Blake's Apres Holiday List

Didn't have the time or the money to get your best buds presents for the holidays? Everyone went away (except you), so you haven't exchanged presents yet? Made a New Year's resolution to be more sharing and giving? Well, Teenreads.com has the list for you.

The ever-so-cool Blake Nelson, author of the teen lit. classic GIRL among others, has drawn up his top seven gifty books. Each book is ultra awesome and would put a smile on the face of the cousin whom you neglected at present time. And if you haven't read these classy classics yourself --- bust out the gift money and head to the bookstore!


Blake's Brilliant Book Bonanza:

ANGUS, THONGS AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson
by Louise Rennison
HarperCollins Juvenile Books
ISBN: 0060288140

This is great for your younger sister who thinks British guys in bands are cool. "Snogging" means making out. "Full frontal snogging" thus seems to mean kissing the person's face instead of the back of their head??!!

DO I COME HERE OFTEN?: Black Coffee Blues Pt. 2
by Henry Rollins
Two Thirteen Sixty-One Pubns.
ISBN: 1880985616

The definitive gift for that angst-ridden, 17-year-old hottie guy on your list. Feel the pain. The pain is good. The pain makes you stronger.

KITCHEN
by Banana Yoshimoto
Washington Square Press
ISBN: 0671880187

Cool young misfits in love, set in Tokyo. The girl is grieving a family death, and the boy she loves kind of hovers around, ghostlike, offering his love but not freaking out when it's not needed. Careful where you read it --- you will cry at the end.

THE PRINCESS DIARIES
by Meg Cabot
HarperCollins Juvenile Books
ISBN: 0380814021

An obvious plot, but a lot of the little details within the story are very funny and smart. Still, I wouldn't give this book to someone who considers themselves hip or "edgy," even though in a sneaky way the book sometimes is both.

THE BASIL AND JOSEPHINE STORIES
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Scribner
ISBN: 0684826186

Basil and Josephine are not even full-on teenagers yet --- they range in age from 11 to 14 in these stories. And yet here they are, having these wonderfully complicated, sophisticated flirtations and love affairs. Read an American master writing about love in its purest stages --- great for aspiring writers.

LESS THAN ZERO
by Brett Easton Ellis
Vintage Books
ISBN: 0679781498

Rich kids on drugs, late 20th century style. Every page has cultural 1980s references --- perfect for your friends into retro. Be warned: ultra-cool writing style celebrates cynicism and jadedness. Some very graphic creepiness happens in this novel, and nobody bats an eye.

WEETZIE BAT
by Francesca Lia Block
HarperTrophy
ISBN: 0064408183

For the cultural tripper on your list. This book is a little bit hippy, a little bit punk, a little bit faery, a little bit...I don't know...magical? Nevermind. It's great fun and highly original and will result in the wearing of colorful hats.

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