A True Reality

New Melissa de la Cruz Series

2009-11-17T21:32:00.003-06:00

According to EW, Melissa de la Cruz is planning a new adult paranormal series called The Witches of East End that will have appearances by some of her Blue Bloods characters. The students will be excited, I know. I haven't read Blue Bloods yet, so maybe it's finally time.

So Punk Rock by Micol Ostow

2009-11-15T11:39:00.006-06:00

Ari Abramson is a junior at Leo R. Gittleman Jewish Day School in New Jersey. Ari's parents' priority is for him to study incessantly for school and the SATs so that he can get into their alma mater, Brandeis. Ari's priority is to convince his best friend, Jonas Fein, to start a rock band with him. He needs Jonas in this endeavor because (a) he needs band members, and (b) Jonas is pretty popular, especially with the ladies. He has one of those outgoing personalities that can use a smile to get just about anything he wants. And he has the personality of someone used to using his smile to get just about anyone/thing he wants. Ari, unlike Jonas, is more the shy and retiring average-but-not-dorky guy. He likes the beautiful, popular, and, naturally, unattainable Sari Horowitz, and Ari believes that starting a band will get her to notice him. In addition to enlisting Jonas in his band, he also has to convince the very dorky and devout Yossi Gluck to join the band because he is the only person at Gittleman who owns a drum set. In convincing Yossi to join, Ari ends up agreeing to let Yossi's younger sister Reena also join as a (good!) singer. After a while, it turns out that the band actually comes together and has some success both in creating music people want to listen to and in establishing the popularity Ari hoped for. Of course, that popularity doesn't go quite the way Ari hoped, but he has a good time and learns some important things about himself (not in any after-school special way, though).

I don't remember what possessed me to pick up this book since it's not really my usual type of read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very funny, and there are hilarious little black-and-white cartoon sketches that supplement the plot scattered throughout (done by David Ostow). I'm not sure that it's humor that would appeal to everyone, especially since some of the humor relates to Jewish words and customs. (Still, I found it all easily accessible even not being any particular expert on Judaism.) I think it would be great for males and females, and maybe even for middle school. The only remotely objectionable thing would be some cussing, but it is always done like "f&*$%." (Does that make it less objectionable? I don't know; I'm so glad I'm not a middle school librarian.) Anyway, I'm very happy to have another funny book to recommend. The book is told in first-person from Ari's POV, and he has a great voice. I also thought his thought-processes were realistic, funny, and well-developed. This wasn't a stunning book of enormous import and consequence, but it was (for me) well above average and very entertaining.

The Official Trailer from The Official Website:

[Note to authors and publishers: PLEASE make trailers available in formats besides YouTube so kids can watch them at school! You can post it the same way on SchoolTube even.]

Stephenie Meyer on Oprah

2009-11-10T21:17:00.003-06:00

SM Friday on Oprah

And to think I used to see her and get her autograph at library conferences...

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

2009-11-09T18:05:00.003-06:00

The final book in D.J. Schwenk's Dairy Queen trilogy, I read it one day, one sitting. I cried at the end because the ending is (1) so satisfying and perfect, (2) incredibly moving, and (3) the end of her story. I love D.J. I can't get even my good readers who trust my recommendations to read it because of the title and the cover of the first book, but I adore this character and her books. Plus, the secondary characters are all fully realized, complex, interesting, and distinct. I had to skim the basketball descriptions because I'm just not that interested in the plays and drills and games, but I still loved the book.

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

2009-11-09T17:47:00.003-06:00

Aden has recently moved to a home for troubled (male) teens. Since when he enters graveyards, the bodies exhume themselves and he ends up having to dismember them in defense, authorities tend to think he's a grave-robber/body desecrater. Plus, there are souls that live inside of him, so he often appears schizophrenic. He meets good-girl Mary Ann Gray and feels compelled to be with her since being around her appears to quiet the souls inside of him. But he doesn't like her in "that way;" she just has a desire to hug him "as though he should be mussing her hair and teasing her about boyfriends" (subtle!). Victoria, the vampire princess who appears because of the recent mystical forces Aden's been stirring up, is the one Aden's attracted to. Her wolf bodyguard, Riley, is Mary Ann's hot boy love-interest. They're all trying to figure out why Aden's suddenly stirred up these forces and how it's possibly connected with Mary Ann.

I wanted and expected to like this book, and I did for a while. But to be honest, I didn't finish it and it's been like an albatross around my neck for a few weeks now. Since I couldn't bring myself to finish it, I haven't really been able to move onto any other books. I think these were my issues: Everything seemed so telegraphed from the very beginning. Also, there were so many characters with so many different powers, the world-building just fell apart for me. I just didn't care about the characters or the plot after a while.

Two of My Favorite Things

2009-11-03T19:44:00.003-06:00

I LOVE "Ace of Cakes" on Food Network. On the last episode, they made cakes for two YA-related events: the Harry Potter movie premiere and a Tanya Hurley Ghostgirl party at NYPL. See Tanya's pics of it here. Really puts all my past YA-related baking to shame.

See!

2009-11-02T17:24:00.004-06:00

Two days ago, I posted about how the likes of Amazon and PW are already coming out with their "Best of 2009" lists. To me, this is sort of like how my grocery store is already playing Christmas music, and we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet. We have two months left of the year! I'm sure reviewers for those outlets have already gotten access to all the major books being published this year, but it just seems a little premature for me. I like to read those kind of things when the year is coming to an end and I'm thinking about New Year's Resolutions and reflecting on my year. And they are including books like Beautiful Creatures that haven't even come out yet. It would be like nominating a movie for an Oscar when it hasn't even premiered yet. And the rest of us still have 2 months left of reading before we get to decide what we liked best this year!

That Time Already?

2009-10-31T09:36:00.006-06:00

It's not even November yet, and already we're seeing "Best Books of 2009" lists. Amazon's includes a few YA so far:

64. Lowboy by John Wray (I have this in the library but I haven't read it yet. It's going on my TBR pile on Monday.)
62. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (which I also quite liked)
42. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (loved it)

PW's list (which notably has no female Top 10 authors) includes David Small's Stitches. I haven't read it, but only one of my students has checked it out, and she said it was "good but sad." There just hasn't been much interest in this book, although I might be able to drum up a little more if I let them know it's a true story.

Contest!

2009-10-30T15:53:00.001-06:00

You could win a Kindle or gift cards in the Fangs, Fur, and Fey Three Year Anniversary Contest! Click here for details.

Crash Into Me

2009-10-27T21:00:00.001-06:00

I haven't received my library's copy of this yet, but it's definitely going on the "road trip" bulletin board I'm doing next week when Halloween is over.

Books I Cannot Wait to Read:

2009-10-25T15:16:00.007-06:00

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by Green & Levithan
Very LeFreak by Rachel Cohn
Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
Captivate by Carrie Jones
I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It by Adam Selzer
The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco Stork
Gone by Lisa McMann
Eleventh Grade Burns by Heather Brewer

Why I Will Be Buying A Lot of Simon & Schuster Books

2009-10-17T10:20:00.004-05:00

Simon & Schuster has a great website that I'm loving. It has book trailers and videos of authors talking about their work. I love it because (1) the videos are not on YouTube, which means the students can actually watch them at school, and (2) the book trailer videos are really well done. I've put some of these on my library blog, and the students and teachers are loving them. I've created so much interest in these books that I'm having to order extras. The students especially like the Leviathan and The Monstrumologist videos. I have noticed that the author interviews aren't all that popular. I posted the Ellen Hopkins one, and students who already like her books are sometimes interested, but not a single person has asked about her books based on that video. The trailer-like videos are much more effective at getting readers interested in the books. (But I do have to say that the books I booktalk myself, even when I don't do a great job at it, seem to be more popular than most of the videos.)

I have been especially interested in this whole enterprise because of the really interesting research by Vivan Howard in this month's issue of VOYA. The article is entitled "Most of the Books I've Read, I've Found on the Floor: Teens and Pleasure Reading," which is a great title because it alludes to the biggest cause students reported in why they start reading less in middle school: they have a hard time choosing a book they think they'd like. The whole study fascinated me, but I was surprised by this as the biggest barrier. I was also heartened because if this is one of (or THE) biggest obstacle to adolescent reading for pleasure, it's something librarians can do something about. Anyway, if "difficulties selecting good reading material" is their biggest obstacle, these video trailers seem to be helping at least some of my students. When they were watching the videos, they were not only asking for the books, but I heard them saying things like, "This book looks cool."

So I foresee myself buying lots of Simon & Schuster books for the simple fact that these videos are getting students interested in the books and creating a big demand for them. Here's a trailer for The Hollow by Jessica Verday:

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

2009-10-11T15:37:00.004-05:00

When Grace was a child, she was attacked by a pack of wolves while she was playing in her backyard. She thought she was going to die, but one wolf saved her. Ever since then, she has had a fascination with the wolves. Every winter, Grace goes outside in her backyard and watches the wolf that watches her. The beginning of the current narrative is prompted by the death of one of Grace's classmates who was mauled by wolves. Now, several members of the community seem bent on shooting the wolves to make the Minnesota town a safe place, free of wolves. Grace tries to stop them, but before she can, "her" wolf is shot. She comes home to find him in his human form, lying bleeding on her porch. By this time the reader has already figured out that the wolves are actually werewolves. Thus begins her actual meeting and relationship with the wolf, Sam. Sam struggles not to change back into a wolf so that he can stay with Grace, knowing it is ultimately futile. Meanwhile, Grace's classmate who was assumed dead appears to have changed into a physically and mentally unstable werewolf. The chapters alternate first-person perspectives from Sam and Grace.

While I love the cover of this book in that it fits the story very well (I love the red blood spot over the I in the midst of the cold white), I know it likely won't grab the attention of readers. Same thing for the title, which goes great with the story but doesn't really give a good clue to a casual browser as to the plot. This is a shame since the book is excellent and there are a ton of students who I know will like this. Just means a lot of promotion and hand-selling on my part. But I think it will pick up momentum once a few people start reading it. I have some big werewolf fans, and it's a great Twilight read-alike without being derivative or replicating the same stories. The characters are very well-done and complex. Sam might be a little too-perfect if you think about it, but he makes for a great literary crush. Guess that's just one reason why it's been picked up for movie rights and will likely be very popular in that medium. That's a primo role for some hot young actor. I'm very excited to promote this to readers and to other librarians in my district. Excepting the cover and title issues mentioned above, I'm surprised I haven't been asked about this book by any of the students yet.

My Mistake

2009-10-07T17:26:00.001-05:00

I posted the Leviathan trailer on my library blog, and I've gotten so many students excited about the book and wanting to check it out, but now I don't have it ready to checkout yet and I only have a couple of copies right now. I created more demand than I have supply!

I was really happy that Simon & Schuster had the trailer available in some way other than YouTube because the students can't access YouTube at school, so I never put anything from YouTube on the blog.

Vampire Diaries

2009-09-24T18:09:00.004-05:00

Just wanted to say that I have really liked the CW's "The Vampire Diaries." The acting is surprisingly good, and Stefan (aka Paul Wesley) and Damon (aka Ian Somerhalder) are hot.

Sweet Valley High Movie

2009-09-24T17:42:00.002-05:00

You know, I don't think I ever would have put Diablo Cody with Sweet Valley High. But I think it's cool! I'm hoping she'll bring some fun and edginess to what would probably otherwise be a lackluster, silly teen pop movie. Too bad the Olsen twins are too old and boho to do Elizabeth and Jessica.

Let the casting fun begin!

2009-09-16T07:27:00.002-05:00

According to Variety, Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely has been acquired by Universal Pictures.

Sea Change by Aimee Friedman

2009-09-01T18:46:00.005-05:00

Sixteen year-old Miranda postpones her summer internship to help her mom pack up her mother's house after she dies. The house is on Selkie Island off the coast of Georgia, and her grandmother had been part of the wealthy elite who vacationed there for years. Science-obsessed New Yorker Miranda learns things she never knew about her grandmother or their similarities, as well as lore about the island's merpeople (is that a word?). She makes friends with other wealthy teenage girls vacationing there (even though they don't share many interests). While there are elements of the plot surrounding her relationship with her mother, most of the plot centers on Miranda's romantic life as she meets both a preppy vacationer and a mysterious and attractive "townie" who speaks to her growing awareness of island lore.

I checked this book out of the public library, and I'm definitely buying it for my library. It was enjoyable, and it has a fantastic cover that I know will pique students' interest. While the love story may not have been the hottest or most dramatic for me, it definitely held my attention. It had the elements of fantastical that are popular right now without being just another vampire/faerie/werewolf romance. The story was certainly complete as is, but I'd be interested in and willing to read more about Miranda's future.

I Hate You, Kathleen Duey

2009-08-28T16:59:00.003-05:00

I don't know how many other people have been dying for the sequel to Skin Hunger, but it's been killing me since 2007! I finally got and finished Sacred Scars, and I must say that I have no idea when the (supposedly) last book in the trilogy is coming out, but it can't be soon enough. And it better not take two more years! I understand it takes a while to write books, especially great books like these, but why put us through the torture? I'd have preferred to wait until they could be published closer together so as not to kill me with the suspense and wondering.

Sacred Scars was quite a bit longer than Skin Hunger, and although it was still good, it dragged in the middle for me. Hahp seems to be progressing quite well through the magic lessons at the wizard academy and begins to take more and more risks to help the others in his class who are still alive. You come to realize that Gerrard knows a lot more about the wizards and magic than any other average person would know. (If any of you have read this, PLEASE email me about this because I want to discuss it so badly and get your ideas on it.) Sadima continues to be determined to escape Somiss, while she slowly realizes that Franklin will never leave him. The stories overlap more and more, as they did in Skin Hunger, but the ending of this book was even more unsatisfying than SK was. I hope it's not giving too much away to say that pretty much nothing is resolved or revealed by the end. It felt like the middle of a book instead of single book with its own story.

In addition to the suspense of the plot lines and wondering how Sadima's story lead to Hahp's and how Hahp's will end, I am intrigued by the issues of how one loses and maintains one's humanity. And can you give up part of it? If so, how much? I would like to discuss this with someone who's read it because there are a few things I still don't understand about Somiss (like is he just psycho or sadistic, and if so why?). Also I'm wondering about his powers.

Unrelated to YA

2009-08-26T18:08:00.002-05:00

Not related to YA lit, but I thought I'd share. From Mashable.

Parody of iPhone commercials - an app for stalking ex-girlfriends

Vampire Diaries

2009-08-25T17:22:00.002-05:00

I'm pretty excited about this. From the preview, I like the casting and it looks like to goes fairly well with the book. I wonder how long they'll be able to keep it following the book.

Andromeda Klein

2009-08-24T18:13:00.003-05:00

I'm a big fan of Frank Portman's King Dork. It's not the kind of book that I can recommend to just anyone, but it's very exciting when I find the right student who will appreciate it. So I'm hoping that I will also like Andromeda Klein. I'm waiting to get it from the public library. I can't believe I'm #2 on the wait list! Who got on the list before me, and how?

Anyway, here is a song Portman wrote about the title character from Entertainment Weekly.

My New Favorite Reading Material

2009-08-17T21:03:00.003-05:00

I know that a lot of girls and women are reluctant to consider themselves "feminists," but I am not one of them. I am a feminist. This is just one reason why I am super excited that Bitch Magazine is adding a new Page Turner book blog called "YA Lit Bitch" that will include"feature interviews with many YA authors about their work as well as feminism, gender, race, class, sexual orientation, and other issues." Their inaugural interview is with Sara Zarr, whom I love and respect a lot.

One of the questions they asked Sara was, "Are you a feminist?" I'm really interested in this question, and I hope they ask every writer they interview. I like to know whether people (both men and women) consider themselves a feminist and why. I would have guessed Sara would say she does consider herself a feminist, but while she didn't reject the idea, she doesn't really apply that term to herself.

Covers

2009-08-14T18:23:00.004-05:00

Maybe this is old news, but I just discovered it:

YA News From Poland

2009-08-03T12:19:00.008-05:00

So I've been in Poland for the last month. Last year, I asked all the students if they'd read Twilight, and no one had even heard of it. This year, it seems to be enjoying the same popularity and craze that it does here in the US. I gave away some ARCs I had, and the students seemed pretty excited about them. This year, my mission was to spread the word about Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, especially once I discovered that it's already been translated into Polish and is already in paperback there. I'm told the title translates to something like "Death Olympics."

In Krakow, I went to this bookstore in the center of the Old Town:

And in addition to the many YA novels I saw there (including Sarah Dessen's Lock & Key with the same pink cover as the US edition), I saw this:

I was impressed they had Meg Cabot there. They also had this Cassandra Clare book: