For the Love of Books: May 2009

Hey, friends and neighbors! I'm stoked to share my list of the Top Ten High School Myths with you. These are things that I wish someone would have told me back then. Hopefully, they will help make this time in your life a bit less horrific. Hang in - your real life will start soon.

Each day of my blog tour, I'll be presenting one lie that everyone says is true about high school but it totally false. Today we begin with Myth #1: This is the best time of your life. That one always made me laugh so hard. Enjoy!

-Susane Colasanti, author of Waiting For You

Myth #1. This is the best time of your life.

Uh, no it’s not. It’s the worst time of your life. I never get it when grownups say how being a teen was so fabulous. Either they were super popular jock types back in the day (in which case, that’s great and all, but most of us cannot relate) or they just forget what high school is really like. It’s amazing how much pain time erases.

Here’s the good news. The more pain you endure now, the stronger you will become later. This strength will help you be the best version of yourself. Things will get better after this. When I was a teacher, my students would always ask me why I was so happy all the time. They wanted to know how I could be so perky at 8:00 on a Monday morning. I was so annoying that I actually had a whole TGIM thing going on, all how you should live for every day, not just Fridays. Here’s the secret to my grownup happiness: high school was the worst time of my life. Even when things are bad, life is so much better now. That’s something you can look forward to. So hold on. And never give up.

And now I have something I am super excited about! An interview with Susane!! :D

1. Being a high school senior in the final stretch toward graduation, I keep finding myself daydreaming about the past four years, both the good and the bad. What is your favorite high school memory?

I was pretty much living for graduation day the whole time. Not only because I was so anxious for my real life to begin, but because I really wanted to move away from home. So I guess it makes sense that my memories of graduation day are the sharpest of them all. Walking across the stage, picking up my diploma, and then walking down the steps…I just felt this overwhelming sense of relief. That was a good day.

Senior year was a nostalgic time for me in a way, too. Knowing I was so close to the end made me more forgiving. Things that were such a big deal up to that time, like fights with my friends, suddenly felt like nothing. I remembered the fun things my friends and I did over the years. Like how we would perform sock puppet shows or tape our own music videos. Now that I think about it, we were a very creative group.

2. On your website you mentioned that the people who say high school is the best four years of your life obviously forgot what being a teenager is really like. It is good to know I'm not the only person who thinks that! What was the hardest part of high school for you?

Oh, you know. Everything. I didn’t have anywhere near the kind of money the kids I went to high school had, so fitting in was entirely out of the question. I had low self-esteem back then. I was embarrassed that I’d be sitting there in a Kmart tee while everyone else had whatever was in at the time (Esprit sweaters with weird shapes on them are all I can remember). Ironically, now I rock my $6.99 Forever 21 tees like they’re never going out of style. I pride myself on being a frugal shopper. But back then, all I wanted was to have the same things everyone else had. Kids are especially cruel when they think you’re inferior. I hate that I let them make me feel that way.

3. I read that your solution to high school drama was reading. Do your characters reflect any similar characteristics to the characters you lost yourself in during high school?

What an interesting question! Well, my favorite book in junior high and then into high school was The Outsiders. I love how Ponyboy Curtis is so sensitive, like how he notices sunsets and colors and stuff. Hopefully, my main boy characters share some traits with Ponyboy. I always try to create an ideal boy for each of my books, and I definitely felt like Ponyboy was ideal.

Waiting for You b

y Susane Colasanti
Publish Date: May 14, 2009
Pages: 336
Age Group: Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Group

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a boyfriend. So when the handsome and popular Derek asks her out, Marisa thinks her long wait for happiness is over. But several bumps in the road—including her parents' unexpected separation, a fight with her best friend, and a shocking disappointment in her relationship with Derek—test Marisa's ability to maintain her new outlook. Only the anonymous DJ, whose underground podcasts have the school's ear, seems to understand what Marisa is going through. But she has no idea who he is—or does she?

Waiting for You was amazing! I was hooked from the very first page. Colasanti writes novels similar to those of Sarah Dessen that allow any reader to relate to the main character. Although Marissa has an anxiety disorder, I still felt like I found a part of myself in her.

During the beginning of the story I found myself hoping Marissa would eventually snag Derek, but once she did he completely changed. I think that any guy who says "hey sexy" first thing isn't the best choice in boyfriend. Maybe that is just the hopeless romantic inside of me hoping for the guy who says "hey beautiful" instead.

I was also fooled about who was Dirty Dirk. The whole time I thought it was easy, Dirk is a nickname for Derek, duh. However, it wasn't! Surprise! I loved everything Dirk's character stood for, he reminded me a lot of Miss Unpleasant from Paisley Hanover. I wish I had an anonymous person at my school podcasting about all of it's dirty secrets.

Waiting for You is a great novel for any teen. There are characters from every range on the spectrum, and the story moves quickly so there is never a good place to put the book down. I give Waiting for You a 5+/5.

Since I love Waiting for You so much, I'm giving you readers a copy! That's right, just comment below with your e-mail address to be entered in a contest! The giveaway will end on the last day of the tour, 5/14. Contest is only open to U.S. residents (sorry foreigners!)

Also, don't forget to check out the first three chapters of Waiting for You HERE.

Make sure to check out the next stops on Susane Colasanti's tour where she unveils the next 9 high school myths!

Blog Tour Schedule