"A group of sixth-grade literacy students at Thomas Jefferson Middle School learned what it takes to convert the written word into a movie with the premier of 'The Last Thing I Remember,' a movie they made themselves based on the novel of the same name by author Andrew Klavan."

Read more: Kris Hilgedick, (Jefferson City, Mo.) News Tribune

"The point isn't to create a single perfect role model, be it Merida or Wonder Woman or Cimorene or Cinderella. The point is to give girls, and for that matter boys, the chance to see femininity not solely as a prison to inhabit or escape, but as a story that can be told in lots of ways."

Read more: Noah Berlatsky, The Atlantic

"On June 7, Tiger Eyes, based on the 1981 best-seller about a young woman mourning her father’s death, will be released on demand and iTunes, and in select -theaters. Blume co-wrote the screenplay with her son, Lawrence Blume, who directed the film, but getting it to the screen wasn’t easy—surprising, given Hollywood’s current obsession with all things YA."

Read more: Sara Vilkomerson, Shelf Life, Entertainment Weekly

"Rereading all four of these books this week reminded me how much I love Konigsburg in particular and I love younger-than young adult books. Once plots start being driven by romance, the complications get a lot more boring and more of the plot is driven by people just not being direct with each other. There aren’t any serious romances in any of the Konigsburg books, but the protagonists['] lives are hardly dull. Since there’s not as much rumination and moping, there’s a lot more creativity and collaboration. Each of these books is a pleasure to read at any age."

Read more: Leah Libresco, Unequally Yoked, Patheos

"In honor of Konigsburg’s work, here’s a slideshow of seven books about the places that kids escape to in books—some real and tangible like the Met, others pure fantasy."

Read more: Nick Davies, Melville House

"Forty-odd years before Ben Stiller spent a night at the museum, Claudia Kincaid did it first, at the Met, with her kid brother Jamie, in 'From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.' E.L. Konigsburg, who wrote that book, died on Friday in Falls Church, Va. at age 83. She wrote 20 other books and won two Newbery Medals (and one Newbery Honor — in 1968 she lost to herself), but Claudia was her ur-heroine, the gloriously competent 12-year-old who orchestrated the most fantastical run-away: sleeping in historic beds, scrounging for money in fountains, skulking in bathrooms to avoid security guards."

Read more: Monica Hesse, The Style Blog, Washington Post

"But dystopian coming of age stories? They’re something else. Boy or girl grows up, realizes the world isn’t at all what they thought it was, and struggles to survive in their new reality. The stakes are high and the emotion higher. As if being a teenager isn’t hard enough?!"

Read more: Rebecca Joines Schinsky, BookRiot

"The Christy Advisory Board is pleased to announce nominees in nine categories for the 2013 Christy Awards honoring Christian fiction."

Read more: The Christy Awards

"Perhaps the most important thing I have learned from literature and fiction is that stories have incredible power, something I alluded to in a previous post. Stories, real stories, imagined stories, carefully and artistically crafted stories transcend differences of every kind and establish community. I am not entirely sure how that works, or what it even means at times, but I know that my radical insecurity is not quite as crippling as it was before I read Steinbeck, Hugo, Golding, or Wilde, and I feel a little less lonely."

Read more: Am I the Only One? Blog

"A reader with an overactive imagination (read: this gal) can’t help but picture herself advising characters from YA novels, especially the ones who seem conflicted, overstressed, or directionless."

Read more: Jeanette Solomon, BookRiot

"Rachel McMillan is a voracious reader and book blogger at A Fair Substitute For Heaven. She's combed through enough titles to know the ones worth purchasing. Read on for her descriptions of the Christian novels that made her all-time, must-read list."

Read more: Andrea Williams, BREATHEcast, The Christian Post

"I’ve heard that aside from William Shakespeare, more books have been written about Abraham Lincoln than any other historical figure. That makes it difficult to come up with a fresh angle, but Lane Smith has succeeded, and Russell Freedman has at least written a readable history that opens up a few windows for fresh air."

Read more: Janie B. Cheaney, Redeemed Reader

"Children’s literature, little regarded in the adult sphere, has more influence than we often recognize. But children’s literature, like children themselves, is essentially conservative and slow to change. When the 'gay agenda' reaches the pages of YA novels, and now even middle-grade novels, you know you’re chasing a wave rather than running ahead of it."

Read more: Janie B. Cheaney, Redeemed Reader, part 1 and part 2

"While waiting in line, a young fan named Sina told PW it was hard to pick her favorite Dessen book. 'I pretty much love all her books because they have real-life situations and I can relate to them.' Izzy, another teen reader, said she likes Dessen because 'She writes about real things, like addiction, and it’s very different from all the really girly stuff that’s out there.' Nan, from a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, was getting books signed for her daughter, who is away at college. 'She’s 22 and still loves them.' Nan said. She also hoped to thank Dessen in person. 'These books got my daughter through high school,' she said, 'because they were so true and real for her.'"

Read more: Shannon Maughan, Publishers Weekly

"Last night a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall proved what book publishing and his fans have long known about John Green: There's something deeply powerful about not only the books he writes, four of which are currently on the New York Times Y.A. best-seller list, loved by readers both young and old, but also about the man himself."

Read more: Jen Doll, The Atlantic Wire, Atlantic

"What is 'new adult' fiction and why is it suddenly the hot conversation in publishing? According to NA Alley, a site dedicated to the new adult fiction genre, 'New adult fiction encompasses the transition between adolescence -- a life stage often depicted in young adult fiction -- and true adulthood. Protagonists typically fall between the ages of 18 and 26, though exceptions may apply. Other terms for NA include: upper YA, crossover fiction, and mature YA.'"

Read more: Jocelyn Kelley, The Blog, HuffPost Books, Huffington Post

"Can a comic-book format do justice to L'Engle's memorable and sometimes near-poetic storytelling style?"

Read more: Andy Rau, Think Christian

"But of all the spiritual disciplines I have ever attempted, the habit of steady reading has helped me most and carried me farthest. Of course, reading scripture has been indispensable. But reading fiction—classics of world literature, fairy tales and Greek myths, science fiction and detective novels—has done more to baptize my imagination, inform my faith and strengthen my courage than all the prayer techniques in the world."

Read more: Deborah Smith Douglas, The Christian Century

"State and local education policy makers in the 46 states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards should emphasize the literary-historical content that already exists in the standards and add an additional literature-based standard to address Common Core’s lack of literary content, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute."

Read more: Caffeinated Thoughts

"I have only listened to the first half-hour and already can see the great appeal of this clever, whimsical book which combines just the right amount of reality and sweetness, while never underestimating the intelligence of the reader."

Read more: Julie Davis, Happy Catholic's Bookshelf, Patheos