As a teen book blogger and aspiring author, I am SO excited to welcome Marisa Kanter, author of the upcoming What I Like About You, to NovelKnight to talk about what YA means to her and her experiences in the book community online.
Make sure to read her guest post below and don’t forget to order What I Like About You!
From Teen Book Blogger to YA Author
What YA Means to Me
by Marisa Kanter
What I Like About You is a love letter to book blogging, online friendship, and YA. Working on this book made me extremely nostalgic for my days as a blogger—and having this platform felt like the perfect opportunity to take a deeper dive into my blogging feelings, the inspiration behind creating a book blogger protagonist, and what YA means to me.
In many ways, What I Like About You is also the book I wish I had as a teen in the blogging community. As a former teen blogger, I wrote Halle in part to validate teens in the book community. But also? Blogging became one of my favorite past times as a teen and I would’ve totally freaked out had I found a book about book blogging. I started my blog when I was fourteen and just beginning to find my place in online spaces. The year was 2010. Most of the blogs I followed ended in “blogspot.com”, Twitter was just becoming a thing, and bookstagram didn’t exist. But the community aspect of book blogging was so strong. There was nothing I loved more than talking about books and finally, online, I had connected with other readers who loved YA books as much as I did. Like Halle, I reviewed every book I read. Like Halle, I reached out to publicists requesting ARCs. Unlike Halle, I did not go viral because I do not have her cupcake baking skills!
Also like Halle, I branded myself as a teen book blogger because it was important to me to distinguish myself as a teen voice. I believed—and still believe—that while YA can be read and enjoyed by people of all ages, it is written for teenagers. This doesn’t mean that YA should only be read by teenagers. Of course, adults can absolutely read and love and talk about YA! But as a teen, I questioned if my voice mattered in these online spaces dominated by adults. I took myself seriously as a blogger, but I began to doubt if others did. I questioned if I, an actual teenager, belonged in these online spaces. Still, I continued to blog because it was fun and it felt important to add my voice to the conversation.
Then, I turned twenty. Cue the quarter-life crisis.
I’m half-joking. As someone who built an online platform on being a teen, turning twenty hit me hard. In my early twenties, I continued to read almost exclusively YA. At twenty-four, it’s the age category I’m still most drawn to. I love the YA voice and fast-paced, character driven plots. I love the diversity in stories that exist in YA. As a reader, I’ve embraced that my love for YA isn’t going anywhere, even though these books are no longer written for me. I never felt that because I wasn’t a teen I couldn’t read YA—I just knew that I’m no longer the target audience. It’s a subtle shift, but an important one.
In What I Like About You, Halle has a similar realization that she is not always going to be a teenager—and reckons with what that will mean for the future of her online presence and relationship with YA. She confronts this. I wrote the earliest draft of this book when I was twenty-one and wrestling with these feelings myself—but I think Halle and I both make it to the same conclusion, that YA is for teens and we can continue to love it as adults. Both things are true.
About Marisa Kanter
Marisa Kanter has worked in publicity for major publishers and covered YA books for MTV. Currently, she works in sales, on the distribution side of the publishing industry. She can often be found searching for the best iced chai in NYC, or reading on the 3 train. What I Like About You is her first novel. Follow her at marisakanter.com
About the Book
by Marisa Kanter
Published on April 7, 2020 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 9781534445772
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Can a love triangle have only two people in it? Online, it can... but in the real world, it's more complicated. In this debut novel Marisa Kanter explores what happens when internet friends turn into IRL crushes.
There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.
He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…
Except who she really is.
Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.
That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.
Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.
If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.
About Austine
I'm a 20-something research proposal developer with a background in the life sciences and education. Reviewer of books since 2011, amateur photographer by day, and aspiring author by night. I believe animals (and books) are better than people.
I si badly want to read this - it looks so cute! When I saw the protagonist is a book blogger, I got more than a little excited. It’s always good to feel “seen” when reading. 🙂 Loved this post!
I just bought a copy of the ebook and I can’t wait to read it! The past few years have been a struggle for me with blogging because my entire blog was built around YA and being a teen and the past few years (I’m now 23) I’ve really struggled with blog-related identity and voice, so I’m super excited to see how this book tackles that topic! Great post!