Behind the Scenes of a (Kick-A$%) YA Book Blog

Jordyn Turney, aka Ninja Jordyn, is the voice behind Ten Cent Notes and a rising star on the YA scene.

I first met Jordyn Turney (19-year old writer, YA book blogger, and Twitteraholic) when I was working on How to Raise Your Parents last year. She reviewed it for her then-blog and we got to know each other. So, when I heard she launched her new blog Ten Cent Notes, I had to get her to share the skinny on life as a real YA book blogger. Here goes:

Q: You’ve been blogging about books for a few years now, and have even been published. (Check out Jordyn’s piece in RED.) How did you become such an expert in all things YA?
Short answer? By being very focused and also obsessed.
Longer answer? I’ve had the goal of writing in the YA genre for years and knew that I needed to learn everything I could about how the publishing industry operates, the differences between what’s considered YA versus adult, and anything else YA-relevant. I also love reading YA (it makes up the bread and butter of my admittedly large reading diet) and thanks to the book blog I’ve been able to interact with some amazing YA authors and find out even more about the genre and industry.

Q: So, with all of your reading, you must have some great book suggestions. What three “teen” books do you think everyone should read?
Ah! Great question! It’s sometimes very arbitrary what gets published as YA versus adult – I think there are a lot of really amazing YA books that adult readers (and even many older teen readers who just don’t read teen books) haven’t heard of. If I had to pick three, I’d suggest you all (YES, EVERYONE READING THIS.) check out:

1. The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin. It’s incredible. It’ll break your heart and make you grateful and hopeful.
2. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr. It has a completely cutesy cover that hides an amazing interior. It’s about the bonds we have with others that are truly unbreakable and the way those people influence us. Definitely one of my favorite books ever.
3. Paper Towns by John Green. It’s about the way we view others and how we don’t always view them authentically. Really amazing. Also, John Green is just a genius writer.

It was nearly impossible to only choose three. There are many incredible YA books the world needs to hear about!

Q: You give each book you review an actual letter grade. How do you break it down?
I break it up into ten different elements, each worth ten points. Premise, Plot, Characters, Relationships, Setting, Themes, Voice, Ending, Reccommendability (which isn’t a real word), and Fangirly (which just means how much did I personally love the book?). In addition, I also talk a little bit at the end about who would enjoy this particular book, because not everything appeals to everyone. It’s pretty in depth and I enjoy doing the reviews this way, I just hope they aren’t too long for readers.

Q: YA seems to have taken off as it’s own category in the last few years. Why do you think that is?
I’m sure there are a lot of reasons but I think a lot of it is due to such talented authors (like Sarah Dessen) who write seriously great stories that happen to have a lot of adolescent angst and issues in them. The abundance of great writing has really opened up YA as its own genre instead of an add-on to children’s literature (which I also love). YA today is a lot different from the way people – even people who are 19 or 20 like me – think of it. It’s not ghostwritten serials like Baby-Sitters Club (which I loved, by the way) or Animorphs anymore. It’s really amazing stories, authors, and characters.

Q: There are obviously great things to come from you. What’s are you working on next that we should keep our eyes out for?
Well, I’m working on a lot but I’m not sure how much of it will actually see the light of day. I’m writing periodically for the iheartdaily website as one of their teen recommenders. The blog (Ten Cent Notes) is huge for me right now, and I’m working with a few other YA bloggers to set up a sort of online writing group especially for those interested in YA. I’m also starting a new novel and trying to find an agent to represent me.