ttyl

ttyl by Lauren Myracle
Myracle, L. (2004). ttyl. New York: Amulet Books
ISBN: 0810987880

Plot

Maddie, Angela and Zoe have just started 10th Grade. Like most teens, they communicate with instant messages when they are apart. Maddie is madmaddie, Zoe is zoegirl and Angela is SnowAngel. The girls have been best friends since 7th grade. They IM each other with their day-to-day experiences, feelings and plans. Maddie is trying to hang with Jana, who is Queen Bee of the school. Zoe is growing closer to her teacher, Mr. H. Angela has a crush! There are a lot of interesting things that they share together. Maddie dances on a table top at frat party shirtless. Mr. H makes a move on Zoe in a hot tub. Jana circulates a photo of Maddie dancing at the frat party. Maddie gets mad at Zoe and Angela and refeuses to speak to them.

Critical Evaluation

This book is written in the langauge of IM's. Punctuation is an after thought. ttyl (talk to you later) is a slice of everyday life served up in the style of digital teen communication. The interaction  between the girls is realistic. They gossip, LOL, fight, kiss and make-up. There are accounts of underage drinking and inappropriate behavior by both grown-ups and teens. The IM's are peppered with occasional offensive language. This book will be off high interest to tween girls who want, more than anything, to be in high school.

Readers Annotation

Maddie, Zoe and Angela are BFF's entering the 10th grade. They are looking forward to a fun and exciting year. But, OMG! Who could've guessed that Zoe's teacher would start flirting with her or that Maddie would dance topless on top of a table and quit speaking to the other two? This book, written the language of instant messages, is LOL fun! (IMO)

About the Author

Lauren Myracle, author of Kissing Kate, holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. Born in North Carolina in 1969, she currently lives in Colorado with her husband and 2 sons.

Genre: Realistic Fiction/Humor

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts

Booktalk Ideas: Best friends

Reading Level: Grade 7+
Interest Level: Grade 7+
Challenge Issues: Language, Sexual Situations. This book has the occasional offensive word. I would defend it by pointing out that teenagers really talk this way and that it is not prevalent. The sexual situations are also realistic. They are not explicit and are used as an object lesson for young girls.

This book is included because it is of high interest to tween girls.