Reader Paparazzi: An Interview with a YA Book Reviewer

| Coleen Patrick

It’s Reader Paparazzi time.

 

YA readers interview

It’s research, not stalking.

Reader Paparazzi is my Q & A series spotlighting YA readers (if you missed any previous interviews, click here or on the tab in the header above).  I spend a lot of time inside the mind of fictional teens–writing and reading, so it’s great to get a little real YA world perspective to help with character inspiration, or to learn what holds a teen’s interest, or simply find a new book to read.

But it’s not only teens reading Young Adult novels.  The popularity of YA spans the generations.  Wikipedia says the typical age range is from ten to twenty-five, but I know plenty of adults are reading it.  Plus, the categories of New Adult or Upper YA throw off the typical range also.

More than half of the eighty books I’ve read this year have been YA.  Although I guess I don’t count since I also write YA–and because I’m just barely over twenty-five.

🙂

Anyhoo, today I bring you an interview with a college student.  Ancient, I know.  But Amanda is a prolific YA reader.  She blogs about the books she reads over at her site Born Bookish.  Check it out.  You can find great reviews and segments like Breathtaking Book Covers and Wordlover Wednesday.

 

 

A big Reader Paparazzi hello to Amanda!

Amanda, what book are you reading right now?

You actually caught me in-between books! I started The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore a couple of months ago but have been so busy with review books I haven’t been able to finish it. Next up, is Social Suicide by Gemma Halliday.

 

the rise of nine

I am a fan of The Number Four series! Of course, every time I go to your blog, I find new titles for my to-read pile!

Okay, now let’s get serious.  What did you eat for dinner last night?

Macaroni & Cheese. Not the kind out of a box, I actually went out to eat and got fancy schmancy Mac & Cheese.

 

Yum!  What was your favorite book when you were younger?

I can only pick one? Wow, that’s hard. I’m going to go with Abby: South Sea Adventures series by Pamela Walls.

 

What do you hope you will be doing five years from now?

I hope that I will have a job in the field of Graphic Design, one that I will enjoy doing everyday.

 

What are you most looking forward to right now?

My trip to London that I’ll be taking over Winter Break!

 

Sounds amazing.  London is definitely on my bucket list. 

What would you like to learn how to do—that you don’t know how to do?

So many things . . . American Sign Language is something I’ve always wanted to learn–and how to play violin.

 

What fictional character would you most like to meet and why?

I have to think about this one for a minute . . . Cammie Morgan from the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter because she is a spy, and what girl didn’t dream of being a spy when she was little?!

 

out of sight out of time

 

Yes, but all that intrigue can make a spy girl hungry!

So back to food.  What is your favorite comfort food?

Chicken and stuffing

 

Top 3 songs playing on your iPod?

Small Bump- Ed Sheeran

Red- Taylor Swift

The Writer- Ellie Goulding (I just bought concert tickets for an Ellie concert tonight! I’m SO excited!)

 

You have a great blog segment on book covers—how important is the cover to you when choosing a book to read?

So important! If a book has a great cover it is pretty much guaranteed that I will at least pick it up, read the synopsis and decide from there. If I dislike a cover I won’t even bother reading the back. I know that’s horrible, but it’s the designer in me. I just can’t read a book if I hate the cover.

 

If you could Skype with anyone—who would you pick?

Does Perry the Platypus count? No? Okay. Then I would choose Taylor Swift.

 

 

Quick fire fill in the blank:

I fear: Heights

I need: Chocolate

I love: Family

I am inspired by: Nature

Favorite word from your Wordlover Wednesday series: Lollygag

As in enough of. Got it. 

Thank you Amanda!

Now, because Reader Paparazzi gets me feeling extra stalkerish and curious, tell me, what did YOU have for dinner last night?

 

I did NOT have Halloween candy for dinner.  

Have an awesome week!

 

 

 

**If you enjoyed this post, you can subscribe to my mailing list to receive my new posts straight to your inbox.  Just add your email in the space at the top of the right sidebar under my photo.

 

33 thoughts on “Reader Paparazzi: An Interview with a YA Book Reviewer”

  1. I love lolligag too, I’m going to put it with harbinger from another cool blog this morning and make a poem with them, cheers. Some interesting reads here. I don’t delve into YA much except for Maggie Stiefvater xxx

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    1. Yes, and it’s even more telling if I say I wore a nightshirt that read “Twenty something” when I was in my early twenties, back when a certain TV show called Thirty something was super popular. Oh well.
      🙂

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  3. Sounds like a great blog I should be following. Thanks for the info!

    I read a lot of YA, too. Lately I’ve been picking up more Upper MG books. I just finished The One And Only Ivan. It was incredible! I read it in an hour and a half. I couldn’t put it down.

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  6. Yep, I’m also only just over 25 and in with the girl spies, too! Actually, my besties and I formed a little known club called the Vixens in school. Not really sure what its point was, but it was super secret 🙂

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  8. I’m impressed that Amanda created a job that showcases her love of YA and graphic arts skills. When I was in school, I worked a dead-end job and counted off the days until I got my degree. How I wish I could go back in time and pull an Amanda-like move.

    Thanks for this interview, Coleen. Amanda, your future is LED-light bright.

    Last night’s dinner: grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, and oven-roasted potatoes. I gave away my left-over Halloween candy, but not before eating too many malted-milk balls and toffee bars. Funny how I can resist Reese’s but am helpless when it comes to Whoppers.

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  11. I’m one of those grown-ups who read YA. I actually have to remind myself to read adult literature, because – even though i love it – my to-read pile of YA is so high that I can get a bit lost in it!

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    1. I have to remind myself too. The good thing about going back and forth is that I ALWAYS have something to read. There was a time when I didn’t have such a broad selection, and my to read pile would be nothing. Weird to consider that now.
      Thanks Stephanie!

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  12. Born Bookish. I love it. I always enjoy when you have these interviews. You really don’t want to know what I had for dinner last night. Nothing healthy with the crazy going on in my house right now. Hopefully we will eat better moving forward. 🙂

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  13. I like what you said about covers. I will read a book that doesn’t have a fabulous cover, but a fabulous cover will make me pick up a book I don’t know anything about and read the synopsis which can hook me from there. Fun interview!

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  15. I’m way past being called a Young Adult, however, I’m curious about this genre…what appeals to me as both reader and writer is a shorter word count.

    Where to begin is my biggest issue, there are so many good reviews out there! Thank you for sharing information about yourself Amanda, and thank you Coleen for hosting the session on your blog.

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  16. What a terrific Reader Paparazzi interview! Thanks for introducing me to Amanda’s website, Born Bookish. I love it. I appreciate your assessment of the books, Amanda, and like your ratings system. Oh, my, I feel more books being added to my TBR pile already.

    Oh, yeah. Dinner last night was grilled cheese sandwiches.

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