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Today is the official publication day of Jacqueline West’s riveting YA novel, DREAMERS OFTEN LIE. Jacqueline is author of the NYT bestselling middle grade series, The Books of Elsewhere, and DREAMERS is her first foray into the YA genre, and she’s done a smashing job of it, too.
“Engrossing . . . A dizzying new twist on one of the Bard’s most famous plays.”
DREAMERS is Black Swan meets Shakespeare–a twisty, enthralling story of one girl’s brush with madness:
After a skiing accident that fractures her skull, Jaye is left with a splitting headache and strong delusions. Jaye must keep these delusions secret from her family, doctors, and everyone at school in order to keep her starring part in the school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream — even though visions of Shakespeare and … [more]
I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Upstart Crow client Andrew Brumbach over at the Literary Rambles blog, where we discussed the release of his debut novel, THE EYE OF MIDNIGHT the harrowing submissions process, and the joy of getting “the call”. Pop over the blog for the full interview, and do be sure to put THE EYE OF MIDNIGHT on your “to read” list today!
It’s a cornucopia of cover reveals at Upstart Crow this week!
Today, we are thrilled to share the cover for Amy Allgeyer’s riveting debut novel, DIG TOO DEEP (Albert Whitman, April 2016). The good folks at YA Books Central did the official reveal yesterday, and you can hop over there to enter to win a free advance reading copy.
It’s not just that Liberty Briscoe feels like an outsider in Ebbotsville, Kentucky. She expected it wouldn’t be easy to move from the city to her granny’s place for her last year of high school. Still, Liberty can’t shake the feeling that something’s not quite right. Everyone says the water’s safe, yet nobody drinks it. When Granny becomes sick, like so many others in town, Liberty starts to wonder about the water, the people who
We are so very excited about Leah Konen’s steamy contemporary romance, THE LAST TIME WE WERE US (Katherine Tegen, May 2016).
Liz Grant is about to have the summer of her life.
She and her friend MacKenzie are getting invited to all the best parties and, with any luck, Innis Taylor, the most gorgeous guy in Bonneville, will be her boyfriend before the Fourth of July.
Jason Sullivan wasn’t supposed to come back from juvy. A million years ago, he was Liz’s best friend, but that was before he ditched her for a different crowd. Before he attacked Innis’s older brother, leaving Skip’s face burned and their town in shock.
Liz always found it hard to believe what they said about Jason, but all of Bonneville thinks he’s dangerous. If word gets out she’s seeing
Unlike a lot of people in the publishing industry, I regularly review the books I read on Goodreads, and it has sometimes gotten me into trouble. I’ve been a Goodreads member since shortly after it was founded, and I have a lot of friends there whose opinions I follow. And who follow me. Some people in publishing feel no one in our industry should be on Goodreads at all; one editor noted that he won’t buy books from people who have given a negative review to one of his books. Others see it as a betrayal of our small community, that we should all be cheerleaders all the time, and to ever be otherwise is to be an Enemy of Books.
Well, I think that’s a lot of malarky, as Joe Biden might say. Goodreads … [more]
We are so very excited for today’s cover reveal! THE SWEETEST THING by Christina Mandelski is a fantastic contemporary YA novel about love, loss, and cake, and it’s soon to be re-released on Amazon with this gorgeous new package and some yummy bonus materials.
When it comes to cake, Sheridan Wells is a true artist. She’s happiest working in the back of her family’s bakery, dreaming of the day her mom will come home. But when her dad makes an announcement that threatens to change their lives, Sheridan launches a desperate plan to find her mother before it’s too late. Add to that a school art project that she can’t seem to start, a moody best friend and the fact that she may or may not have been asked out by the cutest boy in
We’re oh-so-excited for the cover reveal of Andrew Brumbach‘s spectacular debut middle grade adventure novel, THE EYE OF MIDNIGHT (Delacorte, 2016). Hop on over to the good folks at Middle Grade Minded for the big reveal and an interview with Andrew.
The wait is over! We’re thrilled to celebrate the publication of Beth Hautala‘s debut middle grade novel WAITING FOR UNICORNS (Philomel Books).
Kirkus calls Beth “an author to watch.” School Library Journal calls her writing “poignant.” Publisher’s Weekly calls Beth’s descriptions “spellbinding.”
Talia McQuinn is much too old to believe in magic, yet she keeps a jar of wishes under her bed. When her whale-researcher father drags Tal to the Arctic for the summer following her mother’s death, she brings the jar along. During her stay, Tal learns of the ancient Inuit legend of the narwhal whale—the unicorn of the sea—she forms a plan to make the biggest wish of her life.
I discovered Beth’s work while participating in the annual agent slugfest known as the Baker’s Dozen Auction, a contest in which … [more]
I am fizzy with fangirl-ish glee! Sarah Tregay’s sophomore novel, FAN ART, has been nominated by YALSA (the American Library Association) as one of the best Books for Young Readers, 2015.
FAN ART is a tremendously special book, as it is at the forefront of the movement to create diversity in young adult literature. In FAN ART, seventeen year-old Jamie is in love with his best friend Mason, but is afraid that if he shares his feelings, he’ll lose Mason’s friendship forever. Ever since I read an early draft of the story back in 2011, it’s been my hope that FAN ART would cross boundaries–that it would allow … [more]
Now that the weather is nice and the sun is shining, I for one am itching to take a road trip. And if you are too, why not start with a dazzling new read by one of teen lit’s best writers?
Antony John.
Antony’s last book, FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB, was the recipient of brilliant reviews, lavish praise from authors and readers alike, and the prestigious Schneider Award for Teens.
Now Antony brings us a fantastic new story: THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP!
When sixteen-year-old Luke’s book, Hallelujah, becomes a national bestseller, his publishing house sends him on a cross-country book tour with his older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when irresponsible Matt offers to drive Luke’s ex–soul mate, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy. On the trip, Luke must loosen up, discover what it truly means to have faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves.
Told with Antony John’s signature wit and authenticity, and featuring smart, singular characters who jump off the page and into your heart, this story is a spiritual awakening and rockin’ road trip in one.
This winter has been unusually warm here in New York—no doubt that is because some of our favorite Upstart Crows have been heating up the bookshelves with their latest releases!
Yvonne Woon has followed up her debut novel, Dead Beautiful, with a haunting sequel called Life Eternal, continuing the epic journey of star-crossed lovers Dante and Renée.
Kirkus raves for Life Eternal, saying that “Renée’s story is romantic, suspenseful and far from over. A solid read, this one will leave readers wanting more.”
And if you haven’t read Dead Beautiful (which Publisher’s Weekly said has a “Harry Potter start and a Twilight finish”), what are you waiting for? It’s out now in paperback!
Suzanna Show did in her first adventure, The Midnight Tunnel (now out in paperback!) and she’s at it again in The Mastermind Plot.
Kirkus says, “The suspenseful plot unfolds from Zanna’s first-person perspective, punctuated by her pithy observations. Fans of Suzanna Snow’s first mystery will cheer her latest adventure” and School Library Journal tells you to “add Zanna Snow to [your] list of quirky, bright, and determined female detectives.”
Angie brings the city of Boston to life with intriguing characters and a suspenseful mystery perfect for any middle grade reader. Will Zanna solve the case of the warehouse fires while uncovering secrets about her family’s past? You’ll have to buy a copy of The Mastermind Plot to find out!
To learn more about Suzanna Snow and Angie Frazier, visit www.angiefrazier.com
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The saying “March comes in like a lion, out like a lamb” takes on a whole new meaning with this next release. And by lion we mean werewolf, of course!
If you’re anything like us, you’re practically salivating to get your hands on a copy of The Savage Grace, the conclusion to Bree Despain’s blockbuster Dark Divine trilogy. Action, suspense, and a heartbreaking romance are all on line—will Grace and Daniel make it, or not?
Translated into over fifteen languages, and optioned for the big screen, you won’t want to miss The Savage Grace, which is available on March 13th.
I’m thrilled today to announce the publication of KATANA, a sexy, fun, and engrossing story by my client Cole Gibsen. KATANA, published by Flux books, tells the story of Rileigh Martin, a skater girl who suddenly finds herself with the fighting abilities of an ancient Japanese samurai.
From the publisher: “Rileigh Martin wants to believe that adrenaline gave her the strength to fend off three muggers in the mall parking lot. But adrenaline doesn’t explain the voice in her head giving her battle tips and warnings.
While worrying that she’s going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she’s harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.
Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana–a deadly Japanese sword that’s also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she’s always been and embracing the warrior inside her.”
Antony John, author of the 2011 Schneider Family Book Award for his novel Five Flavors of Dumb, says “Prepare yourself for a smart, sassy heroine and seriously swoony romance…with a little butt-kicking thrown in for good measure. A cracking debut.”
School Library Journal says, “This action-packed novel has a unique and compelling plot…Fans of Carrie Asai’s “Samurai Girl” series (S & S) will be particularly interested, but even readers who dislike supernatural story lines will enjoy this tale of modern samurais.”
I originally pitched KATANA as a mix of Kill Bill and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and wrote about it some time ago in my post on pitching projects in 25 words or less.KATANA is the very definition of a high concept, commercial project, and I think teen readers everywhere will love it! If you’re in the mood for a sexy tale with plenty of action, find KATANA online or at your local bookstore!
For more information about Cole Gibsen and the book, head to: http://www.colegibsen.com/ or follow her on Twitter at @ColeGibsen
To read a great interview with Cole, head to: http://carlybennett.blogspot.com/2012/03/interview-cole-gibsen-katana.html
For an interview with me about what made me sign KATANA, head to LS Murphy’s blog: http://lsmurphy.com/2012/03/08/5-questions-with-chris-richman/
What are you doing still reading this blog? Go out and buy the book already!
Do you love oysters? Do you love cooking? Then you’ll love the fantastic new memoir from Upstart Crow client Erin Byers Murray!
SHUCKED: LIFE ON A NEW ENGLAND OYSTER FARM (St. Martin’s Press) is now available from your favorite book retailers. Murray chronicles her experience with the crew at Island Creek Oysters, where she learned the ins and outs of farming, and follows her food in an unforgettable journey from sea to table.
Praise for SHUCKED:
“Murray’s own love of food and food writing informs the narrative, and she skillfully dramatizes the scenes of summertime sowing and depicts her many colorful co-workers. Murray eschews poetic waxing on her subject and focuses closely on the action and the hard, hard work of …” –Publishers Weekly
“Part of the book’s charm is following Murray through the process of becoming aware of her surroundings in working directly with an edible product. An entertaining and informative firsthand experience of the locavore movement.” –Library Journal
“While most books about oysters tell people what they want to hear, Shucked tells it like it is: the frigid winter days on the water with hands like popsicles, the backbreaking work, the anxiety of nurturing thousands of dollars’ worth of oyster seed, the hard-partying nights. Erin Byers Murray captures the seasonal rhythms of the New England coast and the romance of one exceptional company’s efforts to coax great food from the sea. You’ll never take an oyster for granted again.” –Rowan Jacobsen, bestselling author of The Geography of Oysters
I often field questions about how to handle writing and pitching a series. Do you write all the books at once? (No) Should you pitch the entire series to an agent or editor? (Probably not) Should things in book fourteen be set in stone? (Absolutely not)
If you’re looking for a great example of how to plot a successful series, be sure to check out Matt Myklusch’s Jack Blank Adventures; Book I, The Accidental Hero, came out in paperback this April, and Book II, The Secret War, is in stores now.
Book II begins one year after the conclusion of The Accidental Hero. After helping save the Imagine Nation and proving himself a hero, Jack is sidekicking with big league super heroes and getting a taste of what it takes to be a hero in the real world.
Even though Jack is being hailed as a superstar, he’s still hiding dark secrets from his best friends…secrets that could prove disastrous to both The Imagine Nation and the world at large. And Jack’s old enemy Jonas Smart will do whatever it takes to uncover Jack’s secrets and prove him a villain once and for all.
Jack will need to learn to trust his friends, balance his growing powers, and find a way to head off an invasion if he wants to win The Secret War.
Congratulations, Matt! And readers, be sure to look for the exciting conclusion in next year’s The End of Infinity!
July brought the debut of Laura Goode’s SISTER MISCHIEF, a provocative look at coming-of-age, first love, religion, and music.
Listen up: You’re about to get rocked by the fiercest, baddest all-girl hip-hop crew in the Twin Cities – or at least in the wealthy, white, Bible-thumping suburb of Holyhill, Minnesota. Our heroine, Esme Rockett (aka MC Ferocious) is a Jewish lesbian lyricist. In her crew, Esme’s got her BFFs Marcy (aka DJ SheStorm, the butchest straight girl in town) and Tess (aka The ConTessa, the pretty, popular powerhouse of a vocalist). But Esme’s feelings for her co-MC, Rowie (MC Rohini), a beautiful, brilliant, beguiling desi chick, are bound to get complicated. And before they know it, the queer hip-hop revolution Esme and her girls have exploded in Holyhill is on the line. Exciting new talent Laura Goode lays down a snappy, provocative, and heartfelt novel about discovering the rhythm of your own truth.
SISTER MISCHIEF may be outrageous, but it’s absolutely full of heart, and Laura has one of the freshest voices on the shelves today. The book has been garnering some lavish praise, including a starred review from Booklist which said, “This debut is full of big ideas, big heart, and big poetry, with a positive, activist message.”
The long wait is finally over, because today’s the day you can get your hands on Jacqueline West’s SPELLBOUND, the sequel to the critically acclaimed, New York Times Bestselling novel THE SHADOWS. SPELLBOUND continues Olive’s adventures into Elsewhere, where she’ll meet new friends, face familiar foes, and be sucked deeper into the mystery of her house’s previous owners.
Here’s a terrific video featuring fun facts about the house that inspired the series, some details about SPELLBOUND, and the always-lovely Jacqueline West speaking about her story.
If you missed out on the first book of the series, don’t fret! THE SHADOWS was released in paperback just last month! It’s not too late to read the book Publisher’s Weekly praised for it’s “wicked sense of humor,” Time For Kids rated 9.5 out of 10, and The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books called “A delightful concoction of quirky humor blended with a rumbling ominous undertone.”
Despite the immense loss everyone still feels here at Upstart Crow about Bridget Zinn, we would nonetheless like to take a moment to shine a bit of sweet light on the wonderful crows who’ve brightened readers’ month of June with their new releases. It has been a busy, busy month!
The first of June brought us The Eternal Sea from Angie Frazier, the sequel to her rollicking, romantic debut, Everlasting.
The Eternal Sea follows star-crossed lovers Oscar and Camille through a dangerous and paranormal adventure to find true love and happiness. It is thrilling, passionate, and incredibly well done. Fans of historical novels, romances, and simply “darn good” books should pick it up!
And if you haven’t read Everlasting… what are you waiting for?
~
Josh Berk’s critically acclaimed (and super funny) The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin may have a fresh new look in paperback—but the jokes and suspense are deadly funny just the same.
Will Halpin may be deaf and overweight, but what’s a couple of handicaps matter when there’s a murder to be solved?
Read the book that Kirkus and SLJ gave starred reviews to, and Amazon.com, Kirkus, and VOYA named one of their “Best Books” for 2010.
~
And the middle of June welcomed Olive—the protagonist of Jacqueline West’sNew York Times bestselling debut, The Shadows—into paperback.
This award-winner is the recipient of multiple starred reviews and nominations. If you missed Olive in hardcover, get caught up on this heartwarming, spooky, and very funny series … with luck, you’ll be done with it just in time for Spellbound, the second entry, which hits shelves in July.
~
Another book with a hot new look for summer is Matt Myklusch’s THE ACCIDENTAL HERO.
Formerly known as Jack Blank and The Imagine Nation, this riveting middle grade adventure is perfect for Percy Jackson fans, but stands on its own as the start of a great new series. The San Francisco Book Review called Jack “a mythical hero.&rdquo
One of the Upstart Crow fold passed away early yesterday morning, and we here are still reeling and red-eyed rom the news. Our love and support go out to her husband, Barrett, and to Bridget’s family and friends, who are legion.
As one should have expected about someone dubbed the World’s Fastest Librarian, Bridget Zinn departed the scene earlier and faster than anyone could have ever imagined. And the world is a poorer, dimmer, duller place for her absence. We will miss her. I will miss her.
[Below, a video'd thank you she'd made after an auction to raise money for her fight against cancer. It is how I always see her in my mind's eye.]
At times like these, one can’t help but realize how shabbily inadequate words are when it comes to grief. Sad just doesn’t cut it. No how no way. Doesn’t come anywhere near to capturing the weighty emptiness we feel. And to amp things up with adverbs—well, that sort of lousy writing she wouldn’t stand for.
When I think of Bridget, who was a friend as well as a client, I think of her first novel, Poison. It is a bright, funny, sweet wonder of a book, and I’d printed out the manuscript and taken it with me home from the office because I just couldn’t stop reading. I startled my fellow subway passengers by barking out laughter every few minutes. You’ll get to read it one of these days—we later sold it at auction to Hyperion. The story is a fantasy about a girl fugitive who fancies herself tough-as-nails until she finds love, humility, and more through an unexpected partnership with a wee enchanted piglet named Rosie.
Like Bridget, her novel is warm, breezily witty, full of a large-hearted love for her characters and the world. And oh god, but she and it are funny. A giddy joy saturates every page of the manuscript—a joy, I realized, that came from Bridget herself.
When she was diagnosed with cancer, Bridget handled it with a courage that I found hard to fathom. How could she be so happy? So carefree? So effortlessly sweet and funny? She had an optimism about her, I learned, because that’s who she was. Even after the diagnosis, inspiration to us all, she was for the most part happy. She and her longtime boyfriend, Barrett, got married, and they bought their dream house in Portland, the city they loved. (And where, when I’d visit, they’d take me to beautiful spots I’d have never found otherwise.) She’d sold her book and was hard at work on the sequel, as well as another novel about one of her favorite things in the world: Shoes. It’s a cliche, but Bridget was so full of zest and life that she made the cancer almost seem beside the point.
Which is why yesterday’s news was so devastating, so unexpected, so unjust. There was little enough in the world already to made it a worthwhile place; now there’s a whole lot less.
Happy Release Day to the wonderful Christina Mandelski, whose debut novel, THE SWEETEST THING, is officially on sale today from Egmont USA.
A bit about the novel:
In the world of Sheridan Wells, life is perfect when she’s decorating a cake. Unfortunately, everything else is a complete mess: her mom ran off years ago, her dad is more interested in his restaurant, and the idea of a boyfriend is laughable. But Sheridan is convinced finding her mom will solve all her problems—only her dad’s about to get a cooking show in New York, which means her dream of a perfect family will be dashed. Using just the right amount of romance, family drama, and cute boys, The Sweetest Thing will entice fans with its perfect mixture of girl-friendly ingredients.
It’s always exciting to see a wonderful book make its way into the world, especially when there was such a group effort in the publication process–and particularly when that book introduces readers to an author who is as bright a talent as Christina.
I’m thrilled to show off the brand spanking new title and cover for Book I in Matt Myklusch’s Jack Blank Adventures, now titled The Accidental Hero. If you didn’t have a chance to read the story in hardcover, fear not, for the book hits the shelves in paperback TODAY!
I’m planning a later post on books for boys, but in the meantime, if you’re interested in reading the sort of book that immediately caught my eye and serves as a solid indication of the sort of story I’m interested in representing, do yourself a favor and pick this story up! I love this story and think you will, too.
Here, for your clicking enjoyment, are a few useful links:
Click here to read how to win an autographed copy of the book
Here at Upstart Crow, few events make us happier than when our clients’ books appear out in the world. That really is the ultimate triumph—when the book is on shelves, awaiting the fancy of a passing reader. Making that debut all the sweeter is when the reviewers recognize the genius of the talent involved (for if the talent involved didn’t partake of genius, we wouldn’t be working with him or her, right?
Next month marks the publication of Kurt Cyrus’s picture book The Voyage of Turtle Rex, and its first two reviews are in—both starred raves that recognize Kurt’s singular talents as a writer and illustrator. The first is from Kirkus Reviews:
In a life-cycle arc paralleling the one in Cyrus’ Tadpole Rex(2008), a tiny prehistoric ancestor to modern sea turtles hatches from a buried egg, scuttles across a beach into the sea, survives multiple hazards to grow into a mighty two-ton Archelon and then in season returns to shore to lay a clutch of her own. Injecting plenty of drama into his beach and sunlit undersea scenes with sudden close-ups and changes of scale, the illustrator vividly captures the hatchling’s vulnerability as she passes with her sibs beneath a towering T. Rex only to discover a world of toothy predators beneath the ocean’s rolling surface. And even full grown, though she can glide unheeding past sharks and even plesiosaurs, an encounter with a mosasaur “massive and dark: / muncher of archelon, / gulper of shark” sends her sliding hastily down to concealment in the billowing bottom sands. Like its subject, the rhymed text moves with grand deliberation, carrying the primeval story line to a clever transition between that ancient era and ours: “Gone is that sea and the creatures it knew. / Archelon. Mosasaur. Pterosaur, too. / Gone is the plesiosaur’s clam-cracking smile… / but full-body helmets are still in style” as “shells of all fashions continue to girdle / the middle of many a tortoise and turtle.” Never has time travel been so easy or so immersive.
The second rave will appear in Publishers Weekly. They write:
In this companion to Tadpole Rex, a prehistoric turtle hatches on a “primeval beach” and slips beneath the waves. Cyrus’s illustrations incorporate dramatic scale, movement, and majesty: the spreads are a marvel of lighting and texture, as swirling ocean and sky symbolize the passage of time (”The hatchling who hid in the seaweed was gone…/ grown to a two-ton archelon”). As the turtle treads the starlit sea after laying her eggs, Cyrus comments on species loss: “Gone is that sea and the creatures it knew./ Archelon. Mosasaur. Pterosaur, too./ Gone is the plesiosaur’s clam-cracking smile…/ but full-body helmets are still in style.” A moving and truly epic journey. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)
We couldn’t be happier with the reception of Turtle Rex, and we think when you pick up the book you’ll see why: This is a picture book creator at the top of his form as both
This week saw the debut of Vesper, the constantly surprising, un-put-down-able first entry in Jeff Sampson’s thrilling new paranormal teen trilogy, Deviants, from HarperCollins Children’s Books/Balzer + Bray. It’s got a sexy cover, a spiffy design, and the stewardship of a great editor. A happy ending all around.
But this novel has had a long route to publication, and so its appearance on bookshelves is especially sweet. In a much different form—as a novel entitled, I believe, Wildeside—it was purchased for the Mirrorstone imprint of Wizards of the Coast. It was revised, edited, and scheduled. But before it could be published, Mirrorstone was folded and WotC became again focused on Dungeons & Dragons. (Roll those polyhedral dice, Nina!)
Then Jeff found a new agent, and the novel was again revised and edited. And then it sold at auction and was again revised and edited. During those years it went from being called Wildeside to The Savage Files to The Vesper Files to The Life and Death of Emily Cooke, until at last it was retitled Vesper, and Jeff again revised to more seamlessly work the title origin into the text, and now it is there, in stores, waiting for you to go and buy it for the teen in your life (or for yourself—go on, it’s okay).
I’ve already written about this novel on Goodreads, where I described it as “a kind of mix of Westerfeld and Heroes (when it was good) and Veronica Mars, but entirely its own beast.” And then I got all philosophical-like. To wit:
“Of late, the teen genre paranormal romances announce themselves as such, with the single element the author is playing with brayed about on the cover. Bored by Wolves! or Fairy Tail or Angel Boy or what-have-you. Such books are all about cashing in by being as obvious as possible. Want paranormal romance? Here’s a vampire angel zombie you can really love! You know you’re reaching the nadir of a trend when mere labeling is enough to make a book a success.”
“Which is one of the most refreshing things about Vesper. There are genre elements in here, but they’re not the ones you expect, and they’re not being used in a manner you’ll expect. Sampson has bigger aims than mere sort-of-boy-meets-sort-of-girl, and one of the novel’s many joys is just how often you realize that you don’t quite know what in tarnation is going on.”
“And the book is written with a crispness that is increasingly rare in this genre—Sampson isn’t one to linger forever on a boy’s steely gaze, the line of his jaw, his rock hard head (er, abs), etc.—those sorts of calculatedly gooey details that basically make so much of today&rsqu
I have at last come around to the beauty of the e-reader.
Back in the long ago of 2008, I bought the first Kindle to use as an aid to reading manuscripts. It was nearly four hundred dollars, which boggles the mind even now. Why? Because Kindle 1 had serious problems: it was a poorly designed, clumsy device with page flip buttons in all sorts of weird places; it had problems with poor contrast and refresh rates on page flips; and it broke just after its year-long warranty expired. The latest iterations look pretty spiffy, but Kindle 1 was so awful and the customer service so terrible that Amazon forever lost my business.
After it broke down, I bought an iPad, but I never really used it for reading books. Wasn’t keen on the iBooks interface, with its silly animated page flips. Wasn’t about to give Amazon the satisfaction of downloading more books to its Kindle app.
Then I went on a work retreat/holiday, and I downloaded some books to the Nook app for the week. I read three of them. And now I don’t want to read books on anything else. In fact, I came home to find four books I’d ordered waiting. I returned them to the seller and downloaded them instead. This is how it will be from now on: I plan to get rid of many, many physical books. First big haul to sell at the Strand will be this morning before lunch. And you know what? I won’t miss ‘em.
I completely sympathize with those who fetishize physical books. God knows I do: I have a collection of signed first editions that I will never part with, and other books that I just feel some strange sort of cathexis for that goes beyond all reason.
But most other books I don’t need in physical form. For example, most nonfiction. I am a political junkie and consume books like Game Change and The Bridge like butter-slathered popcorn, but such books are topical and quickly outdated. Why keep an actual copy? And journalism such as the great David Grann’s collection of essays The Devil and Sherlock Holmes? I can’t wait to read it, but I don’t need to own it.
Sadly, this is true of most novels, too. Most novels are disposable unless they truly touch me in some way. In those cases, I’ll buy a hard copy of the book. (That’s how I operate now when I read a book in paperback and adore it—I end up tracking down a hardcover to add to the library.) But good as most novels are, few are so great that I want them lying about forever.
And now I can carry twenty books with me easily, and choose between books depending on my mood. I can switch from Patton Oswalt’s collection of essays Zombie Spaceship Wasteland to the most recent Newbery winner, Moon Over My Hammy—er, Manifest. And then I can reread William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition just for fun.
It’s amazing. My digital reader is making me read more and buy more books.* And I am never going back.
Has anyone else out there experienced a similar Saul/Paul conversion?
*Though not True Grit. I returned the physical copy I’d purchased and dragged along on vacation, where it went unread. But when I went to download it, discovered that the nookbook version costs more than the paperback on line. Really, Overlook Press? Is that how you want to play? Well, fine: I’ll read something else before I’ll pay more
Congratulations to Maurissa Guibord on the release of her debut novel, WARPED, from Delacorte Press.
About WARPED:
Tessa doesn’t believe in magic. Or Fate. But there’s something weird about the dusty unicorn tapestry she discovers in a box of old books. She finds the creature woven within it compelling and frightening. After the tapestry comes into her possession, Tessa experiences dreams of the past and scenes from a brutal hunt that she herself participated in. When she accidentally pulls a thread from the tapestry, Tessa releases a terrible centuries old secret. She also meets William de Chaucy, an irresistible 16th-century nobleman. His fate is as inextricably tied to the tapestry as Tessa’s own. Together, they must correct the wrongs of the past. But then the Fates step in, making a tangled mess of Tessa’s life. Now everyone she loves will be destroyed unless Tessa does their bidding and defeats a cruel and crafty ancient enemy.
Booklist says: “Debut author Guibord easily shifts the action between de Chauncy’s 1511 Cornwall village, the timeless and forbidding forest world of the tapestry, and Tessa’s modern-day Portland, Oregon. Will’s enslavement is told in flashbacks, which builds a nice tension around the connections between Tessa and Will and allows the author to reveal details at just the right moments.”
The Bulletin says: “The relationship between Tessa and Will is fraught with misunderstandings and secret longings, a standard but wholly effective formula for irresistible romance. Teens who just can’t get enough of the brooding hero and the spirited heroine will therefore do well to pick this one up.”
WARPED truly has something for everyone: romance, action-packed adventure, chilling and exciting unicorn and Fates mythology, and of course…a sultry villainess!
Get your copy of WARPED now—everyone is crowing about it!
The American Library Association Awards were announced this morning, and I am incredibly proud to congratulate Antony John on winning the 2011 Schneider Family Book Award for Teens for his novel Five Flavors of Dumb.
The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.
Five Flavors of Dumb is Antony’s second novel (his first was Busted: Confessions of An Accidental Player) and is published by Dial, an imprint of Penguin Books for Young Readers.
As described on the ALA website: Dumb is not the name Piper, a high school senior who is Deaf, would have chosen for a heavy metal band, yet she volunteers to manage this disparate group of would-be musicians. In her attempt to make Dumb profitable, Piper learns a few things about music and business, striking a chord within herself.
This novel is so many things: an incredible portrayal of what it’s like to live with a disability, a depiction of what it feels like to confront a challenge head-on and succeed, a hysterical, laugh-out-loud rollercoaster, a tender love story, and an examination of the many different definitions of the word “family.”
And the critics agree!
In a starred review, Kirkus says: “Making Piper the manager of a rock band never feels like a cheap trick (pardon the pun) because Piper is not A Great Deaf Character but a great character who is deaf. Complex characterizations, authentic dialogue and realistic ups-and-downs give this title chart-topping potential.”
School Library Journal says: “The parallel attention to Piper’s hearing family and the strain her parents’ decision to treat her sister with cochlear implants adds to the greater story and informs the novel’s direction and ending in a satisfying way. Set in the Pacific Northwest, this rock-and-roll novel joins the ranks of Randy Powell’s equally thoughtful Tribute to Another Dead Rock Star (Farrar, 2003) and Blake Nelson’s Rock Star Superstar (Viking, 2004)
Publishers Weekly says: “In this witty yet thoughtful behind-the-music account of Dumb’s journey to semistardom, John (Busted: Confessions of an Accidental Player) creates a series of humorous surprises while demonstrating how Piper’s deafness, which is integral to the story and never feels like a gimmick, affects her life and those of her parents and brother, who are equally complex and well-developed characters. Relying on help from unexpected sources, Piper learns important lessons about music and media hype, while growing closer to her family and friends in the process.”
Please pick up your copy of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB today, and visit Antony at his website: http://antonyjohn.net
And from everyone here at Upstart Crow: CONGRATULATIONS!
DREAMERS is Black Swan meets Shakespeare–a twisty, enthralling story of one girl’s brush with madness:
Antony brings us a fantastic new story: THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP!
I’m thrilled today to announce the publication of KATANA, a sexy, fun, and engrossing story by my client Cole Gibsen. KATANA, published by Flux books, tells the story of Rileigh Martin, a skater girl who suddenly finds herself with the fighting abilities of an ancient Japanese samurai. 
Do you love oysters? Do you love cooking? Then you’ll love the fantastic new memoir from Upstart Crow client Erin Byers Murray!
I often field questions about how to handle writing and pitching a series. Do you write all the books at once? (No) Should you pitch the entire series to an agent or editor? (Probably not) Should things in book fourteen be set in stone? (Absolutely not)
Happy Release Day to the wonderful Christina Mandelski, whose debut novel, THE SWEETEST THING, is officially on sale today from Egmont USA.
I’m thrilled to show off the brand spanking new title and cover for Book I in Matt Myklusch’s Jack Blank Adventures, now titled The Accidental Hero. If you didn’t have a chance to read the story in hardcover, fear not, for the book hits the shelves in paperback TODAY!
