By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 10/27/2016
I've been sitting on this idea for a while (too busy to 'toon--very sad) but here's the second installment of Writer Nightmares. More to come! This one is loosely based on reality--my own and others'. I know many a writer who has lost a critical... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 10/25/2016
Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader! As a first run reader for the Cybils, I'll be briefly introducing you to the books on the list, giving you a mostly unbiased look at some of the plot.Enjoy! Synopsis: A year from today, Dylan will... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 10/24/2016
This is one of the most gorgeous and effectivecovers I've seen. I love it.Synopsis: Clara and Hailey are twin sisters, and like a lot of sisters, they are closer than close one moment, but in the next, they get on each other's last nerve. Hailey is... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 10/21/2016
Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader! As a first run reader for the Cybils, I'll be briefly introducing you to the books on the list, giving you a mostly unbiased look at some of the plot.Enjoy! Synopsis: In a series of flashbacks, the... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 10/19/2016
...oh, I'm not laughing at the message itself -- I believe that. There are some people who are not your forever friends, and the sooner you know that, the better. The last lines make me crack up, though, because honestly, what else are you gonna do... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 10/18/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!Today my flying book-boat icon is especially apropos, as I'm talking about a time travel book, where the travel took place onboard a pirate ship. Now, I don't actually love time travel novels, because a.)... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 10/17/2016
My goal is eventually to put together a few curated tweets from the con--seems appropriate since Sheila and I talked about that during our session on social media. But I haven't quite recovered, so for the time being I present you with a few pretty... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 10/14/2016
The Cybils Nomination period ends October 15th! Have you made your nomination in every category you can? Turn your attention to something fun - and non-election related, thus SOMEWHAT LIFESAVING AND BETTER THAN FUN - and nominate your favorite 2016... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 10/11/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!If we say we never judge a book by its cover, we'll sound like better people, sure, but we'll be total liars. I chose this book based on its beautiful cover, and that first snap judgment was enough to pick... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 10/6/2016
This is for anyone and EVERYONE who has a fave book of the past year (published in U.S. or Canada between Oct. 16, 2015 - Oct. 15, 2016). You--yes, YOU!--are eligible to nominate one book per category for this year's Cybils Awards--Children's and... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 10/3/2016
Synopsis: Sacrifice is the sequel to Serpentine (reviewed here), and follows the continuing quest of Skybright to save her world and the people she loves from encroaching demons. By the end of the first book (minor spoilers ahead, so you might want... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/30/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!One of the things the kidlitosphere talked about a lot in the early days of the early 2000's was the preponderance of YA novels with ridiculously 1% families in them. Rare were the books where the kids... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/29/2016
Synopsis: The "every X years something life-changing/terrible/wonderful happens" trope always reminds me of that Ray Bradbury short story "All Summer in a Day," which I read for school in maybe 6th or 7th grade and found incredibly traumatic. In... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/26/2016
How fantastic is it that the theme for this year's Banned Books Week (Sept. 25 - Oct. 1) is Frequently Challenged Books with Diverse Content? We are all about books with diverse content here (well, not ALL, but it's one of the themes we feature... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/22/2016
Just like this entire year has been flying past at inconceivable speed, the Cybils season is revving up without delay, and Tanita and I are both incredibly excited to be judging again. Tanita is part of the Round 1 YASF panel (which brings back... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/20/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!The jacket flap copy for this novel was "Newsies" meets "Les Mis" or something like that, which made me chuckle, as I have seen neither and am not particularly interested in musicals, in any event.... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/19/2016
Synopsis: The Queen of Blood, which comes out TOMORROW, is a foray into YA crossover fantasy by Sarah Beth Durst, author of numerous wonderful, whimsical, fantastical MG and YA fantasy titles such as (most recently) The Girl Who Could Not Dream... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/14/2016
It's Day 6 of the PASADENA blog tour!Bad things happen everywhere. Even in the land of sun and roses. When Jude's best friend is found dead in a swimming pool, her family calls it an accident. Her friends call it suicide. But Jude calls it what it... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/12/2016
Don't miss our interview with author Sherri Smith this Wednesday, as part of the Pasadena blog tour! Synopsis: "The thing I'm finally learning is that someone can be your best friend in the world, but you're not necessarily theirs." Pasadena. It's... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/8/2016
No, really. It's already time for another Cybils Awards season, and the application for judges is open until September 14th, so get cracking! There are TWO new pilot categories this year for you to explore--Board Books and Audiobooks--so if you... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/7/2016
Labyrinth LostBy Zoraida CórdovaSeptember 6, 2016; Hardcover, ISBN 9781492620945Praise for Labyrinth Lost“This work is a magical journey from start to finish... A compelling must-have for teens”–School Library Journal, STARRED... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 9/2/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!PRIDE AND PREJUDICE is a big deal for a lot of young readers, but many, many, many others consider death a happier alternative than committing to the famous 19th century novel. Enter the modern day... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 9/1/2016
I really like the cutout-look images on the cover, with the hidden animals...Synopsis: We don't necessarily review a ton of realistic MG fiction here (not as much Wonderland in the real world, I suppose) but it doesn't mean we aren't reading or... Read the rest of this post
By: tanita✿davis,
on 8/30/2016
Welcome to another session of Turning Pages!One of the uses of exploring new people, places, and things in fiction is to understand and normalize them. As I stated a few months back in my review of Marike Nijkamp's THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS, I struggle... Read the rest of this post
By: Sarah Stevenson,
on 8/29/2016
Yep, you guys. I went to the library again! Whee! That one on the top left? It's by Mariko Tamaki, who has also written a number of wonderful graphic novels for kids and teens.Top right: the final (I think) book in the Dream Thieves series, which is... Read the rest of this post
