Dear Teen Me Blog Tour: Dear Teen Karis..., Plus a Giveaway!

So, I'm pretty excited to take part in the Dear Teen Me Blog Tour.  When the publisher, Zest Books, asked me to participate, I wasn't really sure I was up for it.  I mean, I loved the book; I thought it was a brilliant idea on E. Kristin Anderson's and Miranda Kenneally's (the editors) to put it together, and was already planning to review it (read my review HERE), but if I was going to be a tour participant, I wanted to do more.  I was thinking that I might write a letter to my teen self, publish a few pictures of "teen me", but well, that was a little scary to me.  Then I thought, "What the hell?", maybe someone could learn from my mistakes, and wasn't that kind of the whole point of the book?  I mean, I'm no Ellen Hopkins or Lauren Oliver (two of the awesome authors who contributed), but I was a teenager once, and I was pretty wild, and I made my share of mistakes, soooooo...

Dear Teen Karis,

     You're probably not going to heed any of the advice in this letter because it is from a 36 year old lady, and God knows, people THAT old do NOT know ANYTHING, but trust me, Karis, I know YOU, and I have the benefit of that 20/20 hindsight!  That being said, there are a few things you should know...

     First, be nice to your step-mother, Heidi.  I know she isn't even technically old enough to be your mother, and that sadly, things won't end up working out in the end for she and Dad, but she will have a huge, lasting impact on your life.  She is the mother of your brother, Jacob, and your sister, Hannah, both of whom you love dearly, and even more important, she is the person responsible for leading you to a relationship with Christ.  Be kind to her.  I can't be easy becoming the step-mother of two almost-teenage kids at age 24, and she did a great job helping raise you to be the person you will be be.

    Second, don't act like an airhead.  You are so smart!  Brilliant, in fact!  You have a ridiculous IQ, and you should never act more dumb than you actually are.  It's not cute.  Be proud of your intelligence.  The vast majority of people aren't blessed with as much of it as you are, so let it show.  On that note, work harder in school, and develop good study habits.  I know you are smart enough to skate by, and get good grades without working, but you will need the study habits in college, and it would be cool (and much cheaper) if you didn't need your first two years to figure that out.  Also, don't EVER be a cheerleader.  You will blow out your knees, and blow your chances of running track in college.

     Third, you don't need to get so wasted every weekend.  I know it's easier to talk to that one particular boy when you are, but you know what?  He likes you better when you're not a stumbling mess.   Also, it might save you several nights of hugging the toilet, and also some chick from Florida's convertible.  Boone's Farm and you?  Not a great combo!

     Finally, the friends you have?  They are great.  You did that right, so don't change a thing.  Well, maybe try not to be such a matchmaker, because fact is, you aren't very good at it, but that aside, know that Amy is still your bestie 25 years later, and though life has gotten in the way of you seeing much of each other, you still love her like a sister, and always will.

     In the end, Karis, things turned out pretty well for you.  You may have had an easier road to happiness had you been a little more true to yourself, but doing things the way you did them made you a mom who knows all the tricks in the book, so there's that...  Yes.  You, the girl who was never getting married, and NEVER having any spawn, are happily married to an awesome guy, and have three (mostly) fantastic kids.  Life hasn't always been easy, but you are happy, and that's what counts!

Much love,

Your Grown-up Self (Yes, you DO finally grow up!)

P.S.  You are beautiful and FAR from fat, so stop getting down on yourself for how you look.  Trust me.

So there it is folks! My letter to "Teen Karis".  And that girl is the pictures up there? That's me, once upon a time. (Oh yeah, Teen Karis, get all your photos from Dad's house before it burns down in 2009).   I hope you all will read Dear Teen Me, because it is really great.  If you're an adult, read it because it will take you back, if you're a teen, read it because it is packed with great wisdom!  I hope you enjoyed my letter to my teenage self!

NOW...  Go ahead and enter the Rafflecopter (be patient, sometimes it takes a minute) below for a chance to win your own copy of Dear Teen Me from Zest Books, then check out the other stops on the tour (click HERE)! Also, make sure to visit the Dear Teen Me BLOG for lots more content!  Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ARC Review: Dear Teen Me edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally

Publisher:  Zest Books

Publication Date:  October 30th, 2012

Dear Teen Me includes advice from over 70 YA authors (including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, and Nancy Holder, to name a few) to their teenage selves. The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. So pick a page, and find out which of your favorite authors had a really bad first kiss? Who found true love at 18? Who wishes he’d had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard? Some authors write diary entries, some write letters, and a few graphic novelists turn their stories into visual art. And whether you hang out with the theater kids, the band geeks, the bad boys, the loners, the class presidents, the delinquents, the jocks, or the nerds, you’ll find friends--and a lot of familiar faces--in the course of Dear Teen Me.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

First things first...  I am participating in a blog tour for this book, and my scheduled stop date is October 31st, so stop back then, and read MY letter to my teen self, and enter my GIVEAWAY for a copy of this book!

This is a book that ALL teenagers should read!  What a fantastic idea for a book!  Dear Teen Me is a compilation of letters, written by popular YA and MG authors, to their teenage selves, and it is great!  Really, all you have to do is look at the roster to know this.  I am not familiar with every author on this list, but I will say that I could name at least one book from almost everybody...

E. Kristin Anderson (editor), Jessica Lee Anderson (Border Crossing), Tom Angleberger (The Strange Case of Origami Yoda), Sean Beaudoin (The Infects, which I recently reviewed HERE), Charles Benoit (Fall From Grace), Robin Benway (The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June), Ilsa A. Bick (Ashes), Marke Bieschke, Joseph Bruchac (Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of WWII), Jessica Burkhart (Canterwood Crest), Josh A. Cagan, Riley Carney, Tera Lynn Childs (Forgive My Fins), Jessica Corra, Heather David (Wherever You Go), Daniel Ehrenhaft (Friend Is Not a Verb),  Laura Ellen (Blind Spot), Beth Fantaskey (Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side), Caridad Ferrer, Michael Griffo, Janet Gurtler (If I Tell), Kersten Hamilton (Goblin Wars), Bethany Hegedus, Geoff Herbach (Stupid Fast), Faith Erin Hicks, Nancy Holder (Unleashed), K.A. Holt, P.J. Hoover, Ellen Hopkins (Crank), Stacey Jay (Juliet Immortal), Carrie Jones (Need), Mike Jung (Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities), Stasia Ward Kehoe (Audition), Tara Kelly (Amplified), Miranda Kenneally (Catching Jordan), Stephanie Kuehnert, Mary Lindsey (Shattered Souls), Nikk Loftin (The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy), Katherine Longshore (Gilt), Ken Lowery, Kekla Magoon (37 Things I Love...), Mari Mancusi (Sk8ter Boy), Gretchen McNeil (Ten), Jodi Meadows (Incarnate), Saundra Mitchell (The Vespertine), Hannah Moskowitz (Gone, Gone, Gone), Jenny Moss, Sarah Ockler (Twenty Boy Summer), Lauren Oliver (Delirium), Elizabeth Miles (Fury), Stephanie Pellegrin, Mitali Perkins, Cheryl Rainfield (Scars), Dave Roman, Jess Rothenberg (The Catastrophic History of You and Me), Jennifer Rush (Altered), Amy Kathleen Ryan (Glow), Tom Ryan, Leila Sales (Past Perfect), Cynthia Leitich-Smith (Tantalize), Jessica Spotswood (Born Wicked), Erika Stalder, Rhonda Stapleton, Mariko Tamaki, Don Tate, Melissa Walker (Unbreak My Heart), Tracy White, Jo Whittemore, Sara Zarr (How to Save a Life), Jennifer Ziegler (How Not to Be Popular)

If that list doesn't convince you to read this book, and then pass it to every tween and teen you know, maybe my gushing review will!

Dear Teen Me was a great read.  As an adult, it really brought me back, and made me consider how my life may have turned out if I had done things differently as a teenager.  Some of the letters were really funny, others full of great advice about being who you are, and others, quite heartbreaking (Ilsa J. Bick's letter kind of haunts me).  The common thread that they all share?  They are all real.  The authors dig up long forgotten (or, in some cases, long held) moments and memories, some of which are painful and/or embarrassing,  in order to help the reader be a stronger, smarter, more confident teen.  I found myself relating to a lot of the letters written by female authors, in particular, because I remember doing a lot of the same things (Nikki Loftin's letter really hit home, because I was a bit of a loudmouth too!).  I imagine the same would hold true for boys, with male authors.  One of my favorites was the letters that Lauren Oliver and Elizabeth Miles wrote to each other's teen selves (they were BFFs in high school).  I don't think I would want to publish a letter written to my teen self by my (still) BFF, and I bet she feels the same...  Anyway, there is not much else I can say, other than what I said at the beginning; Every teen MUST read this book, and then take the wisdom of these great, brave authors to heart!  They aren't kidding when they say that hindsight is 20/20!  My daughter will be getting a (signed by as many of the authors as possible) copy of this book for her 13th birthday, and I hope she is smart enough to really pay attention!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★  

Grade Level Recommendation:  This is a GREAT book for middle school and up!  Ages 11 and up (6th grade+).

** Don't miss my GIVEAWAY of THE DIVINERS by Libba Bray as part of the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop!  Click HERE for details!  International.  Ends 11/01/2012 **