Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Teen Interview

 

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing my sixteen-year-old brother for you guys.  He is a sophomore at a high school in Florida.  Without further ado, I give you J...







Can you tell us about your school? What are the demographics? Are there any noticeable cliques?

There are a lot of cliques in my school, but there are also a lot of kids who blend from one to another, but I'd say about 70% of our school is white.

What is it about a book that makes you pick it up when you're browsing the shelves of the library or book store?

The cover catches my attention first.  If it's cool I'll pick it up and read the back.

What's the best book you've read in the last 6 months?

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

If you could ban one thing from all books, what would it be?

Twists where your favorite character turns out to be the bad guy.  It has happened in, like, the last five books I read and now it just makes me angry.

What would you like to see more of in YA novels?

More action.

What's your favorite part of a story?

The setting and the characters.

Do you feel like characters in YA books are representative of you?

Yes, very much so.

What's a saying that you use frequently?

 "That was awesome."

What did you eat for lunch today?

Buffalo chicken sandwich...and it didn't taste as good as it sounds.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

X-ray vision.

Last question, what kind of YA book would you like to see on the shelves that you haven't found yet?  

Some stories based in ancient China with a lot of action and folklore.         


There you go!  Thanks, J, for taking the time to answer these questions.  I hope you guys find them helpful.
 

11 comments:

Pam Harris said...

Great job, Holly! I think it's so cool to get perspective from a teen boy--especially since we always hear that they don't like to read. Note to self, don't make my protagonist a villain. :)

Holly Hill said...

Pam, I agree. My brother loves to read and we talk about books all the time, so I knew he'd be able to give us some good insights into "boy" books. :)

Marquita Hockaday said...

This is so cool. It was nice to see the contrast from my niece's interview to your brothers. For one, he talks a lot less, but that's natural for a teenaged boy :D He gives some detailed answers though in his few words, like what he's looking for. And I usually write in the male POV so this interview will def. help me capture that male voice in my writing. Thanks for the interview, Holly--it's awesome!

KatOwens: Insect Collector said...

Thanks for sharing Holly, and for doing the interview J-- it's great to hear from boys who like books!

Lori M. Lee said...

Thanks for sharing, Holly! Great interview, especially since my protagonist is a boy.

Holly Hill said...

Quita, it was like pulling teeth to get more than one word answers from the boy! lol But I guess that tells us something about writing boy characters in itself. ;)

Kat and Lori, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the interview.

Erinn said...

Yep, that sounds like EVERY kid I teach. Every Male kid I teach. Boys only speak in one word answers.

Tere Kirkland said...

Dude, I loved the Lost Hero, too, J.

Did you read the Maze Runner yet? My husband doesn't read much, but he made an exception for TMR. And then he read the Scorch Trials in like four days.

Thanks for the interview, Holly!

Alicia Gregoire said...

Thanks for the interview. I don't have any teen male cousins at my disposal, so this was great. (It's a tragedy that his buffalo chicken sandwich wasn't as good as it sounded, though.)

JEM said...

And a boy, too! I will boast no insights into the male psyche, so this was a great interview. I'm also heartened to see a teenage boy reads. I thought they were an endangered species :).

Unknown said...

X-Ray vision is an interesting choice of super power. lol

Thanks for interview Holly and J. "That was awesome!"

I want to echo what others have said, that its very cool to get the male perspective.