Edge of Seventeen is Back!

After a bit of an extended vacation, Edge of Seventeen is back! Mandy has offered me the enormously thrilling responsibility of taking care of this baby for a while. So, I've already written a few blog posts but I suppose it's never too late for official introductions. My name is Erica and I work at Words Worth Books in Waterloo. I love reading kids and YA books and I have a special interest in anything with a steampunk aesthetic. I hope that you'll enjoy my posts. Mandy will continue to post reviews once in a while, in between running a world-class local independent bookstore. In order to accomplish all of this, Mandy will give up sleep.

So, in honour of Mandy and the love for YA that we both share, I thought I'd share with you a little Q&A, to get right back to the heart of why it's so much fun to blog about Young Adult fiction.

Erica: Hi Mandy!
Mandy: Hi!!!

Mandy and Erica, blog-size.

Erica: What are you reading right now?
Mandy: The new Michael Ondaatje. It's okay.
Erica: I know that you have a very special place in your heart for teen fiction, especially dystopian fiction. Is there anything that you've read lately that's wowed you, or anything that you are anticipating?
Mandy: I'm anticipating reading the new Kenneth Oppel and the new Maureen Johnson, for sure. Recently I finished the new Eileen Cook book, I think it's out in January. (I'd have to look up all the titles hahaha)
Erica: What is it about Young Adult fiction that draws you to this genre? The hot boys? 
Mandy: Hahahahahaha! The only guys I find hot in YA are the Weasley twins.
Erica: No!

Weasely Weasleys

Mandy: Yes!! And both of 'em!  For awhile when I was reading more YA, I loved it because there was such a huge community dedicated to it. And I had started reading the blog Bookshelves of Doom http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/ , and I loved her review style. She got me on to so much and I just went with it. And then a lovely librarian friend was also locally blogging about teen books and I was hooked.
Erica: When you mention the YA community, what do you mean? Readers, bloggers, authors?
Mandy: Mostly bloggers, but also publishers. There was all this new buzz about the teen genre and I wanted to be part of it.
Erica: There are LOTS of blogs on the web, and lots of YA book blogs, to boot. What sets Edge of Seventeen apart from the rest, in your opinion?
Mandy: Actually I think EOS is pretty standard in terms of a book blog. BUT I think with your renewed interest in maintaining it, and your injecting it with Steampunk goodness, it'll really become something.
Erica: I don't think the blog is or has ever been standard! Your sheer enthusiasm and amazing author interviews made me a loyal blog reader.
Mandy: Every blog should have some unique focus to it, in partnership with being a straightforward teen book review blog. Pick a passion and incorporate it into your blog and you'll stand out. I never really did that.
Erica: I endeavor to take the awesomeness that you started and continue it.
Mandy: Ha ha ha, you'll make it great.
Erica: Anne of Green Gables was the book that made me into a reader. It has a strong female character, which is something that I still love in YA books. Was there a book like this for you?
Mandy: One of the books that made me into a reader was Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. I loved it. It was also the beginning of my love for Sci-Fi. But I can't remember my first book, per se.
Erica: You've interviewed quite a few fantastic authors on your blog. Which one would you most like to take out for dinner? What would you chat about over coffee and dessert?
Mandy: I'd love to have dinner with Bernard Beckett just because I have a crush on him. It's possible that I wouldn't have much to say to him except "Genesis was amazing...." I might have more to say to Meg Rosoff though, just about anticipating how a story is developed. I'm in awe of How I Live Now. All of the elements of the story and the way she builds it up, it's remarkable.
Erica: You're remarkable. Thanks for creating such a fantastic blog and thanks for chatting with me.
Mandy: Anytime!!