Blogs are dead; long live the blog! Welcome to a curated selection of my blog posts on writing, diversity, LGBTQ+ young adult, and my books, dating all the way back to 2008. If you enjoy my writing, please consider supporting it with a donation.
"i loved ash, and it's one of the best books i've ever read. when i read it i interpreted ash as bi. but (as i learned today) your website says it's a lesbian retelling of cinderella, which would imply that ash and kaisa are...lesbians. are they? did i misread something?"
Read MoreRecently I read Ashley Hope Pérez’s gut-wrenching historical novel, Out of Darkness, which was one of the most critically acclaimed YA novels to be released last year. It garnered several starred reviews, praise in the The New York Times Book Review, and was awarded a Printz Honor. Sometimes I read critically acclaimed books and wind up wondering if I missed something because I don’t understand why they were so highly praised. This was not the case with Out of Darkness.
Read MoreI finally saw Carol. I’ve been hearing about this film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel The Price of Salt forever, but a variety of scheduling conflicts prevented me from seeing it until yesterday. Also, to be honest, I wasn’t sure that I would connect with an arty film about two upper-classy white femmes fallings in love in a time of repression.I didn’t need to worry. I thought it was brilliant. I connected.
Read MoreHere we are again at the end of another year. Every year I like to look back on what I did and look forward to what comes next; these posts are tagged annual review if you want to go back in time. This past year has been a major one for me, both personally and professionally, and while I can’t say I loved 2015, I believe it will become (in hindsight) a valuable one.
Read MoreQuestions about how to do research are among the most common questions I hear when it comes to writing books based on non-white cultures. Often the questions are like this: “Are there any resources that will be sure to help?” (emphasis mine) The answer is: no. There is no guarantee that any resources will be universally seen as true and right.
Read More
