Connecting the Real World with YA Books

Nothing says "I want to read that" more than making connections between teens and books.  It's kind of like buy-in....you have to put something they can relate to into a booktalk to make that connection. And when that happens, you better stand back and let the stampede begin!
When I booktalk I always try to make sure there's a personal connection to the book that's interesting or even anecdotal.  And you can do this many ways...through a picture, a video, a story, interesting facts...anything.

So here are some books I've booktalked and how I tried to connect them to teens:

The Season of You and Me by Robin Constantine.  I LOVED that this novel had a main character who was handicapped...you don't see that much in YA lit.

Connector: mention the movie Me Before You...enough said.

The Women in the Walls by Amy Luakvics.  You can't have an October booktalk without having a book about a creepy house, can you?

Connector: Ever dangled your foot beside your bed at night?  Especially after watching a horror movie?

Mark of the Thief by Jennifer Nielsen: slaves, soldiers, and ceasars.  Mix them up and put them in a fantasy Roman Empire, and you have got their attention.

Connector: Let them show off their knowledge by asking them who the most famous Ceasar was of all time.  Then mention a salad was named after him followed by the true story of the ceasar salad. Corny joke, but that's how I roll

Book trailer

The Novice by Taran Matharu: An orphan at birth, the main character has more power than he knows what to do with, until he meets up with some very interesting characters.

Connector: What exactly are Pokemon? No, they aren't cute card characters, they are deadly WEAPONS!  (this plays nicely into the "demons" the characters can manipulate)

Book trailer 

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas: small town and one horrible murder leads to eyewitnesses who aren't sure if they saw what they did or were persuaded to see what they did...

Connector: Give them the history of unsolved murders like the Black Dahlia (but not too much detail).

The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco: nothing gets creepier than Japanese folktales come to life.  Especially if they seek revenge in the most ghoulish of ways.

Connector: Because I'm half-Asian, I tell them some folktales my mother told me and my sisters like the Peach Boy.  And I also ask them if they've ever seen The Ring or The Grudge...

Book trailer

Everything Everything: over ten year never stepping outside, never having friends, never falling in love.  Well, that's what happens to the main character until a family moves in next door.

Connector: Ask people who do NOT have allergies to raise their hands.  Then ask those who do and ask if anyone has an unusual allergy

Book trailer

With Malice by Eileen Cook: two best friends on a tour of Italy (and not the Olive Garden variety) end up in a car crash.  One died, one survived but can't remember because of a concussion.  Then the Italian police arrive to extradite her for murder.

Connector: tell them the story about Amanda Knox.  Make sure they know this is a true story.

A Storm Too Strong by Michael. Tougias: Talk about the ride of a lifetime.  Who wouldn't want to ride 80 foot waves in winds over 60 miles an hour on a rubber life raft in the middle of the night?  Now multiply that by 100 and you have Hurricane Andrea meets Survivors

Connector: I start this one out by saying this is a story about two men who have witnessed and seen something no other man has lived to tell about.  Then I show them what real waves look like via Youtube because the kids are a bunch of landlubber North Texans and don't understand life by the sea.

Show this video first                  Show this video second (just first 10 secs)

Amazing Fantastic Incredible by Stan Lee: this is by far the most colorful (literally and figuratively) memoir I've read in a long long time.  A comic book memoir by the king of all comic book characters!

Connector: do you really have to ask?  The cover itself is enough to catch their attention...or at least the attention of comic book and Marvel fans! Comic books aren't just for nerds, and regardless, we will embrace our nerdiness anyway :)

book trailer

film clips of Stan in Marvel movies (start at 12:48)

Spring 2014 Booktalk: Fresh Off the Trail

I used this at the end of the booktalk as a comprehensive review of all of the titles :) Found out it works better than showing it on the front end...

Fall 2013 Booktalk!!

This is my favorite time of the year and I can't wait!! One of my major goals is to collaborate more with public YA librarians and this time I have the awesome Sarah Thompson from Roanoke Public Library talking it up with me! Here are the books we'll be sharing...time to get extra copies!

Connecting with the real world: Booktalking notes for spring 2013

I had my last booktalk of the year in April, strategically before state testing so the students would have something really good to read.  Here are the notes for the books I talked for 9-12th grade:

Miracle by Elizabeth Scott (real life read):  Final Destination, the movie.  PTSD
Leading question:  Other than war, what are some other instances where people can suffer from PTSD?


Zoe Letting Go by Nora Price (real life read):  famous journals in history
Leading question: Why do people keep journals?  How would you react if someone read yours?

Legend by Marie Lu (dystopia): current hot topic issues Americans face today that deals with government (gun control)
Leading question: Do you trust the government 100%?  Why or why not? 

Darkwater by Catherine Fisher (fantasy): stories about the Devil throughout history (Devil and Daniel Webster, Faust
Leading question:  how many of you have ever heard this song?  Do a little Charlie Daniels.  Explain how this is recurrent theme throughout literature.

The Diviners by Libba Bray (supernatural): haunted places in our area
Leading question:  Anyone ever heard of la Llorna?  How about Chupacabra?  Regional legend ghost stories.  Are they true or not?

Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Catherine Applegate (science fiction): protein folds mystery and the gamers who helped solve it.
Leading question: What would the perfect teen look like (in your mind?)  Is it ethical or not to "play" with genetics?

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (fantasy): Talk about Kony or Saddam Hussein
Leading question:  What causes people to become refugees?  How can they start over again?

Falling for You by Lisa Schroeder (girl reads; novel in verse): signs of an obsessive person (taking up all of your time, needing you in his life in order to live, constant contact, telling you what to wear/look like)
Leading question:  Where is the fine line between a relationship and obsession?  Has anyone ever heard of a crime of passion?

Fateful by Claudia Gray (historial supernatural): Titanic exhibit in Ft. Worth; the 2015 launch of the replicated Titanic
Leading question: How long have werewolves been around?  How did they get from Europe to America?

Scandalous: 50 shocking events you should know about (so you can impress your friends) by Hallie Fryd (non-fiction): Look at cover and talk about two events: Elvis and his shocking antics: Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding.  How the impacted history.  Yes, history does have a dark and dirty side, and this book has the stories the textbooks leave out.

Infects by Sean Beaudoin (supernatural tongue-in-cheek):Zombie talk  (fast, slow, what infected them, how to kill/evade them)
Leading question:  Have you ever had a case of food poisoning? 

Trinity: a graphic history of the first atomic bomb by Jonathan Fetter-Vorm (non-fiction): How many times was the A-bomb detonated?  Where?  One of the best kept government secrets of its time.  Oppenheimer was the creator, but how did he feel about this thing he created?  Why did the U.S. choose Nagasaki or Hiroshima?

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen (real life read; thriller): Life of Pi; the effects of dehydration
Leading question:  Besides food and water, what would be the most important thing to have on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean?

Breathe by Sarah Crossen: air quality alerts; the most polluted cities in the world
Leading question: Do all people need the same amount of oxygen to survive?  What about those that live in mountains vs. prairies dwellers?  Athletes or sendentary people?

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (supernatural): Different ways of divination (tea leaves, magic ball, tarot cards)
Leading question: Do psychics have the abilities they claim or not?  Ever watched Long Island Medium or Psychic Detective on television?

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (girl reads): hindsight; spending your entire summer with your parents and siblings
Leading question:  Ever had one of those moments when you know you screwed up but didn't do anything about it?  Ever wished for a do-over?

Zoo by James Patterson (adult fiction): story about the chimpanzee that turned on its owner and caused substantial facial damage
Leading question: If you had a pet you loved and it turned on you, what would you do?

Ten by Gretchen McNeill (mystery): movie the Elevator; Agatha Christie
Leading question: What's the best thing about being on an island?  The worse?

The Turning by Francine Prose (psychological mystery): long-distance relationships
Leading question:  If you were offered a summer job that paid big time, would you give up all phone and internet access the entire summer? 

Before You Go by James Preller (real life read): Three things guys think about (food, girls, hanging out) and the nothing box they are all equipped with
Leading question: What is the best summer job for a teen?  Are they different for guys and girls?

Visit Sunny Chernobyl: and other adventures in the world's most polluted places by Andrew Blackwell (non-fiction):  brief history of the infamy of Chernobyl; current disasters that pollute the earth (Fukishima).  Talk briefly about one other place in the book (India river) and end with the fact the Texas made the top five list of the most polluted places on earth. 

My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf (non-fiction): Which is more difficult, elementary or junior high?  How about junior high or high school?  Talk about Jeffrey's history in school and the demons he had to battle.  Describe his social life and his relationship with his friend Derf.  Then talk about what happened 10 years later, when Derf saw him on television...

Booktalking 101- Make it Relevant!

Fresh off my booktalking week, I was exhausted by happy.  Most of the books I talked about are checked out and a waiting list is growing.  Always a good sign! 
One thing I usually do before each booktalk is get audience participation by asking about something relevant going on in news or culture that can connect teens to the books.  So here's a list of the books and the tie-in I found for each one.

172 Hours on The Moon by Johan Harstad:  Neil Armstrong death, Moon landing controversy, aliens
Leading question: If given the opportunity, would you want to travel to the moon and live on a space station for a month?

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons: Presidential election, due process of the law
Leading question: Name a society dictated by soldiers and a police state.  Would you want to live there?

Ashfall by Mike Mullin: name some world famous volcanic eruptions
Leading question: Did you feel the tremors caused by an earthquake two weeks ago in the DFW area?

Audition Stasia Kehoe: different types of dance from ballet to Gangnum style
Leading question:  What does it take to be a famous athlete or dancer?

Beneath a Meth Moon by Jacqueline Woodson: effects of meth on a person
Leading question:  What are some physical traits of a person on meth?

Blood Red Road by Moira Young: preciousness of water in Texas, the twin bond
Leading question: Have you ever been around twins that were super close? **trailer

Dead to You by Lisa McMann: Jaycee Dugard story
Leading question: How would your life change if you were abducted but brought back?

Dearly Departed by Lia Habel: Victorian England
Leading question:  Do opposites attract?  Why? **trailer

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: cancer in a family
Leading question:  Name some of the saddest movies you've ever seen

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral: Romeo and Juliet
Leading question: Have your parents ever made decisions for you that you didn't agree with?  How about who you date?

Dark Eden by Patrick Carman: human experimentation debate, deprivation chambers
Leading question: Think about one of the worst fears in your life.... ** trailer

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts: epidemics, West Nile virus in our area
Leading question: Movie Contagion, pandemic and pandemonium ** trailer

Trafficked by Kim Purcell:  story of domestic near Mexico found tied to a tree
Leading question:  Why people get trafficked into the land of the free, home of the brave

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting: the most common languages on Earth. story of the Tower of Babel
Leading Question: Which language would be most beneficial to use?  Why?

The List by Siobhan Vivian: school traditions, October national anti-bullying awareness
Leading question:  What makes a girl pretty or ugly?

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga:  America has most serial killers than any other country
Leading question:  Can you name any famous serial killers in our country's history? ** trailer

In Too Deep by Amanda Grace: the facial signs a person may be lying
Leading question:  Have you ever lied?  Have you ever tried to cover it up but the hole kept getting deeper? ** trailer

Love and Leftovers by Sarah Tregay: stats of divorce in America; long distance relationships
Leading question:  How would you feel if you were forced to move across the country your junior year?  How would you keep in touch with your friends?

The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler: History of the Internet
Leading question:  If you could see yours and your friends' Facebook 15 years from now, would you want to know? (Non-fiction pair: Friend Me! 600 Yearsof Social Networking in America by Francesca David DiPiazza)

Quarantine by Lex Thomas:  ebola virus; biological weapons and the government
Leading question:  Have you ever read Lord of the Flies?  How would you feel locked in high school is no adults around? ** trailer

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne: world disasters (tsunami, Japan nuclear meltdown)
Leading question:  If a major disaster happened and you had to stay somewhere for six months or more, where would you want to be?

No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz: Malls around the area, which ones are best
Leading question:  If, all of a sudden you were in lockdown at the mall and saw Hazmat suits come in, what would your reaction be?

Ripper by Stefan Petrucha: Most famous mystery in history.  What happened to him?
Leading question: Would you want your parents to be famous?  What happens if they were infamous? (Non-fiction pair:  Secret Subway by Martin Sandler) ** trailer

Booktalk Powerpoint 09

TLA presentation 2009

Booktalk Powerpoint 09

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The power of booktalking

So....last week I booktalked about 20 titles in a 45 minute time period, and hands down, the book girls wanted the most was Breaking Up is Hard to Do. I promised I'd go down to the local bookseller to get three more copies.
A week later (today, to be exact) lo and behold! They were completely out of stock of that title and the nearestbookseller that had it in stock was about 40 miles away. There was a rush on this book last week.
Power to the booktalkers of every school in America!

YA Booktalking

What’S The Hook

From: mira93, 1 month ago

What’S The Hook

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How to attract teens to reading


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May 2008 booktalks

these are past titles, I'm gearing up for the fall!!