I think that one of the reasons that people love YA books is because the books can deal with issues and real life in a non-threatening manner.  Government unrest finds its way into Dystopian fiction.  Mental illness is illuminated through books that celebrate differences and human value.  Date rape and crimes show up with answers and solutions for young people. Self worth is championed through well told stories.  This week I'm thinking about National Eating Disorder Awareness Week.  People all around us deal with eating disorders.  Looks is not the only factor that can contribute to eating disorders, and the books I want to mention this week help to illustrate that.

Paperweight by Meg Haston is the story of a young girl who finds herself in a treatment center.  I once knew a teen who spent time in a treatment center for an eating disorder.  There was such a fragile feeling as she finished treatment and started to return to normal life.  Treating the symptoms and rescuing a life is important, but there is so much more that is necessary to bring healing to the person with an eating disorder. 

This leads me to the second book that I want to mention.  Still A Work in Progress by Jo Knowles.  This book looks at the whole picture for the family.  What happens inside a family when they have to deal with illness?  How do the siblings and parents cope?  How do they find the healing that they need?

The final book today is Paint Me a Monster by Janie Baskin.  This book addresses the history that may contribute to eating disorders or other illness.  Each person will deal with things in their own way.  For some, it may take years and years to dig to the root of the pain that rules them.

For being such a short month, February has its share of holidays.  We start out with Groundhog's Day.  We celebrate President's birthdays, and we take time to appreciate those we love.  There is quite a story behind St. Valentine as soldiers were forbidden to marry and they were ready to risk everything for the one they loved.  Well, people have continued through the years to express their feelings.  One way has been through poetry.  Everyone is probably familiar with "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue...."  Well I have some books that might give you some other ideas for expressing yourself.

Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems About Love by Pat Mora has fifty poems about love, all kinds of love.  It may be a love of sports or music or some other passion.  It may be a love that ended poorly or a love that ended well.  It may also be a perfect poem for your special someone.

Tell the World is a collection of teen poems from Writerscorps.  Writerscorps is  a group that puts professional writers into communities to teach creative writing to young people.  This book is a collection of writings that came out of those writing workshops.  This book shares the thoughts and feeling of young people through poetry.

One more book of poetry today.  Please Excuse This Poem: 100 New Poets for the Next Generation edited by Brett Fletcher Lauer & Lynn Melnick.  This book came out in 2015, so it isn't my generation that the title refers to.  But, poetry is a universal language.  The thoughts and feelings expressed through poetry can cross generational lines.  Poetry covers many topics.  It speaks to our desires and our fears.  It expresses our love.

Sometimes a true story creates the most interesting read.  It's always fun to see what non-fiction books make it onto the award lists.  Two of the books on this years Teen Choice and High School Choice lists had already caught my eye and are on our shelves.

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda is the story of two young people who started writing to each other as a school assignment.  Many of you may have stories of pen pal projects that have turned into life-long friendships.  This is the story of how writing letters can change lives.  As a seventh grade student, Caitlin, attending school in Pennsylvania, had no idea how writing a letter to Martin in far away Zimbabwe would impact both of their lives. 

The second book that I want to mention is Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall.  In our advanced culture, we like to think that we have conquered some of the problems of the past.  Slavery was abolished with the Civil War.  How could there be stories of slavery still happening?  Well, that's what this story is.  The girl in the story was sold into slavery by her parents to pay a debt and she found herself traveling from Egypt to America, but not finding freedom.  This is her story of slavery and eventually freedom.