I'm a southern girl, and I grew up with this slightly schizophrenic upbringing where I bounced back and forth between Atlanta, Georgia, and a tiny mountain town called Brevard, North Carolina. My parents were divorced, and my two lives were very different because of socioeconomic reasons.

Other people have suggested that I write about teens because I'm perpetually stuck in that stage of my own development. That could very well be true. I would throw out that teens and tweens are just absolutely fabulous and the most interesting people on the planet. And it is a time of high drama, and everything matters.

And books are such an empowering way to give voice to some of these kids who aren't yet ready to tell their story. Or don't know what their story is, or are trying to figure it out.

I was just teasing," I say. "I myself don't like to eat plain butter, but hey, it's a free world.

I'm in loooove with this boy, and when you in love with someone, you don't give up on 'em, mo matter what.

Hey. What is it that famous person said? 'It'll all work out in the end, and if it doesn't, that means it's not the end yet'?

And they all have pretty chilrden, And the children go to school, And the children to go summer camp, And then to the university, Where they are put in bozes And they come out all the same. - Malvina Reynolds