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I often say the only difference between adult fiction and young adult fiction is the main character's age. You can pretty much deal with anything you do in adult fiction--from drugs and sex, to death and war, and anything else you might find in the Great American Novel... except it's fueled by the teen mind. And seeing a story through teen eyes is the key to why I write YA.

From the writing standpoint, what's great about having a teen protagonist is that often they have no framework of experience to deal with the messes I put them into. It's all about first times: the first time you feel threatened, the first time you fall in love, the first time you steal something. There is something incredibly alive about being a teen.  There's a freedom to living your life by gut instinct since you don't have experience to draw from--it allows you to take risks adults might not. And because of the youth factor, you can often recover from a blow more quickly.

So as a writer, I can put my teen characters through the ringer and know they have the resiliency to survive. It's like they are running through the forest blindfolded: they move on impulse, not logic, and pray they don't run into a tree (but usually do).  The fascinating part is seeing how they adjust and what they do to survive. To a writer, innocence fueled by testosterone is a much more exciting prospect than dealing with an adult character who has seen it all. I love getting my young heroes in trouble because nobody ever learns from success, they only learn from failure. It's called growing up.

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Attention bookclubs: We have FOUR new reading group guides for our May titles.

Visit our Bookclub Home Page for hundreds of other guides.

Reading Group Guide: How to Buy Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson

Book: Hardcover | 9.25 x 6.25in | 400 pages | ISBN 9780525951148 | 14 May 2009 | Dutton Adult | 18 - AND UP 

$25.95 - add to cart

Read the author's posts on the Penguin Blog and watch the video.

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Lover Avenged: A Novel of the Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward

Click here to listen to an audiobook excerpt on Song.ly 

Audiobook: CD Unabridged | 5.74 x 5.23in | 16 Hours; 19 CDs | ISBN 9780143144625 | 12 May 2009 | Penguin Audio | 18 - AND UP

The Sign by Raymond Khoury

Click here to listen to an audiobook excerpt on Song.ly 

Audiobook: CD Unabridged | 5.74 x 5.23in | 17 Hours; 13 CDs | ISBN 9780143144212 | 19 May 2009 | Penguin Audio | 18 - AND UP

Read an excerpt from the Hardcover

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New York, May 28, 2009  --   A Passion for Design will, for the first time, share Barbra Streisand's exquisite taste and style in a beautiful book format.  She is already an icon known and appreciated by millions for her acting, singing and directorial accomplishments. Now, at last, readers will get a view of her fabulous collections and her amazing sense of design.

Viking is pleased to announce that A Passion for Design by Barbra Streisand has been acquired by Clare Ferraro, President of Viking.  Robert Barnett of Williams & Connolly negotiated the acquisition for world rights and first serial.  Viking will publish in the fall of 2010.   A Passion for Design will be edited by Rick Kot, executive editor at Viking.

The book will focus on the architecture and building of her newest home, the dream house and refuge Ms. Streisand says she has longed for since the days when she shared a small Brooklyn apartment with her mother, brother and grandparents. A Passion for Design will be the culmination and reflection of Barbra's love of American architecture from 1790-1904.   It will contain many of her own photographs of rooms she has decorated, furniture and art she has collected, and flowers and vegetables she grows in her glorious gardens.