Every once in awhile, an author, blogger, book marketer, or other person I happen to meet tells me a story about what inspires them to write for the children’s and young adult audience. These stories inspire me. They make me look at the books I read in a whole new way, and occasionally, they inspire [...]

If you’ve read my review of Paige Harbison‘s Here Lies Bridget, then you’ll know that this novel is about the queen of mean girls — Bridget Duke. While you’ll probably know that the titular character terrorizes the peers at her prep school, you might not realize that the author spends great deal of time discussing how [...]

If you read YA Book Shelf regularly, then you’ll know that not only did I post a review of Cecil Castellucci‘s recent release, Rose Sees Red, but also that I really enjoyed this novel. I happen to think that it’ll appeal to a lot of young girls and adults, so if you haven’t read it [...]

On September 7, 2010, the first book in a new fantasy trilogy hits stores. Although it’s meant for a middle grade audience, I’ve been excited about this novel ever since I first explored the website for this novel, so I’m really happy to be able to present my first guest post, written by the co-authors [...]

As a book blogger, I am in the privileged position of someone, who can freely talk with a variety of authors and who gets to read some of the best fiction available for the YA market. I find myself openly mulling over and sharing ideas with like-minded individuals on a daily basis, which is an [...]

When you start writing, do you have an outline prepared from which you never stray? Or do your characters have a way of sneaking up on you and force you to rethink the direction you planned to take? Do you fight with them or do accept what they want to do, even if you don’t [...]