...I wrote about Jaclyn Dolamore's Dark Metropolis, which was a mixed bag for me, but which ultimately had a silver lining: it allowed me to revisit Madonna's Express Yourself video.
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...I wrote about Jaclyn Dolamore's Dark Metropolis, which was a mixed bag for me, but which ultimately had a silver lining: it allowed me to revisit Madonna's Express Yourself video.
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At the Las Cruces Sun-News, in an opinion piece called "Not just for young adults":
Many of the books I've read this year are Young Adult novels, a genre that has seen a recent explosion in popularity. I would even argue that much of America's best fiction of the past couple years can be found in your favorite bookseller's Young Adult section. Before you walk into the Young Adult section and pick out a great book, you first must do away with any misconceptions you might have about the genre.
I guess we should just be grateful that the headline wasn't the old standby KID'S BOOKS: NOT JUST FOR KIDS ANYMORE.
And I know that it's good that YA books are getting good press, believe me. But that headline is just SO GRATING.
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The YA medalists are:
Gold (tie): The Sin-Eater’s Confession, by Ilsa J. Bick (Carolrhoda Lab)
Some Quiet Place, by Kelsey Sutton (Flux Books / Llewellyn Worldwide)
Silver: Reclaimed, by Sarah Guillory (Spencer Hill Press)
Bronze: Beyond Infinity, by Charles Ames Fischer (Sienna Books)
Click on through for the other categories!
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The winner of the Children's/YA category is:
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, by Chris Grabenstein!
The other finalists were:
The Testing, by Joelle Charbonneau
Traitor in the Shipyard: A Caroline Mystery, by Kathleen Ernst
Andi Unexpected, by Amanda Flower
Code Busters Club: Mystery of the Pirate's Treasure, by Penny Warner
Click on through for the other categories.
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...has been announced, as has the 2014 winner.
The 2014 winner is Wonder, by R.J. Palacio.
(Which I still haven't read, though I very clearly remember buying a copy way back when. Huh.)
Anyway, the titles on the older end of the 2014-15 list are:
Far Far Away, by Tom McNeal
Golden Boy, by Tara Sullivan
Loads more on the full list, and the official website is here!
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...I wrote about Tess Sharpe's Far From You, and holy cow, it is just SO GOOD:
Add a CommentI have six and a half pages of notes in front of me, but they can be condensed into four words: I LOVED THIS BOOK. It’s about friendship, loyalty, trust and love; about betraying the person you love most in the world in order to save her; about addiction and grief, guilt and shame; about fear, family, and about how no one knows how long they have in this life: sometimes, someday never happens.
The winner of the YA Speculative award is: Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson (Josh just read this one and really liked it.)
Steelheart also won the Best Youth Novel category.
The winner of the YA General award is: All the Truth That's In Me, by Julie Berry
The winner of the Best Novel by a New Author is: Pivot Point, by Kasie West
Click on through for the other winners and finalists.
From the award website: The Whitneys are an awards program for novels written by LDS authors. Elder Orson F. Whitney, an early apostle in the LDS church, prophesied “We will yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.” It is our hope to be a part of that journey toward excellence by honoring the LDS writers also working toward that goal.
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I read Relish, by Lucy Knisley, which is an adorable graphic coming-of-age memoir that's centered around food and travel. I loved how she showed her parents' parallel interests post-divorce: both parents are extremely food-oriented, and both are world travelers, but they prefer to experience food and the world very differently, which in turn allows Lucy a broader range of experience. And I loved her philosophy about food, which lines up quite neatly with mine about books: like what you like, and make no excuses for your taste. ALSO. Each chapter ends with a related recipe (huevos rancheros! pasta carbonara! sushi!), and MAN OH MAN, if Knisley wrote an entire cookbook in this format, I'd buy it in a hot second. Love.
I also read Stephanie Kate Strohm's Confederates Don't Wear Couture, which, like its predecessor, is funny and light and chock-full of cool historical facts. While the rom-com angle wasn't as strong as in the first book—I never find it as satisfying when characters have gotten together and then conflict is introduced purely to Create Tension—it's still an entertaining, fun romp, and I very much hope for more. (Yay for more Dev Ravipati in this one, though I do admit that I was completely thrown when he used the word 'tranny'. Use of the word—in that specific situation, especially—would be in keeping with his personality, though, as he tends to not be remotely interested in political correctness, etc. See: his response to Libby's surprise about his lack of qualms re: the murky ethical questions that surround Civil War reenactments.) Bonus points for all of the info about historical reenactments (cultural as well as mechanical), for the suggestions for further reading, and for discussing the problematic aspects of celebrating and glorifying certain parts of history without ever completely taking sides on the issue.
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Book source(s): ILLed through my library.
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From her essay at Red Room:
I am not an Asian author. I am an author who is Asian. There is a difference.
I believe that it is every artist's right to determine what they create and not have that dictated to them. I've heard that I've let readers down because my books were not "Asian enough." WTF? One critic wrote that I had missed the mark because my middle school characters did not discuss race. Um. No.
She looks at the ongoing discussion about diversity and books from a whole lot of different angles, and as you'd expect from her books, she writes with energy and insight and will inspire much thought.
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Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave is $2.99 today, so if you've been planning on reading it but still haven't gotten around to buying a copy, today is the day!
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The Falconer: Book 1, by Elizabeth May:
But she revels in fighting the fae, full stop. She can be covered in blood, half of it her own, and rather than bemoaning her fate, she’ll grin in delight. In fighting, she has power, and in fighting, she wrests control from beings that are bigger and stronger than she is…which is exactly what seems so impossible when she’s wearing her public face.
Wish You Were Italian: An If Only novel, by Kristin Rae
Winter Damage, by Natasha Carthew
Waterfire Saga, Book One: Deep Blue (A Waterfire Saga Novel), by Jennifer Donnelly
Undone, by Cat Clarke
Torn Away, by Jennifer Brown
This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
Since You've Been Gone, by Morgan Matson
Secrets and Lies (Truth or Dare), by Jacqueline Green
Pulled Under (Sixteenth Summer), by Michelle Dalton
Portrait of Us (Flirt), by A. Destiny and Rhonda Helms
Pandemic, by Yvonne Ventresca
Only Everything (True Love), by Kieran Scott
The One (The Selection), by Kiera Cass
Monument 14: Savage Drift, by Emmy Laybourne
Killer Instinct, by S.E. Green
A Girl Called Fearless: A Novel, by Catherine Linka
Fool Me Twice: An If Only novel, by Mandy Hubbard
Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders, by Geoff Herbach
Empower (Embrace), by Jessica Shirvington
The Eighth Guardian (Annum Guard), by Meredith McCardle
A Creature of Moonlight, by Rebecca Hahn
The Chapel Wars, by Lindsey Leavitt
Chantress Alchemy, by Amy Butler Greenfield
Call Me By My Name, by John Ed Bradley
Buzz Kill, by Beth Fantaskey
Boys Like You, by Juliana Stone
Blonde Ops: A Novel, by Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman
After the End, by Amy Plum
Storm Chaser, by Sheila Rance
Shelter, by Patricia H. Aust
BZRK Apocalypse, by Michael Grant
New paperbacks (that I've read):
Five Summers, by Una LaMarche:
It stars a cast of likable characters, and it’ll be a good pick for fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and the like, but while it’s an enjoyable read, it’s also a somewhat forgettable one.
The Star of Kazan, by Eva Ibbotson:
Classic Ibbotson (minus the fantasy). I loved it, even the horses.
The Dragonfly Pool, by Eva Ibbotson:
Add a CommentIf you haven't read any Ibbotson, you're missing out -- while I'm sure that's something you've heard before about a plethora of authors, it really is true in this case. She writes the sort of old-fashioned children's stories that make you smile all the way through and then make you happily cry at the end.
From Anne Ursu's keynote speech at The Loft's 2014 Children’s and Young Adult Literature Conference:
Add a CommentThis is the age where the world gets a little bigger every day, when your mind is still taking in everything it can, when adults stop shielding the hard things from you. Books are a small place to explore a big world. They are personal—for the first time, they are yours—and they are profound. They reflect and assure, they project and excite. And kids love them for it. They love them with their whole being.
From EW:
After a five-year break since the last installment (2009) — and to commemorate the upcoming 15th anniversary of the first Princess Diaries book — author Meg Cabot announced that more Mia Thermopolis is coming next summer. The best part? The now-adult fans of the series won’t have to read a book aimed at teens. [<--PHEW. WE ALL TOTES DODGED A BULLET THERE.] For the first time, a Princess Diaries book will be just a regular old novel for adults. Thank you, Meg Cabot.
AND there's going to be a spin-off series about Mia's long-lost half-sister.
While I lost interest in the Princess Diaries books somewhere in the middle (I think it was the shift from hilarious to uber-angst), I suspect I'll be all over reading the spin-offs.
ETA: Also, what the hell, EW? OH, THE HORROR IF ADULT FANS HAD TO LOWER THEMSELVES TO READ A BOOK AIMED AT TEENS. ZOMG, THAT WOULD TOTALLY BE THE WORST THING EVER!
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The YA winner is:
Ketchup Clouds, by Annabel Pitcher
From the PW article:
Best Young Adult winner Annabel Pitcher (for Hachette’s Ketchup Clouds) pithily commented that “Young Adult Mystery novels are no more watered down adult mysteries than young adults are watered-down adults.”
Heh. You go, Annabel Pitcher.
See the other YA nominees here, and the rest of the winners and nominees here.
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The 2014 Aurora YA nominees are:
The Ehrich Weisz Chronicles: Demon Gate, by Marty Chan
Ink, by Amanda Sun
The Lake and the Library, by S.M. Beiko
Out of Time, by D.G. Ladroute
Resolve, by Neil Godbout
The Rising, by Kelley Armstrong
Click on through for the other categories.
The 2014 Vogal Award for Youth novel went to: Raven Flight, by Juliet Marillier. (LOVE THAT ONE.)
The other finalists were:
Talisman of Vim, by Robert Wainwright
Pratibhashali (The Talented), by Sanjay Joshi
Fountain of Forever, by K. D. Berry
When We Wake, by Karen Healey
Click on through for the other shortlists and winners.
(via SF Signal)
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Click on through for a whole ton of articles and essays and recommendations and commentary.
Here are just a few tidbits:
Click through for MUCH MUCH MORE.
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Click on through for excerpts of:
Add a CommentThe A-Word, by Joy Preble
Hero Complex, by Margaux Froley (Enjoyed the first one, so I'm looking forward to this one!)
I Become Shadow, by Joe Shine
Ask Me, by Kimberly Pauley
They are:
Geek Girl, by Holly Smale, edited by Lizzie Clifford
Winter Damage, by Natasha Carthew, edited by Rebecca McNally
Infinite Sky, by C J Flood, edited by Venetia Gosling
Wild Boy, by Rob Lloyd Jones, edited by Mara Bergman
Red Ink, by Julie Mayhew, edited by Emily Thomas
Alex, the Dog, and the Unopenable Door, by Ross Montgomery, edited by Rebecca Lee & Susila Baybars
The Poison Boy, by Fletcher Moss, edited by Imogen Cooper and Barry Cunningham
All new to me, and there are a few there that I'll be hunting down STAT!
The Branford Boase Award is given annually to:
Add a Comment..an outstanding first novel to a first-time writer of a book for young people. At the same time, it marks the important contribution of the editor in identifying and nurturing new talent.
We had a little bit of a Jaclyn Moriarty lovefest on Twitter yesterday (starting here, I think), which led to @rockinlibrarian sharing this link with me which led to me now sharing it with you:
From Inside a Dog:
First, my name. It is Jaclyn Moriarty. It’s a good name. You can remember it by thinking of Sherlock Holmes. I can't tell you how happy I am to have an arch-villain’s name. I wake up each morning and remember my name and a slow smile forms on my face. Then I get up and have breakfast.
She's just AWESOME.
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From The Hub:
That’s when I cried. It’s hard to articulate to someone when you’re standing in front of them that their book probably saved your life. It’s even weirder to look back and think that he probably doesn’t remember and certainly hasn’t thought about our meeting since, while I’ve turned it over in my head a dozen times. Because, of course, I had this really eloquent speech all prepared and then when I stood in front of him I think I managed to say, “I just want you to know that I read Boy Meets Boy when I was a teen and it was the first book with gay characters where nobody died and it changed my whole life and I didn’t feel sad anymore this was back before the Internet was a gay mecca so these books were all I had and Julie Anne Peters is also an author who is important to me and I’m a grown woman I’m so sorry I will stop this now.”
*sniffle*
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The Kindle edition of Melina Marchetta's brilliant—YES, BRILLANT—Jellicoe Road is currently $1.99.
So, if you haven't read it (or if you want yet another copy), snag it while you can.
From my long-ago post about it:
Add a CommentMelina Marchetta's writing is top-notch, spot-on, perfect-a-mundo, beautiful, her characters are believable, so real that less than twenty pages in, I forgot I was reading a novel—both because I was so involved in the story that I felt like a bystander and because the characters were so immediately real to me.
When I picked Mafia Girl up, I was CONVINCED that it was historical fiction.
As it opens with the main character and one of her best friends getting pulled over while A) driving a stolen Porsche 911, B) looking for an outlet that sells Louboutins (our narrator hilariously tries punching 'Louboutins' into the GPS), and C) after a dinner comprised solely of beer and Ritz Bits, I put my critical thinking skills to good use and concluded OH WAIT, THIS IS A CONTEMPORARY.
Ahem. ANYWAY.
Gia loves her father and she loves her family, but all she really wants is to be out of the life. While being the daughter of a powerful mafia don has its perks—most notably that she can get her hands on pretty much any commodity she wants—she hates that her peers both look down on her AND fear her (although, to be honest, the latter comes in handy sometimes, too), and she's uncomfortable with the violence and death that are connected to her own personal comfort and economic status.
Pros:
Cons:
Nutshell:
Gordon Korman's Son of the Mob was a far better fit for me.
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Book source: ILLed through my library.
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From Publishers Lunch:
Children's: Middle grade
Author of BEA 2013 Middle Grade Buzz Panel title Magic Marks the Spot Caroline Carlson's THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE, about a city with more sleuths than crimes to be solved, and a boy who enters his hapless uncle for the World's Greatest Detective competition in hope of avoiding being sent to an orphanage, only to discover his own knack for investigation when the contest host turns up dead, to Toni Markiet at Harper Children's, for publication in Winter 2017 and a second book in Winter 2018.Children's: Young Adult
NYU Musical Theater Writing MFA Heidi Heilig's debut THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE, in which a 16-year-old, whose father uses vintage maps to time-travel the world, must determine whether to journey with him to 1868 Honolulu to save her mother's life, knowing that changing history risks her very existence, to Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication in Winter 2016.
To be honest, I'm FAR more intrigued by the middle grade title. MORE SLEUTHS THAN CRIMES! A MURDER AT THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE COMPETITION! Lots of potential hilarity there.
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Yet again, some Strange Chemistry titles are on sale: Cassandra R. Clarke's The Assassin's Curse and The Pirate's Wish.
I could have sworn that I already bought The Assassin's Curse, but it doesn't appear to be in my library, so I guess not.
Oh, well: goodbye to $1.99 x 2, then, and HELLO MOAR BOOKS.
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...I talk about Paul Acampora's I Kill the Mockingbird, which I found hugely enjoyable:
Say that you’re browsing Twitter one day, and Wil Wheaton retweets something from a group called I Kill the Mockingbird. Being a book-loving person, you’d totally get curious and click through, right? I know I would.
...and I just now realized that I forgot to mention YET ANOTHER thing I like about the book: the cast of characters is notably diverse, and said diversity is never an ISSUE. It's just an everyday part of life. Which is always nice to see.
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