Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves

by E. Kristin Anderson, Miranda Kenneally Narrated by Julia Whelan, MacLeod Andrews

Overview

Growing pains are an essential part of teenage life, for better and for worse. Some “mistakes” turn into positive, life-changing experiences, and some apparent triumphs seem, in retrospect, like low points. Some first kisses leave you feeling on top of the world, and others can make you want to hide under a rock. In Dear Teen Me, your favorite YA authors - including Lauren Oliver, Ellen Hopkins, Tom Angleberger, and Carrie Jones - revisit critical moments from their young lives and offer advice and guidance to their teenage selves. Listen to find out...

¿ Who had a really bad first kiss?
¿ Who found her true love at 18?
¿ Who wishes she'd had more fun in high school instead of studying so hard?
¿ And who skipped prom to go to a Grateful Dead concert, only to wind up stranded and alone?

The letters cover a wide range of topics, including physical abuse, body issues, bullying, friendship, love, and enough insecurities to fill an auditorium. Some authors focus on a hilarious mistake or one especially big day, others offer words of hope for desperate times. So whether you're a theater kid, a band geek, a bad boy, a good girl, a loner, a stoner, a nerd, or a jock, you'll find friends - and a lot of familiar faces - in Dear Teen Me.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"These letters from 70 YA authors were originally published in a still-active blog of the same name. Though supposedly writing to themselves as teens, the contributors offer not private messages but public advice and reassurance, usually on topics of widespread interest ranging from the lighthearted—hair care and fashion choices—to abuse, bullying, bulimia, and boyfriend behavior (probably the most common theme, as only 14 of the 70 are men, and some of those are gay). Perhaps because the lineup leans heavily toward younger white writers of paranormal fantasy, there is a certain uniformity of tone and outlook that comes through in frequent references to dance and theater experiences, college plans, and traumatic memories often related to bad parents or being smart or shy, rather than racial or ethnic identity. Nonetheless, along with plenty of (now) amusing anecdotes and hard-won insights, the letters dish up proof that, as Mike Jung puts it, 'time was on your side, though, and you made it!' Each letter ends with a brief biography and photo."—Booklist

School Library Journal - Audio

Gr 6 Up—Fact: The teenage experience doesn't play out like it does in the movies. Stripped of its Hollywood gloss and thrown into harsh reality, it is a daily gauntlet of angst and anxiety and trial, but also of hard-won triumph. Here, in letters to their former teen selves, more than 60 young adult authors discuss friendship, first love, body image, abuse, depression, glory days, horror days, and how the experiences they had as teenagers helped shape them into the (mostly) well-adjusted adults they grew to be. These letters range from humorous to heartbreaking, and teens past, present, and future will find something they can relate to. Julia Whelan and Macleod Andrews do an admirable of job narrating the various letters (Zest Books, 2012) by authors such as Beth Fantaskey, Carrie Jones, Joseph Bruchac, Ilse Bick, and a host of others. The concept is creative, and listeners will love getting to know their favorite YA authors better. Unfortunately, the discs consistently end mid-letter, giving the recording a choppy, interrupted feel. Additionally, graphic segments don't translate well into audio format. This makes a nice supplement to the print version, but is not a necessary purchase. For additional letters, visit dearteenme.com.—Alissa Bach, Oxford Public Library, MI

MARCH 2013 - AudioFile

Julia Whelan and MacLeod Andrews narrate a collection of letters from authors to their teen selves, with Whelan reading those of female authorship, Andrews those of males. Most letters are about 4 minutes, but a few are over 12 minutes. The material illustrates that while the experience of being a teenager is universal, there are infinite incarnations of the specific pains and longings, losses and victories. In particular, hearing Whelan recount such a wide variety of girls having issues with body image and eating disorders brings the commonalities alive while leaving the listener feeling not so alone. The magic of the production, however, lies in keeping each story and character fresh and distinct, a feat in the face of so many stories told in such compact form. A.M.P. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169848076
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	10/30/2012
Edition description:	Unabridged

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