Why not? : ) Young adults are interesting, funny, funky people, and I like learning what makes them tick. They're some of my favorite people to talk to. I love learning about their identity negotiations.
What YA book are you reading now?
I don't get to read much during the school year, because I'm a college teacher--I read what I'm going to teach, and not much else for pleasure. The last YA I read was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, because I'm teaching a Harry Potter class this semester (how lucky am I, to read Harry Potter for my homework??!!). I always have lots of contemporary YA on my TBR pile, most specifically GLORY O'BRIEN'S HISTORY OF THE FUTURE (A.S. King--though she's contemporary YA with a twist) and GUY IN REAL LIFE (S. Brezenoff), as well as I'LL GIVE YOU THE SUN (J. Nelson).
I read whenever and wherever I can. Any time, any place! I prefer a paper book to a Kindle, but Kindles are great for traveling. I also love audiobooks, so that can up my reading quotient.
What draws you to a book?
I tend to listen to recommendations from friends--then I move to blurbs and reviews. Covers are always important, but I'm not turned off if the cover isn't shrieking "Read me!"
Do you ever reread books?
I do! It's a comfort thing (confession: they're not YA books). I've reread (or re-listened) to lots of books. Sometimes, if I'm trying to figure out how a book makes its magic, I'll reread very slowly and take notes. Or listen over and over again.
Hard to say. I didn't start writing YA because I loved reading YA--I started writing YA because the characters/story that came to me were in the YA world. I'm always drawn to contemporary YA that yanks me into a characters mind and holds me there. Some examples might be STUPID FAST, Geoff Herbach, BROOKLYN BURNING, Steve Brezenoff, and PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ, A.S. King--also books by Courtney Summers.
Which books do you find yourself recommending over and over again?
Oh gosh--see above, I guess!