Young Alice and her father, a hard working school librarian, both love books. He is a single father who works hard and strives to be both a mother and father in Alice’s life. He succeeds. As a school librarian, his love for books carries over from school straight into his home. He and Alice start out with a promise. A reading promise. They set out to read 100 nights in a row. Once that 100^th night passes, they enjoy it so that they decide to continue on.

It is such a hard question when someone asks you to name your favorite book. I have so many and  often that depends when I read the book. I feel certain that some books I liked at one time tend to have to do with when I read them, how old I was, what mood I was in…the list is endless.

Charlotte’s Web is my all time favorite. My parents read it to me when I was young. I read it in elementary school, in middle school and again in high school. I most recently read it to a class of 3rd graders. If you had seen that class sit and listen so intently, you might also think there is not a better story.

E.B. White, the author of Charlotte’s Web, grew up amidst animals and stables on a farm. His surroundings in life were much like the scenery so well described in the book. The book jacket of the newly released, The Story of Charlottes’ Web: E.B. White’s Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic by Michael Sims, states that Mr. White follows the maxim “Write what you know.”  Boy, does he ever? There are numerous readers who have lived on that farm with him.

That being said, books have a certain appeal when they are coming directly from the author’s being and heart. Perhaps that is why Charlotte’s Web is adored by so many. There is a sweet little farm somewhere–where the story unfolded to E.B.White.

Charley Hutchison is a 6th grader at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and an amazing reader. His voracity for reading reminds me of my own at his age–I constantly was in trouble for reading under my desk while the teacher taught the lesson. Richard Paul Evans is best know for his adult novels such as The Christmas Box and The Gift. However, in his first novel for young adults, Evans uses his own childhood for the basis of Michael Vey, who has Tourette’s syndrome like Evans. Here is Charley’s take on Richard Paul Evans’ first foray into young adult literature:

One of the best parts about my job is working with young people in our community. Claire Sykes, a 10th grader at St. Andrew’s, works in Oz with me during her Christmas and summer breaks and is a great reader. She has read Wither by Lauren Destefano and has been raving about it every since. Here is her take on this young adult book:

I’ve read lots of dystopian novels, but none like this. In most of these kinds of books, the source of conflict comes from an authoritarian government that constantly involves itself with all aspects of the citizens’ lives. However, in the novel Wither, a controlling government is the least of everyone’s worries: instead, they have another problem to worry about.

At first, everything appeared to be wonderful-scientists had perfected genetics and they created a new generation of humans immune to any illness or disease. But despite the success of this First Generation, their offspring have become infected with a lethal virus that kills males at age 25 and females at age 20. In an effort to create more children in a rapidly dying world, girls are often kidnapped and sold into polygamous marriage. This is the situation 16 year old Rhine finds herself in. She is whisked away from her home and her twin brother in New York City to the home of her new husband in Florida. However, she hates everything about this unfamiliar life and is determined to escape from her confinement. So, with the help of a servant named Gabriel, Rhine plots to run away and find her way back home again.

Ilsa J. Bick was just in front of a huge crowd at Ridgeland High School this morning. We thought we’d share a little bit of an interview done for the blog Random Acts of Reading–a great place to learn about kids and young adult books.

Q. What inspired you to write about the apocalypse?

Because it could happen tomorrow? Because people can be so destructive? Because civilization is so fragile, only a construct?

Seriously, I’ve lived through some scary times, including the nuclear arms race, but the apocalypse seems much more real to me now. In part, I’m sure that’s my reaction to 9/11, but I am and always have been very nervous when it comes to environmental issues—and I gotta say, climate change is terrifying. Mass extinctions are happening. Environmental degradation is real. Resources will just become more scarce, and water is the next huge issue. People don’t realize how much time we don’t have to fool around while the ecosystem goes to hell.

Or maybe they do, on an unconscious level at least. Perhaps that’s why we’re seeing so many teen and YA dystopian and apocalyptic narratives at the moment. Now, the apocalypse is and has always been very big in sf, and we’re not talking alien invasion here but possible and probable scenarios: asteroid strikes, overpopulation, pollution, climate change, that kind of stuff. One thing about some current YA dystopias, though, is that not only are the nitty-gritty details of how the society collapsed pretty vague, but people are also somewhat shockingly well-behaved. I remember reading one book—a very fine novel, in fact—and wondering why no one had broken into the kid’s house and taken everything. Having worked with some pretty nasty inmates, being the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, dealing with highly disturbed patients . . . I know people aren’t all that nice, especially when they’re under stress. Just turn on the news for the disaster or riot of the week, if you don’t believe me. Better yet, go read some history. As scary as the world is, it can always get worse.

But if I were only about doom and gloom, then I wouldn’t have bothered with this book or subgenre. Honestly, adults can get so mopey and, yes, things are bad, but one of the things I love about YA is how redemptive it is. These kids are in crummy situations, ones their society or parents created, and what these books are about is changing the world and making it better. We desperately need that kind of energy and optimism. We need teens and young adults to realize that they’re the game-changers here. The adults had their shot. Time for a change, if you ask me.

Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick is published by Egmont, an independent publisher distributed by Random House.

Click here for the full interview at Random Acts of Reading.