Of Young Adult novels and Japan Quiz bowlers

Hi again. I had a busy weekend. Well, technically it was a busy Friday and Saturday... but anyway...

Friday I went to a seminar about teens and reading, called Teens on Track. An author whose book I fell for in college was attending, Sharon G. Flake. I read "The Skin I'm In" in a class and used it with the Honors 10th grade students I was working with when I did my internship. I received a very positive response from all the kids--even the boys, despite the main character being a girl. It deals a lot with self-image and bullying, which are things teens can relate to--and the fact that the story is just a good story doesn't hurt. ^_^

I learned about a TON of new YA books that will be on the shelves soon, or are already waiting there, so if you want to hear about any, feel free to ask. I'm really excited to get my hands on some of these new books. (It will help the wait for Paolini's book 3 pass faster!!)

So then I high-tailed it to Ann Arbor, where I participated in the 15th Annual Michigan-Japan Quiz Bowl. It was a pretty hectic, stressful day and a half... but I had a great time. ^_^ It was so wonderful to see over 400 students there with a love of Japan and Japanese! I got to reconnect with a lot of the teachers I've been getting to know over the last year or so, too, and that was great. I look forward to helping out next year, and invite you to help out or just come watch, if you're in the area next year! ^_^

So I got to have a lazy day today~ wheee~ Though, I should get working on homework! ^^; I've got a big test in Japanese class on Thursday, so I'm gonna go get to it. Jya ne!