We returned from a rain-soaked Shenandoah Valley to a northeaster being chased by a possible Category 4. But I had places to be. Third and Spruce, for a conversation. Up near the Art Museum, to visit with a friend.
I had places to be, and I was saturated. I was a walking puddle, a character from a Peanuts cartoon.
I had two things in my bag, in my long walk from damp to embarrassing. One of them was Dana Reinhardt's oh-so-perfect forthcoming novel (I apologize in advance that you will have to wait for it until next spring),
Tell Us Something True (Wendy Lamb Books, Random House Children's Books)
. May I preface this by saying that I have enormous respect for Dana Reinhardt—as a writer, as a person. Despite her impressive breadth as an author, her astonishing talent with character, story, and sentences, and her cache of awards, you will not find her out there on the circuit showboating. You will not hear her raising toasts to herself.
So 1) I'm predisposed to
love Dana Reinhardt, and 2) I felt hugely blessed to receive an early copy of her book. But 3) Even I could not imagine how utterly un-put-downable this new novel is. About a teenage boy who is dumped by a girl and finds himself (on his long walk home) standing before a fading sign—black words on white: A SECOND CHANCE.
This dumped kid, River: He feels he needs a second chance.
And so he enters into this community of teens who are struggling to break free of one kind of addiction or another. He feels at peace. It's his turn to talk and he fables up
something. He confesses that he is addicted to weed. It's not true. It's not even close to true. But if River holds onto (then embellishes) this ready myth, he'll always have a chair in this circle.
He wants a chair in that circle.
This is the premise of Dana's book. But Dana never barters with mere premise. She is a storyteller with a heart, a writer (and a mom) who understands that characters make for story, not theses. That the honorable thing to do with a novelistic set-up is to find out who lives inside the chosen frame. Who really lives there. What they think. How they hope. How they screw up. How they take first steps toward forgiveness. How they continually readjust the way they see the world and themselves.
There's not a single throw-away character in
Tell Us Something True. No cardboard constructions representing An Idea. There are best friends, an adorable half sister, good parents, white neighborhoods, Mexican ones, missed buses, the romance of imagination. There's humor and infinite humanity. There's line after line of prose so good I kept pumping my fist, and let me tell you something: I didn't want this book to end.
I despair, sometimes, at the YA category. At trends that suffocate original impulses. At books that sell on the basis of a hook and authorial ambition (and little else). At copy cat voices. At plot-point checklists. At self-serving declarations. At marketing machines.
But then along comes Dana Reinhardt, who writes character and considered plots, who quietly, then boldly escalates her ideas, who gets you all caught up inside the family of action, who leaves you running from place to place in a storm, desperate to return to her story.
Tell Us Something True is hope; it is humanity; it offers a master class in ultimately accepting our own impossible imperfections. Original, funny, wrenching, real, and intelligently surprising, it's bound to endure. It might even heal the many cracks between us.
Why do animals feature so heavily in picture books? 1. They are so relatable. 2. They provide a sense of comfort and nurturing. 3. They reinforce positive emotions and behaviours such as empathy. Whether these animals are represented as their true natures or anthropomorphically, children (and adults) feel connected to these cute characters and regard […]
In the kingdom of Goredd, humans and dragons have lived and worked side by side for more than forty years, a treaty of peace signed, and the past war forgotten. But when a member of the royal family is brutally murdered and the finger of blame points to dragons, it appears that not all is forgotten, or forgiven.
Shadow Scale jumped out at me. It was more complex than it first appeared, I realized in that moment, because “scale” could mean several different things.
Enter to win a copy of Seraphina, written by Rachel Hartman, and the newest release, Shadow Scale (Seraphina: Book Two).
Giveaway begins March 9, 2015, at 12:01 A.M. PST and ends April 8, 2015, at 11:59 P.M. PST.
Esther Ehrlich’s debut novel, Nest, is an arresting story of an eleven-year-old girl named Chirp Orenstein, whose life becomes acutely sharp and complicated as her mother’s illness overtakes the family
The heart of Young Adult Fiction descended into picturesque Charleston, SC on November 7, 2014 as 60 Young Adult authors, including 37 New York Times bestsellers, joined together for the 4th Annual Charleston Young Adult Book Festival (“YALLFest”).
Thanks to World Cup Soccer, the new Magic Tree House book, Soccer on Sunday, has the series on top of The Children’s Book Review’s best selling kids series list.
Leo Lionni’s works as a celebrated author and illustrator have elevated the standards on what it means to successfully utilize simplicity and sophistication to create the perfect picture book.
In Seven Stories Up, Laurel Snyder combines humor and friendship to spin a rich story of adventure, sprinkled with Snyder’s signature magic and mystery.
Two Weeks ago I featured John Mander on Illustrator Saturday. John was busy getting ready to attend the Reuben Awards dinner in Pittsburgh, PA. and didn’t have time to finish the answers for his featured post. John won the Best Illustrated Children’s Book Award that Saturday night for illustrating Jack and the Giant Barbecue. .Here is the link to read john’s interview answers that were added duribg the week: http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2013/05/25/illustrator-saturday-john-manders/ Congratulations John!
Bloomsbury Children’s Books has promoted Caroline Abbey and Mary Kate Castellani to senior editor, while Brett Wright and Laura Whitaker move up to associate editor. Both Castellani and Whitaker move over from Walker Children’s, which will shift its focus to that of a boutique imprint under publishing director Emily Easton, publishing 18 titles per year with an emphasis on nonfiction and select fiction for preschool through young adult.
Phoebe Yeh will join Random House Children’s Books as vp, Publisher, Crown Books for Young Readers on June 21, reporting to Barbara Marcus. Yeh was most recently editorial director at HarperCollins Children’s. ““I have known Phoebe for many years and admire her as a highly creative and versatile editor with an excellent track record for discovering and nurturing new voices,” said Marcus in a statement. “I am so pleased to welcome her to Random House, where her expertise in nonfiction and commercial middle-grade books will perfectly complement and further strengthen our list.”
Sarah Harrison Smith has been named children’s editor at the New York Times Book Review. She was most recently on the paper’s metropolitan desk.
Tara Gelsomino has joined F+W Media’s Crimson Romance digital/POD imprint as executive editor. She was most recently executive marketing manager at AudioGO.
At BEA, HarperCollins announced their new in-house program to provide and manage digital galleys as well as promotional copies of their ebooks (including providing authors with multiple ebook “copies” of their books). Called the e-Insider Program, it works from a new website — e.hc.com — and uses Adobe Digital Editions (and thus requires a free Adobe ID to read the ebooks).
Authors will be given a set of one-time use of codes, each good for a single ebook download. For trade shows, like this one, “rather than distributing physical copies of books, HarperCollins can now provide a code that will bring promotional finished e-books or galleys directly to key constituents.” They used the platform to provide titles from Avon, Avon Impulse, Harper Teen and Harper Teen Impulse at the convention.
On Friday at BEA, the Publishing Hackathon awarded first prize to Evoke — which maps how characters in fiction are emotionally similar to each other as a way of discovering new books (and characters) to enjoy. The founders described it at the event as a “social recommendation algorithm that associates characters with each other based on reader preferences.”
Talk tomorrow,
Kathy
Filed under:
awards,
Editor & Agent Info,
Kudos,
Publishing Industry Tagged:
Bloomsbury Children's Books,
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Joh Manders,
Mary Kate Castellani,
Phebe Yeh,
Random house Children's Books 
Here are some books I hope to tackle in the coming months:
Random House Children's Books pressies -- thanks, Lisa Nadel!
Books on craft
IRA goodies
Some Class of 2k12 and Apocalypsies books
The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking - Susan Cain
What are you reading right now?
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I literally can't put down Every Day by David Levithan. Started yesterday, almost finished. And I can recommend at least two from those piles of yours! You have some serious reading to do, Caroline.
PS I'm giving away 3 new middle grade novels right now on my own blog.
http://ascattergood.blogspot.com/2012/08/free-books.html
Lots of great reads in your pile! I'm trying to tackle my own enormous reading piles, too. Happy reading!
Isn't it wonderful to have so many book choices and genres. Have fun reading.
Read Liar & Spy first :)
So good!
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I've heard wonderful things and loved Rebecca's first two.
Just added to my list!
I'm reading THE BODY FINDER by Kimberly Derting, but I just finished WITNESS by Karen Hesse. So many books, so little time! Enjoy your reading! :D
So glad you're still reading verse novels!