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Tuesday
Jun152010

"Not Everyone Can Bake" by Genny Dalby

The other day I read about

The benefits of baking

The writer had without a doubt

Had made it sound amazing.

 

I cut the recipes out quickly

And stuck them in a book

But as you might or not see

I can neither bake nor cook.

 

My mother and her mother

They baked all the time

But I must confess to you

When I tried, it was a crime.

 

My cakes tasted like dirt

The appetizers made you gag

And the soups made you ill

My cooking was not "in the bag".

 

This time wasn’t different

It wasn’t a total surprise

That even the writer’s secret hints

Could not make my cakes rise.

Tuesday
Jun152010

Emily, a memoir by Emily Smucker

 

emily-cover-books

Night

I am such a loser.

Look at me. Look at my life. I'm graduating. I'm turning eighteen. I'm sick. Nothing is sound anymore. I can't just live anymore. I can't just make the best of what I have because I don't have anything anymore.

I am losing the chance to go to Kenya, losing it every day. And every day I think of new things, things I did and saw when I was there last time that I may never do and see again.

I want someone to tell my troubles to. At night, when everything rushes down on me, I know I must tell someone. But there is no one to tell.

Is all lost?

Right now I'm thinking maybe I should learn to do that cool thing they do in movies where they scream so loud all the glass breaks. Or maybe they sing really high and screechy but I don't feel like singing high and screechy. I feel like screaming so loud all the glass breaks. How awesome would that be?

 

This is an excerpt from Emily Smucker's memoir, Emily, about her struggles with West Nile virus. The memoir is part of the "Louder Than Words" series, that publishes memoirs of teen girls. For more information you can visit www.louderthanwordsbooks.com.

We also got the opportunity to interview Emily, so check out her answers below:

 

Why did you decide to start blogging?

I started blogging because all my friends were doing it. I kept it up because I loved it.

 

How did you get the opportunity to turn your blog into a book?

When I applied to the Louder Than Words series, I gave Debbie, the editor, a link to my blog. She was intrigued. When I was chosen to write my memoir, Debbie asked me how I would feel about using material from my blog for the basis of my book. I loved the idea!

 

What is it like to have a book published at such a young age?

It's certainly exciting! I like the way that adult writers actually take me seriously as a writer now.

 

What are you doing with your life right now and what are your plans for the future?

I've had to move around a lot for heath reasons. Right now I am living in Virginia with my Aunt and Uncle. There is a little private college in the neighboring town that I really really really want to go to this fall. Being in one place for four years would be amazing!

 

What is your favorite book?

Peter Pan. Love that book.

 

Are you still experiencing the symptoms of West Nile virus?

Yes, I am. I still get tired very easily. However, I am getting better. As I said before, I'm hoping to be well enough to start college this fall. I'm so excited!

 

What one piece of advice would you like to give to teen girls?

Keep a diary! You can keep track of the way you grow and change, and who knows? You may need it for when you write your memoir.

 

Read Emily's blog and buy her memoir at http://emilysmucker.wordpress.com/

Monday
May242010

"Bravely Be You"- Mercy and Emily Carpenter Interview

Mercy:

Why do you think it is important for girls to love their unique physical appearances?

There are so many different "pretties" in the world. It's much more fun to like being the "pretty" that you are than let other people make you feel bad about it. If you can't think nice things about yourself, you probably won't think nice things about other people. I think you should be your biggest fan and not be your meanest bully.

What suggestions do you have for girls to build their self esteem?

When you are with people who make you happy, it's easier to be happy with yourself. When you are happy with yourself, your self esteem gets stronger.I think who you hang out with is important. Don't hang out with people that put you down, make fun of you and try to squash your excitement. Hang out with kids who are not constantly putting themselves down and don't like to talk bad about other people, kids with the same interest (like sports, dance, or music) kids who want build to themselves or share the same kinds of goals.

Emily:

What kind of role models do you think girls should have?

I think they should have people who stand up for themselves, who are strong willed and also give back to the community. People who actually help out and don't just talk about it.

How can teens become more informed about what is going on in the world around them?

I put key words of things I care about into Google searches and find websites of groups or events where I can go and talk to the people who are actually involved in the news you hear about. You can also find ways to get involved and travel by using internet searches.

 

Monday
May242010

"Bravely Be You"- Mercy and Emily Carpenter Creative Writing

The "Bravely Be You" Tour is visiting websites and blogs to promote the new book One of Us by Peggy Moss and Penny Weber. Girl Zone is featuring the writing of and interviews with teens Mercy and Emily Carpenter.
 
Tour Prizes
 
Anyone who does one of the following things: 
1. Leaves a comment on a participating blog post during the tour (May 17-June 1) 
2. Posts a note about the tour on Twitter using the hashtag #bravelybeyou
Will be entered to receive one of the following prizes: 
- A copy of One of Us, signed by author Peggy Moss and illustrator Penny Weber (5 available)
- A signed print of artwork by illustrator Penny Weber 
- A shirt from the empowering t-shirt company Pigtail Pals (http://pigtailpals.com/
**And, as a special offer to all our tour visitors, anyone who visits www.chooseychicks.com during the tour (May 17-June 1) and enters the code "one of us" will receive 20% their purchase of beautiful, inspiring shirts for women!

 

Accept Myself, Not the Stereotypical Pretty Girl

By Mercy Carpenter 

After eleven years of bugging my mom to straighten my hair, “Ow, ow, ow,”

I screamed, as the perm chemicals attacked my head.

But the hair dresser just shrugged and said “It doesn’t hurt that much. I just put the relaxer in.”

I started to get angry, so Michael, the hair dresser, put my head in the sink. 

I stopped panicking and my grimace turned into a relaxed smile as the cold water skipped happily over my burning scalp.

“Am I done yet?” I asked impatiently, I wanted to see how I looked with “pretty” hair.

“Yes, you’re done. You can thank me after you look in the mirror.”

Eager to see myself in the mirror, I ran, smiling, and tripped. I frowned at myself, thinking that I always ruin a good moment. As I patted my hair, smoothing it down, the sound of my mother’s quick, sharp voice startled me, “Mercy don’t you want it to last until the morning? Honey, don’t mess it up.” I fixed the buttons on my shirt, walked towards my jacket, slipped it on and waited for my mom to pay Michael. I quietly tried to hide my excitement about the “new me”.

All I could think about was how I always wanted straight hair. I had a whole life of put downs targeted at my hair. I went home after that exciting day of having my hair done.

I thought my hair was ugly because of all the girls I saw in commercials, movies and different ads that promoted straight hair (never my kind of hair). That night I slept uncomfortably trying to keep my hair from being destroyed by my wild sleep habits. When I woke up, after I finished my rant about having to wake up so early, I took off my scarf to be surprised that my hair stayed so nicely. My mom combed through my now straightened hair. I put on my new outfit, brushed my braces until I could see myself clearly in them. I was ready for graduation day.

When I got to school I was greeted by, “I like your hair better like this,” or an occasional, “Omg, Mercy’s hair is fixed.” I felt as if I was one with the crowd. Now I could wear my hair free without someone messing it up, or humidity trying to and winning.

When I washed my hair, it didn’t turn out well. I took a look in the mirror and shrieked, “It… it is ruined…m-m-m…my hair!”  With frequent sobs, I ran out of the bathroom and into the living room to tell my mom about my hair. But my mother’s expression remained calm, waiting for her daughter to calm down. Then my mother said, “When we got your hair straightened, it ruined your ends. We might just have to cut it.”

I interrupted, terrified, “Why? No. Please, no. I just want my regular hair back. The way it was before I got this stupid perm.”       

Later on that day, I was thinking about my hair and how it is part of my heritage. I’ve always been proud of my heritage because it is a mixture of Native American, Nigerian and European. If I straightened my hair, maybe no one would know how proud I actually am. I am sure that no one could ever convince me again that my kind of hair is ugly. Even with all the commercials, ads and confused people I hear, I will always be myself. And even though I tried to camouflage myself before, I know I will always be myself from now on.

 

Lindsey Lohan

By Emily Carpenter 

Today I saw Lindsey Lohan on the cover of the New York Post

And I’m thinking

Wow

Have we become so blind that we do not notice that shields are covering our eyes

They put up pictures of drunken celebrities

For this there is no need

Except to hide us from the truth

The truth about how millions die over seas

How children beg for their life on their hands and knees

And why is this happening more and more

To hide us from

Darfur

And Aids

And Genocide

The FBI

We consider Osama Bin Laden

A terrorist

When our very own government kills people who are trying to put this to rest

They killed a man who helped the sick

Tell me why is Assasta Shakur on the top ten

When our men can shoot a man 50 times

Because of what

Justice?

The fact is thousands died in the Rwandan Genocide of 94’ 

But no one did anything

Not even president Clinton

Tell me how did he help Bosnia and not Rwanda

This is not something to ponder

Its obvious that while this was going on

News about drunken celebrities was on

And they put Lindsey Lohan on the cover of the New York Post

They put Lindsey Lohan on the cover of the New York Post

While people run around killing and stripping people

Of their lives

Who are we to decide

Who lives and who dies

Who laughs and who cries

Right now a child loses her father

A mother loses a baby

A person

Bombs a country full of people

Tell me who needs help the most

and they put

Lindsey Lohan

On the cover

Of the New York Post

 

 

Friday
May142010

"Shout It Out" by Hannah

I'm not a supermodel, I don't fit the teenage image, I can't stay still for more than 5 seconds, and the letters on the page get jumbled up sometimes but I'm still a bookworm, I can't accept that the characters in my novels are NOT real; Hogwarts will not be getting my acceptance letter any time soon, nobody's going to take me to Camp Half-Blood, and my DNA is not grafted with avian cells. I'm nerdy and have no life, the life I have I get from books, I'm not that good in school, I'm not good at long term projects and I procrastinate, I'm different independent, quirky, strange, and an artist, I'm hyper and always lost in thought and I'm out-a-this world, and keep staring off into space. I cry when the donations for animals who were abused comes on and sometimes I run into screen doors.

 

and I'm proud.