René Kirkpatrick has been a bookseller and book buyer, specializing in children's and teen literature, for many years.She has a degree in elementary education and reads widely across all genres. She is currently a buyer at
Third Place Books.
We're honored to have her here as part of the
rgz SALON, a feature where four of the top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Here's René, discussing
Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater.
"This was, hands down, the Children’s Book Department’s favorite book this year. How can you not keep reading when the first line in a book is, 'It is the first day of November, and so, today, someone will die'.
"On a small island wreathed in fog and mist, two people prepare to race their horses for a massive pot of money. Sean and Puck have very different reasons for wanting to win the race but they are both determined to do it, only Puck is the first girl to ever sign up, and she wants to race her pony, and Sean has never lost a race on his water horse. As the two of them begin to get to know each other, we learn more and more about the lives they live on the island and how they are all entwined with the water horses that come out of the icy sea searching for flesh.
"So deliciously fabulous, so atmospheric and romantic in all the definitions of the word, it is a book for breathing in and reading slowly. I read it in one long draught and carried it with me everywhere I went after I was done. It is a definite re-read and should be on every horse lover’s shelf. But, please, even if horses aren’t your favorite animal, pick it up and read it just so you can enjoy the way Maggie writes." 14 and up. $17.99. Scholastic.
René Kirkpatrick has been a bookseller and book buyer, specializing in children's and teen literature, for many years.She has a degree in elementary education and reads widely across all genres. She is currently a buyer at
Third Place Books.
We're honored to have her here as part of the
rgz SALON, a feature where four of the top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Here's René, discussing
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor.
"
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a fabulous fantasy filled with demons and angels, starlight and hell. The story focuses on blue-haired art student Karou who runs mysterious errands for a person who may not be human while she tries to get through school. When black handprints begin to appear on door lintels around the city, she becomes swept up in a war between winged beings and the only family she’s ever known.
"A big, thick book that guarantees hours of riveted reading,
Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a great book for the teen (or older!) reader of fantasy. The story takes place in Prague and seems to be firmly anchored in the here and now with this other world just out of sight. I would read it again just to see what I missed the first time around." 14 and up. $18.99. Little Brown.
René Kirkpatrick has been a bookseller and book buyer, specializing in children's and teen literature, for many years. She has a degree in elementary education and reads widely across all genres. She is currently a buyer at
Third Place Books.
We're honored to have her here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where four of the top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Here's René, reviewing The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney. (Ages 14 and up. Little Brown, 2010).
"The Mockingbirds takes place in a boarding school. Themis is a quiet school, people are expected to behave honorably, but when something horrible happens and you can’t go to the school, what do you do? When music student Alex is raped after a concert where she had too much to drink she has no idea what to do. She is embarrassed, feels like it was her fault, doesn’t want people to know, she doesn’t feel as if there is anywhere to turn. When the boy starts to spread rumors about her, The Mockingbirds step in to help. They are a secret group dedicated to righting the wrongs perpetrated by students on students that the school can’t or won’t take on.
"The Mockingbirds deals with a harsh issue but one that needs to be taken on. More women than you know have to deal with this issue and, even though we are given the right to say no, between one thing and the other, NO doesn’t happen. When Alex wakes up in the morning and doesn’t have a clear idea how she got naked, she begins to feel sick and when she sees the condoms in the garbage she feels ashamed. She doesn’t know how she got here and can’t remember anything. Over the course of time, snippets of the night before come back, and with each memory she becomes more and more depressed. When her friends finally pull the reason out of her, they take steps to help her to deal with it.
"It’s a hard book to read, but an important one. We still don’t talk about sex openly, we hide it away and when it happens, whether by choice or not, it often becomes something that is distasteful and shameful and it is almost always the girl who gets hurt. Maybe this book will help girls become stronger, maybe it will help us figure out how to keep it from happening, maybe it will keep us from being embarrassed by something we didn’t instigate, want, or need and start the discussion about staying safe." -René
PS-Read the Cover Story
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René Kirkpatrick has been a bookseller and book buyer, specializing in children's and teen literature, for many years.She has a degree in elementary education and reads widely across all genres. She is currently a buyer at Third Place Books.
"On a small island wreathed in fog and mist, two people prepare to race their horses for a massive pot of money. Sean and Puck have very different reasons for wanting to win the race but they are both determined to do it, only Puck is the first girl to ever sign up, and she wants to race her pony, and Sean has never lost a race on his water horse. As the two of them begin to get to know each other, we learn more and more about the lives they live on the island and how they are all entwined with the water horses that come out of the icy sea searching for flesh.
