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I really enjoyed An Ember in the Ashes, and I enjoyed meeting author Sabaa Tahir when I went to visit the set of the book trailer shoot. When the opportunity came up to host a guest post, I naturally had questions about the film that’s in development! It’s a little too early to share any details on that front, but the author is here with some of her favorite book-to-film adaptations for the official blog tour, with thoughts on why she thinks they were so successful. We’ve got pretty strong opinions on this topic, so we hope that An Ember in the Ashes will be as fun to watch as it was to read. 5 Great Book-to-Movie Adaptations by Sabaa Tahir Some of you know that An Ember in the Ashes has been optioned for a film by Paramount Pictures, with Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad) and Haroon Saleem (Chronicles of... Read more »
The post An Ember in the Ashes: 5 Great Book-to-Movie Adaptations with Sabaa Tahir appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
A Ring of Endless Light is a book not as many readers seem to be familiar with, even though the author is so well known for A Wrinkle in Time. We’re trying to help change that! This book is realistic fiction with an element of science fiction, and even if you weren’t able to read along with us this month, we hope that the discussion below encourages you to check it out in the future. As always, there will be some spoilers, however. Wendy: I’ve loved this book since I was a teenager, but it’s been years since I read it. To this day, I still think of “resilient pewter” whenever I see a dolphin! And it’s also why I was veering between marine biology and paleontology for a long time. (Spoiler alert: I went into neither. Alas.) Kim: I had never read it before! A Wrinkle In Time is the only other... Read more »
The post Classic Readalong Discussion: A Ring of Endless Light appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Over the years, I’ve found myself disappointed by many YA fairy tale retellings. I’m always drawn to them, and yet most of them don’t provide the satisfaction I’m looking for. Rosamund Hodge’s gorgeous books, however, are the few exceptions–both of them take inspiration from fairy tales, but have their own unique twist on the stories we’re so familiar with. I find myself utterly captivated when I’m immersed in these books, swept away by the romance, the lush prose, and the interplay of darkness and lightness in the unforgettable characters. In Cruel Beauty, the author reimagined the stories of Beauty and the Beast, Bluebeard, and Cupid and Psyche. In her latest book Crimson Bound, she draws her influence from two other very different fairy tales. As part of the blog tour we’re hosting for the book, Rosamund is with us today to tell us more about her dark, dark influences. They... Read more »
The post Crimson Bound: guest post + giveaway appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
First off–my sincere apologies for the delay in posting this discussion. It’s the first time something has failed to publish the day it was supposed to, and it’s my fault entirely, as I’m in the middle of a rather intensely busy and crazy-making period offline. Thank you all for being so patient with me, however, and thanks to Kim and Layla, too. I’m eager to get into this one, so let’s begin! Wendy: This is one of my favorite books of all time. As a child, I responded so strongly to the lovely English-ness of everything–it’s part of what set me on the path of being a lifelong Anglophile. And whenever I was in botanical gardens and parks, I was always on the lookout for secret doorways and walls that might be hiding something. And look! As an adult, I finally found one. The photo to the right was taken... Read more »
The post Classic Readalong Discussion: The Secret Garden appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
When you take the chance on doing a cover reveal for a book you haven’t read yet, it’s a leap of faith: not only that the artwork is going to be eye-catching, but that the book is going to be awesome. When we hosted the cover reveal for Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda last year, I had a good feeling about the synopsis, but I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy the book! It’s a funny, sweet story about a boy who falls in love with the stranger who’s writing him letters–a stranger who seems to know Simon’s heart better than he does himself. I liked that in this coming out/coming of age story, Simon is sure of his own sexuality, even though he’s painfully vulnerable because he’s not sure how everyone around him will react to his being gay. The book features... Read more »
The post Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda: Review + Guest Post appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Two months ago, I was invited to attend a lunch to meet author Sabaa Tahir and to watch the filming of the trailer for her book An Ember in the Ashes. The shoot took place here in Los Angeles, and while I’ve been on location before as a film publicist, this was the first time I’ve ever walked into a studio filled with smoke! It was a dark, moody setting that suited the book perfectly, since the story follows an orphan named Laia who risks her life to save her brother Darin, who’s held captive by a brutal empire. The actress who played Laia was friendly and chatty, and she showed us the tattoo painted on her shoulder. It’s an important and serious part of the book, so it was cool to see the attention to detail in the make-up and costumes. The Kommandant was small, blonde, and totally badass... Read more »
The post An Ember in the Ashes: trailer feature + giveaway appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
We only need to tell you one thing about Rachel Hartman’s books and it should pretty much tell you whether you’d be interested in it. DRAGONS. *waits* Are you stampeding to the bookstore? Or are you overly cautious and need further persuading? Here, have a look at Kim’s rave review of Shadow Scale, the second book in the author’s Seraphina duology. Both she and K. have praised the world-building, characters, and romance in this series–as well as the spectacular craftsmanship of the writing. Hartman’s words are exquisite. Her imagination is expansive. Her world is detailed and fascinating. She has created laws, and religion, and a history. She has built architecture, painted landscapes, and constructed streets and alleyways. She has peopled her world with characters of different shades — from rebels to teachers, musicians to politicians, royalty, knights, outcasts and lovers. ~ K.’s Seraphina review Kim also asked Rachel Hartman a... Read more »
The post Shadow Scale: Q&A with Rachel Hartman + Giveaway appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
I’ve been short on time and unable to concentrate on reading lately, so I’ve been listening to a lot of audiobooks. They’re so wonderful when you’re driving or cooking or doing something else with your hands! I’m weirdly picky when it comes to narrators–I literally reject about 90% of the ones I sample–but it’s always a joy when I come across a reader whose voice and style I like. Today I’m reviewing two audiobooks I listened to recently, both of which are middle grade books featuring main characters with unusual names. Nest by Esther Ehrlich For fans of Jennifer Holm (Penny from Heaven, Turtle in Paradise), a heartfelt and unforgettable middle-grade novel about an irresistible girl and her family, tragic change, and the healing power of love and friendship. In 1972 home is a cozy nest on Cape Cod for eleven-year-old Naomi “Chirp” Orenstein, her older sister, Rachel; her psychiatrist... Read more »
The post Nest and Nightbird: Audiobook Reviews appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
We have two fun things for you today–A Darker Shade of Magic prize pack and a quick visit from V.E. Schwab as part of the official blog tour! The book was just released this week and reviewed by Kim–I’m in the middle of the book myself and I can see why she lavished it such glowing praise. In the book, which takes place in multiple alternate universe Londons, one character observes, “No London is truly without magic.” Kim’s question for our stop on the official blog tour: What are the most magical parts of London to you? V.E. Schwab: I grew up wanting the world to be stranger than it was, and because of that, I’m inclined to look for—and see—the potential for the magical, the fantastical, the extraordinary everywhere I look. In alleys and doorways and in the seams between places—and in the case of ADSOM, between worlds—anywhere there’s... Read more »
The post A Darker Shade of Magic: Tour Stop + Giveaway (international) appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
If you’re a lover of fairy tale retellings and gorgeus, atmospheric writing, the next tour we’re hosting may be right up your alley! We host a handful of tours each year for authors or books we love, and the first one for 2015 will be Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge. When the author asked if I’d consider doing this, I didn’t hesitate for a second, since I enjoyed the dark romance of Cruel Beauty so much. Tour Details Rosamund is putting together some terrific guest posts (including some flash fiction pieces!) that I’m pretty excited about. Our goal with these tours is always to help bring new audiences to an author’s work, but also to enhance the experience for existing fans, so you can be sure that these pieces are going to be memorable and special. We’re working on the specifics of the tour, but the basic details are as... Read more »
The post Crimson Bound: Blog Tour Sign-Up appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Today’s readalong discussion is Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH! Are you ready to have your heart warmed by a valiant young mouse? To swoon over a dashing rat captain of the guard? (Yes, you read that correctly.) We all loved this month’s book, so let’s dive right in. As always, while we’re always hoping that our discussions will encourage new readers to pick up these books, we do discuss specific spoilers in each story. Wendy: I’m very fond of extraordinarily handsome rats. :D Layla: I first read this in junior high school (and still have my copy today, boo-yeah!). I remember avoiding Frisby for awhile because I was really into fantasy novels and thought the cover / title were unappealing. Boy howdy was I wrong. I loved this book as a kid and I still love it now; it has officially withstood the test of time for... Read more »
The post Classic Readalong Discussion: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
If you’re a reader of this blog or follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you’re probably aware that I am pretty serious about my food. If I’m not chattering on about books, I’m bombarding you with cake photos, right? So I was delighted to be asked to participate in the blog tour for Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula, a new graphic novel about a princess of the underworld who gets more than she bargained for when she hires a new cook–who happens to be a vampire–for her father’s castle. I quite enjoyed the humorous tone of the story, which is aptly described as “gothy-cute sensibility” and a “very sweet and mildly spooky tale.” It’s a fun one to read with kids, who will enjoy the Princess’ dilemmas and the appealing artwork. This blog tour is especially fun because the author is sharing unique illustrations and recipes with each stop! Ours... Read more »
The post Princess Decomposia and Count Spatula: blog tour appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Today we have a special Valentine’s week treat for you! We’re pretty big fans of temporary tattoos here at The Midnight Garden, so why not make your own and wear your favorite book quote? There aren’t nearly enough YA book products out there, and this is an easy and inexpensive way to get exactly what you want. Today I’m sharing a tutorial for creating your own temporary tattoos using quotes from a favorite book, in this case, the lovely, torturous The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski–so perfect and swooningly romantic for this week! This DIY project is super easy to do, and they make fun little gifts for your favorite reader, too. You could even make a little tattoo kit for someone using designs you printed–pack them up into a little glassine envelope with a printed label and they’ll be such a nice present. Make Your Own Book-Inspired Tattoos! Supplies:... Read more »
The post Make Your Own Book-Inspired Tattoos + Free Winner’s Trilogy download appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
There are a handful of authors who have an open invitation to come do anything they like here at The Midnight Garden, and today’s guest is one of them. I don’t think of the word “genius” much in conjunction with novelists, but it pops into my head often when I read Marcus Sedgwick’s books. He is the 2014 Printz-winning author of the glorious, bloody Midwinterblood and a favorite guest of ours. His newest book features 4 stories, which can be read in order or not, as the reader chooses. All are linked by spirals that appear again and again. What does it all mean? We’re pleased to be kicking off the official The Ghosts of Heaven blog tour with a visual tour of places that inspired portions of his newest book! Though really, don’t be surprised if you drop in one of these days and Marcus is just casually strumming... Read more »
The post The Ghosts of Heaven: visual tour + giveaway appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
By: Wendy Darling,
on 12/31/2014
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If you’ve been paying attention to year-end Best of Young Adult Fiction lists, it’s interesting to note how many contemporary books wind up taking home the biggest prizes. Where’s the love for science fiction and fantasy? It’s a little baffling–and frustrating–that these genres remain largely unappreciated outside of the book community until some sort of crossover/commercial appeal suddenly deems them worthy of attention. While we’re certainly fans of well-written realistic fiction, we do think these kinds of results are a good reminder of why book blogs continue to be valuable resources for prolific readers. So regardless of genre, if you’re a reviewer, please continue to champion the books you love to fellow booklovers, and try to do your best with people who might not otherwise give YA a chance. There’s an incredible amount of challenging and moving young adult literature outside of the few that are recognized by mainstream media... Read more »
The post The Midnight Garden’s Favorite Books of 2014 appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Months ago, I had to put Love Letters to the Dead down because it was making me so desperately sad. Almost a full year later, I read the last half of it with a lump in my throat and tears dripping down my face. This is a profoundly moving meditation on grief, written with rare sensitivity and the kind of prose that nearly stops your heart with moments of quiet, anguished beauty. I cried throughout the book because there are so many small moments that so keenly observed bewilderment and pain, as well as anger and recklessness in the face of abandonment. This is a slow, contemplative, and occasionally blurry book, but it so skillfully weaves past and present together that when a devastating moment comes late in the story, it took me a minute to realize what was actually happening. My heart aches for this kind of intense, complicated... Read more »
The post Love Letters to the Dead: review appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Hello, friends! Welcome to this month’s classics readalong discussion, where we’ll be gleefully chatting about Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder. For those new to the series, this is a standalone historical fiction novel based on true people and events, written by the author about her husband’s boyhood on his family’s farm in the late 1800s. A reminder: You have ONE MONTH left to finish your classics readalong challenge for this year! Have you read and reviewed 8 books yet? Are you going to be able to? A little more on that below, plus info on the December/January books. We have so much pie to eat talk about, though, that we should just get started on our discussion! Wendy: I wanted to do this one for our readalong because it’s a nice standalone–plus it’s my favorite of the series! (Followed by The Long Winter, but for very different reasons–this one’s... Read more »
The post Classic MG Readalong: Farmer Boy appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
If you enjoy time parallel universe/time travel stories, A Thousand Pieces of You is probably on your TBR list already–and it’s a book that will likely appeal to fans of All Our Yesterdays and Every Day, particularly if you like romance! I’m a big fan of Claudia Gray’s Evernight series so was very excited to hear she had a new book coming out. I was also tickled to find that this story takes Marguerite to many different locations and time periods as she tries to solve the mystery behind her father’s murder, including a visit back to the Romanov empire. There have been several YA books with Russian settings this year, but this one definitely stands out with its scifi elements. As part of the official blog tour hosted by Rock Star Book Tours, the author is with us today to share why she felt absolutely compelled to write this... Read more »
The post A Thousand Pieces of You: guest post + giveaway appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
We’re big fans of These Broken Stars here at The Midnight Garden, so when we were asked to host the tour for the second Starbound novel This Shattered World, how could we possibly resist? Last year’s tour was tons of fun, and I’m excited to be working with Amie and Meagan again. These authors are such a dream to work with, as they’re both super creative, responsive, and funny–and their guest posts and interviews are always entertaining and informative, both for their avid fans and for new readers. Tour Details We’re finalizing details of the tour, but here are the basics of what you can expect. As with all TMG tours, these are a labor of love for us, so you know you’re in for a good time when you see one! Tour Dates: December 8 – 19th, 2014 Featuring: Exclusive guest posts, interviews, character interviews, excerpts, and review stops... Read more »
The post This Shattered World: blog tour sign-up appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
You know what, I put off too many mini reviews because I dread formatting them prettily or want to tie them together for a theme. Which is silly, so today’s the start of more casually structured mini reviews, which I think will still be useful even if they aren’t perfect! Today’s pairing actually do have a theme, though–both stories combine paranormal with suspense, and while I rated them both the same, I definitely thought one succeeded in what it set out to do more than the other. Title: The Cure for Dreaming Author: Cat Winters Rating: 3.5 stars Olivia Mead is fighting for women’s rights in the early 1900s–not an easy task when her father has her hypnotized in the hopes it will make her more obedient. What ends up happening is that she is somehow able to see the “truth” of what everyone’s character is, but unable to speak... Read more »
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By: Wendy Darling,
on 10/9/2014
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What would you sacrifice for someone you love? In Chaos by Sarah Fine, the last installment of the Guardians of the Shadowlands series, Lela journeys into the dangerous Mazikin City to save her beloved Malachi, but finds that danger to herself is no match to the agony of watching danger to those she holds dear. This series is incredibly dark. The characters endure nightmarish suffering with very little hope for reward–not entirely surprising when most of it is literally set in hell. But the bleak savagery of this world is saved by the latent emotion that permeates this story. These human beings are facing depraved creatures, cold-hearted sentences, and painful torture, and yet they continue to hope and dream in the middle of impossible circumstances. The characters and relationships are all memorable, including Ana and Takeshi’s, as well as the assorted villains. So much thought and care is put into... Read more »
The post Chaos by Sarah Fine: review appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
I was sold on this book by two things: the words “Lauren Oliver” and the idea of ghost POVs. Rooms by Lauren Oliver is a slow, secretive book that intertwines the lives of the dead and the living, and yet its tone is, in turns, contemplative, chilling, and in the end, nearly unbearably sad. If you’ve read the author’s previous young adult or middle grade novels, you probably know that a supernatural book by this author is not going to be your typical ghost story, and it’s a pleasure to find that the author’s first adult novel is sure-footed and clear-eyed. Not all transitions from YA to adult (and vice versa) feel as natural as this, but the author handles adult themes and language and structure with ease. It also has surprising moments of lightness and humor–although Rooms is certainly about death and its aftermath, it is also about life... Read more »
The post Rooms by Lauren Oliver: interview + giveaway appeared first on The Midnight Garden.
Fall is in the air, and we’re celebrating by hosting a Halloween Thrills and Chills event! Some of our favorite blog friends will present fantastic guest posts and interviews by three Disney Hyperion authors with books releasing this year, including Mary: The Summoning‘s Hillary Monahan, Welcome to the Dark House‘s Laurie Faria Stolarz, and The Whispering Skull‘s Jonathan Stroud. Check out the full tour schedule below, and be sure to enter the giveaway at the very end for a box of horror books that will be delivered to you in time for Halloween reading! We’re kicking off the event tour with Jonathan Stroud, author of the The Bartimaeus Sequence and many other novels. His second book in his Lockwood and Co. series just came out, and if you like the idea of coolly competent young British ghosthunters with a Sherlock-type vibe, you’ll certainly enjoy this series. I love how the... Read more »
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By: Lou Simeone,
on 9/26/2012
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Illustrator Wendy Ding knows a thing or two about tasty dishes. Combining pinup girls with food is simply, pure genius. Ladies - if you want to know the way to a man's heart - ask Wendy Ding. The great thing about these illustrations is that they really make your mouth water - and not just because they have beautiful girls in them. With her unique stye and exceptional talent, Wendy transforms digitally illustrated food into mouth watering morsels. The colors and the detail make these treats look so yummy. Take a look at that candy apple, and the ice cream. Those doughnuts will make you want to run down to Dunkin' Donuts and scoff down about a dozen glazed, little, ring-shaped delights. Don't you feel like you're taking in calories merely by looking at her work?
The beauty of these illustrations (no pun intended) is that they are so playful. You can tell Wendy has fun creating her art. Notice the use of patterns in each of the pieces - some are more subtle than others. She also adds a gloss and sheen that makes the illustrations pop and somehow look sweeter - like cavity sweeter. Do you get that sense too?
Before you head over to your dentist - or the gym, pay Wendy a visit on her Facebook page and hit "Like" on that little thumb in the top, right hand corner of the page.
Born in China, Wendy was no stranger to whimsical cartoons, stickers and endless picture books growing up. A brief stay in the UK just before her teens introduced her to Barbie and the western world. Now based in Toronto, Canada, her inspiration comes from fashion, music, pin-up girls, and food. Her specialty is digital illustration using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
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Wow these drawings are really interesing and creative, I really like them! By the way, if you are looking for a quality canvas printers please look at my clients website: Visual Escape: http://www.visualescape.co.uk/