YA Guy Hosts... Kai Strand

Today on the blog, YA Guy has Kai Strand, author of KING OF BAD, discussing the obvious (and not-so-obvious) benefits to teenage boys of reading. And at the end of her list, you'll find another goodie: a giveaway of KING OF BAD itself! So settle in, enjoy, and enter to win. Free advice and free books--it doesn't get any better than this!

Hi, my name is Kai Strand. I write fiction for kids and teens. I think we are all aware of the fact that girls will read almost anything. They don't care what gender the main character is. They don't care if a book is chock full of romance, adventure, brainiacs or divas. Girls just read.

Well, I'm here to encourage boys to do the same thing. There are so many reasons why, but here is a sampling of them.

• Teenage boys who read are more approachable.
• They are better able to carry on conversations because they’ve read so much dialogue.
• Being able to discuss plot points and character motivation on a first date often leads to a second date.
• They experience things they may not get to do in their own school like saving the world, kissing, Yetis and foreign countries.
• Their vocabulary is advanced so they are naturally more articulate and able to schmooze speak coherently to teachers and other adults.
• They know the thrill of jumping out of a plane, or speeding down a highway, or piloting a spaceship, without the consequences of broken bones or life in prison.
• They learn what to take on an extreme mountaineering adventure in order to avoid death.
• If they are paying real close attention they learn what girls like and don’t like--and they take notes.
• There is a certain sort of internal quiet to a teenage boy who incorporates reading into his leisure activities opposed to one who only blows up aliens on his Xbox.
• Teen boys look sexy lounging in a chair clutching a book or ereader in their hand and ignoring the world around them.

I’m not saying that teenage boys who don’t read aren’t smart or sexy. I’m just saying that teen boys who read get there faster.

Anything you’d like to add to the list? Let’s hear from you.

About the book:

Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules or observe curfew. He wears his bad boy image like a favorite old hoodie; that is until he learns he has superpowers and is recruited by Super Villain Academy--where you learn to be good at being bad. In a school where one kid can evaporate all the water from your body and the girl you hang around with can perform psychic sex in your head, bad takes on a whole new meaning. Jeff wonders if he’s bad enough for SVA.

He may never find out. Classmates vilify him when he develops good manners. Then he’s kidnapped by those closest to him and left to wonder who is good and who is bad. His rescue is the climactic episode that balances good and evil in the super world. The catalyst--the girl he’s crushing on. A girlfriend and balancing the Supers is good, right? Or is it…bad?

Buy it: Publisher, Amazon, Barnes and Noble Add it to Goodreads

About the author:

Kai Strand writes fiction for kids and teens. Her debut novel, The Weaver, was a finalist in the 2012 EPIC eBook Awards in the children’s fiction category. As a mother of four young adults her characters are well researched and new stories are inspired daily. Kai is a compulsive walker, addicted to pizza and a Mozart fangirl. Visit her website for more information about her work and to find all her virtual haunts; www.kaistrand.com.

To celebrate her newly released book, Kai is offering one ecopy (Kindle or pdf) of King of Bad to a lucky winner. Open internationally as long as you have an email address to receive the book. Enter as often as you can and spread the word.

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