Kelly Jensen's Blog, page 4

I Live in Toyota’s 2021 Holiday Commercial Town

If you’re wondering what a Toyota commercial has to do with books and reading, I promise you, there’s a connection. This year’s new holiday Toyota commercial is a cute one, following the story of a used bookstore that suffers a fire and the young girl who goes around her small town to collect books from residents. Those books are then given to the elderly bookstore owner, Sam, as a holiday present, presumably so his shop can be back up in the new year.

The cute town where the commercial takes place is fictional, but it was filmed in the town where I live. This isn’t the first commercial or even first car commercial filmed here. Bill Murray reprised his Groundhog Day role in a Jeep commercial for the Super Bowl in 2020, a film that was filmed here as well. In addition to those, my town’s been home to the filming of the Sissy Spacek Amazon joint, Light Years, and to scenes from the classic Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Familiar with Jordan Peele’s Lovecraft Country adaptation? Filmed here. The upcoming Amazon Paper Girls adaptation? Parts of it were also filmed locally.

I don’t live in Hollywood nor even a mid-size city. I’m in a semi-suburban area, right on the skirts of farm country. It’s easy to laugh about a town of 25,000 having so many shows, films, and commercials filmed here, but it’s much funnier once you realize that this is a small town, where people know people, people talk to people, and everyone has something to say or share about the goings on.

Imagine the surprise, then, of the Toyota commercial.

It’s the end of September, and I’m rolling up to teach yoga on a Tuesday night. My town is home to Read Between the Lynes, a few doors down from the yoga studio. As I park by car, I notice this:

 

 

There are signs about parking being inaccessible over the next couple of days, but since Light Years is filming and has been filming sporadically, these signs weren’t noteworthy. But otherwise, all that I could see was the facade for Sam’s bookstore, located right across the square from Read Between the Lynes. I sat in my car absolutely perplexed, wondering why another bookstore would move into our small town and why it’d even consider doing so right across from our beloved indie.

I went up to the yoga studio and everyone was talking: it was some kind of commercial being filmed and not an actual bookstore. The commercial’s subject wasn’t known, nor was the company for which it was being made. But some of the students talked about them being approached by the company producing the commercial, as they were soliciting local residences for filming. There was apparently decent money involved for the rights to use and film the outside of their homes.

You’ll see in the commercial what this means: the little girl rings the doorbells at a number of gorgeous Victorian homes in our town, all of which have a nice door, visible porches, and other aesthetically-pleasing features. It’s neat to see some of the best architecture in your community showcased like that, without any alterations or any set built to accomplish what it is that already sets this town apart.

There’s a beautiful shot of the town’s opera house, too, the same one which Bill Murray jumps from in Groundhog Day.

It was surprising, given the fact that all of the locations filmed were locations in town that they didn’t approach our own bookstore to do the commercial with their facade. They chose another building instead, one with a more modern exterior, even though the rest of the scenery and feel of the commercial is nostalgic.

After teaching, I went with one of my friends to check out Sam’s Books . . . as did many other people in town because again: small town. We had some fun peeping which books were in the store and the levels to which they were destroyed by the fire. We didn’t know the premise of the commercial or the company, but we easily figured out the fire aspect as the smoke damage and tape on the glass made it clear.

 

The store in which this was set up is a small children’s boutique, and if you peep through to the back of the interior, you might be able to see their goods behind it. That might be a little more evident in the following photos, all of which are shots of the window front bookshelves. See if you, too, can figure out what some of the books are.

(Yes, it’s been pointed out that this bookstore is selling ARCs, which was just one more questionable bit of the reality of the entire premise).

 

 

The week the commercial was filming in town, my in-laws came to visit, and we took them to eat at one of the outdoor dining restaurants up the square. We finished and took a walk by Sam’s Books, which by that point — Thursday — had been disassembled. They’d been in the final stages of removing the last of the books.

We took them over to Lynes then, where we had to pause to cross the street and where we had to get permission from the commercial team to enter the store. They were filming in front of the door. I stood inside the door with my mother in law while my husband and his dad were waiting to get the all-clear to enter because, as it turns out, businesses in town weren’t told about how the commercial would be filmed, how it would impact their hours or access to their facilities, or that the commercial would take priority to everyday activity.

Perhaps most frustrating, though, was that in our small town, people took to Facebook asking about what was being filmed (not a shock) and when they learned about the fake bookstore, wondered why we didn’t have a real one in town because we deserve it (we have one! We’ve had one for a long time! It’s right downtown!).

It’s funny to watch the commercial back, too, knowing that it was filmed at the end of September. We had a warm early fall, plenty of flora was still emerging, and yet, the commercial was set during the holidays. You can see when the girl is walking around town that there’s not snow on the ground and that the trees are showcasing their early fall colors. Then when you get to the scene where the girl presents the books to the book seller, there’s suddenly snow.

They’d filmed fake snow on the streets and on some of the greenery, but in other scenes, it’s really clear where they didn’t and where it’s obvious this was not a cold season. The girl is wearing a winter coat, mittens, and a hat as she’s going door to door, but the grass is very green behind her.

Here are some other fun little facts and insights from the commercial vs. real life:

At about 6 seconds in, you see a generic sign for a bakery and a realtor on the exterior of the buildings in the background. They are actually a bakery — with the best cinnamon rolls you can imagine — and a real estate office.

 

If you squint  at 28 seconds, that’s where the bookstore’s located — immediately next to the building with the black awning that curves around the corner.

 

There are not evergreen trees in the town square, as seen at 39 seconds. They’re big, mature trees, but they’re not THOSE big, mature trees. You can see that in my first photo above, as well as at the five second mark, as that is the perspective in the background from this scene in the commercial.

 

This is more Toyotas than I’ve ever seen in the square before — apparently, too, the crew asked around to nice looking Toyota owners if they could use their cars in background scenes.

This Week at Book Riot

 

Over on Book Riot this week…

 

The best book covers of 2021.

 

 A look at the home Mary Shelley once lived in that’s currently for sale in London.

 

Alice Sebold’s memoir Lucky was pulled from shelves following the exoneration of Anthony Broadwater, tried and wrongfully convicted for the rape at the center of the story.

 

All of last week’s book censorship news, with plenty of calls to action for preparing to handle more challenges in 2022. Keep an eye out for the words “social emotional learning” being as buzzy as critical race theory.

Play That Book: 2022 YA Book Titles That Are Song Titles

How about something fun?

One of my favorite annual roundup posts is a look at YA book titles that share their name with song titles. I like to call them YA earworms because any time I see one of these book titles, the song immediately latches onto my brain and I find myself singing. Last year, I put together not one, but two posts, featuring these books.

Let’s take a look at the 2022 YA book titles that are also song titles (or are the lines listeners would remember most from a song, even if the title isn’t identical). I’ve pulled descriptions for the books from Goodreads and note that not all of them have covers or publication dates yet. Given the reality of the pandemic and shipping timelines, the publication dates here might shift.

If you know of others, drop ’em in the comments! Chances are that we’ll see more books that fit this roundup as more YA books for 2022 are announced and finalized.

Links lead to Goodreads for easy TBR making.

 

 

2022 YA Book Titles That Are Song Titles Bad at Love by Gabriela Martin (August 2)

Ever since Daniel moved to L.A. from Brazil to join the band Mischief & Mayhem, he’s become the tabloids’ bad boy. Paparazzi follow him and girls swoon over him . . . except for Sasha, who hates bad boys. When a chance encounter brings them together, Sasha sees an opportunity to get close to Daniel and write a story that will make a name for herself at the celebrity gossip magazine where she interns. But Daniel is surprisingly sweet and extremely cute—could she be falling for him?

The truth is: Daniel is hiding something. When Sasha discovers his secret, will she follow her heart or deliver the hottest story of the summer?

 

 

 

Of course, we’ve got Halsey singing “Bad at Love”:

 

Daughter by Kate McLaughlin (March 8)

Scarlet’s life is pretty average. Overly protective mom. Great friends. Cute boy she’s interested in. And a father she’s never known – until she does.

When the FBI show up at Scarlet’s door, she is shocked to learn her father is infamous serial killer Jeffrey Robert Lake. And now, he’s dying and will only give the names and locations of his remaining victims to the one person, the daughter he hasn’t seen since she was a baby.

Scarlet’s mother has tried to protect her from Lake’s horrifying legacy, but there’s no way they can escape the media firestorm that erupts when they come out of hiding. Or the people who blame Scarlet for her father’s choices. When trying to do the right thing puts her life in danger, Scarlet is faced with a choice – go back into hiding or make the world see her as more than a monster’s daughter.

Kate McLaughlin’s Daughter is a novel about trying right deadly choices that were never yours to begin with.

 

I’ve never not have Pearl Jam’s “Daughter” in my mind.

 

 

But maybe you have John Mayer’s “Daughter(s)” in yours.

 

 

Killin’ Time by Brenna Ekrlich (March 8)

A deathly warning to a generation of murderinos: What happens when the stories we’re chasing finally catch up with us?
 
Summer in Ferry, Connecticut, has always meant long, lazy days at the beach and wild nights partying in the abandoned mansions on the edge of town. Until now, that is.

Natalie Temple, who’s never been one for beaches or parties in the first place, is reeling from the murder of her favorite teacher, and there’s no way this true-crime-obsessed girl is going to sit back and let the rumor mill churn out lie after lie—even if she has to hide her investigation from her disapproving mom and team up with the new boy in town…

But the more Natalie uncovers, the more she realizes some secrets were never meant to be told.

 

Hello, Clint Black and “Killin’ Time”:

 

 

 

A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy (May 31)

Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar – a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet – and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song?

 

 

Let’s go wayyyyy back with “A Little Bit Country, A Little Rock ‘n Roll” with Donny and Marie:

 

 

Love Somebody by Rachel Roasek (January 11)

Sam Dickson is a charismatic actress, ambitious and popular with big plans for her future. Ros Shew is one of the smartest people in school—but she’s a loner, and prefers to keep it that way. Then there’s Christian Powell, the darling of the high school soccer team. He’s not the best with communication, which is why he and Sam broke up after dating for six months; but he makes up for it by being genuine, effusive, and kind, which is why they’re still best friends.

When Christian falls for Ros on first sight, their first interaction is a disaster, so he enlists Sam’s help to get through to her. Sam, with motives of her own, agrees to coach Christian from the sidelines on how to soften Ros’s notorious walls. But as Ros starts to suspect Christian is acting differently, and Sam starts to realize the complexity of her own feelings, their fragile relationships threaten to fall apart.

This fresh romantic comedy from debut author Rachel Roasek is a heartfelt story about falling in love—with a partner, with your friends, or just with yourself—and about how maybe, the bravest thing to do in the face of change is just love somebody.

 

Maroon 5 has their own “Love Somebody,” too:

 

 

 

Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan (May 17)

Fallon and Chloe used to be best friends. But last summer, the girls hooked up right before Chloe left for college, and after a series of misunderstandings, they aren’t even speaking to one another. Now, a year later, Chloe’s back home from school, and Fallon is doing everything in her power to avoid her. Which is especially difficult because their moms own a business together—a gourmet ice cream truck where both girls work.

But when their moms have the opportunity to make a presentation to some venture capitalists in Texas—something that could seriously expand their business and solve all their money problems to boot—it’s up to Fallon to work a series of food truck festivals across the country. But she can’t do it alone, and Chloe is the only one available to help. As tensions heat up again between the two girls, will Fallon be able to keep her cool?

 

 

 

I could have gone with Bowling for Soup’s version, but let’s stay with the classic from Modern English:

 

 

 

 

Somebody That I Used To Love by Dana L. Davis

There is very little yet about this book, so I’m pulling the announcement from last week’s Publisher’s Weekly:

Tiffany Shelton and Carmen Johnson at Skyscape has bought world English rights to Somebody That I Used to Know, a YA contemporary novel by Dana L. Davis (Roman and Jewel). When Dylan Woods’ parents announce that her childhood best friend—who she hasn’t seen since he became the biggest teen musical artist in the world—is coming to stay with them, it turns her life upside down. But as they reconnect, Dylan not only finds that there is more to their friendship, she also finds there’s more to herself. Publication is set for fall 2022; Viana Siniscalchi at Alloy Entertainment handled the two-book deal and Uwe Stender at TriadaUS represented the author.

 

This one isn’t a perfect match, and yet, after the announcement, I couldn’t get this one out of my head. You know the song because this was everywhere back in the early 2010s. Thanks, Gotye:

 

 

 

Youngblood by Sasha Laurens (July 19)

For fans of Vampire Diaries and dark academia, two queer teen bloodsuckers at an elite vampire-only boarding school must go up against all of Vampirdom when they uncover a frightening conspiracy on campus.

Kat Finn and her mother can barely make ends meet living among humans. Like all vampires, they must drink Hema, an expensive synthetic blood substitute, to survive, as nearly all of humanity has been infected by a virus that’s fatal to vampires. Kat isn’t looking forward to an immortal life of barely scraping by, but when she learns she’s been accepted to the Harcote School, a prestigious prep school that’s secretly vampires-only, she knows her fortune is about to change.

Taylor Sanger has grown up in the wealthy vampire world, but she’s tired of its backward, conservative values—especially when it comes to sexuality, since she’s an out-and-proud lesbian. She only has to suffer through a two more years of Harcote before she’s free. But when she discovers her new roommate is Kat Finn, she’s horrified. Because she and Kat used to be best friends, a long time ago, and it didn’t end well.

When Taylor stumbles upon the dead body of a vampire, and Kat makes a shocking discovery in the school’s archives, the two realize that there are deep secrets at Harcote—secrets that link them to the most powerful figures in Vampirdom and to the synthetic blood they all rely on.

 

I do not think 5 Seconds of Summer was singing about the creatures above, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility:

 

 

Maybe some day I’ll put together a big Spotify list of YA book title songs for everyone to enjoy on repeat. It’s sure offer a ton of different genres!

This Week at Book Riot

Next Monday I’ll have a fresh piece here at STACKED!  I’ve alluded to having a whole collection of drafts and I’m not kidding. My goal’s to knock ’em out in one big swoop and schedule through the end of this year.

Until then, here’s what I’ve been doing over on Book Riot:

 

How many of these ’90s tween and teen franchise and tie-in novels do you remember?

 

The best gifts for readers under $30.

 

The Library of Congress changed a couple of subject headings but left a word in that’s worth examining.

 

Here’s a look at what’s in the new infrastructure for libraries.

 

Barnes & Noble names their Book of the Year.

 

Last week’s roundup of book censorship news isn’t any shorter than it’s been in recent weeks.

This Week at Book Riot

I promise fresh posts coming soon here — I had a bunch drafted to work on last weekend then decided to decorate the house with some lights to make the early darkness a little easier. Soon, if not this coming week!

Over on Book Riot:

 

Books about finding wonder and joy in the dark seasons.

 

Did you know Shel Silverstein was a country music writer? Now you do.

 

A look at the most popular, in-demand books in US public libraries from August to October this year.

 

These are the best and worst cities for book lovers in 2022.

 

PEN America’s deep dive into executive gag orders forced on educators is vital reading in our censorship culture.

 

A whole host of fun mugs for book lovers.

 

And to wrap this up, I’m stepping down after five years as cohost of Hey YA, handing my spot over to Tirzah! She and Erica are going to take this show to a new chapter and I’m eager to tune in. I’m not leaving Book Riot nor writing about YA — it was just well past time to let someone else do the book blabbing. Tune into my last episode with Erica, where we dive into short stories and new/forthcoming YA nonfiction.

This Week at Book Riot

 

Over on Book Riot this week…

 

Why don’t more books have a credits page?

 

A look at the history and legacy of the tale “The Girl With the Green Ribbon.”

 

A collection of sweet boho inspired book goods.

 

Love a retelling? Then 2021’s giant collection of YA retellings will be your jam.

 

And finally, last week’s book challenges and censorship stories. This week’s is up now, as it’ll post after I draft this.

This Week at Book Riot

This week over at Book Riot…

 

These are the most underrated YA books of the pandemic.

 

The means by which politicians are using critical race theory as the new satanic panic in their campaigns.

 

Sweet gifts for cookbook lovers.

 

Here is a roundup of last week’s censorship news. This week’s will be up on Book Riot after this post goes live, so feel free to hop over there for some updates and new news.

October 2021 Debut YA Novels

I’m finding it a little hard to believe, but October is almost over. Time to take a peek at the debut YA novels of October 2021.

 

 

This round-up includes debut novels, where “debut” is in its purest definition. These are first-time books by first-time authors. I’m not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past. Authors who have self-published are not included here either.

All descriptions are from Goodreads, unless otherwise noted. If I’m missing any debuts that came out in October from traditional publishers — and I should clarify that indie/small presses are okay — let me know in the comments.

As always, not all noted titles included here are necessarily endorsements for those titles. List is arranged alphabetically by title and publication month. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.

 

DEBUT YA NOVELS: October 2021

 

*Crossbones by Kimberly Vale

Never trust a pirate.

The Blood Bell tolls, marking the death of the pirate king and the start of the Trials—a heart-stopping competition where the reward is the Bone Crown. Only one contender can claim the coveted island throne; each will gamble life and limb to win.

Captain. Sister. Maiden.
Csilla Abado yearns to prove her strength to the seasoned pirates who balk at her youth and to her elder sister who has always craved Csilla’s captainship. She will risk everything to become the first pirate queen, no matter the cost.

Dealer. Son. Legacy.
Kane Blackwater wants to leave behind the dirty gold and shady trades he’s made to keep his father’s ship, the Iron Jewel, alive. The Trials represent a new beginning—yet rumors of a secret heir are swirling, threatening his hopes of becoming the pirate king.

Stowaway. Daughter. Storm.
Lorelei Penny longs for nothing more than to avenge her mother’s death. Stowing away on the Iron Jewel was supposed to get her closer to the killer, but instead she finds herself caught up in the deadly battle where loyalty and desire collide.

Csilla. Kane. Lorelei. Each on a mission. The sea, however, has other plans. Dark tides are rising, and if they aren’t careful, they’ll surely drown.

 

Daughters of a Dead Empire by Carolyn Tara O’Neil

Seventeen-year-old Anna is running for her life. She barely escaped the massacre that killed her family, and now a relentless Red commander is after her to finish the job. If she can just reach the Tsarist army, she’ll be safe. But first she must convince a peasant girl to smuggle her across communist territory. And when the peasant turns out to be a communist herself, Anna must hide her true identity at all costs.

Sixteen-year-old Evgenia is poor and pissed off about it. Her Red soldier brother badly needs a doctor. Evgenia will do anything to raise the money – even selling a wagon ride to a spoiled bourgeois girl. Only it’s the worst mistake Evgenia’s ever made. A rogue commander is following them, and he’s out to kill the wealthy girl and anyone who helps her.

As the girls flee across the war-torn Russian countryside, they find that they have more in common than their prejudices led them to expect. To survive, Anna must trust a revolutionary who wants to destroy her world. And Evgenia must decide whether the life of her new friend is worth more than the change she so passionately believes in.

 

 

Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan

In an empire on the brink of war…

Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.

Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.

When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.

But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.

Ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, and a captivating romance collide in June CL Tan’s debut, a stunning homage to the Xianxia novel with a tender, beating heart, perfect for fans of The Bone Witch and We Hunt the Flame.

 

Just Ash by Sol Santana

Ashley “Ash” Bishop has always known who he is: a guy who loves soccer, has a crush on his friend Michelle, and is fascinated by the gruesome history of his hometown―Salem, Massachusetts. He’s also always known that he’s intersex, born with both male and female genitalia. But it’s never felt like a big deal until his junior year of high school, when Ash gets his first period in front of the entire boys’ soccer team. Now his friends and teachers see him differently, and his own mother thinks he should “try being a girl.”

As tensions mount with his parents and Ash feels more and more like an outcast, he can’t help feeling a deeper kinship with his ancestor Bridget Bishop, who was executed for witchcraft. She didn’t conform to her community’s expectations either; she was different, and her neighbors felt threatened by her. And she paid the ultimate price. Ash is haunted by her last recorded words: You will keep silent.

Ash realizes that he needs to find a way to stand up for who he really is, or the cost of his silence might destroy his life, too.

 

*Keeper of the Night by Kylie Lee Baker

Death is her destiny.

Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami, Ren Scarborough has been collecting souls in the London streets for centuries. Expected to obey the harsh hierarchy of the Reapers who despise her, Ren conceals her emotions and avoids her tormentors as best she can.

When her failure to control her Shinigami abilities drives Ren out of London, she flees to Japan to seek the acceptance she’s never gotten from her fellow Reapers. Accompanied by her younger brother, the only being on earth to care for her, Ren enters the Japanese underworld to serve the Goddess of Death… only to learn that here, too, she must prove herself worthy. Determined to earn respect, Ren accepts an impossible task—find and eliminate three dangerous Yokai demons—and learns how far she’ll go to claim her place at Death’s side.

 

 

Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch

Enhanced Memory changed everything. By sharing someone else’s memory, you can experience anything and everything with no risk at all: learn any skill instantly, travel the world from home, and safeguard all your most treasured secrets forever. Nova’s parents invented this technology, and it’s slowly taking over their lives. Nova doesn’t mind—mostly. She knows Enhanced Memory is a gift.

But Kade says Nova doesn’t know the costs of this technology that’s taken the world by storm. Kade runs a secret vlog cataloging real experiences, is always on the move, and is strangely afraid of Nova—even though she feels more comfortable with him than she ever has with anyone. Suddenly there are things Nova can’t stop noticing: the way her parents don’t meet her eyes anymore, the questions no one wants her to ask, and the relentless feeling that there’s something she’s forgotten…

 

 

On Top of Glass by Karina Manta (nonfiction)

An insightful memoir from a figure skating champion about her life as a bisexual professional athlete, perfect for readers of Fierce by Aly Raisman and Forward by Abby Wambach.

Karina Manta has had a busy few years: Not only did she capture the hearts of many with her fan-favorite performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she also became the first female figure skater on Team USA to come out as queer. Her Modern Love essay I Can’t Hate My Body if I Love Hers was published in the New York Times, and then she joined the circus–Cirque du Soleil’s on-ice show, AXEL.

Karina’s memoir covers these experiences and much more. Attending a high school with 4,000 students, you’d expect to know more than two openly gay students, but Karina didn’t meet an out-lesbian until she was nearly seventeen–let alone any other kind of queer woman. But this isn’t just a story about her queerness. It’s also a story about her struggle with body image in a sport that prizes delicate femininity. It’s a story about panic attacks, and first crushes, and all the crushes that followed, and it’s a story about growing up, feeling different than everybody around her and then realizing that everyone else felt different too.

 

Rest Easy by Warona Jolomba

Words have the power to heal

“We’re not friends. We’re just volunteer partners.
Once our shift is over, we don’t know each other.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“What about the rest of the time?”
” . . . the opposite, I guess.”

Heartsick from the death of his mother and heartsore from breaking up with his girlfriend, Dee Warrington is barely getting by.

Eccentric with mad style, Naya’s had straight As since the seventh grade, and when she makes a pinky promise, she means it.

Both find themselves at Salvation Hill Nursing Home, volunteering during their summer break. There they meet Marie Delden—a former aspiring poet with a mysterious backstory. As Dee and Naya read through Marie’s poems, they begin to unravel Marie’s past . . . and discover their own future.

Inspired by a true story, Warona Jolomba shares a tale of love and loss, and a bond that forms in the unlikeliest of places.

 

Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

What the heart desires, the house destroys…

Andromeda is a debtera—an exorcist hired to cleanse households of the Evil Eye. When a handsome young heir named Magnus Rochester reaches out to hire her, Andromeda quickly realizes this is a job like no other, with horrifying manifestations at every turn, and that Magnus is hiding far more than she has been trained for. Death is the most likely outcome if she stays, but leaving Magnus to live out his curse alone isn’t an option. Evil may roam the castle’s halls, but so does a burning desire.

 

This Week at Book Riot

 

Over on Book Riot this week…

 

Last week’s censorship news was packed with some Real Gems (sarcasm, always).

 

17+ books for yoga teachers, as well as dedicated yoga students.

 

Awesome terrazzo bookends.

 

 

I invited my pal and Baby-Sitters Club fan Amma Marfo back to Hey YA Extra Credit to talk about Season 2 of the show and her insights are so, so good. Tune in here.

Creepy Crawlies: YA Books Featuring Insects

Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is one of my favorite short stories. I think it’s well known about that even those who haven’t read it know that it’s about a businessman who wakes up transformed into a bug. It’s absurdist fiction, with just enough creepiness to leave chills. Who hasn’t feared waking up in a completely different body? Being unable to operate in the world as you’re used to?

Bugs and insects are about the only thing that give me creepy crawlies in fiction, and when it comes to scary reading season, I’m always reminded of the YA books featuring insects and bugs that have left permanent scars on me. We’re not talking about books like those about bee keeping or about other hobbies relating to bugs. I’m talking about when bugs are part of the scares themselves. The kind of thing that years later, you remember the book because of That Scene or Those Scenes.

I’ve pulled together four YA books featuring creepy crawlies. Three are straight up horror reads, while the fourth is one where a spider plays a big role in the story itself. These aren’t for readers who have legitimate fears of these creatures; they’re for readers who want to be scared by them.

I’m positive more of these YA books are out there. But there’s not a nice, easy way to drill down to find them, often because these are memorable scenes, as opposed to larger parts of the plot and therefore, not easy to catalog. I’d love to know of more. Again: YA, and the insects need to be legitimately creepy in some way.

Let’s wiggle right in. Descriptions are from Goodreads, and I can vouch for the three horror titles, as I’ve read them all. The fantasy title I have not read but know has been reviewed positively. Saying these books feature insects to give you the creepy crawlies is a spoiler.

 

 

YA Books Featuring Creepy Bugs and Insects

 

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee (duology)

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo.

And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life.

Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soulguide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for.

 

 

Frost by Marianna Baer

Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school starts with a cruel shock: Frost House, the cozy Victorian dorm where she and her best friends live, has been assigned an unexpected roommate—eccentric Celeste Lazar.

As classes get under way, strange happenings begin to bedevil Frost House: frames falling off walls, doors locking themselves, furniture toppling over. Celeste blames the housemates, convinced they want to scare her into leaving. And although Leena strives to be the peacekeeper, soon the eerie happenings in the dorm, an intense romance between Leena and Celeste’s brother, David, and the reawakening of childhood fears all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. But does the threat lie with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind…or in Frost House itself?

 

 

 

Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics

When sixteen-year-old Amanda Verner’s family decides to move from their small mountain cabin to the vast prairie, she hopes it is her chance for a fresh start. She can leave behind the memory of the past winter; of her sickly ma giving birth to a baby sister who cries endlessly; of the terrifying visions she saw as her sanity began to slip, the victim of cabin fever; and most of all, the memories of the boy she has been secretly meeting with as a distraction from her pain. The boy whose baby she now carries.

When the Verners arrive at their new home, a large cabin abandoned by its previous owners, they discover the inside covered in blood. And as the days pass, it is obvious to Amanda that something isn’t right on the prairie. She’s heard stories of lands being tainted by evil, of men losing their minds and killing their families, and there is something strange about the doctor and his son who live in the woods on the edge of the prairie. But with the guilt and shame of her sins weighing on her, Amanda can’t be sure if the true evil lies in the land, or deep within her soul.

 

 

White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson

Marigold is running from ghosts. The phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small California beach town to the embattled Midwestern city of Cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. Her mom has accepted a new job with the Sterling Foundation that comes with a free house, one that Mari now has to share with her bratty ten-year-old stepsister, Piper.

The renovated picture-perfect home on Maple Street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its . . . secrets. That’s only half the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only Mari seems to notice. Worse: Piper keeps talking about a friend who wants Mari gone.

But “running from ghosts” is just a metaphor, right?

As the house closes in, Mari learns that the danger isn’t limited to Maple Street. Cedarville has its secrets, too. And secrets always find their way through the cracks.