Matthue has also written several other novels, a memoir, poetry and music, much of which is about his Jewish heritage and religion. Which means we had a ton to talk about. Without further ado …

Question One

Me: Can you tell us a little bit about Losers, the book, not the people?

Matthue: Basically, my first book, Nevermind the Goldbergs, was my kind of idealized fantasy of the person that I’d like to be, if the person I’d like to be was a seventeen-year-old girl. … Jupiter is everything that I was at seventeen, although more so: He’s totally socially awkward, has relationships that exist entirely in his head, and he lives in a factory.

Question Two

Matthue: What did your bedroom look like growing up?

Me: I moved a lot, so I had a lot of different bedrooms, but one thing stayed the same throughout, which is that I plastered my walls with photographs of my friends; since I only had two or three friends at a time, the same people would often appear in the pictures.

Question Three

Me: You didn’t live in a factory growing up, but you did live in Philadelphia. What was your childhood like?

Matthue: I always wanted to live in a factory. I actually really wanted to move into the basement, which was a big area that had a few couches and a lot of pillows and some seventies furniture that no one had used for years. I thought the wall would be filled with books and the floors would be filled with gigantic Lego sculptures. I spent a lot of time alone as a kid.

Question Four

Matthue: Of those two or three different friends that you’d always have, what friendship do you miss the most?

Me: My best friend when I lived in Germany, on an army base outside Stuttgart, was a girl named Keisha. Unfortunately, her last name was Smith, so I’ve never had any luck tracking her down. She taught me how to roller skate, she got me in trouble for “Doin’ the Butt” at her birthday party, and the two of us spent hours trying to boil eggs over steaming manhole covers. So … readers … if you know a thirty-year-old woman named Keisha, point her here to this blog.

Question Five

Me: According to your website, you were raised a Conservative Jew, but then became Orthodox later in life. What is religion about for you?

Matthue: I was raised in the Conservative movement, whatever that means. It always felt like anthropology in action. It’s like you’re taught about everything but you don’t actually do any of it. … I got very involved in the punk rock third wave feminist DIY scene where what you believed and what you did had to match up. … For awhile I hated saying I was Orthodox. I said I was just hard-core Jew or something. … I think that the essence of being religious is just being aware of everything around you. Maybe that could be the essence of being an atheist or not being religious, too, but for me being religious is about remembering that there are things in the world greater than you are and that you’re just this single measly pixel in the middle of all of it … and how insane and amazing it is.

Question Six

Matthue: What do you think of God?

Me: I was raised in a very conservative, hellfire and brimstone, John Calvin/Jonathan Edwards kind of household. Oh, and my father was a minister. I saw a lot of things that people clung to, word for word, that didn’t match up with my sense of justice, which actually led me down a path toward conversion to Judaism. But I never finished my conversion because I still had too many questions, and cannot at any point accept the concept of “I am right and everyone else is wrong.” So … me and God? I guess I’m kind of like Margaret from that Judy Blume novel right about now.

Question Seven

Me: How does your religious perspective affect your writing?

Matthue: Writing is that [aforementioned] humility to an extreme. On one hand you’re taking this blank sheet of paper and filling it all and making a world out of it, and on the other you’re realizing that the story is meant for people that are not you … people don’t want to know about your waking up and brushing your teeth in the morning. They want to read about passion and adventures and take all the boring stuff away. So it really is about taking your life and stripping it down and only leaving what matters on the page.

Question Eight

Matthue: If you were writing Losers or if you were jumping into the Losers universe, who would you be?

Me: I wish I could say I’d be that cool girl in the music store, or one of the cool girls at the cafe, but when I was in high school, I would probably have been more comparable to Reese Witherspoon in Election than to any character in your book. Which is to say, I would have been an intolerable know-it-all extracurricular geek.

Question Nine

Me: You are only thirty years old, and you have four books under your belt already, plus you’ve had stories and poetry published in collections, so you’re clearly pretty prolific. HOW? How did you do it? How have you published so many books already???

Matthue: It’s less how and … I don’t even know. I mean, I’ve been writing forever. I wrote my first novel when I was thirteen and it was 210 pages. Writing for me is one of these things that I can’t contain. Now that I have a baby and I have a job because I have a baby, the only time I have free is on the subway, and I write for two hours standing up on the subway every day. I think I just need to do it, and the publishing stuff is just I’ve been really really lucky and really really fortunate.

Question Ten

Matthue: Where do you read?

Me: I read in bed, in the bathtub, at the table, walking down the street, while cooking, while brushing my teeth, in a special little chair by the window overlooking my back yard, and — though not very often — sometimes I’ve been known to sneak a peek at a book while behind the wheel of a car. But only at red lights. And only peeks. Really.

Question Eleven

Me: You just mentioned that you have a new baby and a new job. Can you tell us a little bit about both?

Matthue: My baby is amazing and her name’s Yalta and she’s named after this famous woman in the Talmud that nobody’s ever heard of, who’s really fiery and gave a lot of wisdom that people don’t necessarily realize comes from her. Yalta, my daughter, generally eats a lot of toys and listens to They Might Be Giants and Prince, so basically the same thing.

My new job is being the associate and blogger at MyJewishLearning.com. It’s really cool. Today I just interviewed Francesca Lia Block, who is one of my favorite writers ever. Day jobs suck, but as they go, this is a good one to have.

Question Twelve

Matthue: What’s your favorite food to cook?

Me: I make the single most awesome kosher lasagna in the world, and I am only saying that because it’s true. Back when I was a kosher vegetarian, I spent a lot of time looking for the right sauces and cheeses and other ingredients that would pass the strictest of tests. And it’s my favorite food to eat, too.

Question Thirteen

Me: Why is your name spelled M-A-T-T-H-U-E?

Matthue: It started as a joke. I signed my name that way in an e-mail to a friend, then I kept writing it that way, and I got the website matthue.com because I’m a huge dork, and I kept spelling it that way and then my first book came out and I saw my name spelled that way and I was like, “I guess there’s no turning back.”

Question Fourteen

Matthue: What was the first band that rocked your world?

Me: I fell in love when I was fourteen. I fell madly, passionately, obsessively, insanely in love with (…dramatic pause…) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I am not as insane or obsessive as I once was, but to this day he remains my favorite musician of all time.

Question Fifteen

Me: Right back at you: what was the first band that rocked YOUR world?

Matthue: They’re in the book. The Dead Milkmen. They’re a punk rock band from Philly. When I was seven years old I listened to this totally kid-friendly radio show where they just happened to play “Punk Rock Girl” in regular rotation, and it was a Dead Milkmen song, and they were the first band I loved. (I should say the Cure because all of the chapter titles from Losers are mostly based on Cure songs.)

Question Sixteen

Matthue: What’s your book like?

Me: It is made of awesome. It is the single most important piece of literature ever written. It is unfinished. It is un-agented. It is a memoir about my own childhood, or adolescence, and it’s about being crazy, and it’s about being driven crazy. Also, I probably lied when I said it was the single most important piece of literature ever written.

Question Seventeen

Me: What are you working on now?

Matthue: I can’t get Jupiter out of my head, and even more the other characters [in Losers]. In one way Jupiter is about growing up with my best friend who just died, and then I wrote/am still writing this book about his death which is kind of about me and Anne Frank hanging out. … I don’t know if anyone will like it but me, but it’s my heart. I just took my heart out and stuck a bunch of knives in it and this is what I got.

Question Eighteen

Matthue: What’s the difference for you, writing a memoir and writing fiction?

Me: Well, fiction for me is kind of the way I see things, or the way I would like to see things, or the worst case scenario … it gives you a million opportunities to change directions. A memoir is in certain aspects already written for you. You can’t change history, but you can change the way you present it. So it’s actually a form that offers more structure, I think.

Question Nineteen

Me: What’s the best book you’ve read in the last twelve months?

Matthue: Lydia Millet’s book Oh Pure and Radiant Heart. It’s about a librarian who witnesses a shooting and then Robert Oppenheimer and a bunch of the scientists who invented the atomic bomb are instantly transported into the present day and she has to take care of them. It’s supremely geeky, but Lydia Millet writes with pure emotion about the atomic bomb and its creation and the way people reacted to it.

Question Twenty

Matthue: Have you ever read the Sandman by Neil Gaiman?

Me: No.

Matthue: Inside the world where everybody dreams there’s a library, and it’s a library of all the books that have never been written. What book would you have that you have not written in your dream library?

Me: It is a very, very good thing that this book will never be written, but here’s the idea: I was interested in villains and their relationships with their fathers, and I was thinking about how Voldemort had a bad relationship with his father and how a lot of historical villains had bad relationships with their fathers … and basically the whole thing led me to the idea of a villain whose aim was to become the father of every boy on earth. So, anyway, that book will never be written. Unless you’re an agent and you want me to write it.

Question Twenty-One

Me: What is your favorite thing about Losers?

Matthue: You know that moment where you’re writing a story and you lose control of it? Where you’re writing a story or a poem and then you’re like, “I know how this should be,” and then you don’t know how it should be but it’s already taking form and you’re just letting it float through you? I felt that about Losers, but not just about the story, about the people. Like there are all these people in the book that are jostling with each other and fighting with each other and struggling to get out. It’s this whole world that kind of reminds me of my life and my high school but is so much more real and there’s so much more going on and it’s so much more dangerous than my life ever is or was. I still look at it and it surprises me, and that’s my favorite thing about Losers.

“What do the kids these days want? Rich, naughty Upper East Side school girls! Rich, naughty Upper East Side school girls who are also vampires! Rich, naughty Upper East school girls from the nineteenth century! Yes!”

The old white men agree that this is what kids today want, and then an editor writes up an outline and sends it off to a starving writer who is desperate to be published.

It makes me cry. I have this whole concept of the-writer-as-artist in my mind, of the book as a baby borne of its author’s imagination and ink, and I suppose that’s old-fashioned.

But the worst part is … sometimes these books end up being good. Case in point, Simon Holt’s The DeVouring.

Well, the novel is ostensibly by someone called Simon Holt. The copyright is owned by Star Farm Productions, a Chicago-based company that “creates and develops branded entertainment properties,” according to its own website.

… So the novel may have come from a farm. But it’s got heart anyway. And so I’m forced to set aside my Opinions — which have been proven wrong again and again — and tell you about this chilling tome.

Yes. For the first time (to my knowledge, at least), we have an assembly-line horror novel, about spirits that suck out your soul and turn you into a demonic entity. Our heroine Reggie, a fourteen-year-old horror buff, discovers the Vours when she picks up an old diary at the second-hand bookshop where she works. Reggie begins reading the story of these spirits — who feed on fear and attack once a year — to her younger brother Henry. But he’s so disturbed by the story that she stops.

And then, of course, he becomes the Vours’ next victim. So Reggie, accompanied by her best friend Aaron (also a horror buff), sets out to De-Vour her younger brother.

I swear, the night I read this book for the first time, I couldn’t go to sleep. And the night I read it again, I couldn’t get to sleep either. I myself have read very little horror, but this tale was chock full of terrors. Clowns, for example. Very, very scary clowns.

I really hate clowns.

Ahem. To sum things up: I have to recommend The DeVouring. In fact, I recommend you buy it and save it for the Winter Solstice (known in this novel as Sorry Night), and read it then.

HOWEVER, I am inviting you to send me your pictures. If you go to the film on opening night, e-mail me pics of the crowd. I want to see any and all wackiness, from lines extending down three blocks to people in vampire and werewolf outfits to … well, you get the idea. I’ll post the best pics here on YA New York. Please be sure to include you names (or your internet handles) and locations, so I can give you attribution. A short description wouldn’t go awry, either.

Now, it’s the weekend. I may or may not be attending one or more events this weekend, and I may or may not tell you about them come Monday. For now, everyone go re-read E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

Much love,
brina

I just couldn’t wait any longer. I know the year is not yet over, but I’ve received galleys taking me all the way up through the end of December, and while there have been many, many fantastic books this year, none have captivated me as much as E. Lockhart’s incredible story of a 15-year-old girl who crosses social boundaries when she infiltrates an all-boys’ secret society.

Frankie begins her sophomore year at Alabaster Preparatory Academy and is almost instantly noticed by one of the hottest guys on campus — one who never seemed to know she existed the previous year, though she crushed on him even then. It’s an auspicious start to the school year: she is “in” with the most goofy, glamorous, interesting crowd on campus. Only she isn’t, really. Because she is nothing more than a girlfriend. She can never be a full member of the tribe, and she knows her boyfriend is keeping secrets from her. He asks her not to be so “sensitive,” tells her how cute she is, and generally treats her like gold.

But Frankie isn’t satisfied. She wants to be known as brilliant and funny. She wants to be respected. And so she infiltrates the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds, a secret society to which her own father once belonged.

The Disreputable History gets right to the heart of what it means to be only a girl, even in these supposedly liberated times. But while Lockhart explores social issues that we could debate for hours on end, her work is by no means overwrought. It’s funny, insightful, and honestly the best book I’ve read this year. Indeed, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. (The evidence of this novel’s awesomeness is quite compelling, and clearly an opinion shared by many others: not only did Oprah choose The Disreputable History as one of her inaugural picks for her teen book club, but the novel is also a National Book Award finalist.)

Back in the good old days, I wrote a newspaper column on the best “trashy” books out there. I focused mainly on chick lit and some of the more goofy teen books. Just before Lockhart’s novel The Boyfriend List came out, a publicist was kind enough to send me a copy. I remember reading it and thinking, “This won’t do. This won’t do at all. It’s just not trashy enough. It’s too good.”

And as her career has progressed, Lockhart has proven to be extremely skilled in writing books that get to the heart of things. Important things, like why young women are so often treated like dolls rather than equals. Fly on the Wall, one of Lockhart’s other awesome books, examines some of these same issues with a clever twist in which the protagonist, Gretchen, turns into a fly after reading Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, then spends most of her time on the wall in her high school’s boys’ locker room.

The Disreputable History takes Lockhart’s exploration further, and it’s not only an interesting dissection of teen social boundaries, it’s also a genuinely enjoyable read. Frankie’s pranks — which I’ll leave you to find out about for yourselves — are brilliant and funny and generally make you wish you could pull some of them off yourself.

In fact, I have to say that if it weren’t for the fact that this novel is pretty much perfect as it is, I would be begging for a sequel. Thanks, E., for sharing such an awesome story with us.

Oh, and if you haven’t already gotten yourself a copy? Do so immediately. I mean, even Oprah says to read it. So hurry up, and then come tell me what you think.

Much love,
brina

Oh, no. That, again, you say? As if you haven’t already spent enough time memorizing dates and places and learning about tea parties in Boston. As if you want to hear another tale about lobsterbacks and the heroism of our founding fathers. Well, guess what? This … is not about that.

No, this story is about Isabel, a teenage slave who becomes the property of a wealthy New York family when her owner dies. It’s about a young woman who has no allegiance to rebels or loyalists, who is caught up in a war that offers to freedom to others, but not to her.

I have to say I learned a lot from this book — it’s chock full of New York history, stories about how the war impacted people right here in my hometown. And it’s also a wonderfully told chronicle of those who want to be free. Loyalists, rebels, women, children: no one in this novel is having an easy time of it. Laurie’s characters, even the more villainous ones, are multi-faceted, and did I mention that her research is exquisite? Because it really is.

Oddly, this title is listed as middle-grade fiction. I’m not slamming middle-grade stuff, not at all. Indeed, there are times when I wish I could read and review everything, because I do get quite a bit of middle grade fiction that is worthwhile. But I’m surprised because I think this is a book that will resonate with the YA audience and even with an adult audience. It’s smart, and detailed, and moving … and it is not at all “young.” In fact, one of the thoughts that has stayed with me since I read Chains is that it would be a perfect book to use in the classroom. I could see it being taught in ninth grade English, and I could see students really learning from it.

But alas. I am not a curriculum expert, or even a teacher (although I do tutor high school seniors who are working on college admission essays … but that really isn’t quite the same). Still, if I had the opportunity, I would recommend this tome to teachers all over the US. Indeed, I’d buy copies for every eighth grade history teacher and ninth grade English teacher and pray that some of them would use it in class.

Laurie’s book is most certainly in my top five for 2008. I’ve decided not to make a formal top five list, because there have been so many fantastic books this year. But seriously? Chains is one of the best YA books I’ve ever read, not just one of the best books I’ve read this year. It’s fantastic, and kudos to Laurie for exploring the domestic, female, under-appreciated side of the American Revolution.

Much love,
brina

PS. Oh, and more proof this book rocks? It’s a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award. Yay, Laurie!

I only have the galley (meaning the version I read was not the final version), but before I even tell you what the story is about I want to present my favorite sentence in the book, which I hope was not edited out:

Video games were invented by demons riding dragons through the depths of a computer-generated hell rendered with excellent graphics so that I can see every drop of my blood on their three-pronged spears.

Now, while I personally have a great affinity for some video games, I love how Amy paints a picture with her words. And how her protagonist, Kristi, so often expresses her dissatisfaction with phrases telling us “X was invented by …” These particular gems are witty and vivid and not overused.

So. The book. It’s about a girl who thinks she’s psychic. She hears other people’s thoughts. And what she hears is basically that everyone hates her, or that members of the opposite sex can think of nothing but her breasts. Kristi goes to one of those high schools we encounter often in books but rarely in real life: a wacky alternative place where the students sit around in a circle at “morning meeting” and have a principal who is an endearing but completely nutty aging hippy. Kristi hates it, mostly because she is a misanthrope and hates everyone because she believes they hate her.

Of course it doesn’t turn out that way in the end, but I won’t tell you anything else lest I spoil it for you. Okay, just a bit: Vibes is one of those books that uses a supernatural theme without being the least bit supernatural. I’d place it more in the category of angsty teen chick lit — which, of course, is my very favorite category.

It’s a super-fun book, Vibes is. And just think: this is my first post back, and this is the first recommendation I’m making. Which is to say, if you are in the mood for something funny, smart and light-hearted, you should go grab Amy’s book. If you’re not in the mood for something funny, witty and light-hearted, you’ve obviously lost your bearings and should go read Amy’s book anyway.

Much love,
brina

Hi guys, it’s Jami B. again.

I did some Nancy Drew style sleuthing and uncovered a link to the Ryan Seacrest/Obama interview that I mentioned in my last post right here.

If you’re curious, The Seacrest also does daily readings on his morning show from Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight, in anticipation of the upcoming film release. There are links to some of his recent reading passages on the same webpage if you scroll a bit. Good for a chuckle, since he has some colorful commentary.

And finally, I’d like to get some thoughts about Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist off my chest. I had high hopes for this film. The novel, coauthored by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, is pretty kickass. Like seriously. Kick. Ass. Reading. So the suggestion that some Hollywood studio might smear this adorable, yet meaty book with bubblegum pop music and cheescake tween idol actors really gave me pause. What if they f’ed it up? Really, I was concerned.

I’ve seen the movie, though, and it’s actually pretty good. Its not 100 percent accurate to the book, but it does get the important stuff right. As a screenwriter who loves YA books, I was ready to roast this film if need be, but it’s really been done right. The lead actors (Michael Cera and Kat Dennings) deliver spot on, emotionally real performances as the titular Nick and Norah. The soundtrack, of course, is respectable. And the big diffs — including edits to the Tris and Caroline characters — mostly result in more laughs for the audience or help to trim bulky plotlines to make the 2 hour movie work. I also just liked it because the chemistry between the two leads totally crackled, and that’s how it comes off in the book! Finally, a movie that gets it! GETS that they have to make the audience feel what it feels like to be living-reading-breathing it as if you’re on your own night-in-the-life of adventure!

Bottom line: It’s a good adaptation, because it gets the feelings and tone of the book down pat. In Hollywood, that’s almost unheard of. So bravo Columbia Pictures, director Peter Sollett, and screenwriter Lorene Scafaria. Let’s hope others follow your lead and we get more great page to screen adaptations like Nick and Norah and a lot less like … City of Ember.

Hey there,

I’m Jami B., one of Brina’s “lit lieutenants.” I’m here to check in and help fill the gap while Brina is on sabbatical. To wit … you’ll find all kinds of good bits once you jump on in and read my inaugural post: One of the things that I love about young adult literature is that it’s EVERYWHERE! It impacts everyone. We’ve all read at least one book in our youth that really made an impact and stuck with us. And we all know young people who are discovering their own favorite books.

• Just this week, I heard Senator Barack Obama discussing both the Harry Potter and Twilight books with Ryan Seacrest on Ryan’s morning radio show. The audio link isn’t up on the website yet, but I suspect it’ll be here in the next few days.

• And a few weeks ago screenwriter/author Diablo Cody wrote a really interesting essay on Judy Blume, her influence, and her oeuvre for Entertainment Weekly. It’s interesting to read another female writer’s opinion on the infamous Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret? I happen to dig Cody’s writing, and I’m looking forward to some of her upcoming screenwriting projects – but I’d love to read more about her literary past, too. Lets hope she circles back to the topic with another essay sometime soon! You can read the essay here.

• There’s been a lot of talk about Gossip Girl’s TV incarnation, but I’m finding the WB’s other YA lit adaptation — PRIVILEGED — to be much more my speed. For those of you who don’t know, the series is based on Zoey Dean’s novel (which was the authors’ first marketed to an adult audience), How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls. I’ve noticed differences between the book and the show (casting, for one) but even so, I’m digging the series. It’s got a lot more heart - rather than smut - at its core. Maybe that’s because the showrunner used to work on Gilmore Girls, while the showrunners over at Gossip Girl all came from The O.C. Are there any Zoey Dean fans out there who want to share their thoughts on PRIVILEGED? I’d love to hear them.

• Am I the last person on the planet to find out that The Babysitters Club series has been reincarnated as graphic novels? If you want to check out some of their art, or if you’re like me and wanna take the “Which Babysitter Are You? Quiz (I’m a KRISTY? No way …) then hop to it.

• And finally … I’ve been meaning to post my thoughts on Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Check back tomorrow and I’ll be ready to review.

• A reminder: Please don’t forget to vote if you’re eligible! Early, often, and before you check back here. Go to the polls, grab your free cup of coffee or scoop of ice cream, and then settle in for a quick peek at YA New York while waiting for awesome election night coverage to commence.

Don’t worry, dearest friends. I’ve not forgotten you. Now go read some stuff while I continue to hide out for another twenty-four hours or so.

Much love,
brina