On Thursday, December 11 the YASD Author Luncheon took place at the Irish Coffee Pub in East Islip. Well deserved awards were given out to amazing teen librarians (Congratulations!), prizes were won, the new YASD Board made their first official appearance and author Matt de la Pena spoke about diverse books for a diverse population. He was bright, funny and shared his experience with diverse books in his own life.

When he was in high school one of his teachers told him he HAD to read a specific book. Matt shared that was the first time a teacher or librarian told him he must read something. It came as a surprise to him that someone would seek him out with a piece of literature. When he tried reading the book he admitted that is was hard for him at first. "Some of the best books you will ever read will start off feeling uncomfortable" he said. "They [teens] don't know a book can become great when it starts off being uncomfortable." As he continued to read and finally finished the book it changed him. "I finished this book at 4 AM. It made me feel smart and I needed that. The Color Purple changed my life because it made me feel things that I should have been able to feel at that age that I had never felt before," he said. 

He then went on to explain how important it was for a diverse kid like himself to read a work by a diverse author about diverse characters. He then urged us as librarians to seek out diverse books. "Will you give diverse books an extra special push in your libraries? Diverse books are not just for diverse kids. They are for everyone."