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Kevin Henkes sums up how I’m feeling today best. 
Last week, a few of my colleagues and I went down to Washington Square Park with copies of our book DECLARE YOURSELF, stuffed with voter registration forms. We handed them out to the young potential voters heading to and from their classes at NYU.
Today’s the last day for voter registration in New York, and Declare Yourself (the organization) has a list of upcoming deadlines here. You can also submit your own story about voting to their blog by emailing declareyourself@gmail.com.
During dinner with friends last night, I wondered in passing if I like Obama for the same reasons I like YA fiction better than adult fiction. Sure, I was being a bit flippant. But then I thought more about it, and…well…
1. Better edited. (Oh, snap!)
2. Change: YA books are full of change, because teens are full of change.
3. YA books are about taking on the world. Fix it? Change it? At least our part of it? Yes we can!
4. Hope. I’ve always said this is one of the key differentials between adult and YA. YA books need hope at the end, we need a sense that everything the character has been through has lead him or her somewhere better. That we are better for having spent time with him or her.
5. Gets you where you live. YA books are unafraid of using new formats, different structures, and incorporating cell phones, blogging, text messages, email, and tons more ways that young people actually communicate.
6. Not issue driven. Issues are important. You’ve got to know how to handle them. But then you’ve got to be about more.
I spent the last week of August moving and setting up my new apartment, to the company of WNYC’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention. I’m now totally addicted to NPR. It was an excellent week to have time for all this radio listening, and I was completely re-invigorated about the election and the democratic process in general.
The weekend downtime between the two conventions made me think about where else I can get my political fix once the conventions are over.
First and foremost, of course, is DECLARE YOURSELF. A collection of powerful essays about the importance of raising your voice and using your vote!
Fiction:
The President’s Daughter quartet by Ellen Emerson White
The President’s Daughter
White House Autumn
Long Live the Queen
Long May She Reign
Ellen Emerson White is a brilliant writer, and these four books center around Meg, whose mother runs for President and wins. Smart, funny, dry, and completely absorbing. I read Long Live the Queen back in junior high and it’s a book that has stuck vividly with me ever since.
The Attolia books by Megan Whalen Turner
The Thief
The Queen of Attolia
The King of Attolia
Okay, these are fantasy, but they are are utterly astounding with the twists, turns, and political intrigue. They are must-reads for absolutely everyone. Eugenides is one of the Best. Characters. Ever.
Nonfiction:
The Future Dictionary of America
Funny mock-dictionary that came out a few years ago.
The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
She writes about history and politics often, and has some great essays about the 2000 election.
For levity:
America (the book) by the Daily Show
I Am America (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert
For watching:
The West Wing
I am a HUGE West Wing fan. Huge. Every season is fantastic. (Except for season 5, which is dead to me. Don’t even bother with it, you don’t need it.) Best for election/campaign-related viewing? The first two episodes of the second season, season 4, the end of season 6, and season 7. I love seeing behind-the-scenes of any process, and it’s a witty, superbly well-written and well-acted show that gives you hope in politics.
