Something needs to change

If you’ve read your share of books about becoming a good writer – as I have, to no apparent avail – then you already know the importance of the first sentence. Whether you’re writing a novel, an essay, or even a blog post, a winning opening sentence can grab the reader’s attention and hold it for the duration of the journey. A lousy opening sentence, on the other hand, can send the reader running for the hills in search of a small town where books are thought to be the devil’s movies or some such illiterate nonsense.

Nicole Cohen and Melinda Mattos, the co-founders of Shameless and a couple of very cool women in their own right, know a thing or two about crafting a lead sentence. Here’s how they kick off the foreword to She’s Shameless, an impressive anthology for teen readers published last year through Tightrope Books:

“Sometimes anger can be a good thing, because it tells you something needs to change.”

Well, all right! From that point on, I was hooked. Far from feeling like a thirty year old man reading a book geared toward teenage girls, I felt like an idiot for waiting a year to finally get around to reading a book that I’m sure I’m bound to recommend to anyone who’ll listen.

In fact, what better time than now? I’ve only just started reading She’s Shameless – so far I’ve enjoyed the introduction by the equally impressive Stacey May Fowles and Megan Griffith-Greene, as well as a great opening essay by Amy Saxon Bosworth. But based on those eighteen pages alone, plus the amazing assortment of writers listed in the table of contents, I feel like I can recommend this book with confidence.

My copy came from the library, but if the rest of it lives up to the promise of what I’ve read so far, then I’ll gladly go out and buy a copy just for the sake of sending a little money in the right direction. You ought to do the same, especially if you happen to know a teenage girl who might enjoy a good book.

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