Last night I re-read The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton in one sitting and it gave me the chills. I remembered most of the dialog verbatim and revisiting those lines made me really nostalgic. I have read it so many times. I knew and loved each and every character and still feel like they are real people from my past — my childhood.

The iconic The Outsiders was written in 1967 by S. E. Hinton. She was 15 when she started writing it and 18 when it was published. The fact that it was written by a teen was compelling to young readers, but so was the fact that S.E. Hinton was female. I don't remember paying much attention to the author's gender when I read it as a teen, but I remember finding out Hinton wasn't a man later and being shocked. I assumed S.E. Hinton was a man. I'm not sure if I was simply surprised because Ponyboy's voice had seemed so convincing to me (Hinton maintains that he remains the most autobiographical of all of her characters), or because I couldn't believe publishers didn't trust that male readers would read a female author. Either way, I devoured it and so did all of my reader friends — girls and boys. And even though she's long been "outed" as a woman The Outsiders continues to be among the most loved and popular books for youth today.

I remember watching the Francis Ford Coppola movie from the 80's, too. I would sit in my basement-turned-tv-room and watch it over and over again on HBO while developing a new and different crush every time. It's possible that "The Outsiders" was my first "page-to-screen" experience. Sure, I had seen movies like "The Wizard of OZ," but they didn't count because I hadn't actually read the book. I liked the movie because of all the cute boys, but mostly I remember the dialog not quite passing muster. It was like something was lost in translation. In the book, the language was old-fashioned, but somehow it didn't seem to matter. It was still fresh. Still relevant. To be fair, the movie adaptation was very true to the book, but for whatever reason I felt like the actors were trying too hard, forcing something that had originally seemed so natural. That bothered me — immensely.

Even if some of the language is slightly dated (downright clean, by contemporary standards) I think readers respond to The Outsiders so viscerally because Ponyboy's voice is organic and his storytelling honest. S.E. Hinton wrote The Outsiders about similar events a friend had experienced in her hometown of Tulsa. I can't help but wonder if the ability to be so genuine came from simply being a teenager herself. I think a lot about how teens react to writing that is expressly for them but not by them, and this is a great example of a book that works because it is so authentic. Could it be that the best books for teens are by teens? No. But it's something to think about. What if teens were the only writers for teens? What would the YA landscape look like?

The Outsiders symbolized a transition in my reading from tween titles to books with heavier more mature content, characters, and dialog. Before S.E. Hinton, I had been reading the likes of the Anastasia Krupnik books by Lois Duncan, for example. They were great but offered nothing as riveting and as gritty as The Outsiders. Not only was I completely unaware of the level of violence some teens experienced, I hadn't really heard class discussed in a way that made any sense to me. I grew up in an affluent coastal town in Maine where class differences abounded but I never realized how I fit into the puzzle. I hadn't thought much about the reality of class even though I lived with it everyday. Oklahoma in the 60's was completely foreign to me but Ponyboy Curtis seemed to sum up his feelings about the issue in ways to which I related very personally. To me, he was a kindred spirit. He straddled two worlds; living among two classes yet never really feeling completely at home in either one.

Beyond socio-ecomomics, isn't "fitting-in" the bane of all teenage existence–the very definition of the universal adolescent experience? Ponyboy and his friends repeatedly articulate what it's like to feel trapped by circumstances–unable to move beyond something that's out of your control. That sense of powerlessness is something I think all teens feel at some time or another and one more reason Ponyboy and the story of his gang resonates with readers.

In light of the posthumous release of Madeline L' Engle's The Joys of Love I decided to revisit her most famous book A Wrinkle in Time. I hadn't read it in years and I must say, it brought back a lot of memories. One in particular was of my friend Jen presenting her book report on the title to our 6th grade class. I vividly remember her describing the principals of the tesseract to our class and thinking "Huh?" I also remember thinking the cover was really cool and how different it was that my friend, a girl, liked science fiction. It's funny what our memory filters out and retains: I also remember her book report on The Wolves of Wolloughby Chase, and ironically, a science report on long and short term memory. I digress.

No joke. A Wrinkle in Time begins with "It was a dark and stormy night." I love it! And so it begins — the tale of a motley crew of children and ex-stars (literally) "tessering" through time and space and fighting the dark forces of evil. Meg Murry, her youngest brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin O'Keefe embark on a quest that takes them to distant planets as they search for Meg's missing father, a genius physicist working for the government on a top-secret project. On their journey they discover the truth about good and evil and of course, the power of love.

Madeline L'Engle wrote A Wrinkle in Time after a long cross-country trip with her own family. At the time she was reading about Einstein and his various theories. Her tesseract and the concept of traveling through time and space are based on those principles. (This NPR piece is a fun and informational look at L'Engle's famous time traveling tool through the eyes of a real-live scientist.) Throughout the book L'Engle quotes historic figures that challenged our concepts of reality. A Christian herself, she also quotes the Bible and includes Jesus in a long list of artists, philosophers and scientists who have fought against the dark force of evil. For this reference, among other things, A Wrinkle in Time has been one of the top 100 censored books of all time.

I love reading books from my childhood because I notice so many different things the second time around, and they mean something totally different to me as an adult. Take Meg's mother for example. Her physical beauty is emphasized over and over again and I can't decide if it's simply used to help romanticize her enduring relationship with her missing husband or if it's necessary to make her more lovable in general. After all it's 1962 and she's a woman in the sciences. She's a brilliant microbiologist with a Ph.D — and she's gorgeous too. Phew! God forbid she be plain, or worse ugly like Calvin's toothless mom. In fact, she's so lovely Calvin comments during his first visit to the Murry house. Here's what he says after meeting Dr. Kate Murry:

"Do you know how lucky you are?"

She {Meg} smiled wryly. "Not most of the time."

"A mother like that! A house like this! Gee, your mother's gorgeous! You should see my mother. She had all of her upper teeth out and Pop got her a plate but she won't wear it, and most days she doesn't even comb her hair."

Poor Mrs. O'Keefe. Cut her some slack, she had 11 children!

I liked A Wrinkle in Time when I was in 6th grade, but I have to say I had a hard time getting into it the second time around. I'm not sure why. It's a magical and wonderful book. The characters are earnest and the ideas are very thought provoking. I was aware I was reading a classic, a book at which I was supposed to marvel, but I kept getting distracted. I think I've concluded that it's as simple as this: science fiction and fantasy for tweens and young adults has just gotten more sophisticated and grown-up since 1962. Good and evil are nothing new to today's readers. Strong girls in sci-fi are no longer revolutionary. While there is no doubt that A Wrinkle in Time is legendary, and no one would argue the impact it has had on children's literature, unfortunately, I think it will be slightly disappointing for anyone who has already read Harry Potter.

In light of the posthumous release of Madeline L' Engle's The Joys of Love I decided to revisit her most famous book A Wrinkle in Time. I hadn't read it in years and I must say, it brought back a lot of memories. One in particular was of my friend Jen presenting her book report on the title to our 6th grade class. I vividly remember her describing the principals of the tesseract to our class and thinking "Huh?" I also remember thinking the cover was really cool and how different it was that my friend, a girl, liked science fiction. It's funny what our memory filters out and retains: I also remember her book report on The Wolves of Wolloughby Chase, and ironically, a science report on long and short term memory. I digress.

No joke. A Wrinkle in Time begins with "It was a dark and stormy night." I love it! And so it begins — the tale of a motley crew of children and ex-stars (literally) "tessering" through time and space and fighting the dark forces of evil. Meg Murry, her youngest brother Charles Wallace and their friend Calvin O'Keefe embark on a quest that takes them to distant planets as they search for Meg's missing father, a genius physicist working for the government on a top-secret project. On their journey they discover the truth about good and evil and of course, the power of love.

Madeline L'Engle wrote A Wrinkle in Time after a long cross-country trip with her own family. At the time she was reading about Einstein and his various theories. Her tesseract and the concept of traveling through time and space are based on those principles. (This NPR piece is a fun and informational look at L'Engle's famous time traveling tool through the eyes of a real-live scientist.) Throughout the book L'Engle quotes historic figures that challenged our concepts of reality. A Christian herself, she also quotes the Bible and includes Jesus in a long list of artists, philosophers and scientists who have fought against the dark force of evil. For this reference, among other things, A Wrinkle in Time has been one of the top 100 censored books of all time.

I love reading books from my childhood because I notice so many different things the second time around, and they mean something totally different to me as an adult. Take Meg's mother for example. Her physical beauty is emphasized over and over again and I can't decide if it's simply used to help romanticize her enduring relationship with her missing husband or if it's necessary to make her more lovable in general. After all it's 1962 and she's a woman in the sciences. She's a brilliant microbiologist with a Ph.D — and she's gorgeous too. Phew! God forbid she be plain, or worse ugly like Calvin's toothless mom. In fact, she's so lovely Calvin comments during his first visit to the Murry house. Here's what he says after meeting Dr. Kate Murry:

"Do you know how lucky you are?"

She {Meg} smiled wryly. "Not most of the time."

"A mother like that! A house like this! Gee, your mother's gorgeous! You should see my mother. She had all of her upper teeth out and Pop got her a plate but she won't wear it, and most days she doesn't even comb her hair."

Poor Mrs. O'Keefe. Cut her some slack, she had 11 children!

I liked A Wrinkle in Time when I was in 6th grade, but I have to say I had a hard time getting into it the second time around. I'm not sure why. It's a magical and wonderful book. The characters are earnest and the ideas are very thought provoking. I was aware I was reading a classic, a book at which I was supposed to marvel, but I kept getting distracted. I think I've concluded that it's as simple as this: science fiction and fantasy for tweens and young adults has just gotten more sophisticated and grown-up since 1962. Good and evil are nothing new to today's readers. Strong girls in sci-fi are no longer revolutionary. While there is no doubt that A Wrinkle in Time is legendary, and no one would argue the impact it has had on children's literature, unfortunately, I think it will be slightly disappointing for anyone who has already read Harry Potter.

Recently browsing at a bookstore, a friend asked me what she should read. I showed her some of my stand-by faves and then picked up Twilight. "People love these," I told her. "They're all the rage." She loves vampire stuff and is new to the YA genre. Perfect. Well, she devoured it and New Moon and was super disappointed when she couldn't get the third. Later, when she asked for other suggestions, I thought about it a while. "Why not start with Anne Rice? I dunno, it might be fun to compare them."

I'd never read Interview With the Vampire but I remember it was huge when I was in high school. It was up there with Clan of the Cave Bear; cult-y, but shopping center-available, yet slightly risque. It was the kind of book that I thought too frivolous for me, but wondered about. I think I was a little scared. Like the paperback of L.Ron Hubbard's Dianetics that was always kicking around my college cafeteria; I didn't want to know.

In light of the vampire craze, and in anticipation of the inevitable onslaught of more on the way, I took my own advice and decided to finally read Interview with the Vampire — begin at the beginning, sort of. Let me say there were many things I liked about it: The fast pace, for one, was exhilerating. To span 200+ years, from the states to Europe and back again, so briskly gave it that really big feeling without the weight and volume so many epics suffer from. Also, I loved the notion of the interviewer, Daniel. I liked his presence and I could feel his titillation as he listened to Louis' ghost story. From the very first pages it had an old-fashioned "twas a dark and stormy night" quality that I found fun. But honestly, at the end of the day, the prude in me was repulsed. There are only so many overtly sexual teachings one can bear–only so many violently detailed descriptions of submission, murder, and the lust for flesh this reader could take.

Of course, it's horror. It's goth. It's supposed to be graphic and vile. It's just doing its job. I appreciate that. In its defense–and my friend agreed–it was ultimately riveting and I could not put it down! I confess, Louis and his story of angst and duplicity as a vampire were totally believable to me and like one of his victims, I surrendered. I'm not saying I enjoyed it, or that I'm interested in reading more of Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles,' but I was enthralled.

As stated in this Observer article, it's clear vampires are back. Actually, some might argue they never went away (ask any "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fan). The most recent and popular manifestation is the aforementioned Stephenie Meyer series, but there are others and no doubt there will be more. Why? What is it about vampires? The YA vampires of today are watered-down shadows of what they have traditionally been in folklore and in other literary arenas, but their essence lingers in our consciousness. We want them around for some reason. Do they satisfy our need to be scared? Do they represent a repressed human desire to witness the depraved? YA or not, let's not forget vampires suck blood, they live by feeding on others. Vampires are death, the paradox being they can't die.

I did a little research, (just a little) and when I started to think about it, teens' love affair with vampires makes total sense. In ancient times vampires were created in the minds of people to address death. We've been trying to understand death since we've been walking on two feet and the idea of escaping death, cheating death is irresistible to us. The "un-dead" are equally exciting to us. Not yet alive but unable to "cross-over." Ghosts, witches, zombies, and spirits from the "other-side" are part of our intricate relationship with the unknown. While the sympathetic, thoughtful vampire is relatively new to us, the idea of living forever is not. The interesting thing to me is the issue of what price is paid for living eternally and the internal conflict it causes. The modern vampire struggles with this and it sets him apart from the other ghouls in an elegant way.

I think reflective teens get this on some level and are struggling with some of the same existential dilemmas, albeit not eternal life, but the meaning of life in general. The idea of immortality is both exciting and scary for teens. Developmentally, they are right on the cusp of understanding their own humanity in a sophisticated way. I would argue that knowing vampires is one way they work out their understanding of death.

(And perhaps develop a life-long penchant for the forbidden fruit, the archetypal "bad-boy"… Ahhh, but that's another post isn't it.)

Recently browsing at a bookstore, a friend asked me what she should read. I showed her some of my stand-by faves and then picked up Twilight. "People love these," I told her. "They're all the rage." She loves vampire stuff and is new to the YA genre. Perfect. Well, she devoured it and New Moon and was super disappointed when she couldn't get the third. Later, when she asked for other suggestions, I thought about it a while. "Why not start with Anne Rice? I dunno, it might be fun to compare them."

I'd never read Interview With the Vampire but I remember it was huge when I was in high school. It was up there with Clan of the Cave Bear; cult-y, but shopping center-available, yet slightly risque. It was the kind of book that I thought too frivolous for me, but wondered about. I think I was a little scared. Like the paperback of L.Ron Hubbard's Dianetics that was always kicking around my college cafeteria; I didn't want to know.

In light of the vampire craze, and in anticipation of the inevitable onslaught of more on the way, I took my own advice and decided to finally read Interview with the Vampire — begin at the beginning, sort of. Let me say there were many things I liked about it: The fast pace, for one, was exhilerating. To span 200+ years, from the states to Europe and back again, so briskly gave it that really big feeling without the weight and volume so many epics suffer from. Also, I loved the notion of the interviewer, Daniel. I liked his presence and I could feel his titillation as he listened to Louis' ghost story. From the very first pages it had an old-fashioned "twas a dark and stormy night" quality that I found fun. But honestly, at the end of the day, the prude in me was repulsed. There are only so many overtly sexual teachings one can bear–only so many violently detailed descriptions of submission, murder, and the lust for flesh this reader could take.

Of course, it's horror. It's goth. It's supposed to be graphic and vile. It's just doing its job. I appreciate that. In its defense–and my friend agreed–it was ultimately riveting and I could not put it down! I confess, Louis and his story of angst and duplicity as a vampire were totally believable to me and like one of his victims, I surrendered. I'm not saying I enjoyed it, or that I'm interested in reading more of Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles,' but I was enthralled.

As stated in this Observer article, it's clear vampires are back. Actually, some might argue they never went away (ask any "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fan). The most recent and popular manifestation is the aforementioned Stephenie Meyer series, but there are others and no doubt there will be more. Why? What is it about vampires? The YA vampires of today are watered-down shadows of what they have traditionally been in folklore and in other literary arenas, but their essence lingers in our consciousness. We want them around for some reason. Do they satisfy our need to be scared? Do they represent a repressed human desire to witness the depraved? YA or not, let's not forget vampires suck blood, they live by feeding on others. Vampires are death, the paradox being they can't die.

I did a little research, (just a little) and when I started to think about it, teens' love affair with vampires makes total sense. In ancient times vampires were created in the minds of people to address death. We've been trying to understand death since we've been walking on two feet and the idea of escaping death, cheating death is irresistible to us. The "un-dead" are equally exciting to us. Not yet alive but unable to "cross-over." Ghosts, witches, zombies, and spirits from the "other-side" are part of our intricate relationship with the unknown. While the sympathetic, thoughtful vampire is relatively new to us, the idea of living forever is not. The interesting thing to me is the issue of what price is paid for living eternally and the internal conflict it causes. The modern vampire struggles with this and it sets him apart from the other ghouls in an elegant way.

I think reflective teens get this on some level and are struggling with some of the same existential dilemmas, albeit not eternal life, but the meaning of life in general. The idea of immortality is both exciting and scary for teens. Developmentally, they are right on the cusp of understanding their own humanity in a sophisticated way. I would argue that knowing vampires is one way they work out their understanding of death.

(And perhaps develop a life-long penchant for the forbidden fruit, the archetypal "bad-boy"… Ahhh, but that's another post isn't it.)