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<!-- START INTERCHANGE - CODE NAME VERITY -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> I never thought I would read a YA novel that was as compelling, harrowing, and memorable as Ruta Sepetys's Between Shades of Gray, the story of a family sent to

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - THE YEAR OF THE GADFLY -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> I discovered The Year of the Gadfly by Jennifer Miller on a list titled 10 Ways to Relive Adolescence without Angst or Acne compiled by Kirkus Reviews.

  Everything about Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell feels real and immediate, painfully and achingly so. While I managed to spread the experience of reading this breathtaking book out over the course of three weeks (this IS the kind of book you don't want to end, both because it's so good you want it to last forever but also because you know that it will make you cry) I could have easily read

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> nick & norah's infinite playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a perfect storm of perfectness - for a certain kind of person who likes

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - THE MAGICIANS -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} <!-- END INTERCHANGE --> The Magicians by Lev Grossman came out in 2009. You may have heard of it. It's been touted as "Harry Potter for adults" and Brakebills College

<!-- START INTERCHANGE - MR PENUMBRA'S 24 HOUR BOOKSTORE -->if(!window.igic__){window.igic__={};var d=document;var s=d.createElement("script");s.src="http://iangilman.com/interchange/js/widget.js";d.body.appendChild(s);} Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan is a book written for adults, but the plot is built around so many cultural techie references with an underlying current

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares  is now in paperback!! This summer, I decided to start reviewing teen books.  I'm not sure what I have to add to the arena of teen lit - there are plenty of great review blogs out there, most of them run by teens, teen librarians or teen authors themselves.  Looking back, I think that what I hoped to do by throwing my hat into this ring was twofold:  to offer up

I am sure readers will tear through Lauren Oliver's second novel, Delirium the first time they read it, anxious to see how the story of Lena unfolds. But, if you can slow yourself down or if you decide to read it a second time (which I suspect you will) not only will you be able to take more notice of Oliver's beautiful writing, but you will also find yourself contemplating the fascinating

"I did it," is all that Penny's whispery voice says in the message she leaves on Lil's phone at 4:27 am on the "first Saturday of the rest of our lives," also known as the day after high school graduation. Eight hours later, Penny is gone and Lil is keeping what she knows about her possible kidnapping from Penny's parents, the police and the FBI. While Penny's disappearance is the spark that

If you search the internet for reviews of Melina Marchetta's Printz winning novel, Jellicoe Road and read a few lines, you will know that this is a unique book that is difficult to write a review of. In her acceptance speech for the Printz (in which she says some really wonderful things about YA books and librarians, booksellers and bloggers) she thanks "Louis Sachar for writing Holes and

As I sometimes beg of my readers, please don't judge Saving Francesca book by its cover! First published in Australia in 2003, this book has had a few different cover incarnations which can be seen at the end of the review. While attractive, it's somewhat misleading - this is not our typical teen high school story in any way. . .  Francesca Spinelli begins her story by telling us how her

Paper Towns is John Green's third book and the first I have read.  I am an instant admirer. As of this writing, Green has only three titles to his name - Looking for Alaska, his debut novel and winner of the Michael L Printz Award - the teen literature version of the Newbery Award, An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns.  His most recent book, Will Grayson, Will Grayson was cowritten with the

PART 1: In Which I, the Reviewer, Discuss My Fondness for the Works of Adam Rex, What I Really Think About the Twilight Saga, the Nature of the Teen Novel; Romance, Profanity, Sex, Drugs and Their Place in Literature for Teens; and the Fact That This is My First Ever Review of a TEEN Book.Before I begin discussing Fat Vampire, I need to say that I am an unabashed, enthusiastic fan of all forms of

This August, my book review blog will be two years old, but I think I've been feeling that 7 year itch about 5 years early. My eyes have been wandering and my attentions straying - to teen books. Before I committed my attentions to reading kid's books for the purpose of reviewing them, I would read the occasional teen book, especially as my daughter approached that age and content level.