Returning guest poster Anna Staniszewski always has such great posts. Today she stops by with her latest release, the humorous MG story THE GOSSIP FILE (see my 5-star Goodreads review here), and a little bit of her own gossip…with advice for kids and teens on how to deal with gossip! Make sure to check out the giveaway at the end. Welcome, Anna!
Dealing With Gossip
by Anna Staniszewski
My mom used to say that you should never say anything about someone that you wouldn’t want said about you. While I think these are wise words, they’re not always easy to stick to. After all, sometimes gossiping about other people can be really fun, which is probably why we do it. But when I think back to my middle school years, when it seemed like everyone was doing nothing but gossiping, I have to admit that most of the things people were saying were hurtful, whether they were meant to be or not.
This is something my main character, Rachel, struggles with in The Gossip File. When the older girls she’s working with hand her a book and ask her to add bits of juicy gossip to it, at first she’s stumped. What makes gossip “juicy,” anyway? But when she starts writing down things that she knows would be hurtful if someone else read them, that’s when she realizes that she’s crossed the line. Before she can get rid of those bits of gossip, they’re discovered, thus creating a mess that she frantically tries to clean up.
So here’s my first piece of advice: if you’re going to gossip, definitely don’t write the gossip down! If you put it in a book or online, it’s only going to cause more damage. Secondly, consider if it’s really your secret to tell, and if you’d be upset if someone said it about you. No matter how juicy a piece of gossip is, it’s probably not worth ruining a friendship over. And hey, if you’re really desperate for some good dirt, you can always make some up about your pets! (By the way, don’t tell anyone, but I’m pretty sure my dog has a secret cat boyfriend…)
THE GOSSIP FILE blurb:
The Gossip File:
- Chandra lets little kids pee in the pool.
- Melody stole $ from the café register.
- Ava isn’t who she says she is…
Ava is cool. Ava is confident. Ava is really Rachel Lee who is lying her butt off.
Rachel is visiting her dad at a resort in sunny Florida and is ready for two weeks of relaxing poolside, trips to Disney World – and NOT scrubbing toilets. Until her dad’s new girlfriend, Ellie, begs Rachel to help out at her short-staffed café. That’s when Rachel kinda sorta adopts a new identity to impress the cool, older girls who work there. Ava is everything Rachel wishes she could be. But when the girls ask “Ava” to help add juicy resort gossip to their file, Rachel’s not sure what to do…especially when one of the entries is a secret about Ellie.
Buy Links:
About the Author:
Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and eating far too much chocolate. She is the author of the My Very UnFairy Tale Life series, the Dirt Diary series, and the forthcoming Switched at First Kiss series, all published by Sourcebooks. Visit her at www.annastan.com.
Thanks so much for letting me stop by again!!
You’re welcome! It’s always wonderful when you stop by the blog.
It’s a fine line between talking about another person, which is not in itself gossip, and gossip. Anna’s humorous and poignant stories go a long way to making young readers aware and alert to the ramifications.
And gossip isn’t something that only the young partake in. I know a few adults who could take some lessons from Anna’s books!
Great post! And I think my fish definitely have some world domination plans they’re working on. Seriously. 🙂
LOL! No fish–actually no pets–here. Maybe once the boys are a little older we’ll get a pet. Though I did hear the bunnies in the yard talking some gossip about the squirrels!