Kelly Jensen's Blog, page 114
May 11, 2014
This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki
Before talking about This One Summer's story, I think it's obvious from the cover alone that the art is what stands out. This isn't a full-colored graphic novel, nor is it rendered only in black and white. It's done entirely in blue ink on a cream, rather than stark white, background.The choices made in color and art set a tone that's both nostalgic and present. This book feels like it's happening in the moment, but it also feels slightly removed, slightly different because it's in a moment between the comforts of the past and the changes coming in the future.
Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki are the cousin team behind This One Summer, a graphic novel that could easily be categorized on the more literary end of graphic novels, if such a designation exists (I think it does). Every summer, Rose and her parents go to a lake house they own on Awago Beach. It's an opportunity for all of them to unwind after a long, hard year.
Every year, Rose looks forward to the trip, as it's an opportunity to spend every waking moment doing exactly what it is she wants to do. She loves reuniting with Windy, a girl who is a little younger than her but who seems almost like the little sister that Rose never had. Both girls are young -- Rose barely a teenager and Windy even younger than her -- but it's because of their being on the young end of the spectrum that the story unfolds as being about what it means to transition from a place of innocence and naivety to one of knowing that the world isn't all summer vacations at the beach house.
The relationship between Windy and Rose was easily the most interesting element of the story for me. Rose is much more mature than Windy is, but Windy is much more adventurous. Rose is definitely more self-conscious than Windy is, who has no shame nor reason to be shamed for how she chooses to dress, how she chooses to dance, and how she chooses to express herself. She's not worried about the impression she leaves; Rose, on the other hand, is definitely more aware of how other people perceive her and is more tucked in because of that.
From the start of the vacation, things aren't great at Rose's place. Her mom and dad are constantly fighting. Rose seeks a lot of solace in spending time with Windy to get away from it. The two of them, being on the cusp of huge changes, find themselves intrigued by those who live in Awago Beach year-round and who have lives that look so different than the ones they're used to.
It's interesting to see the lives of the year round residents contrasted against the girls there for the summer. One of the biggest emerging themes in the story is that of sexuality -- both Windy and Rose are on the verge of discovering their own sexuality, and Windy in particular finds herself fascinated with other people's choices when it comes to expressing their desire (she mentions, as seen in the page on the right, that her aunt is a lesbian, and this is a theme that comes up more than once in the story). The summer is representative of the girls discovering what it is that the year round teens have found to be both exciting and hugely complicated and troublesome: sex.
Roe and Windy are at the point where it's easiest to make judgments and comments about sex than to really understand the complexity of it. Girls can be put into categories -- slutty or not -- without much thought as to what that sort of labeling may mean nor how those labels became so easy to use. They're not aware of how much they've picked up and absorbed from the world around them, and they're unaware of their own voices or points of view.
What's "in the moment" for Rose and Windy is the reality of the year round teens. They're on the verge of discovery, and it's exciting. Their curiosity is piqued and they pursue it, to the point of meddling perhaps a little too much into the lives of the teens who they don't know. Those teens, on the other hand, are well into their adolescence and are grappling now not with the excitement nor point of discovery; they're working through the consequences of the decisions they've made.
I haven't touched too much on the story of Rose's family, but it parallels the changes going on in Rose's life well. The dynamics of their family are shifting because Rose's mother is facing serious questions about what she's doing with her own life and what is to come for her. Rather than adulthood being depicted as an endpoint in This One Summer, it's instead a continuum that's regularly shifting. While adolescence is a tumultuous period of time, so, too, is adulthood. Even when everything seems like it's stable and people have everything figured out, that's not the truth. There are always hurdles that pop up, and there are changes which pop up that are positive and that are terrifying, even for the most "together" adults.
At times, the book felt a little too conscious of what it was doing. Perhaps because I'm reading it as an adult who gets what strings are being pulled -- this is a book about having one's illusions and beliefs and security rattled and shattered -- I didn't feel like Rose nor Windy got to do enough of the doing in the story, as much as the story did more of the doing for them. Fortunately, because I enjoyed the story and the art especially, this didn't kill the book for me. I saw the hand, but I was able to ignore it enough to still enjoy.
This One Summer is about growing up and about all of the variations of "growing up" exist. It's about being on the verge of discovery and having the safety and comfort of childhood rattled by the reality of a world beyond the bubble. It's about coming to understand that what you thought you knew and understood aren't the things you might actually know or understand. This is a book that has appeal for teen readers, but I think this is a graphic novel that adult readers might walk away from with more, simply because there's a level of appreciating that moment teens may or may not have yet experienced.
Review copy received from the publisher. This One Summer is available now.
Related StoriesGraphic Novel RoundupWhat I'm Reading NowCress by Marissa Meyer
May 8, 2014
A Look at YA Horror in 2014
Last fall, I wrote about young adult horror for School Library Journal, hitting a wide variety of subcategories within the genre, as well as offering up a significant reading list. It's still one of my favorite pieces I've written, and since it came out, I've been thinking a lot more about horror and keeping an eye on what's coming up in the genre. I thought it might be worthwhile to do a roundup of forthcoming 2014 (and a couple of 2015) titles, since I know I've been feeling some of these out in my own reading and for building my own to-read pile.
One of the trends I'm particularly fascinated with (and love seeing) is how many of these titles are being written by females. It looks like this is a pretty strong year especially for the more literary-leaning horror titles, like Amity, Fiendish, and The Fall.
I know I'm going to miss some stuff, so feel free to chime in with other forthcoming horror titles that should be included. All descriptions come from WorldCat, unless otherwise noted. I've indicated when a title is part of a series, since some of these are sequels or installments on longer-running series.
Amity by Micol Ostow (August 26): Two teens narrate the terrifying days and nights they spend living in a house of horrors.
Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie (November 8): Three went in. Three came out. None even a shadow of who they once were. When their car breaks down, Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and his brother Mike walk through a winter storm to take refuge in a nearby town called Purity Springs. When they arrive, the emergency sirens are blaring and the small farming town seems abandoned. With no other shelter, they spend the night in an empty house. But they soon discover that not everything in Purity Springs is as it seems. When the town's inhabitants suddenly appear the next morning, Dee, Luke, and Mike find themselves at the mercy of the charismatic leader, Elijah Hawkins, who plans to make Dee his new wife. Elijah's son, Joseph, offers to help them escape . . . but the price of his help may be more than Dee and her friends can bear. (Description via Goodreads).
Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff (August 14): Clementine DeVore, seventeen, is determined to learn what happened ten years ago that led to her magical imprisonment and problems in her town, but a dangerous attraction to Fisher, the boy who freed her, town politics, and the terrifying Hollow get in the way.
Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday (September 9): In 1820s Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which her father and his alluring assistant might be implicated.
Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke (August 14, sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea): Seventeen-year-old Violet is looking for the boy she fell in love with last summer, the charismatic liar River West Redding, but as she scours the country for him, she begins to wonder who she's really chasing--and who she really loves.
Silver by Chris Wooding (already available as of March 25): When the students at Mortingham Boarding Academy find a group of strange, silvery beetles on school grounds they are excited, but when the beetles attack them and a mysterious virus starts spreading, a group of mismatched students must work together to survive.
Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga (September 9, conclusion to the "I Hunt Killers" trilogy): Jazz Dent, who has been shot and left to die in New York City, his girlfriend, Connie, who is in the clutches of Jazz's serial killer father, Billy, and his best friend, Howie, who is bleeding to death on the floor of Jazz's own home in tiny Lobo's Nod, must all rise above the horrors their lives have become and find a way to come together in pursuit of Billy.
Servants of the Storm by Delilah Dawson (August 5): After her best friend dies in a hurricane, high schooler Dovey discovers something even more devastating--demons in her hometown of Savannah.
The Fall by Bethany Griffin (October 7): Madeline Usher is doomed. She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin. Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house. In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down?The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher. (Description via Goodreads).
Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz (July 22): Seven super fans have won the trip of a lifetime to meet the master of horror, legendary film director Justin Blake. But things quickly go from delightfully dark to dangerously deadly, when Ivy, Parker, Shayla, Natalie, Frankie, and Garth find themselves trapped in an abandoned amusement park. To earn a ticket out, they must face their darkest demons one ride at a time
Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen (September 9): When Cynthia Rothschild's best friend, Annie, falls head over heels for the new high-school librarian, Cyn can totally see why. He's really young and super cute and thinks Annie would make an excellent library monitor. But after meeting Mr. Gabriel, Cyn realizes something isn't quite right. Maybe it's the creepy look in the librarian's eyes, or the weird feeling Cyn gets whenever she's around him. Before long Cyn realizes that Mr. Gabriel is, in fact…a demon. Now, in addition to saving the school musical from technical disaster and trying not to make a fool of herself with her own hopeless crush, Cyn has to save her best friend from the clutches of the evil librarian, who also seems to be slowly sucking the life force out of the entire student body! From best-selling author Michelle Knudsen, here is the perfect novel for teens who like their horror served up with a bit of romance, plenty of humor, and some pretty hot guys (of both the good and evil variety). (Description via Edelweiss).
The Fallen by Charlie Higson (June 10, fifth book in "The Enemy" series): The sickness destroyed everyone over the age of fourteen. All across London diseased adults are waiting, hungry predators with rotten flesh and ravaged minds. The fifth terrifying part of Charlie Higson's bestselling Enemy series. The Enemy is closer than you think.
Last year, I wrote about Scholastic's reboot of Point Horror, and these two titles are this year's additions to the line. I read one of the titles last year on a flight and it was fun. I would call these more along the lines of campy horror than scary horror, but reader mileage will vary.
Followers by Anna Davies (June 24): When Briana loses out on a starring role in the school's production of Hamlet, she reluctantly agrees to be the drama department's "social media director" and starts tweeting half-hearted updates. But then a body IS discovered in the theater: Briana's rival. Suddenly, what seemed like a prank turns deadly serious. With the school in chaos and the police unable to find the culprit, it's up to Briana to unmask the psycho-tweeter before the carnage reaches Shakespearian proportions . . . or she becomes the next victim.
Wickedpedia by Chris Van Etten (June 24): Cole and Greg love playing practical jokes through Wikipedia. They edit key articles and watch their classmates crash and burn giving oral reports on historical figures like Genghis Khan, the first female astronaut on Jupiter. So after the star soccer player steals Cole's girlfriend, the boys take their revenge by creating a Wikipedia page for him, an entry full of outlandish information including details about his bizarre death on the soccer field. It's all in good fun, until the soccer player is killed in a freak accident . . . just as Cole and Greg predicted. The uneasy boys vow to leave Wikipedia alone but someone continues to edit articles about classmates dying in gruesome ways . . . and those entries start to come true as well. To his horror, Cole soon discovers that someone has created a Wikipedia page for him, and included a date of death. He has one week to figure out who's behind the murders, or else he's set to meet a pretty grisly end. (Description via Goodreads).
Black Knight by Christopher Pike (second book in the "Witch World" series, available December 2): New dangers await Jesse, who possesses extraordinary powers and the ability to exist in both the real world and an alternate one known as witch world. Worth noting that the first book in the series was titled Witch World in hardcover, then it was changed to Red Queen in paperback. The Red Queen paperback will be available in August.
Party Games by R. L. Stine (September 30, first in the reboot of Pike's "Fear Street" series): It’s about girl named Rachel, who Brendan Fear invites along with a bunch of other people to the Fear’s summer house on Fear Island, in the middle of a lake. They’re 17, in high school. It’s Halloween time, and they’re reopening the summerhouse just for this party. Brendan invents games, he loves games, and one by one the guests start getting murdered—every murder is attached to a game. One girl is found all folded up and there’s a note that says, ‘Twister, anyone?’ They’re trapped on an island, and there’s a killer there who wants to kill everyone. (Description via Goodreads).
Mary: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan (September 2): Teens Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna follow all the rules, but when their summoning circle is broken the vengeful spirit of Bloody Mary slips through, and as the girls struggle to escape Mary's wrath, loyalties are questioned, friendships torn apart, and lives changed forever.
Trollhunters by Daniel Kraus and Guillermo del Toro (March 24, 2015): This new 320-page horror novel written by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus is about monsters that move in unseen places and the resurgence of a 45-year-old mystery that threatens the seemingly sleepy city of San Bernardino, CA. (Description via Goodreads).
Related StoriesEmily Dickinson is the New Black in YA FictionWhat I'm Reading NowCress by Marissa Meyer
One of the trends I'm particularly fascinated with (and love seeing) is how many of these titles are being written by females. It looks like this is a pretty strong year especially for the more literary-leaning horror titles, like Amity, Fiendish, and The Fall.
I know I'm going to miss some stuff, so feel free to chime in with other forthcoming horror titles that should be included. All descriptions come from WorldCat, unless otherwise noted. I've indicated when a title is part of a series, since some of these are sequels or installments on longer-running series.
Amity by Micol Ostow (August 26): Two teens narrate the terrifying days and nights they spend living in a house of horrors.
Creed by Trisha Leaver and Lindsay Currie (November 8): Three went in. Three came out. None even a shadow of who they once were. When their car breaks down, Dee, her boyfriend Luke, and his brother Mike walk through a winter storm to take refuge in a nearby town called Purity Springs. When they arrive, the emergency sirens are blaring and the small farming town seems abandoned. With no other shelter, they spend the night in an empty house. But they soon discover that not everything in Purity Springs is as it seems. When the town's inhabitants suddenly appear the next morning, Dee, Luke, and Mike find themselves at the mercy of the charismatic leader, Elijah Hawkins, who plans to make Dee his new wife. Elijah's son, Joseph, offers to help them escape . . . but the price of his help may be more than Dee and her friends can bear. (Description via Goodreads).
Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff (August 14): Clementine DeVore, seventeen, is determined to learn what happened ten years ago that led to her magical imprisonment and problems in her town, but a dangerous attraction to Fisher, the boy who freed her, town politics, and the terrifying Hollow get in the way.
Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday (September 9): In 1820s Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which her father and his alluring assistant might be implicated.
Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke (August 14, sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea): Seventeen-year-old Violet is looking for the boy she fell in love with last summer, the charismatic liar River West Redding, but as she scours the country for him, she begins to wonder who she's really chasing--and who she really loves.
Silver by Chris Wooding (already available as of March 25): When the students at Mortingham Boarding Academy find a group of strange, silvery beetles on school grounds they are excited, but when the beetles attack them and a mysterious virus starts spreading, a group of mismatched students must work together to survive.
Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga (September 9, conclusion to the "I Hunt Killers" trilogy): Jazz Dent, who has been shot and left to die in New York City, his girlfriend, Connie, who is in the clutches of Jazz's serial killer father, Billy, and his best friend, Howie, who is bleeding to death on the floor of Jazz's own home in tiny Lobo's Nod, must all rise above the horrors their lives have become and find a way to come together in pursuit of Billy.
Servants of the Storm by Delilah Dawson (August 5): After her best friend dies in a hurricane, high schooler Dovey discovers something even more devastating--demons in her hometown of Savannah.
The Fall by Bethany Griffin (October 7): Madeline Usher is doomed. She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin. Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house. In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down?The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher. (Description via Goodreads).
Welcome to the Dark House by Laurie Faria Stolarz (July 22): Seven super fans have won the trip of a lifetime to meet the master of horror, legendary film director Justin Blake. But things quickly go from delightfully dark to dangerously deadly, when Ivy, Parker, Shayla, Natalie, Frankie, and Garth find themselves trapped in an abandoned amusement park. To earn a ticket out, they must face their darkest demons one ride at a time
Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen (September 9): When Cynthia Rothschild's best friend, Annie, falls head over heels for the new high-school librarian, Cyn can totally see why. He's really young and super cute and thinks Annie would make an excellent library monitor. But after meeting Mr. Gabriel, Cyn realizes something isn't quite right. Maybe it's the creepy look in the librarian's eyes, or the weird feeling Cyn gets whenever she's around him. Before long Cyn realizes that Mr. Gabriel is, in fact…a demon. Now, in addition to saving the school musical from technical disaster and trying not to make a fool of herself with her own hopeless crush, Cyn has to save her best friend from the clutches of the evil librarian, who also seems to be slowly sucking the life force out of the entire student body! From best-selling author Michelle Knudsen, here is the perfect novel for teens who like their horror served up with a bit of romance, plenty of humor, and some pretty hot guys (of both the good and evil variety). (Description via Edelweiss).
The Fallen by Charlie Higson (June 10, fifth book in "The Enemy" series): The sickness destroyed everyone over the age of fourteen. All across London diseased adults are waiting, hungry predators with rotten flesh and ravaged minds. The fifth terrifying part of Charlie Higson's bestselling Enemy series. The Enemy is closer than you think.
Last year, I wrote about Scholastic's reboot of Point Horror, and these two titles are this year's additions to the line. I read one of the titles last year on a flight and it was fun. I would call these more along the lines of campy horror than scary horror, but reader mileage will vary.
Followers by Anna Davies (June 24): When Briana loses out on a starring role in the school's production of Hamlet, she reluctantly agrees to be the drama department's "social media director" and starts tweeting half-hearted updates. But then a body IS discovered in the theater: Briana's rival. Suddenly, what seemed like a prank turns deadly serious. With the school in chaos and the police unable to find the culprit, it's up to Briana to unmask the psycho-tweeter before the carnage reaches Shakespearian proportions . . . or she becomes the next victim.
Wickedpedia by Chris Van Etten (June 24): Cole and Greg love playing practical jokes through Wikipedia. They edit key articles and watch their classmates crash and burn giving oral reports on historical figures like Genghis Khan, the first female astronaut on Jupiter. So after the star soccer player steals Cole's girlfriend, the boys take their revenge by creating a Wikipedia page for him, an entry full of outlandish information including details about his bizarre death on the soccer field. It's all in good fun, until the soccer player is killed in a freak accident . . . just as Cole and Greg predicted. The uneasy boys vow to leave Wikipedia alone but someone continues to edit articles about classmates dying in gruesome ways . . . and those entries start to come true as well. To his horror, Cole soon discovers that someone has created a Wikipedia page for him, and included a date of death. He has one week to figure out who's behind the murders, or else he's set to meet a pretty grisly end. (Description via Goodreads).
Black Knight by Christopher Pike (second book in the "Witch World" series, available December 2): New dangers await Jesse, who possesses extraordinary powers and the ability to exist in both the real world and an alternate one known as witch world. Worth noting that the first book in the series was titled Witch World in hardcover, then it was changed to Red Queen in paperback. The Red Queen paperback will be available in August.
Party Games by R. L. Stine (September 30, first in the reboot of Pike's "Fear Street" series): It’s about girl named Rachel, who Brendan Fear invites along with a bunch of other people to the Fear’s summer house on Fear Island, in the middle of a lake. They’re 17, in high school. It’s Halloween time, and they’re reopening the summerhouse just for this party. Brendan invents games, he loves games, and one by one the guests start getting murdered—every murder is attached to a game. One girl is found all folded up and there’s a note that says, ‘Twister, anyone?’ They’re trapped on an island, and there’s a killer there who wants to kill everyone. (Description via Goodreads).
Mary: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan (September 2): Teens Jess, Shauna, Kitty, and Anna follow all the rules, but when their summoning circle is broken the vengeful spirit of Bloody Mary slips through, and as the girls struggle to escape Mary's wrath, loyalties are questioned, friendships torn apart, and lives changed forever.
Trollhunters by Daniel Kraus and Guillermo del Toro (March 24, 2015): This new 320-page horror novel written by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus is about monsters that move in unseen places and the resurgence of a 45-year-old mystery that threatens the seemingly sleepy city of San Bernardino, CA. (Description via Goodreads).
Related StoriesEmily Dickinson is the New Black in YA FictionWhat I'm Reading NowCress by Marissa Meyer
May 7, 2014
Mortified Nation: A Film For YA Lovers
I don't tend to watch a lot of movies. I have a hard time paying attention because it feels like I should be doing something else while I'm watching it (reading or writing). I like watching television shows on DVD, but I'm exceptionally slow at doing so for the same reasons. It's hard for me to permit myself an hour or two to just watch something.A couple weeks ago, I was alerted to a documentary that was streaming on Netflix that sounded like it was well-worth devoting my full attention to: Mortified Nation. I was not disappointed.
Did you keep a diary when you were a teenager? I know I did, and I still remember bits and pieces of what I wrote in it, too. There were some less-than-kind words about people in my life, lengthy passages about boys who I did -- and most certainly did not -- like, and I'm positive there's a lot of pretty awful poetry mixed in as well (I can recall one poem I was particularly proud of that I wrote in middle school about a girl I'd befriended one summer who had a drinking problem and I thought poetry would help "solve" that problem).
Mortified Nation is a film about adults who are willing to stand up in front of a crowd and read passages from their teen diaries. It takes footage from the live stage performances, which are filmed in several big cities throughout the United States, and in between performances, several producers of the show, as well as others (including young adult author Cecil Castellucci), talk about why sharing those diary entries even decades later still feels so intimate and raw. Adults on stage reading still find sharing those things they wrote about first love, about fights with parents and siblings, about tough times at school something that makes them vulnerable, but audiences -- those at the performance and those watching on film -- find most of those stories to be so funny.
While watching, I found myself laughing so hard I was hurting at points. It's not laughing at someone's pain; it's laughing because those things people wrote took me back to things I know I had experienced or thought or felt or written myself when I was in middle or high school. There's something unifying about those feelings, even if the situations were different.
Part of why I think Mortified Nation is worth watching is that it's the kind of film that people who work with teens will be able to walk away from and find new appreciation for the kids they work with. There's something humbling about watching adults share their teen angst and pains, and while I was watching, I couldn't help but think about the teens I saw in the library and appreciate some of their words and behaviors for what they were.
Back in college was the first time I ever worked with teenagers, barely out of my teens myself. I volunteered at the local middle school, in their band, and I helped students become better performers and instrumentalists. During training for the gig, one of the teachers said something to me that every once in a while I'm reminded of: teens who are this age aren't bad. They're dorks. And watching this movie, hearing these adults confront their own dorkness on stage, reminded me of that simple mental framework. It's not belittling; it's simply a reminder that teens are in a different space than adults and it's a necessity to accept them where they are. Mortified Nation is the epitome of adults facing that different space with themselves and an audience.
Fans of young adult fiction, regardless of whether they work with teens or not, should check this movie out. There's so much here that will resonate because it's what's being read in YA fiction. I think it does an excellent job of reminding those who love the teen voice what that voice really looks like and showcases the whys and hows of some of the dumb decision making in which teens partake -- not to mention that it gives some nice examples of creative, crass language use.
I highly recommend Mortified Nation as a worthwhile watch, especially if you're in the mood for the kind of film that will make you laugh (and cringe). You can find out more about it here.
May 6, 2014
Cover Math Part 2
A bit more fun with covers. (See part one here.) First up is some good old-fashioned addition:
(Thanks to Kelly for this one!)
And some addition that requires a little out-of-the-box thinking:
Let's mix it up a little:
And finally, we close with order of operations:
Any others you can think of? Let me know in the comments!
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(Thanks to Kelly for this one!)
And some addition that requires a little out-of-the-box thinking:
Let's mix it up a little:
And finally, we close with order of operations:
Any others you can think of? Let me know in the comments!
Related StoriesCover Double, Triple, and (formerly) Quadruple: Risk Taking and Cover DesignHardcover to Paperback: YA Redesigns to ConsiderHardcover to Paperback: Six YA Redesigns to Consider
May 5, 2014
What I'm Reading Now
The last couple of weeks of my life have been chaotic, between traveling to Connecticut, changing jobs, and now, I'm in Virginia for a couple days. I haven't had a lot of good time to "settle" into a new routine, and because of that, my reading has been a little all over the map. I'm a pretty good reader while traveling, so I've at least been able to sneak in pages between destinations. Here's a look at what I've been reading and have in my bag right now while I'm trying to find that new groove. I guess I'm also a little all over the map in what's been catching my interest, too!
Sex Criminals, Volume 1 by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky: I heard about this one so long ago and preordered it so long ago, and when it showed up in my mail this week, I was really excited since I'd forgotten I bought it. It's a comic book featuring a main character who is a librarian that, when she orgasms, she is able to stop time. The story picks up when she meets a partner who has that same special talent. I'm not too far into it, but I am really keen on the artwork.
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison: I can only remember having read one collection of essays in book form before, and that was Eula Biss's Notes From No Man's Land, published by Graywolf Press. So when Jamison's collection started getting some buzz, my interest was piqued. Then someone shared one of the essays in this collection titled "A Grand Unified Theory of Female Pain," which you can read in full here, and I knew I wanted to pick up the book. I'm about half way through the collection and have had some hits and some misses, but Jamison's writing is knockout.
The Break-up Artist by Philip Siegel: I haven't cracked this one open yet, but I have it with me while I'm out this week because it looks like a lighter-hearted read. It's a story about a girl who falls into the business of breaking up relationships.
The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno: I know very little about this book, and I wouldn't have put the galley on my ereader had I not seen someone mention that it's a great read alike to Stephanie Kuehn's forthcoming Complicit. I read and loved Kuehn's book, so I'm eager to see what makes this a read alike and if it's as successful in being a psychological thriller that actually surprised me with its twists.
Before I left, I shoved a ton of other galleys on my ereader, as well, including Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist (another collection of essays), Carrie Mesrobian's Perfectly Good White Boy, Micol Ostow's Amity, and Kat Rosenfield's Inland.
What's been on your reading plate lately? Anything recently released or coming out soon that I should have on my radar?
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Sex Criminals, Volume 1 by Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky: I heard about this one so long ago and preordered it so long ago, and when it showed up in my mail this week, I was really excited since I'd forgotten I bought it. It's a comic book featuring a main character who is a librarian that, when she orgasms, she is able to stop time. The story picks up when she meets a partner who has that same special talent. I'm not too far into it, but I am really keen on the artwork.
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison: I can only remember having read one collection of essays in book form before, and that was Eula Biss's Notes From No Man's Land, published by Graywolf Press. So when Jamison's collection started getting some buzz, my interest was piqued. Then someone shared one of the essays in this collection titled "A Grand Unified Theory of Female Pain," which you can read in full here, and I knew I wanted to pick up the book. I'm about half way through the collection and have had some hits and some misses, but Jamison's writing is knockout.
The Break-up Artist by Philip Siegel: I haven't cracked this one open yet, but I have it with me while I'm out this week because it looks like a lighter-hearted read. It's a story about a girl who falls into the business of breaking up relationships.
The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno: I know very little about this book, and I wouldn't have put the galley on my ereader had I not seen someone mention that it's a great read alike to Stephanie Kuehn's forthcoming Complicit. I read and loved Kuehn's book, so I'm eager to see what makes this a read alike and if it's as successful in being a psychological thriller that actually surprised me with its twists.
Before I left, I shoved a ton of other galleys on my ereader, as well, including Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist (another collection of essays), Carrie Mesrobian's Perfectly Good White Boy, Micol Ostow's Amity, and Kat Rosenfield's Inland.
What's been on your reading plate lately? Anything recently released or coming out soon that I should have on my radar?
Related StoriesGoing Graphic: Graphic Novels on the Outstanding Books for the College Bound ListEverything Leads to You by Nina LaCourPlus One by Elizabeth Fama
May 4, 2014
Cress by Marissa Meyer
Meyer knows so well how to write a good series. Focusing on a different character for each book is such a brilliant way to tell a larger story. I feel like we get all the benefits of a series without sacrificing the good things about a standalone. Each volume provides a satisfying beginning, middle, and end with a unique storyline. Then we also get a larger, overreaching plot that brings things to a more epic level - plus the chance to revisit and follow characters we grew to love from the prior volumes. I know Meyer isn't the first to do this, but it works really well for her. While I enjoyed Scarlet , I think Cress is even better. It uses Rapunzel as its springboard, focusing on a girl named Cress who lives in a satellite and spies on the Earthens for Queen Levana. Her hair grows long because she has no need to cut it. She has connections to Cinder, as you'd expect, which are teased out over the course of the story. As in Cinder, some of the major plot revelations are expected - but not all.
Cress as a character is different from both Cinder and Scarlet. She's incredibly naive due to her situation - she's never been out in the world and has no clue how to interact with anyone other than her captors. With no one around to keep her company, she's taken to fantasizing about the people she spies on, namely Carswell Thorne. It's easy to admire someone from afar, to create elaborate stories about them in your head. It can be very difficult to then reconcile the person as they are with the person you imagined them to be. Such is Cress' dilemma. Cress and Thorne's interactions are often funny but also quite painful (secondhand embarrassment is a killer for me). Cress herself is socially awkward, and not really in a "I'm a special snowflake" sort of way. She's awkward in a way that makes you cringe. She's awkward in a way that I know teen girls can relate to.
Cress is full of action and excitement. These books are long but never feel long. The major plot is furthered nicely. Nothing feels extraneous or makes you think "Wow, I can really tell this is a middle book in a series." And the end of this volume has a fantastic tease for Winter, due out in 2015. So far, this series hasn't disappointed.
Review copy provided by the publisher. Cress is available now.
Related StoriesEverything Leads to You by Nina LaCourPlus One by Elizabeth FamaDays of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
May 2, 2014
Links of Note: May 3, 2014
Anna's contribution to #WeNeedDiverseBooksIt's been a crazy few weeks on my side of the (non) internet world, so my links of note post this week is a little shorter than normal. But since I didn't do one a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to have a few things for this week to make up for it. If there's been great reading around the web recently, I want to know about it, so feel free to link me in the comments to things I shouldn't miss.
I guess, too, it's worth mentioning that I got on Printz for 2016 (!!!). A huge, tremendous thank you goes out to everyone who helped me get on the ballot by petitioning for me, and a huge thank you goes out to everyone who voted for me. I'm so excited about this opportunity, and I'm excited because the other three people who were elected -- Lali, Paige, and Frankie -- are three excellent fellow committee members. I've known Lali and Paige for a couple of years, and Frankie served on Outstanding Books last year (though we never got to work together because we were on different subcommittees).
That said, here's some worthwhile reading:
From the picture above, this week, the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign took off. You can read a good recap of the campaign at Publishers Weekly. I'm also a huge fan of the interview at Book Riot (not mine!) with the creators of the campaign. A couple of other related pieces worth reading on the topic of diversity in publishing are Leonicka's series of tweets about the reader's role in making change happen and Bogi Takacs's about who gets signal boosted when these conversations arise and what we should be doing to bolster additional voices. Nita Tyndall created a great reading list to LGBTQ YA titles that aren't about coming out -- these are stories where the characters just are who they are and love who they love. Are you a fan of Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries? To honor the series anniversary, which is coming up soon, Cabot announced that she's publishing a middle grade and an adult novel to continue the story. Neat! Molly Wetta wrote a really nice reader's advisory guide to books for fans of John Green. I had mentioned in my presentation in Connecticut this week that I think John Green might be the hardest contemporary author to find read alikes to because it's not always easy for people to express what it is they like about Green's books. Molly does an excellent job breaking down appeal factors and offering great ideas for next reads. YALSA members: I plan on writing about this in depth shortly, but I wanted to alert you to changes that were made about the petition process for those interested in getting on the election ballot for various committees. Speaking of diversity and diversifying one's reading, here's a nice list of 50 Latino/a books for children. I really love this post: "Boys, Reading, and Misogynistic Crap" for the obvious reasons.
If you haven't yet, it's prime time to go catch up on the week-long celebration of all things verse novel at Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.
My work elsewhere:
Over at Book Riot, I wrote about the "slut shelves" discussion Alexandra Duncan kicked off, and I dug into how we do disservice to girls and girl reading. This is a piece I'm pretty damn proud of. Good and thought-provoking comments, too! I'm teaching a webinar through the Ontario Library Association in June about going gender free in your library. If you're interested, here's more information about how to sign up and what the costs are -- there's a minimal difference for those who are members of OLA and those who aren't.
Related StoriesLinks of Note: April 5, 2014Quick Saturday Links: March 29, 2014Links of Note: March 22, 2014
May 1, 2014
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
It's nearing the end of high school and big changes are brewing in Emi's life. Her brother's gone overseas, leaving his apartment to her and her best friend for the summer. Her best friend will be moving to Michigan come fall to go to school, and Emi's brother's single expectation for his sister is to "do something epic" in the apartment that summer. To make a memory that will stay with her forever.She will, but it won't be in the way she expects.
A little about Emi: she works in film, but she's not an actress nor a director. Her role is working on the design and arrangement of the set. When the story opens, she's in the midst of acquiring a couch she thinks will be perfect for a scene in the film she's working on. She haunts estate sales and flea markets and thrift stores in order to find those pieces that will make a set sing.
And it's while she's doing this that bigger things unravel for her. She's found herself at the estate sale of a former western actor who was well known in his day for his work. While procuring possible items for a set, Emi and best friend Charlotte discover a letter addressed to a woman who lives not too far away. The two of them decide it's their duty to deliver the letter.
Of course, it's not going to be that easy. When they arrive at the addressee's home, they discover that she is no longer alive, either. So they choose to open the letter, and upon further research, Emi and Charlotte realize there's a lot more to this letter than they thought -- and they choose to pursue any and all leads possible to get the letter (and subsequent information about a bank account) to the person it most belongs to: the granddaughter of the deceased western star, Ava.
While it sounds like a mystery, Nina LaCour's Everything Leads to You is not. It's a love story. Ava, the girl who the letter eventually gets to, becomes a romantic interest for Emi early on. Emi, who is nursing the wounds of an on again off again relationship with Morgan, wonders whether she'll ever fall in love with someone who cares about her as much as she cares about them. And it's something she'll continue to wonder as she becomes closer to Ava, even as she allows herself to have the feelings she does for Ava without pursuing them.
The world LaCour creates in her novel is worth noting. There's an appearance of privilege and freedom, but it's done in a way that feels real and authentic to the story. Emi and Charlotte live in an apartment by themselves, but now that they're done with high school, it makes sense that they have that freedom. Both girls have a lot of freedom to move around and do what they want to, but both girls also work. Work is a big part of their lives, in a really positive way. They have jobs which seem strange for teenagers to have -- especially when Emi manages to land a new gig being the director of design -- but for two girls living in Los Angeles, it's also not a piece of the plot that feels impossible. It's just the lives they lead.
Ava, on the other hand, lives a very different life than Emi and Charlotte. She comes from a different world, where her life has been a series of chaoses and instability. But what makes her so standout is she not only recognizes and owns that part of her, but she is who she is because she's able to live her own life in spite of those things. Her best friend Jamal she met because the two of them had to take the same bus to get to work everyday, and that lengthy bus trip allowed them to talk and get to know one another. And while Jamal looks like he plays a minor role in the story, I enjoyed his presence and would have loved even more. Jamal wasn't easy. He didn't play around. And he was willing to call people out and force them to dig deeper into who they were.
It's because of Jamal that we learn Emi is not entirely white. That despite her skin looking white, she's one-fourth black. This scene, dropped into the book nearly two-thirds of the way through, isn't splashy nor some kind of big reveal. It's a fact-laying scene, but it's woven and incorporated so well that it made me want more from Jamal because clearly, he had a way of getting people to give of themselves. While Ava had made it clear he was a great person, it's in this scene we see Emi discover it herself.
We know Emi and Ava find one another through this letter, but it's when Emi is offered a part as a design director in a small, low-budget film that their relationship becomes something more. Ava had always wanted to act, and Emi tells her about the film's need for a female to play one of the parts. After an audition, the part becomes Ava's, and the two of them work together closely as Ava learns her lines and as Emi works on designing the look of the scenes -- which leads her to offering the apartment she's living in as one of the apartments for the film.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book was how Emi's need to solve the mysteries of Ava's life tied into her role in putting together films. Emi, as a person who assists in designing sets, was reluctant to listen to those who told her some of her ideas wouldn't work well in the particular scenes being filmed. She thought her ideas were perfect, and she becomes upset when those around her prove their vision to be more correct than hers. She's less happy being a spectator than she is being the person who gets to direct the entire look and feel. So when Emi realizes she can't solve the issues of Ava's life, that she has to accept the fact that Ava's challenges and means of resolving her problems fall squarely into the hands of Ava and not her, she has a hard time accepting this role. It's not that she's a control freak; it's that it comes hard for her to accept that not every problem and not every puzzle is one she can nor should attempt to solve all on her own. Despite the independence and freedom she has in her life, she can't expect the same from those around her. Things do and will come up that force her to see that not everything can nor should be handed to her. She sometimes has to step back from directing and sit back to be a spectator in order to to see an entire scene come alive.
While I didn't love the way that everything relating to Ava's discovery came as easily as it did -- even the dead ends were resolved a little too quickly and cleanly for me -- I loved the way that she and Emi became girlfriends. Ava offered Emi more than one opportunity to act upon her feelings, but it wasn't immediate. Emi was more reluctant, more put off because of her own past relationships, than Ava was, but it was ultimately Ava who showed her it was okay to pursue those feelings.
That epic summer adventure in Emi's brother's apartment was, of course, Emi falling in love.
LaCour weaves in the set design metaphor quite nicely. The actors in any film are important, but as Emi explains early on, what people tend to overlook when watching a film, are the ways that the spaces the actors play in are created, designed, and used to enhance their story lines. Those interiors are things that are present, that are thought about, that are developed and redeveloped, in a way that's not always seen on the screen, despite how hugely important they are in the film and to the characters playing in those spaces.
The interior, of course, is love and how it's created and recreated, how it's fashioned and refashioned, how it's carefully constructed and then reconstructed. The actors matter, but they only matter as much as the thing holding them together. In this case, it doesn't matter at all that it's one girl falling in love with another girl. What matters is that it's something holding them together.
Everything Leads to You is a love story, with a full cast of well-rendered characters and a setting that comes alive. This one will especially appeal to older YA readers and those who never saw -- or don't see right now -- high school as the kind of thing they're invested in too deeply. Readers who want a story with heart will want to pick this up, as will those readers who are seeking lesbian romance stories and finding that the bulk of them are less focused on the love and more focused on what that love might look like to others. Here, those cameras aren't even part of the story.
Everything Leads to You will be available May 15. Review copy received from the publisher.
Related StoriesPlus One by Elizabeth FamaDays of Blood and Starlight by Laini TaylorGraphic Novel Roundup
April 30, 2014
Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
I dug Fama's part-historical fiction, part-ghost story Monstrous Beauty . Plus One is a major departure from it, though it's still within the SFF genre. It postulates an alternate history where the Spanish flu separated American society into two groups of people. The Rays live during the day and sleep at night. The Smudges live during the night and sleep during the day. It's an interesting premise that isn't fully explained until pretty far into the novel, requiring a rather hefty suspension of disbelief.
Sol is a Smudge. She may have had potential at some point in her young life, but she occupies a dead end job in a factory now. She hatches a stupid and desperate plan to go steal her brother's child - the brother who had been born a Smudge but was transferred to day - from the hospital during the daytime so that her dying grandfather - also a Smudge - can hold it before he passes. Things take off from there and don't really ever slow down. It seemed to me that the entire novel takes place within the span of a few days.
Her kissing partner from the book's cover is a day boy named D'Arcy whom she meets at the hospital while undertaking her foolish plan. He's privileged, studying to be a doctor, and has powerful parents. He initially tries to foil Sol's plan, but then becomes caught up in it, and the two fall in love (bet you didn't see that coming).
There are a lot of little details that I liked. The society has a French flavor, which is not something I've seen before. I thought the setup of the day/night divide was an interesting way to explore privilege and class, though it strained my credulity and I didn't ever really buy it. The explanation came too late for me. (Yet I didn't care about Delirium's farfetched-ness. Go figure.) The love story is nice and features a pretty empowering (non-explicit) sex scene that I think will resonate with many teenagers. There's some nice emotional moments between Sol and her grandfather and a complicated, thorny history between Sol and her brother as well.
Fama's writing is good - she has a way with words. But all in all I just don't think this story felt as polished as Monstrous Beauty, which juggled two time periods expertly. There are frequent flashbacks in Plus One that slow the pace considerably, though they're interesting and provide necessary backstory. (I'm a tough reader for flashbacks; they're too easily skimmed. I dislike them almost as much as I dislike dream sequences and visions.) The world-building wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be. I liked the book; I didn't love it. It's a solid entry in what seems to be the moderately popular subgenre of alternate histories, though, and if you have readers who dig that sort of thing, this should interest them.
(P. S. - This book is not a dystopia.)
Review copy provided by the publisher. Plus One is available now.
Related StoriesDays of Blood and Starlight by Laini TaylorIn the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di BartoloTLA Trends
April 29, 2014
TLA Trends
I was able to attend TLA (the Texas Library Association annual conference) for a day earlier in April and walk the exhibit hall for a bit. I always enjoy talking to the publicists and other staff there to see what their favorites are and what they think is going to be hot in the coming months. I grabbed several titles that looked interesting, and a staff person at the Penguin booth even convinced me to give a few contemporary titles a try. (Please contain your gasps of astonishment.)
I thought I'd take this opportunity to share a few observations - trends for the upcoming seasons, what titles are really being pushed, what's not being pushed at all. Synopses are from Worldcat or Goodreads. My comments are in brackets.
What's Hot With the StaffThe publicists and other staff there (I'm never quite sure what their titles are!) were really pushing the contemporary realistic titles. My first stop was at the Penguin booth, where I asked one staff person's personal favorites and she talked up Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun, Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar, and Katherine Howe's Conversion. The staff at Harper were really pushing Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern (the fact they compare it to John Green and Rainbow Rowell means it's one of their darlings). Also talked up big was Alex Mallory's Wild.
At the Tor booth, one of the staff told me that Ben Tripp's The Accidental Highwayman was her favorite of the fall list and compared it to the Princess Bride. A couple of horror titles being pushed were Michael Grant's Messenger of Fear and Micol Ostow's Amity.
What's Not ThereI asked a lot about fantasy, science fiction, and horror titles, and to be honest, there wasn't a whole lot that the staff were eager to recommend. I think this may have to do with the fact that there are a bunch of sequels coming out now, rather than series starters or standalones. I did ask specifically about science fiction a couple of places and was met with regretful apologies - there's just not much there. (I'm kind of surprised by this since I've read quite a few fascinating SF titles recently.) They seemed much more eager to talk about the contemporary realistic titles; those seemed to be what resonated with a lot of the staff.
There's definitely been a significant decrease in the number of dystopian and post-apocalyptic titles as well. I noticed more high fantasy than hard sci fi, which is pretty exciting to me (I love both, but high fantasy is my original love). That said, I did pick up some interesting galleys in all genres, which I'll talk more about below.
I tried to keep an eye out for books (particularly SFF books) featuring people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ characters. There were a few, but I didn't really notice them being singled out and hand-sold. One exception was Sarah Tregay's Fan Art , which features a gay teenage boy. I'll talk a bit about these books featuring more diverse characters in my list of trends and other observations below.
Re-tellingsRe-tellings are alive and well in summer and fall of 2014. Fairy tales, legends, classics, myths - they're all being re-worked in new and interesting ways.
Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine (August 2014)
There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.
Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time. [This is a re-telling of the Phantom of the Opera; the main character is Asian.]
Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday (September 2014)
In 1820s Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which her father and his alluring assistant might be implicated. [This is a reimagining, in some ways at least, of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Edgar Allan Poe's stories.]
Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann (September 2014)
Christine Heppermann's powerful collection of free verse poems explore how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, their friends--as consumers, as objects, as competitors. Based on classic fairy tale characters and fairy tale tropes, the poems range from contemporary retellings to first person accounts set within the original stories. [We're giving away a finished copy of this as part of our five year anniversary giveaway!]
Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis (October 2014)
A futuristic retelling of Snow White in which seventeen-year-old Essie, a master at repairing robots and drones on the frozen mining planet Thanda, is pulled into a war by handsome and mysterious Dane after his shuttle crash-lands near her home.
Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay (December 2014)
After ten years of exile among fairies who teach her to use her magically-enhanced strength and courage, Sleeping Beauty's daughter Aurora enlists the help of Niklaas, eleventh son of King Eldorio, in the fight to reclaim her throne.
Survival I think a lot of these stories spring from the post-apocalyptic trend, but they're set in present day and don't always involve the usual culprits (technology run amok, global warming, etc.).
Nil by Lynne Matson (available now)
Transported through a "gate" to the mysterious island of Nil, seventeen-year-old Charley has 365 days to escape--or she will die. [Like Lost but not as fun. I'm trying to read it now and finding it rough going.]
Wild by Alex Mallory (July 2014)
When Cade, a boy who has lived in the forest his whole life, saves a regular teen from a bear attack, he is brought into modern civilization for the first time. [Publicist described this as a modern Tarzan story.]
The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan (August 2014)
In this fast-paced survival story set in Hawaii, electronics fail worldwide, the islands become completely isolated, and a strange starscape fills the sky. Leilani and her father embark on a nightmare odyssey from Oahu to their home on the Big Island. Leilani’s epilepsy holds a clue to the disaster, if only they can survive as the islands revert to earlier ways. [Features a half-white, half-native Hawaiian protagonist.]
Plagues and Epidemics This is a trend that's been going strong for a while (think Morris finalist In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters and The Program by Suzanne Young). Authors seem particularly entranced by the Spanish flu epidemic.
A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier (available now)
When the Spanish influenza epidemic reaches Portland, Oregon, in 1918, 17-year-old Cleo leaves behind the comfort of her boarding school to work for the Red Cross.
Conversion by Katherine Howe (July 2014)
When girls start experiencing strange tics and other mysterious symptoms at Colleen's high school, her small town of Danvers, Massachusetts, falls victim to rumors that lead to full-blown panic, and only Colleen connects their fate to the ill-fated Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago.
Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson (September 2014)
Emily Bird is an African American high school senior in Washington D.C., member of a privileged medical family, on the verge of college and the edge of the drug culture, and not really sure which way she will go--then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what happened. [This synopsis doesn't mention that the book heavily features a widespread flu virus.]
High Fantasy Picks There were some intriguing high fantasy offerings that didn't fit into any of the above categories.
Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis (June 2014)
A seventeen-year-old boy finds that every time he closes his eyes, he is drawn into the body of a mute servant girl from another world--a world that is growing increasingly more dangerous, and where many things are not as they seem.
The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas (August 2014)
After returning to Eton College, Titus makes a shocking discovery in his mother's diary that causes him to question everything he believed about his and Iolanthe's mission. [Sequel to the Burning Sky]
Lark Rising by Sandra Waugh (September 2014)
Sixteen-year-old Lark sets out on a journey to help her village fight off monsters called Troths and learns she is the Guardian of Life, fated to recover a powerful amulet from the Breeders of Chaos.
The Fire Artist by Daisy Whitney (October 2014)
As an elemental artist, Aria can create fire from her hands, stealing her power from lightning--which is dangerous and illegal in her world--but as her power begins to fade faster than she can steal it she must turn to a modern-day genie, a Granter, who offers one wish with an extremely high price. [The synopsis isn't clear, but the cover pictured from Goodreads indicates an Asian protagonist.]
Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch (October 2014)
Orphaned Meira, a fierce chakram-wielding warrior from the Kingdom of Winter, must struggle to free her people from the tyranny of an opposing kingdom while also protecting her own destiny.
Other Good StuffBelow are a few other titles that I'm excited to read and share with patrons and readers.
Curses and Smoke by Vicky Alvear Shecter (May 2014)
Tagus is a medical slave who wants be a gladiator, Lucia is the daughter of Tag's owner and betrothed to an older man, and the two teenagers are in love with each other--but it is the year 79 and soon Vesuvius will alter their lives forever. [I'm such a sucker for historical fiction like this. I loved reading about doomed places as a teen - Atlantis, Pompeii, Troy, anything.]
V is for Villain by Peter Moore (May 2014)
Brad Baron is used to looking lame compared to his older brother, Blake. Though Brad's basically a genius, Blake is a superhero in the elite Justice Force. And Brad doesn't measure up at his high school, either, where powers like super-strength and flying are the norm. So when Brad makes friends who are more into political action than weight lifting, he's happy to join a new crew-especially since it means spending more time with Layla, a girl who may or may not have a totally illegal, totally secret super-power. And with her help, Brad begins to hone a dangerous new power of his own.
The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Robers (September 2014)
After a powerful new drug causes havoc and deadly addiction, seventeen-year-old Faye trains to take revenge on those who took her future and murdered the boy she loved. [I think this is a super intriguing title. I'm less sold on the synopsis, but I'll give it a shot.]
Loop by Karen Akins (October 2014)
A time traveler accidentally brings a boy from the past into the 23rd century, only to discover he’s already in love with her future self and is keeping his own set of secrets. [I will never tire of time travel in my fiction. Always fascinating!]
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers (November 2014)
Annith's worst fears are realized when she discovers that, despite her lifelong training to be an assassin, she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever shut up in the convent of Saint Mortain. [This was quite possibly the title I was most excited to snag.]
Related StoriesEmily Dickinson is the New Black in YA FictionApril Debut YA NovelsDays of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
I thought I'd take this opportunity to share a few observations - trends for the upcoming seasons, what titles are really being pushed, what's not being pushed at all. Synopses are from Worldcat or Goodreads. My comments are in brackets.
What's Hot With the StaffThe publicists and other staff there (I'm never quite sure what their titles are!) were really pushing the contemporary realistic titles. My first stop was at the Penguin booth, where I asked one staff person's personal favorites and she talked up Jandy Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun, Meg Wolitzer's Belzhar, and Katherine Howe's Conversion. The staff at Harper were really pushing Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern (the fact they compare it to John Green and Rainbow Rowell means it's one of their darlings). Also talked up big was Alex Mallory's Wild.
At the Tor booth, one of the staff told me that Ben Tripp's The Accidental Highwayman was her favorite of the fall list and compared it to the Princess Bride. A couple of horror titles being pushed were Michael Grant's Messenger of Fear and Micol Ostow's Amity.
What's Not ThereI asked a lot about fantasy, science fiction, and horror titles, and to be honest, there wasn't a whole lot that the staff were eager to recommend. I think this may have to do with the fact that there are a bunch of sequels coming out now, rather than series starters or standalones. I did ask specifically about science fiction a couple of places and was met with regretful apologies - there's just not much there. (I'm kind of surprised by this since I've read quite a few fascinating SF titles recently.) They seemed much more eager to talk about the contemporary realistic titles; those seemed to be what resonated with a lot of the staff.
There's definitely been a significant decrease in the number of dystopian and post-apocalyptic titles as well. I noticed more high fantasy than hard sci fi, which is pretty exciting to me (I love both, but high fantasy is my original love). That said, I did pick up some interesting galleys in all genres, which I'll talk more about below.
I tried to keep an eye out for books (particularly SFF books) featuring people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ characters. There were a few, but I didn't really notice them being singled out and hand-sold. One exception was Sarah Tregay's Fan Art , which features a gay teenage boy. I'll talk a bit about these books featuring more diverse characters in my list of trends and other observations below.
Re-tellingsRe-tellings are alive and well in summer and fall of 2014. Fairy tales, legends, classics, myths - they're all being re-worked in new and interesting ways.
Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine (August 2014)
There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.
Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time. [This is a re-telling of the Phantom of the Opera; the main character is Asian.]
Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday (September 2014)
In 1820s Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which her father and his alluring assistant might be implicated. [This is a reimagining, in some ways at least, of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well as Edgar Allan Poe's stories.]
Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann (September 2014)
Christine Heppermann's powerful collection of free verse poems explore how girls are taught to think about themselves, their bodies, their friends--as consumers, as objects, as competitors. Based on classic fairy tale characters and fairy tale tropes, the poems range from contemporary retellings to first person accounts set within the original stories. [We're giving away a finished copy of this as part of our five year anniversary giveaway!]
Stitching Snow by R. C. Lewis (October 2014)
A futuristic retelling of Snow White in which seventeen-year-old Essie, a master at repairing robots and drones on the frozen mining planet Thanda, is pulled into a war by handsome and mysterious Dane after his shuttle crash-lands near her home.
Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay (December 2014)
After ten years of exile among fairies who teach her to use her magically-enhanced strength and courage, Sleeping Beauty's daughter Aurora enlists the help of Niklaas, eleventh son of King Eldorio, in the fight to reclaim her throne.
Survival I think a lot of these stories spring from the post-apocalyptic trend, but they're set in present day and don't always involve the usual culprits (technology run amok, global warming, etc.).
Nil by Lynne Matson (available now)
Transported through a "gate" to the mysterious island of Nil, seventeen-year-old Charley has 365 days to escape--or she will die. [Like Lost but not as fun. I'm trying to read it now and finding it rough going.]
Wild by Alex Mallory (July 2014)
When Cade, a boy who has lived in the forest his whole life, saves a regular teen from a bear attack, he is brought into modern civilization for the first time. [Publicist described this as a modern Tarzan story.]
The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan (August 2014)
In this fast-paced survival story set in Hawaii, electronics fail worldwide, the islands become completely isolated, and a strange starscape fills the sky. Leilani and her father embark on a nightmare odyssey from Oahu to their home on the Big Island. Leilani’s epilepsy holds a clue to the disaster, if only they can survive as the islands revert to earlier ways. [Features a half-white, half-native Hawaiian protagonist.]
Plagues and Epidemics This is a trend that's been going strong for a while (think Morris finalist In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters and The Program by Suzanne Young). Authors seem particularly entranced by the Spanish flu epidemic.
A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier (available now)
When the Spanish influenza epidemic reaches Portland, Oregon, in 1918, 17-year-old Cleo leaves behind the comfort of her boarding school to work for the Red Cross.
Conversion by Katherine Howe (July 2014)
When girls start experiencing strange tics and other mysterious symptoms at Colleen's high school, her small town of Danvers, Massachusetts, falls victim to rumors that lead to full-blown panic, and only Colleen connects their fate to the ill-fated Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago.
Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson (September 2014)
Emily Bird is an African American high school senior in Washington D.C., member of a privileged medical family, on the verge of college and the edge of the drug culture, and not really sure which way she will go--then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what happened. [This synopsis doesn't mention that the book heavily features a widespread flu virus.]
High Fantasy Picks There were some intriguing high fantasy offerings that didn't fit into any of the above categories.
Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis (June 2014)
A seventeen-year-old boy finds that every time he closes his eyes, he is drawn into the body of a mute servant girl from another world--a world that is growing increasingly more dangerous, and where many things are not as they seem.
The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas (August 2014)
After returning to Eton College, Titus makes a shocking discovery in his mother's diary that causes him to question everything he believed about his and Iolanthe's mission. [Sequel to the Burning Sky]
Lark Rising by Sandra Waugh (September 2014)
Sixteen-year-old Lark sets out on a journey to help her village fight off monsters called Troths and learns she is the Guardian of Life, fated to recover a powerful amulet from the Breeders of Chaos.
The Fire Artist by Daisy Whitney (October 2014)
As an elemental artist, Aria can create fire from her hands, stealing her power from lightning--which is dangerous and illegal in her world--but as her power begins to fade faster than she can steal it she must turn to a modern-day genie, a Granter, who offers one wish with an extremely high price. [The synopsis isn't clear, but the cover pictured from Goodreads indicates an Asian protagonist.]
Snow Like Ashes by Sarah Raasch (October 2014)
Orphaned Meira, a fierce chakram-wielding warrior from the Kingdom of Winter, must struggle to free her people from the tyranny of an opposing kingdom while also protecting her own destiny.
Other Good StuffBelow are a few other titles that I'm excited to read and share with patrons and readers.
Curses and Smoke by Vicky Alvear Shecter (May 2014)
Tagus is a medical slave who wants be a gladiator, Lucia is the daughter of Tag's owner and betrothed to an older man, and the two teenagers are in love with each other--but it is the year 79 and soon Vesuvius will alter their lives forever. [I'm such a sucker for historical fiction like this. I loved reading about doomed places as a teen - Atlantis, Pompeii, Troy, anything.]
V is for Villain by Peter Moore (May 2014)
Brad Baron is used to looking lame compared to his older brother, Blake. Though Brad's basically a genius, Blake is a superhero in the elite Justice Force. And Brad doesn't measure up at his high school, either, where powers like super-strength and flying are the norm. So when Brad makes friends who are more into political action than weight lifting, he's happy to join a new crew-especially since it means spending more time with Layla, a girl who may or may not have a totally illegal, totally secret super-power. And with her help, Brad begins to hone a dangerous new power of his own.
The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Robers (September 2014)
After a powerful new drug causes havoc and deadly addiction, seventeen-year-old Faye trains to take revenge on those who took her future and murdered the boy she loved. [I think this is a super intriguing title. I'm less sold on the synopsis, but I'll give it a shot.]
Loop by Karen Akins (October 2014)
A time traveler accidentally brings a boy from the past into the 23rd century, only to discover he’s already in love with her future self and is keeping his own set of secrets. [I will never tire of time travel in my fiction. Always fascinating!]
Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers (November 2014)
Annith's worst fears are realized when she discovers that, despite her lifelong training to be an assassin, she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever shut up in the convent of Saint Mortain. [This was quite possibly the title I was most excited to snag.]
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