. ‘Will I understand it? Will it be drop-dead boring? Will it have gum from the previous user stuck on page 103?’ (Okay, maybe we don’t ALL fear that...) The point is, I hardly expected this book to change my life. But it did. As, I am sure, it will change yours.

It’s a world that is hard for any of us to imagine; growing up in your country as it goes through a revolution. Young Marjane (or, as in the book, Marji) is living in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Some of us might have learned about the Revolution in school, but most of the time all we hear are the cold-cut, dry facts. That’s perhaps why it was so interesting to peek into a young girl’s life and see what she saw, feel as she felt and learn from her experiences. The Middle East is a complex area of the world where everything seems backwards and it’s hard for anyone who doesn’t live there to comprehend what is considered normal. (Sometimes the story got confusing simply because it was hard keeping up with all the political changes Iran went through. If you get stuck, I suggest rereading that part or asking your parents about the Islamic Revolution.)

The story starts with Marjane when she was 10 years old back in 1980. At first, her 10-year-old-self doesn’t seem to fully grasp what is happening to her country, but, then again, nobody seemed to. Marjane and her friends made jokes about political leaders and invented games to play with their veils. But soon girls and boys were separated into different schools. (“We found ourselves veiled and separated from our friends.” – Marjane) Slowly-but-surely small changes where becoming big changes and the restraints put on the citizens were getting harder to ignore.
Through the book we see her grow from a youthful girl who wanted to be a prophet to a pre-teen that questions if God even exists. She hears of deaths in the media and watches as many of her friends leave the country. To say the least, Marjane is lost; just trying to find a way to keep her head above the water as everything she’s ever known is thrown it doubt.

One time, Marjane sees her parents going out to protest and decides to go with Mehri (a girl that works for her family) to a rally. “We had demonstrated on the very day we shouldn’t have: on “Black Friday.” That day there were so many killed in one of the neighborhoods that a rumor spread that Israeli soldiers were responsible for the slaughter.” – Marjane.

As we read Marjane’s story it is easy to see that she is an activist. She learns to speak her mind (though probably not always to her advantage) and stand up for what she believes is right. And while her views are still forming and moving away from outside influence, she still has a powerful sense of justice. And Marjane goes out and learns on her own; determined to understand the confusing turns her country was taking almost every day. (“Cadaver, cancer, death, murderer...laughter?....I realized then that I didn’t understand anything. I read all the books I could.” – Marjane.) Many of her classmates didn’t have the same reaction as Marjane and simply watched as events way above them took place.

Still, despite her advanced comprehension of what was happening she still took ideas from the media; which was being censored to air only certain views. She, with some of her classmates, heard that a boy named Ramin had a father who “killed a million people”. So it was “my idea to put nails between our fingers like American brass knuckles and to attack Ramin,” Marjane said. Even though Marjane learns how to peacefully demonstrate, she still has moments when her first instinct is to fight. “My blood was boiling. I was ready to defend my country against these Arabs who kept attacking us. I wanted to fight,” Marjane said about the second Arab invasion.

Marjane’s story is riveting and eye-opening. It gives us a glimpse into a life we can’t even imagine unless we’ve lived it. A lot of reviews I’ve read call it short and “...conveys neither the emotional depth of Maus nor the virtuosity of Joe Sacco's journalistic comics." - Joy Press, The Village Voice. Personally, I think that to judge this book against any other is just ridiculous. Maus is powerful in it’s unique way just as Persepolis is when it stands by itself. The depth of Marjane’s emotional journey is truly extraordinary. This book isn’t a light read, and at times it made me cry, but it is “one of the freshest and most original memoirs of our day. (Satrapi’s) is a voice calling out to the rest of us, reminding us to embrace this child’s fervent desire that human dignity reign supreme.” – Los Angeles Times.

In a lot of ways I admire Marjane Satrapi. She grew up during an extremely difficult time in her country and yet was able to take that experience and teach the world. The Revolution very well could have crushed her spirit, but instead it made her stronger and more outspoken. Many of her opinions during the book are naive and childish, but that’s the point; she was a child. She tried to grow up faster because, perhaps, she was hoping that things would make sense as an adult.

I must put a disclaimer on this book. I wouldn’t recommend it for girls under 12 because it does deal with some hard topics like war, torture and questioning faith. For others of you, if you do not like reading about the effects that revolutions have on children, I would stay away. But in my opinion, anyone old enough and who can read, should read this book. If you liked this book I suggest reading Maus by Art Spiegelman (another graphic novel), A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah and Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi (I recommend this book for 14 and older; it does deal with more adult issues than the first.)

(Many of you might be wondering about the whole ‘graphic novel’ reference I made in the first paragraph. Yes, Persepolis is a graphic novel, but that is part of it’s power. Marjane was able to take just black and white and create an incredible story. I know some of you won’t like the format no matter what, but I still encourage you to give it a try.)

“...this old and great civilization has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of my life in Iran, I know that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so important to me. I believe that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoings of a few extremists. I also don’t want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten. One can forgive but one should never forget.” – Marjane Satrapi

War and revolution; it hurts everyone. It hurts the people who fight in it. It hurts the friends, lovers, and spouses left behind. And it hurts the children; the truly innocent. They are thrust into a world where nothing seems to make sense and the place they call home is no longer safe. That is one casualty of war that is never listed on TV, like the many soldiers who have lost their lives; a childhood lost.

Peace, friends.

"Let Them be Hermiones"

Oh Potter fans! Yes, tonight is the night that the long awaited seventh book will be released. We know (because it's been written practically everywhere) that J.K. Rowling is worth more than the Queen of England. Many of us admire her for coming so far from her days as a struggling single-mom. I've always liked her clever writing and unique characters. What I never quite realized was that she had such strong opinions about girls. If you visit her website, click on 'extra stuff' and read 'for girls only, probably...' under miscellaneous, you will be in for a treat. While the information is probably nothing new of most of us, it still made me glad to see that someone with so much influence feels this way. I love that she feels this strongly about body image. She talks about how a ridiculously skinny girl "needs help" but instead we stick her on a magazine cover. J.K. Rowling asks "I mean, is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be?"
Alright, I know this is supposed to be a story about J.K. Rowling, but I just want to say to all you girls reading this, 'you are not alone'. I am not skinny and I never will be. (In the media's definition). I know a lot of girls out there struggle with bullying and harassment just because you are different. Be strong sisters. Things like that don't matter in the end. Never forget that history remembers the people that made a difference and not the people who had the skinniest waist line. And J.K. Rowling is on your side. She says, "I'm not in the business of being judged on my looks, what with being a writer and earning my living by using my brain..." And just look at what J.K. Rowling has accomplished using her brain. Yeah, there are hard days. I suppose even models have those. But in the end, girls, be proud of who you are and show them what you can do. "Let my girls be Hermiones," says J.K. Rowling, referring to her daughters, "rather than Pansy Parkinsons. Let them never be Stupid Girls. Rant over."

If you want to share your frustrations about body image or your own personal experiences please send them in. The best thing for girls, is to know they are not alone.

See you all on Monday and have fun reading "Deathly Hallows" this weekend!

Peace, friends.

Debbie Reber on Dream Jobs

When I was little, I wanted to be an author, an astronaut, a marine biologist, a Peace Corps volunteer, a business owner, a travel guide, a professional rock climber, a photo journalist, a potter, a teacher, a professor...

You get the picture. Who of us, after all, hasn’t wanted to be something different every day?

Maybe you know what you want to be when you grow up, or maybe you have no idea. Either way, author Debbie Reber (that's her on the left) and creator of the blog http://www.smartgirlsknow.com/ is here to save the day! She recently wrote a book called In Their shoes: Extraodinary Women Describe their Amazing Careers to give girls the real deal on their dream jobs. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be a firefighter, an Olympic athlete, or a Hollywood screenwriter (or any of a few dozen other careers), this is the book for you!

Debbie wrote In Their Shoes, she says, to show girls the possibilities of what they can do in life. She says, “My hope is that girls will see that there is no single way to be successful. Being fulfilled in what you do is ultimately the key to happiness, and it has nothing to do with anyone else’s expectations of us. It's all about figuring out who we are, what we are passionate about, and then following our hearts.”

For In Their Shoes, Debbie interviewed fifty different women on their life and work. She profiles women like forensic scientist Joanne Sgueglia, CARE Mozambique aid worker Michelle Carter, yoga instructor Miriam Kramer, and video game programmer Kelly McCarthy. In addition to sharing an interview with each woman she profiles, she explains the facts about the career (what the job is, where you work, how you get into the job, how much money you make, how you dress, and how stressful the job is). She shares a schedule for the woman’s typical day, gives a timeline of how the woman got to where she is today, and gives background information on five related careers. In Their Shoes is an amazing resource, and a great inspiration!

New Moon spoke with Debbie about In Their Shoes, dream jobs, and the real world.

New Moon: Congratulations on such an incredible, savvy book! What feedback have you received from girls since it hit shelves in April?

Debbie Reber: The feedback has been great. Many girls (and women of all ages, too!) tell me that they flip open the book to a random career profile and get sucked in to reading about something they never even thought they'd be interested in. And just about everyone who reads the book says they find it incredibly inspirational, which makes me happy since that was my goal all along!

What inspired you to interview dozens of women on their life and work?

I saw a movie in high school that set my career dreams in motion, so I spent years pursuing a career [in broadcast news]. But didn't have a true sense of the work itself, the lifestyle, how to pay my dues, and how long it would take for me to "make it" in that field. When I finally got started working in broadcast news, it wasn't at all what I expected. So I wrote this book because I wanted to give girls REAL information about what different careers and lifestyles are like. That way, they can make smart choices about what careers feel most like them in every way.

You wrote In Their Shoes to give the real deal on work life and careers to... Younger teens that have no idea what they want to do with their lives (but love the fantasies)? Or older teens and young women who are already making decisions about their future paths?

Both. I'm a big believer in information. Sometimes it's just a matter of being aware that a certain career or industry exists. For younger teens, this book is all about opening their eyes to possibilities they may not have known existed. For the older teens who have an idea of what they want to do, this book provides them with 50 mentors...real-life women who are succeeding [at their work]. Even if [the women] aren’t doing the exact career someone is interested in, there is still a lot that can be learned from each woman's journey and the advice she gives.

You interviewed some pretty high-flying women. I was excited to find interviews with women I had already heard of (Grey's Anatomy producer Shonda Rhimes, US Senator Barbara Boxer, 'actionist' Jessica Weiner, co-host Melissa Block of NPR's All Things Considered, CEO Missy Park of women's clothing company Title 9 Sports, among others), as well as so many other amazing women. How did you score interviews with such incredibly talented and busy women?

It wasn't always easy. I had my dream list of women, many of whom ended up in the book, but it was just little old me picking up the phone or sending an email explaining the project and asking if they'd like to be a part of it. Usually, once women found out what the book was about and that the goal was to inspire and inform the career women of tomorrow, they were happy to share their insights. But once women agreed to participate, it was still sometimes challenging getting on their busy schedules. Luckily, I started writing the book early enough that I was able to plan some of the interviews a few months in advance.

What was the most surprising thing you learned in interviewing this broad range of women?

Every woman made her job sound so interesting, mostly because they were all so passionate about what they did. I also found it incredible that most of the women, even the busiest, most high-profile women, have families with young children. While they all admitted there were plenty of challenges trying to balance their work and family life, they also all had found unique ways to make it work, which I thought was really cool.

Both you and your interviewees dispense plenty of advice to readers on everything from the importance of personal journaling to effective networking. What is the main piece of wisdom you hope girls will gain from reading In Their Shoes?

Two things. Number one: You can do anything you set your mind to if you are passionate about it and are willing to take it one step at a time. Number two: You shouldn’t put too much pressure on yourself to figure it all out now. If you are open to learning and growing from every experience you have, then you can't make a wrong turn. You'll eventually end up exactly where you should be. Many of the women in the book didn't follow straight, linear career paths (myself included)...but life is about the journey, not the destination!

With this book under your belt, you must be a goldmine for career-related information. Knowing what you now know, if you could choose any career (regardless of 'practical' details like pay, education, and knowledge), what would you pick?

As a fulltime writer, I'm already doing my dream job! BUT...I think the career that held the most intrigue and interest for me was TV Show Creator, based on my interview with [creator and executive producer] Shonda Rhimes of Grey's Anatomy.

What do you wish you had known as a teen about the work world?

How little money you make in the beginning of your career.

You include information on over 200 jobs. Are there any careers that you didn't get to include that you wish you had?

Hmmm... maybe an astronaut?

The large majority of the women you profile have college degrees-even the yoga instructor! Is a four-year college education the only route for girls to take if they want to be economically self-sufficient and successful?

Definitely not. There are tons of great careers out there that don't require a college degree, including some of the ones I profiled in my book (entrepreneur, firefighter, screenwriter, fitness instructor, real estate agent, chef, etc). But I do believe that having a college degree will open up many more doors for you and provide you with more opportunities down the road, especially if you choose to do a career shift later on in your life.

You have a short section on women in the workforce, where you touch on issues like the pay gap. I noticed, however, the pay gap-along with other issues, like gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment, and a lack of women in many leadership positions-came up very little in interviews, if at all. Even though only 10 Fortune 500 companies are run by women, and only 16 of 100 U.S. Senators are women, this issue wasn't addressed in your interview with either an ad exec or Senator Barbara Boxer. Was this a conscious decision on your part?

That's a good question. I tried to let the women I interview guide the flow and have it truly reflect her experience. So there are cases where the women made reference to the gender disparities in their careers (such as the firefighter) and that then became part of the profile, but I didn't push the issue if it didn't naturally come forth during the interview process. A lot could have been said about the inequities in the workforce throughout the book, but then I guess that would have made In Their Shoes a different book altogether.

You profiled a librarian, a magazine editor, a radio journalist, and a screenwriter, but not an author like yourself. Can you share the real deal on freelancing and book-writing? What's a typical day like? What do you most (or least) enjoy about your work?

Freelancing and book writing is a dream job in that I get to work from home with my dog lying under my desk and my refrigerator stocked with Diet Coke. I can run and nap when I want to and I never have to worry about asking my boss for vacation time. I can pick and choose the projects I work on, which is great, and I also love that I never know what new and exciting jobs might pop up from one day to the next. Oh yeah, and I don't have to "dress" for work, which is generally a good thing, although sometimes I have to remind myself that showering is probably best for everyone involved, so I try to at least look "presentable" every day. On the flip side, I don't have anyone to chat with about last night's "So You Think You Can Dance" at the water cooler, and it can get fairly lonely. Financially, it can get stressful, since I have no steady paycheck, and sometimes the companies I'm freelancing for don't pay me on time.

Here’s my typical day:
7:00am - wake up to the sound of my two-year-old son singing or yelling from his room 7:15am - 8:30am - answer emails and surf the web
8:30am - 9:30am - eat breakfast, pack my son's lunch, and drop him off at preschool
9:30 am - 12:30pm - work... usually writing, phone meetings, researching, and emailing
12:30pm - 1:00pm - lunch with my husband and dog (my husband works from home too!) 1:00pm - 2:00pm - pick up son from preschool and put him down for a nap
2:00pm - 4:30pm - more work: writing and research
4:30pm - 5:30pm - exercise...run, swim, or bike (I'm training for a triathlon!)
5:30pm - 6:30pm - hang out with my son, play, go to park, etc.
6:30pm - 7:30pm - dinner with family
7:30pm - 8:00pm - put son to bed
8:00pm - 10:00pm - work some more
10:00pm - 11:00pm - watch some TIVO'd programming on TV
11:00pm - 12:00am - read in bed (usually work-related material)
12:00am - lights out!

Once Upon A...

"Once Upon a Quinceañera" sounds like a fairy tale, doesn't it? But that's how you might describe a Quinceañera. The Quinceañera, or Quince Años, is a coming-of-age celebration gaining popularity among Latina girls celebrating their 15th birthday in the U.S. The tiara, the prom dress, the court of honor, the symbolic doll...perhaps all that's missing from the fairy tale is the magic wand.

Here’s how Julia Alvarez describes the fairy tale in her forthcoming book Once Upon a Quinceañera:

You are dressed in a long, pale pink gown, not sleek and diva-ish, but princessy, with a puffy skirt of tulle and lace that makes you look like you’re floating on air when you appear at the top of the stairs. Your court of fourteen couples has preceded you, and now they line up on the dance flour, forming a walkway through which you will pass to sit on a swing with garlanded ropes, cradling your last doll in your arms…

What's wrong with this picture? Unfortunately, the Quinceañera fairy tale isn't made to last. As Julia Alvarez explains in this wonderful new book, coming of age in the U.S. is no fairy tale for most Latina girls. And there’s a dark side to the Quinceañera tradition: the sexist stereotypes it enforces, the thousands of dollars families spend on the lavish parties (before they file for bankruptcy), the “supersize” materialism (instead of more legitimate values or morals) it enforces.

When I heard that Julia Alvarez, the author of the lovely novel Before We Were Free (along with many other books), was writing a book on Quinceañeras, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. A year after having my own non-traditional Quinceañera, I’m still fascinated by the fairy-tale mentality traditional Quinceañeras represent. When an advance copy arrived at New Moon for us to review (the book won’t hit the shelves until next month), I started reading right away.

The book’s advance praise is telling: Mary Pipher, author of the landmark Reviving Ophelia, calls it “a thorough, thoughtful, and important book,” while pioneering journalist María Hinojosa states, “[This] is not just a book for Latinas. It is for all of us.” Author Vendela Vida agrees: “Once Upon a Quinceañera is a book for anyone who is a teenager…or, for that matter, anyone who was once a teenager themselves.”

My own verdict? It’s a definite must-read. Julia Alvarez does a fantastic job of portraying a bicultural custom steeped in both old world nostalgia and American values (hence the “supersizing” of the Quinceañera tradition). While she never actually makes up her mind herself about whether the Quinceañera does more harm than good, she paints a fascinating picture of a very unique custom. She explains, “this book has been an attempt to [educate ourselves] through the lens of one tradition, the Quinceañera: to review and understand this evolving ritual with all its contradictions, demystifying its ideology, dusting off the glitter that is sprayed over the ritual in order to be sold back to us by an aggressive consumer market as the genuine article, handing it down in as clear and conscionable a form as possible.”

Indeed, one of the most interesting aspects of the tradition is its contradictions. Juxtaposed with the Latina experience of coming of age in the U.S., the Quinceañera, a rite many girls have mistakenly termed their “right of passage,” is full of contradictions. While it might promise a “happily ever after” story, life for many Latina teens is anything but. Latina girls face higher rates of teen pregnancy, suicide attempts, and substance abuse than any other group, according to the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services Organizations. There is so much beyond the “pink fantasy” of the Quinceañera: poverty and class pressures, family struggles, gangs, sex, drugs.

Meanwhile, 2004 Census data revealed that 22% of Latinas lived below the poverty line, yet Quince Girl magazine found that the average Quinceañera event cost $5,000. And if you think that’s a lot of money, Alvarez mentions that some Quinceañeras become Broadway productions at $180,000 a pop.

Julia Alvarez explores the Quinceañera from so many angles and so many lenses, although she focuses on the culture and economics of the Quinceañera. She attends several Quinceañeras, but interestingly enough, chooses to feature a Queens Quinceañera that she describes as a “headache”—it seems that anything that could go wrong with the event, goes wrong.

In illustrating the national trend of the Quinceañera, she talks to people involved in many aspects of the Quinceañera event (the priest, the parents, the photographer, the caterer, the event planner). She even interviews people like Isabella Martínez Wall, creator of the website http://www.bellaquinceañera.com/, who believes every American girl (not just Latinas!) should have a Quinceañera because of the community-building and support network it gives girls. She also explores the tradition’s interesting (if ambiguous) roots: the Aztec and Maya indigenous roots that have only recently become hip; the real Eurocentric foundations of the tradition (if you were wondering where the “court” of honor comes from, that would be the royal courts of Europe).

Not yet a teen herself when her family fled to New York City from the Dominican Republic, Julia Alvarez knows very well what it means to be bicultural, to grow up torn between two languages, two cultures, two identities. That view permeates Once Upon a Quinceañera, and although the author’s frequent autobiographical vignettes do become a tad distracting, she does create a wonderful intimacy and a very real empathy for what Latina girls experience as their fifteenth birthday approaches: the clash between the desire to ‘fit in’ to American culture and the cultural ties that bind.

Despite Julia Alvarez’s detailed account of the Quinceañera custom, Once Upon a Quinceañera is really more about how we transmit wisdom and tradition from one generation to the next than the ritual itself. That’s why I recommend Once Upon a Quinceañera. Regardless of your age or culture, reading this book will give you an interesting opportunity to think about how we treat the passage from girl to woman, generation after generation.

P.S. New Moon’s January/February 2008 issue is themed “Through the Looking Glass: Coming of Age,” and we’re including a feature on different coming of age customs around the world. We would love to feature the Quinceañera tradition! Did you, or a girl you know, have a Quinceañera? Or are you a Latina girl who would like to write a short paragraph describing the tradition? Email blog@newmoon.org, and we’ll give you details about what to write!

Chill Out and Read this Weekend!

Happy weekend, blog readers! If you're looking for some good weekend reading, try Daughter of Venice, by Donna Jo Napoli. Marlena, 12, calls it the novel's leading lady a "courageous, ambitious, intelligent, and adventurous character who shows us that girls can be just as strong as boys and achieve their dreams." Read on for Marlena's fascinating review!

Did you know that in Venice, Italy in1592, girls and women didn’t have most of the rights, freedoms, and opportunities that we have today? In Daughter of Venice, 14-year-old Donata Moncenigo yearns to do what only boys were allowed to do -- explore the streets and canals of Venice, receive an education, have a future career, and gain experience about foreign people and places. There is little hope for Donata’s future -- if she is lucky enough she’ll get married, and if she is not able to, she must enter a convent, a house for Christian nuns. Donata thinks this is extremely unfair, and decides to do something that will prove she can do anything just as well as a boy. Intrigued by the maps of canals and the stories her brothers tell her about their adventures, Donata disguises herself in boys’ clothes and sneaks out of her family’s palazzo to have adventures of her own.

She soon has a job, an enemy, and the adventures she’d been eager for. But all this comes with more problems. There is always the constant threat of her secret being discovered. At home, her twin Laura does her chores, as well as her own, and pretends to be Donata when she practices the violin so the family won’t suspect Donata is missing. Donata actually isn’t good at the violin and Laura is very talented at it. Their parents believe that Donata is improving musically and are also pleased that she performs her chores diligently. As a result, they decide that Donata will get married -- to the man Laura wants as a husband! Laura is miserable, and Donata feels incredibly guilty. She needs to find a way to change her parents’ decision before it’s too late. Besides creating more problems, Donata’s adventures give her the courage to ask her father to allow her to attend her brothers’ lessons with their tutor. She also proves her intelligence by joining in the conversations about government and business at dinner, which only boys and men were expected to do.

In Donata’s culture at that time, girls married very young, around the age of sixteen. Only the eldest daughter married, and if she was lucky, the second-oldest daughter might marry also. Any younger sisters had to be sent away to live in convents. In convents, nuns did work for charity and taught music lessons. But they could rarely leave the convents and had less freedom than when they were kids. Many of these girls did not want to enter convents. Donata’s situation is uncommon, since she had a twin sister. They are lucky enough to be the second oldest sisters in the family. Only one of them will marry, both of them will marry, or none of them will marry and instead live in a convent for the rest of their lives. Donata and Laura do not want to live in a convent, so their only hope is to get married.

In Daughter of Venice, the author describes the scenes and sounds of Venice beautifully. When I read the book, I could actually imagine I was standing amidst the busy crowds or watching small waves lap the sides of a gondola. Some parts of the story illustrate the Venetian government’s prejudice of Jewish people at the time, as well as other social classes. Donata comes from a wealthy noble family, the highest social class in Venice. Noblemen hold government offices and have the most privileges. Below that are citizens, who can vote but cannot be part of the government; and even poorer and less-respected are the plain people, who cannot vote. By exploring Venice, Donata met a lot of poorer people. She even made friends with a Jewish man, who offered her work.

I enjoyed reading Daughter of Venice because it was exciting, interesting, and well-written. Just when you think a problem will be solved, a new conflict arises! Donata is a courageous, ambitious, intelligent, and adventurous character who shows us that girls can be just as strong as boys and achieve their dreams.

Courtney E. Martin on Food, Body Image, and Eating Disorders

More than half of American women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five would prefer to be run over by a truck or die young than be fat. More than two-thirds would rather be mean or stupid, writes Courtney E. Martin in her new book on food, body image, and eating disorders, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: the Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body.

As we all well know, eating disorders are skyrocketing—some ten million Americans now suffer from them, and 90% of high school-aged girls think they are overweight. Courtney E. Martin, the 20-something writer extraordinaire (check out her bio at the end of this post), set out at age 25 to figure out the WHYs on food, body image, and eating disorders—Why did all of her friends suffer from a full-fledged eating disorder or, at least, struggle with food and fitness? Why are eating disorders still claiming the lives of so many young women? Why is it that when girls are told, “you can be anything,” they hear, “you must be everything”?

As she wrote, “I set out asking: How did we become so obsessed with perfection, so preoccupied with food and fitness, and what can we do to reclaim our time and energy?” Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters, published by Simon & Schuster in April, is her answer.

It’s an incredible book. I don't hesitate at all in telling YOU, the New Moon blog reader, to read it, then share what you've read with your friends, your sisters, your cousins, your teachers, your parents… Not only because the book is so compelling, but because it’s so important that we as girls and women finally get to the bottom of our obsessions with our food and our bodies.

Courtney was nice enough to answer New Moon’s questions on her book, eating disorders, body image, and feminism. First, a teaser from her Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters:

“There is a girl, right now, staring in a mirror in Des Moines, scrutinizing her widening hips. There is a girl, right now, spinning like a hamster on speed in a gym on the fifth floor of a building in Boston, promising herself dinner if she goes two more miles. There is a girl, right now, in a London bathroom, trying not to get any vomit on her aunt’s toilet seat. There is a girl, right now, in Berlin, cutting a cube of cheese and an apple into barely visible pieces to eat for her dinner…Our bodies are the places where our drive for perfection gets played out. We demand flawlessness in our appearance—the outer manifestation of our inner dictators.”

Perhaps you don’t have an inner dictator, but don’t all of us have that lurking desire to be the supergirl? As Courtney writes, “Our mothers had the luxury of aspiring to be 'good,' but we have the ultimate goal of ‘effortless perfection.’”

Read on for Courtney’s fascinating responses to New Moon’s questions.

***

NM: What inspired you to write Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters?
CM: Through out high school and college, I felt surrounded by brilliant, beautiful friends who were obsessed with food and fitness, perfectionist, and often self-hating. When I asked older women about this phenomenon, they would often essentially respond, “Get used to it. This is just part of being a woman.” I refused to believe that. The book grew out of the outrage that I felt over my friends’ pain and what appeared to be the general acceptance of it as a natural part of femaleness.

What audience is your book intended to reach—the perfect girls and starving daughters themselves, or their greater society?
I wrote this book for the 16 and 17 and 18 year old me, the girl who ached for something familiar and fiercely honest, the girl who really needed a call to action to stop settling for self-hate. So in essence, I wrote it for sophisticated teenagers and college students, primarily, and secondarily, for their mothers and fathers, educators, and coaches.

Describe a typical day in the life of Courtney E. Martin.
Almost every day is different for me, depending on whether I am conducting interviews or meeting with my agent or colleagues. Here’s what a day spent writing is like:

I wake up in my Brooklyn apartment which I share with my big brother, Chris, and do a little yoga or meditation. I make a cup of coffee and some toast with peanut butter and then settle in front of my computer. I try not to check email for a couple of hours so that I can get some focused writing time in before the onslaught of the outside world. Sometimes I’m working on a book, more often an article on feminism, politics, or pop culture.

I take my lunch break and read something—maybe a book I’m incorporating into an article, a magazine I’d like to write for, or the New York Times. Then I might take a walk in Prospect Park, which is right near my house. When I get back I’ll shower and then get right back to the computer. Email, email, email. Maybe a blog post or two. Pitching to editors. Trying to make contact with those I’d like to interview for a story. IM with my boyfriend, who works in film editing. Maybe a quick chat with my writing partner, Jennifer. More email, email, email.

I try to always stop working around 5 or 6 regardless of where I am in a process. I think freelancers can have two tendencies—underworking or overworking. I’m always in danger of the latter so I have to be vigilant with myself about stopping when the sun goes down.

At night I do a range of things—meet with my amazing writer’s group (www.crucialminutia.com), go to the movies, attend a friend’s reading etc. I always get eight hours of sleep. I’m a total nerd in that way.

What is the link between, as Arianna Huffington wrote in your book's advance praise, the need to “stop counting calories and start changing the world”?
The amount of time, energy, and willpower being displaced into dieting and fitness obsession is enormous. I get giddy just thinking about all of the amazing work we could do in the world if we spent that energy focusing on ways in which we can make the world more fair, and experience more joy, and fully embrace who we are and what we have come here to do with our lives. There is so much incredible potential locked up in counting calories and churning away on the exercise bike.

You focus on girls and women whose perfectionism drives their disordered eating and low self-esteem. What about girls and women with just plain bad body image, who don't necessarily have issues with perfectionism-how do they fit into the equation?
Not all women with eating disorders or disordered eating are perfectionist, certainly. I think that group of women is less prone to trying to fit into an unattainable ideal, and more prone to processing their emotions through food or a lack thereof. Though arguably all women struggling with these issues are having trouble healthily processing their emotions, perfectionist women tend towards anorexia as opposed to bulimia. There are plenty of nuances.

When it comes to body image and eating disorders, who is being an 8- to 14-year-old girl today different than it was for earlier generations?
I think that eating disorders have existed for earlier generations, but they were far less common and far less extreme. This generation of young women has been socialized to think that if they have enough will power and/or money they can look like anyone—Nicole Ritchie, Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry—regardless of what their genetic body type is. Young women today often have no idea that we each have an innate set point within which our body’s metabolism will naturally adjust. That’s why diets fail 95% of the time (and we still pump $30 billion a year into the industry!) We live in such an extreme makeover culture nowadays.

I also think we are dealing with a whole new world of opportunities—thanks to feminism—that can be paralyzing. We’ve watched our supermoms strive for super-achievement, and so often, their own health and care were sacrificed in the process. As a result, so many of us associate femaleness with exhaustion and self-sacrifice. Our mothers told us “You can be anything” and somehow we heard “I have to be everything.”

What will it take for more girls to start eating healthily-and start loving their bodies?
So, so much. To start with, each young woman can make the radical commitment to heal her relationship with her own body. That means reconnecting with your authentic hungers—when are you hungry? For what? When are you full? What does your body crave? (Usually, your body’s signals are smarter than your mind’s intellectualization of what you need.) How can you move in ways that make you feel happy as opposed to feeling trapped in joyless fitness regimens?

It also might take some outrage. Does it incense you that there are multiple markets making millions off of your insecurities? ($30 billion diet industry, $28 billion plastic surgery industry, $26 billion skincare and cosmetics industry) If we can externalize some of that anger instead of taking it out on ourselves, that can be hugely transformative.

If you could pinpoint the single best solution for improving girls’ body image and self-esteem, what would it be?
Focusing more on joy!

For a generation of girls that, in the words of Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards, have grown up with feminism “in the water,” why is body image still such a huge issue? Why are rates of eating disorders still skyrocketing?
I think that the Second Wave of feminism [1960s-70s] did a tremendous job of creating institutional change, but wasn’t terribly effective at internalizing their own ideas. We’ve inherited that unfinished business.

As Susie Orbach wrote, ‘fat is a feminist issue.’ Why has thinness, in relation to the topics of eating disorders and low self-esteem, become one of the focal points of third wave feminism's work with girls?
It’s so insidious. Seven million girls and women in this country have textbook eating disorders and countless others are struggling though not diagnosable. The sheer numbers are horrifying. And then when you consider how powerful and successful young women are, in general, the contradiction is too glaring not to notice.

You call perfectionism "feminism's unintended legacy." Overall, do you think feminism has helped or hurt girls, especially in terms of long-term effects on self-esteem?
There is no question that feminism has made girls’ lives better in huge and profound ways. We are safer, more educated, and more liberated than any generation of women before us, and that is in large part due to the vigilant and enlightened work of our feminist foremothers.

Having said that, I do think that the lack of internalization of feminist ideas (equality, self care, etc.) has been a real problem, as has the misinterpretation of Feminism for “superwomen feminism”—that not only do women have opportunities, but they have to take advantage of ALL of them and excel perfectly. Not possible and truly unhealthy.

New Moon was one of the first publications you ever wrote for. Can you share any advice for girls who aspire to be writers or journalists?
Read and write as much as you can. I learned so much from writing for my high school and college newspapers—not just from the faculty advisers, but from my peers. Read authors you respect and write them emails expressing your gratitude and seeking mentorship. Don’t think that you have to be an English major once you get to college, although that’s fine too. The best writers and journalists are those who are totally fascinated with all sorts of quirky facets and subcultures. Cultivate your interests, as varied and seemingly strange as they may be. Eavesdrop, observe, write it all down. And finally, try to cultivate a group of peers who are interested in writing. I have been so enriched and supported by my amazing writer’s group, who are not famous, fancy writers but just my friends who are in the same boat, trying to make our way in the world.

You're definitely an author (and activist) to watch. What's next on your horizon?
I'm working on a few book projects, including an anthology on interracial relationships, a memoir by an amazing young woman from Nashville who is HIV positive and spreading the word about this devastating disease, and a book about “what matters now.” I’m blissfully all over the place!

Anything else you'd like our blog's readers to know?
Please check out my website (www.courtneyemartin.com) and feel free to write me emails. I love hearing from girls and I try to answer every email I get.


***

ABOUT COURTNEY

Originally from Colorado Springs, Courtney now lives in Brooklyn. She writes for an amazing range of national publications, including Newsweek, Newsday, Alternet, The Christian Science Monitor, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, Utne Reader, Women's eNews, Poets & Writers, Publisher's Weekly, BUST, Bitch, and ReadyMade, among others. Courtney is also a contributing blogger for Crucial Minutiae and Feministing.

Courtney has an M.A. from New York University in writing and social change [very cool!] and a B.A. from Barnard College in political science and sociology. She spent six months studying in Cape Town, South Africa. She is currently an adjunct professor of gender studies at Hunter College.

When she isn't working, which is not nearly enough of the time, she is daydreaming about playing the blues harmonica, cooking dinner with her big brother, or making video documentaries with her boyfriend in Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn. Oh, or conspiring to create unselfconscious dance parties.

***

Some RESOURCES

• Visit Courtney's website


• Buy Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters


• Alliance for Eating Disorders Awareness


• National Eating Disorders Association


• Body Positive


• Adios Barbie

Will the Madness Ever Cease?

The Chicago Tribune reported today that a first edition Harry Potter book fetched $18,000 at an auction yesterday.

The paper noted, "First editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — published in the United States as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone — are valuable because of their rarity, the auction house said. The publishers produced between 500 and 1,000 copies in the book's first run. "

Amazing what people will spend on one little (okay, maybe Harry Potter isn't so little) book.

Your thoughts, readers?

Read It: 'A Triumphant, Addictive Novel'

Thanks to 15-year-old Emma, who reviewed Dancing Naked, by Shelley Hrdlitschka, for our blog. Enjoy her eloquent review--then read the book!

Jan. 5

Blue.

The blue of tropical water, the surf pounding the shore.

The blue of the sky on a brilliant spring day.

The blue of a speckled robin’s egg.

The ice-blue of Derek’s eyes.

The blue ring in the water.

It’s confirmed.

I am.

Blue.

-from Dancing Naked

Dancing Naked is the story of Kia Hazelwood, an average girl who was once-upon-a-time seduced by popularity and a pair of cool blue eyes. She is a girl who has always been the perfect oldest child: deadly smart, deadly sweet, and deadly beautiful, sixteen years old. And her period has come on time, every time, since she was eleven. Until now. Now, she’s three weeks late, and the million dollar question is…what’s next?

Shelley Hrdlitschka (that's her-dah-LITCH-kah) writes from her home in North Vancouver, BC, where she lives with her husband and three daughters. Shelley is the author of Sun Signs, as well as several other books for teens. I recommend Dancing Naked to girls ages 12-17 with open minds and soft hearts.

Dancing Naked is a beautiful modern novel which shows easily-stereotyped members of society in a different light and addresses controversial topics with natural grace. Kia, at the center of the story, is revealed trait by trait through the diary entries, e-mails, and text that make up the novel.

She is a stunning, thoughtful, and winning character, a real and realistic person, who finds the strength to make unapproved friends, choices, and discoveries, to give, to love, and to cope. Dancing Naked is a triumphant, addictive novel. A definite Read It.

Mitali Perkins has published a new book!

This Friday, I'd like to give a shout-out to our good friend, Mitali Perkins. Her latest book, First Daughter, just went on sale yesterday. New Moon featured Mitali's book, Monsoon Summer, as our May 2006 book club selection. I haven't read this latest one yet, but I definitely recommend her work. Not only is she a great author, but she maintains a fantastic blog about "life between cultures." AND her character Sameera from First Daughter ALSO keeps a blog. How cool is that? Check out what Mitali has to say:

"Dear Friends,

Please smash a champagne bottle against your computer screen and rejoice with me (okay, skip the champagne and stick to the rejoicing). First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover (Dutton Books For Young Readers), a novel for teens, released yesterday. A sequel, First Daughter: White House Rules, will be published January 2008. My main character, Sameera “Sparrow” Righton, is tracking the real First Kid wannabes in the ‘08 campaign from now until November 2008 at her own blog: www.sparrowblog.com. It’s campaign lite but fun to ghost-write, and I hope Sparrow’s posts will be entertaining for teens (and others). Thanks so much for your support and encouragement.

Mitali Perkins"

Some Moon-y Weekend Reading

Every time I see this book, That Girl Lucy Moon, I think, it seems like the perfect book for New Moon to review! Luckily, I got my wish and 11-year-old "M" sent the following review.

That Girl Lucy Moon by Amy Timberlake

Lucy Moon is a girl who stands up for what she believes. She supports animal rights in her town during hunting season by wearing a bandanna around her neck, and when anyone ever asks why she wears the bandanna everyday, she thoroughly explains the wrongs of hunting.

Lucy wears her hair in long braids every day with a handwoven yellow and green hemp hat on her head. All through elementary school, whenever a teacher asked Lucy to take this special hat off, she would make a speech about how she wears the hat in support of third world workers and refuse to take it off.

But now that she's in middleschool, things are different. Teachers are getting tired of Lucy's causes, and so are her friends. Zoe, Lucy's artsy best friend, is getting especially fed up with her. So when two of Lucy's classmates get arrested for sledding on Wiggins Hill and the local paper won't publish an article on it, she grasps the opportunity and investigates. Something is going on with Ms. Ilene Viola Wiggins. But is it too risky to get in the way of the richest woman in town and her plans to ban kids from sledding onWiggins Hill? Lucy crosses the line with protests and postcards. She is labeled a "bad influence" by (it seems) everyone at the middleschool. She must do what the principal thinks is community service, but isn't that what Lucy has been doing all along? Lucy can barely keep it together anymore. The world, which she is trying to help, turns on her, and Lucy is confused. It doesn't help much that Lucy's mom keeps postponing her return from a photography trip, and her father only makes matters worse than they already are, until he begins to see Lucy's need forhelp.

With her best friend mad, her father subdued, her mom M.I.A. and all of the teachers (expect loyal Ms. Kortum) losing patience, Lucy begins to wonder if it's worth trying to make a difference. Lucy Moon is a strong, spunky girl and would be a perfect New Mooner. This fantastic book is a great early summer read. Amy Timberlake tells a great and original story. It's for ages 9-12, but basically anyone between the ages of 8-14 will love it.

Are you a Harry Potter Fan?

With the 5th Harry Potter movie scheduled for release in 6 weeks and rumors buzzing about the 7th and final book in the series, I thought it would be a good time to post 10-year-old Sorcha's review of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the book that started it all. She includes some fun & interesting facts at the end, too!

"Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that when I was little I hated the Harry Potter books because I thought Harry wore toe socks (he doesn’t, by the way). But a few months ago I became one of the annoying Harry Potter fans who jabbers on about their latest fictional conspiracy theory ('I think Voldemort is really an evil cat who has set out to blow up the world using a concoction of shoelaces and necromancy!')But on to the point. The Harry Potter books are a series about a wizard-in-training and his friends. Together they try to stop the evil wizard Voldemort, who is trying to gain eternal life – and coming pretty close. The main character is a boy, but there are some really strong female characters such as Hermione Granger. One of Harry’s best friends, she always pays more attention in classes than Harry or their other best friend Ronald Weasely. Thus, she retains in her mind more usefull spells than the other two, and therefore they couldn’t do without her – she saves their lives on several occasions. Also, Hermione can stay calm and think about things until they make sense. Most of the time she turns out right, but Harry hardly ever listens to her. In the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry first discovers that he’s a wizard, and that his mother and father didn’t die in a car crash – they were murdered by the evilist wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. Harry narrowly missed death himself, but for some reason Voldemort’s curse bounced right off him and the evil wizard disappeared. Harry starts lessons at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and meets two new best friends – Hermione Granger and Ron Weasely. Together they discover that something dangerous is being kept at Hogwarts, and Voldemort (and perhaps their least favorite teacher, Severus Snape the potions master, too?) wants to get his hands on it. Together they break through perilous obsticales to save the Philosopher’s Stone from Voldemort.

Interesting Facts:

1) The book is called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S, and words like ‘cellotape’ and ‘jumper’ are changed to ‘Scotch tape’ and ‘sweater’.

2) Nicolas Flamel was a real person, and may have actually created a Philosopher’s Stone.

3) Another author once tried to sue Rowling for copyright violation – she used the word ‘muggle’ (a non-magical person) in her books, but with a completely different Defenition!

4) ‘Muggle’ was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2003, with the defenition of ‘a person lacking in skill’.

5) There’s some dispute as to whether J.K. Rowling actually has a middle name or not."

What about you? Have you read all the books 10 times, or could you not care less? Does Harry Potter deserve the hype? Comment with your thoughts!

The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake

This Friday's weekend reading comes from Isabelle in Utah, who's reading The Skin I'm In. New Moon featured Sharon Flake's book as our February 2006 Book Club Selection. You can read a chat our book club members had with the author here.

Now, on to the book review!

"I'm reading a book about a Black girl named Maleeka Madison who has low self-esteem because most kids tease her. Then she gets a new teacher named Miss Saunders whose skin is blotched with a rare condition. Kids tease Miss Saunders, too. Miss Saunders is like a reflectonof Maleeka. I like this book because it proves that just because you look different than other people on the outside, it dosen't matter. What matter is what's on the inside.

Weekend Reading: Stargirl

This Friday's weekend reading comes from Katie, 14, in Virginia.

Do you ever feel like you have to fit in with a group? Do you ever wonder what other people think of you? Not Stargirl Caraway, the title character of this novel.

Leo Borlock, the narrator and classmate of Stargirl, never broke free from the crowd, and neither did anyone else. No one at Mica Area High School tried to be different. They followed everyone else, until one day, when a particular student joined the school and shook things up.

On Stargirl's first day at MAHS, she comes wearing a long white peasant dress. She covers her school desk with a colored cloth and a daisy in vase. At lunch, she hands out cookies and serenades people for their birthdays. She has a pet rat. No one knows quite what to make of her.

Somehow (you'll have to read the book to find out) she becomes popular. People find her entertaining. The high school hallways become filled with smiles, color, and originality. But her popularity is only shortlived. When Stargirl's crazy actions become too out of hand, people start disliking her. What does she do next? Does she stay true to herself or try to fit in? You'll have to read the book to find out.

I loved this book because Stargirl is such a sweet character. She believes in herself and doesn't care what other people think of her. She knows who she is and doesn't try to let others change her. I wish she were a real person, because she would be a perfect nomination for the 25 Beautiful Girls!

Read it!