(Cross posted from JoNoWriMo)

Ordinarily, I am not an "outline before I write" girl. I know my starting point before I sit down to write; I know the themes; I know the ending, and a few of the scenes in between -- enough to give me a grasp of where the story is headed, but not so much that there isn't room for surprises along the way.

But this time ... This time, I got to chapter five in the middle grade novel I'm working on, and I didn't feel like I was on solid footing like I have in the past when I've gotten to this point in a WIP. I needed a map, a way to get from here to there, because I was feeling kind of cloudy about what was supposed to happen next, and with probably seven chapters to go, that scared me.

So the other night, I pulled out a notebook and began to plot out the big events in the next five chapters -- not in great detail, but with enough detail that I felt sure of where I'll be going with this story when I pull my chair up to my desk this week. And since then, I've made a lot of progress. Today, I'm at 1,158 words, and I am thrilled.

How are your JoNoWriMo projects coming along? And, is anyone writing tomorrow night? Need a writing buddy?

 One “truth” is that it’s impossible to know how many people an unplanned pregnancy can affect, and all the complicated emotions that news of the pregnancy will be met with, until you’ve been there.

If you’re a teenager or a young adult, you can imagine just how difficult it might be to break the news to your parents, and the shame you might feel at the thought of telling your grandparents, or the aunt or uncle you’ve always admired, or perhaps your teacher, professor, or boss. But the reactions you can’t anticipate are the ones that knock you off your feet, continually, at a time when you’re already feeling your lowest. Maybe it’s watching your little brother cry at the thought of your baby – his niece or nephew – growing up without a father in the home, if the relationship is one that may not continue. Maybe it’s the letter you receive from a relative you admire that is meant to be supportive, but one sentence cuts you to the quick – “We all make decisions that are not in our best interest” – and you can’t quite explain why the words make you cry. Maybe it’s the best friend who pulls away at a time when you need her most, because she doesn’t understand how you could have ended up in this situation to begin with, doesn’t understand or agree with the decisions you’ll make regarding the pregnancy, is scared she won’t know how to be the friend you need, or maybe, scared of the ‘What ifs?’ that the situation has prompted her to consider (‘What if it happened to me? What would I do? How close have I come to being in the same situation?’).

In “Jumping Off Swings,” author Jo Knowles creates a very real portrayal of how an unplanned pregnancy affects not only the teenage girl and boy involved, but also their best friends, their parents, and the parent of a friend, and the reactions the pregnancy and the decisions made afterward elicit from students at their high school, a counselor, and even the nurses in the delivery room (who look at the girl with sympathy). The story is told in alternating, first-person points of view: those of Ellie and Josh, teenagers who have known each other since grade school, whose one-night stand leads to a pregnancy, and those of Caleb and Corinne, their best friends.

What makes this story so powerful is the depth to which Knowles portrays the complex reactions to the pregnancy.

Ellie’s parents, who are heartbroken, can barely look at her.

Josh’s father chides his son for not being more careful, but is relieved when he hears from the father of another boy that Ellie will be taking care of things on her own.

Caleb, who has adored Ellie from afar since they were kids, is crushed that Ellie would give herself so easily to someone who doesn’t care about her enough to want a relationship. He’s angry with his best friend, Josh, for not taking responsibility--and later, angry with himself for not helping Josh understand his rights, particularly when Josh is suffering, too.

Josh is embarrassed about the way he treated Ellie after their one-night stand, and wrestles with knowing the only chance he might have to see his child is during a stolen glance inside the nursery.

Corinne, who is beginning to develop feelings for Caleb, is irritated that Caleb would continue his friendship with Josh when Josh hasn’t stood by Ellie – and feels powerless in her own efforts to protect and comfort Ellie.

“Jumping Off Swings” is the type of novel that parents should both give their teens to read and read themselves, so that discussions about the differences between words and love, and between love and sex – and the complicated tangle of feelings that can arise from both – can take place. It is the first YA novel I’ve read that explores just how far-reaching the effects of one pregnancy can be – and is a powerful reminder that the actions we take can have consequences we can’t predict.

If the parents in Gayle Forman’s novel If I Stay are some of the hippest parents in YA literature today, the grandmother in Carrie Jones’ new YA novel Need has mastered the art of cool.

Betty White, grandmother to the book’s heroine, Zara, is alternately tough (“If anyone gives you any crap, I’ll go jack ‘em for you,” she tells Zara shortly after Zara, who is mourning the death of her stepfather, is sent to Maine to live with Betty while she works through her depression) and sweet (Betty presents Zara with a Subaru when they arrive home from the airport, telling Zara, “It’s brand new. The driving’s tough in Maine. I wanted you to be safe”).

Betty works as an EMT, saving lives and rescuing people from trouble, but it’s her granddaughter’s well being that she’s most worried about in Need. The death of Zara’s stepfather, the only father Zara has ever known, has left Zara numb, and Zara’s mother sends her to Betty, hoping the change of scenery will do Zara good. Slowly, Betty works toward helping Zara rediscover what joy feels like. For example, Zara’s initial delight at receiving a new car is quickly replaced by feelings of “I don’t deserve this,” and thoughts of her work with Amnesty International and people in third-world countries who have so little. At first, Betty tries to make light of the situation – “Don’t make me swear at you. Just say thank you and be done with it,” she says – but then she acknowledges that what Zara has said is true, that there are people who live with far less, and finds a way to show Zara that her good fortune could be used to help others in need. “Just because they go without doesn’t mean you have to go without, too,” Betty tells Zara. “And it doesn’t mean you can’t use what you have to make other peoples’ lives better.” And it is this respect for Zara’s feelings, a respect Zara doesn’t feel she’s received from her mother, who in Zara’s eyes has sent her away, that is a large part of what makes Betty so cool.

That’s not to say that there aren’t times when Betty embarrasses the heck out of Zara, as grandparents sometimes do. There’s a scene in particular where Betty relishes in teasing Zara about a kiss Zara shares in the woods with a boy she’s become close to, a kiss that Betty happens to witness.“I saw you two tonsil surfing out there,” Betty tells Zara. “I don’t even have tonsils!” Zara protests.“I know that and I bet [he] knows that now, too!” Betty laughs, slapping her leg with amusement.

Ultimately, Zara and Betty work together to bring down a man who has been stalking Zara and terrorizing young men in the town – and to save Zara’s mother.

I personally love that the name of the character is also the name of Golden Girls actor Betty White, who has had some kick-butt moments of her own in her career (think Lake Placid).

Need is a captivating story, perfect for a cold autumn night, with well-drawn characters and a voice that will pull you in from the first page. I’m already anxious to read the sequel, which comes out Jan. 5, 2010.

Who's your favorite grandmother in middle grade or YA?

Yesterday, I came across this quote from author Brian Yansky (My Trip to the Pretty Girl Capital of the World and Wonders of the World) in an interview with author Cynthia Leitich Smith:

“Writing is full of wonders, and there are a few moments in every manuscript that are filled with a kind of grace.” – (cynleitichsmith.livejournal.com/185621.html)

As writers, we can all point to instances where we’ve experienced moments of grace while writing. But I wonder if it’s possible to spot these moments in another author’s writing – moments where the act of writing the story left the author feeling exhilarated. Because there is a scene toward the end of Sarah Dessen’s new book, Along for the Ride, that made me sit up and take notice, that caught my attention in such a way that I read it slowly, because I knew there was something special about this scene, about the writing, about all the little details that shaped that moment in the book, and I didn’t want to miss a single word. I call it “the bike scene toward the end of the book.”

Here is a very short excerpt – just two sentences, and no additional detail, because it really is a scene you’ll want to experience yourself:

“I smiled at him as I stepped back, then up on my pedals again. He turned slowly in a circle, watching as I slowly rode around him, once, twice, three times, like casting a spell.” (p. 377)

Along for the Ride is a great summer read or end-of-summer read, and if you’re looking for a book to enjoy on Labor Day weekend in particular, I highly recommend this one.     

“Shiver” left me craving a peppermint hot chocolate, even in the 107-degree heat of an Arizona summer day.

It’s a story for the senses, with writing that captures each scene so vividly, you can feel what the main character, Grace, experiences as she lies trapped in the woods behind her home, surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves (“Their tongues melted my skin; their careless teeth ripped at my sleeves and snagged through my hair, pushed against my collarbone, the pulse at my neck”); see her through the eyes of the young wolf, Sam, who fought to save her (“The girl looked right at me, eyes holding mine with such terrible honesty”); hear Sam gasp for breath six years later as he lies wounded on Grace’s back deck in his human form; smell the scent of Sam’s skin – part wolf, part human – as Grace leans against him during one of their dates (“My nose was inches away from the skin on his neck … earthy, wild, complex”); and taste the swirl of peppermint extract in the cup of hot chocolate Sam orders for Grace (“The little bit of mint shot my mouth through with cold at the same time that the chocolate filled it with warmth”).

In “Shiver,” author Maggie Stiefvater delicately weaves a story of loss and longing, of love and hope.

When Grace was 11, two wolves pulled her from the tire swing in her backyard and into the woods. The wolf pack was starving, and as Grace lie in the snow, a circle of wolves hungrily licking at her and biting her, she felt certain she would die. But one wolf – a young wolf with yellow eyes flecked with gold and hazel – held her gaze, then stepped in to save her. Every winter since, Grace has looked for “her” wolf at the edge of her backyard, hoping to make a connection with him. At night, she hears the wolves howling in the night and feels a longing to be with them, a longing she can’t explain. And in the summer, when the wolves are nowhere to be seen, she wonders about her yellow-eyed wolf and imagines the adventures he’s on while she waits for the day she’ll see him again.

What Grace doesn’t know is that during the summer months, Sam is human. For years, he’s watched her from a distance, fascinated by her, but afraid to approach her. But when a boy at Grace’s high school is killed by wolves late one fall, when Grace is 17, Sam is shot by townsmen looking to avenge the boy’s death. Grace finds Sam lying on her back porch, wounded – and in human form. Grace rushes to care for him. Soon, they’re unable to deny their love for one another. But their joy at finding one another is tempered by the realization that this is Sam’s last season in human form – and that the oncoming winter cold could return him to wolf form at any time. How long will Sam be able to stay human before turning into his wolf form – forever? How did Grace, who was bitten as a child, manage to escape becoming a werewolf? And can she find a cure for Sam before it’s too late?

With “Shiver,” Stiefvater has crafted a jewel of a story, one that will leave the reader breathless at its end – and in awe of the way in which Stiefvater uses words to capture an emotion or set a scene.