Kelly Jensen's Blog, page 46
May 1, 2018
Teens in the Military
After seeing Todd Strasser’s forthcoming book about a teenager in the army who was wounded in action and now must readjust to life back home, I wondered what other books about teens in the military were out there. I didn’t find a whole lot, but the booklist below gives a good cross-section of what’s available, from contemporary stories about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to historical stories about World War II and Vietnam. Thankfully, here are a few featuring teenage girls and teens of color. I stuck to books about teens in real wars and real places. What others would you add to the list?
Front Lines by Michael Grant
1942. World War II. The most terrible war in human history. Millions are dead; millions more are still to die. The Nazis rampage across Europe and eye far-off America. The green, untested American army is going up against the greatest fighting force ever assembled—the armed forces of Nazi Germany. But something has changed. A court decision makes females subject to the draft and eligible for service. So in this World War II, women and girls fight, too.
As the fate of the world hangs in the balance, three girls sign up to fight. Rio Richlin, Frangie Marr, and Rainy Schulterman are average girls, girls with dreams and aspirations, at the start of their lives, at the start of their loves. Each has her own reasons for volunteering. Not one expects to see actual combat. Not one expects to be on the front lines. Rio, Frangie, and Rainy will play their parts in the war to defeat evil and save the human race. They will fear and they will rage; they will suffer and they will inflict suffering; they will hate and they will love. They will fight the greatest war the world has ever known.
Sequels: Silver Stars, Purple Hearts
Four-Four-Two by Dean Hughes
Yuki Nakahara is an American. But it’s the start of World War II, and America doesn’t see it that way. Like many other Japanese Americans, Yuki and his family have been forced into an internment camp in the Utah desert. But Yuki isn’t willing to sit back and accept this injustice—it’s his country too, and he’s going to prove it by enlisting in the army to fight for the Allies.
When Yuki and his friend Shig ship out, they aren’t prepared for the experiences they’ll encounter as members of the “Four-Four-Two,” a segregated regiment made up entirely of Japanese-American soldiers. Before Yuki returns home—if he returns home—he’ll come face to face with persistent prejudices, grueling combat he never imagined, and friendships deeper than he knew possible.
If I Lie by Corinne Jackson
Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.
Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.
Personal Effects by E. M. Kokie
Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. But as Matt searches for answers about T.J.’s death, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.’s life that suggests he may not have known T.J. as well as he thought. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother’s memory, and take charge of his own life.
I Pledge Allegiance by Chris Lynch (plus sequels)
Morris, Rudi, Ivan, and Beck are best friends for life. So when one of the teens is drafted into the Vietnam War, the others sign up, too. Although they each serve in a different branch, they are fighting the war together–and they pledge to do all they can to come home together.
Haunted by dreams of violence and death, Morris makes it his personal mission to watch over his friends–and the best place to do that is in the US Navy. Stationed off the coast of Vietnam on the USS Boston, Morris and his fellow sailors provide crucial support to the troops on the ground. But Boston itself isn’t safe from attack. And as Morris finds his courage and resolve tested like never before, he keeps coming back to a single thought: He made a pledge. He must keep them safe.
Sequels: Vietnam series
Torn by David Massey
Afghanistan. In the heat and dust, young British army medic Elinor Nielson watches an Afghan girl walk into a hail of bullets. But when she runs to help, Ellie finds her gone. Who is she? And what’s happened to her? What Ellie discovers makes her question everything she believes in, even her feelings for the American lieutenant who takes her side.
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
When Private Matt Duffy wakes up in an army hospital in Iraq, he’s honored with a Purple Heart. But he doesn’t feel like a hero. There’s a memory that haunts him: an image of a young Iraqi boy as a bullet hits his chest. Matt can’t shake the feeling that he was somehow involved in his death. But because of a head injury he sustained just moments after the boy was shot, Matt can’t quite put all the pieces together.
Eventually Matt is sent back into combat with his squad—Justin, Wolf, and Charlene—the soldiers who have become his family during his time in Iraq. He just wants to go back to being the soldier he once was. But he sees potential threats everywhere and lives in fear of not being able to pull the trigger when the time comes. In combat there is no black-and-white, and Matt soon discovers that the notion of who is guilty is very complicated indeed.
Invasion by Walter Dean Myers
Josiah Wedgewood and Marcus Perry are on their way to an uncertain future. Their whole lives are ahead of them, yet at the same time, death’s whisper is everywhere. One white, one black, these young men have nothing in common and everything in common as they approach an experience that will change them forever.
It’s May 1944. World War II is ramping up, and so are these young recruits, ready and eager. In small towns and big cities all over the globe, people are filled with fear. When Josiah and Marcus come together in what will be the greatest test of their lives, they learn hard lessons about race, friendship, and what it really means to fight. Set on the front lines of the Normandy invasion, this novel, rendered with heart-in-the-throat precision, is a cinematic masterpiece. Here we see the bold terror of war, and also the nuanced havoc that affects a young person’s psyche while living in a barrack, not knowing if today he will end up dead or alive.
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren’t the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is there at all.
Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Robin “Birdy” Perry, a new army recruit from Harlem, isn’t quite sure why he joined the army, but he’s sure where he’s headed: Iraq. Birdy and the others in the Civilian Affairs Battalion are supposed to help secure and stabilize the country and successfully interact with the Iraqi people. Officially, the code name for their maneuvers is Operation Iraqi Freedom. But the young men and women in the CA unit have a simpler name for it: WAR.
Soldier’s Heart by Gary Paulsen
In June 1861, when the Civil War began, Charley Goddard enlisted in the First Minnesota Volunteers. He was 15. He didn’t know what a “shooting war” meant or what he was fighting for. But he didn’t want to miss out on a great adventure.
The “shooting war” turned out to be the horror of combat and the wild luck of survival; how it feels to cross a field toward the enemy, waiting for fire. When he entered the service he was a boy. When he came back he was different; he was only 19, but he was a man with “soldier’s heart,” later known as “battle fatigue.”
The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt
Finally, Levi Katznelson’s older brother, Boaz, has returned. Boaz was a high school star who had it all and gave it up to serve in a war Levi can’t understand. Things have been on hold since Boaz left. With the help of his two best friends Levi has fumbled his way through high school, weary of his role as little brother to the hero.
But when Boaz walks through the front door after his tour of duty is over, Levi knows there’s something wrong. Boaz is home, safe. But Levi knows that his brother is not the same. Maybe things will never return to normal. Then Boaz leaves again, and this time Levi follows him, determined to understand who his brother was, who he has become, and how to bring him home again.
Price of Duty by Todd Strasser
Jake Liddell is a hero.
At least, that’s what everyone says he is. The military is even awarding him a Silver Star for his heroic achievements—a huge honor for the son of a military family. Now he’s home, recovering from an injury, but it seems the war has followed him back. He needs pills to get any sleep, a young woman is trying to persuade him into speaking out against military recruitment tactics, and his grandfather is already urging him back onto the battlefield. He doesn’t know what to do; nothing makes sense anymore.
There is only one thing that Jake knows for certain: he is no hero.
April 29, 2018
Debut YA Novels: April 2018
It’s time for another round-up of debut YA novels of the month — here’s what we’ve got for April.
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; I’ve found Goodreads descriptions to offer better insight to what a book is about over WorldCat. If I’m missing any debuts that came out in April 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, with pub dates beside them. Starred titles are the beginning of a new series.
I’ve pushed this post to the very end of the month for the benefit of readers being able to pick up these books ASAP — no waiting for pub dates because they’ve all been published!
*Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian
Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Fire Queen, was murdered before her eyes. On that day, the Kaiser took Theodosia’s family, her land, and her name. Theo was crowned Ash Princess–a title of shame to bear in her new life as a prisoner.
For ten years Theo has been a captive in her own palace. She’s endured the relentless abuse and ridicule of the Kaiser and his court. She is powerless, surviving in her new world only by burying the girl she was deep inside.
Then, one night, the Kaiser forces her to do the unthinkable. With blood on her hands and all hope of reclaiming her throne lost, she realizes that surviving is no longer enough. But she does have a weapon: her mind is sharper than any sword. And power isn’t always won on the battlefield.
For ten years, the Ash Princess has seen her land pillaged and her people enslaved. That all ends here.
Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist
Ten years ago, a horrifying disease began spreading across the West Texas desert. Infected people—shakes—attacked the living and created havoc and destruction. No one has ever survived the infection. Daisy Wilcox, known as Willie, has been protecting her siblings within the relatively safe walls of Glory, Texas. When Willie’s good-for-nothing father steals a fortune from one of the most dangerous shake-hunters in town, she finds herself on the hook for his debt. With two hunters, including the gruff and handsome Ben, to accompany her, she sets out across the desert in search of her father. But the desert is not kind to travelers, and not everyone will pass through alive.
The Diminished by Kaitlyn Sage Patterson
In the Alskad Empire, nearly all are born with a twin, two halves to form one whole…yet some face the world alone.
The singleborn
A rare few are singleborn in each generation, and therefore given the right to rule by the gods and goddesses. Bo Trousillion is one of these few, born into the royal line and destined to rule. Though he has been chosen to succeed his great-aunt, Queen Runa, as the leader of the Alskad Empire, Bo has never felt equal to the grand future before him.
The diminished
When one twin dies, the other usually follows, unable to face the world without their other half. Those who survive are considered diminished, doomed to succumb to the violent grief that inevitably destroys everyone whose twin has died. Such is the fate of Vi Abernathy, whose twin sister died in infancy. Raised by the anchorites of the temple after her family cast her off, Vi has spent her whole life scheming for a way to escape and live out what’s left of her life in peace.
As their sixteenth birthdays approach, Bo and Vi face very different futures—one a life of luxury as the heir to the throne, the other years of backbreaking work as a temple servant. But a long-held secret and the fate of the empire are destined to bring them together in a way they never could have imagined.
The Fandom by Anna Day
Cosplay ready, Violet and her friends are at Comic-Con.
They can’t wait to meet the fandom of mega movie, The Gallows Dance. What they’re not expecting is to be catapulted by freak accident into their favourite world – for real. Fuelled by love, guilt and fear, can the friends put the plot back on track and get out? The fate of the story is in their hands …
Folded Notes From High School by Matthew Boren
It’s 1991, and Tara Maureen Murphy is finally on top. A frightening cross between Regina George and Tracy Flick, Tara Maureen Murphy is any high school’s worst nightmare, bringing single-minded ambition, narcissism, manipulation, and jealousy to new extremes. She’s got a hot jock boyfriend in Christopher Patrick Caparelli, her best friend Stef Campbell by her side, and she’s a SENIOR, poised to star as Sandy in South High’s production of Grease. Cinching the role is just one teensy step in Tara’s plot to get out of her hometown and become the Broadway starlet she was born to be. She’s grasping distance from the finish line–graduation and college are right around the corner–but she has to remain vigilant. It gets trickier with the arrival of freshman Matthew Bloom, whose dazzling audition for the role of Danny Zuko turns Tara’s world upside down. Freshmen belong in the chorus, not the spotlight! But Tara’s outrage is tinged with an unfamiliar emotion, at least to her: adoration. And what starts as a conniving ploy to “mentor” young Matt quickly turns into a romantic obsession that threatens to topple Tara’s hard-won status at South High….
Rebel With a Cupcake by Anna Mainwaring
Jesobel Jones is bold and brash, the daughter of a hand model and a washed-up rock star. Jess sees no need to apologize for her rambling house, her imperfect family, her single status … or her weight. Jess is who she is. She makes her own cupcakes and she eats them, too. No regrets.
That is, until Own Clothes Day rolls around at school. Jess and her friends dedicate the requisite hours of planning to their outfits, their hair and their makeup for the one day they are free from school uniforms. But a wardrobe malfunction leaves Jess with a pair of leggings split open at the worst spot, and a mean girl calling her the one thing that’s never bothered her before: fat.
The encounter shakes Jess’s formerly iron-clad confidence, and she starts to wonder if she’s been just a little too comfortable in her own skin. When the boy of her dreams invites her to a party, she must decide whether to try to fit in for the first time in her life, or remain true to herself — whoever that really is.
Sky In The Deep by Adrienne Young
OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.
Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield — her brother, fighting with the enemy — the brother she watched die five years ago.
Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.
She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.
Someday, Somewhere by Lindsay Champion
Dominique is a high school junior from a gritty neighborhood in Trenton, where she and her mom are barely getting by.
Ben is a musical prodigy from the Upper East Side, a violinist at a top conservatory with obsessive talent and a brilliant future.
When Dom’s class is taken to hear a concert at Carnegie Hall, she expects to be bored out of her mind. But then she sees the boy in the front row playing violin like his life depends on it — and she is transfixed.
Posing as an NYU student, Dom sneaks back to New York City to track down Ben Tristan, a magnetic genius who whisks her into a fantasy world of jazz clubs and opera, infatuation and possibility. Each sees something in the other that promises to complete them.
As Dom’s web of lies grows, though, so does Ben’s obsessive need to conquer Beethoven’s famous Kreutzer Sonata. But Ben’s genius, which captivates Dominique, conceals a secret, and the challenges of her life may make it difficult to help him.
Alternating perspectives and an unreliable narrator create suspense and momentum, romance and heartbreak. Author Lindsay Champion’s deep roots in theater and music are evident on every page — structured like a sonata with hints of West Side Story, her debut novel hits all the right notes.
The Window by Amelia Brunskill
Anna is everything her identical twin is not. Outgoing and athletic, she is the opposite of quiet introvert Jess. The same on the outside, yet so completely different inside–it’s hard to believe the girls are sisters, let alone twins. But they are. And they tell each other everything.
Or so Jess thought.
After Anna falls to her death while sneaking out her bedroom window, Jess’s life begins to unravel. Everyone says it was an accident, but to Jess, that doesn’t add up. Where was Anna going? Who was she meeting? And how long had Anna been lying to her?
Jess is compelled to learn everything she can about the sister she thought she knew. At first it’s a way to stay busy and find closure . . . but Jess soon discovers that her twin kept a lot of secrets. And as she digs deeper, she learns that the answers she’s looking for may be truths that no one wants her to uncover.
Because Anna wasn’t the only one with secrets.
April 26, 2018
This Week at Book Riot
Over on Book Riot this week…
Awesome YA book quotes for all occasions.
Teen guitarists, in honor of National Guitar Month.
April 24, 2018
#hashtags in YA Titles
Hashtags in #titles of YA books, both fiction and nonfiction, is a trend I’ve noticed more lately. I think it can be effective when used properly – it immediately indicates that the book will be about the online world, social media, viral trends (or the attempt to start one), a hot-button topic the hashtag itself references, or something similar. And it’s still done infrequently enough that it stands out on the shelf. Below are all of the YA titles I’ve been able to find that use this technique. Are there any I’ve missed?
Begin, End Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology edited by Danielle Binks
The YA event of the year. Bestsellers. Award-winners. Superstars. This anthology has them all. With brilliantly entertaining short stories from beloved young adult authors Amie Kaufman, Melissa Keil, Will Kostakis, Ellie Marney, Jaclyn Moriarty, Michael Pryor, Alice Pung, Gabrielle Tozer, Lili Wilkinson and Danielle Binks, this all-new collection will show the world exactly how much there is to love about Aussie YA. | Published January 9, 2018 by HarperCollins
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale
Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #NotYourPrincess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible. | Published September 12, 2017 by Annick Press
#famous by Jilly Gagnon
In this modern-day love story, Girl likes Boy, Girl takes photo of Boy and posts it online, Boy becomes accidentally insta-famous. And what starts out as an innocent joke spirals into a whirlwind adventure that could change both their lives—and their hearts—forever. But are fame and love worth the price? Told in alternating points of view, #famous captures the out-of-control thrill ride of falling for someone in front of everyone. | Published February 14, 2017 by Katherine Tegen Books
#16thingsithoughtweretrue by Janet Gurtler
When Morgan’s mom gets sick, it’s hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn’t as far away as she thought.
Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan’s getting to know the real Adam, and he’s actually pretty sweet…in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?
With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She’s not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend…and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can’t imagine living without. | Published March 24, 2014 by Sourcebooks Fire
#murdertrending by Gretchen McNeil
Welcome to the near future, where good and honest 8/18 citizens can enjoy watching the executions of society’s most infamous convicted felons, streaming live on The Postman app from the suburbanized prison island Alcatraz 2.0.
When eighteen-year-old Dee Guerrera wakes up in a haze, lying on the ground of a dimly lit warehouse, she realizes she’s about to be the next victim of the app. Knowing hardened criminals are getting a taste of their own medicine in this place is one thing, but Dee refuses to roll over and die for a heinous crime she didn’t commit. Can Dee and her newly formed posse, the Death Row Breakfast Club, prove she’s innocent before she ends up wrongfully murdered for the world to see? Or will The Postman’s cast of executioners kill them off one by one? | Forthcoming August 7, 2018 by Freeform
#scandal by Sarah Ockler
Lucy’s learned some important lessons from tabloid darling Jayla Heart’s all-too-public blunders: Avoid the spotlight, don’t feed the Internet trolls, and keep your secrets secret. The policy has served Lucy well all through high school, so when her best friend Ellie gets sick before prom and begs her to step in as Cole’s date, she accepts with a smile, silencing about ten different reservations. Like the one where she’d rather stay home shredding online zombies. And the one where she hates playing dress-up. And especially the one where she’s been secretly in love with Cole since the dawn of time.
When Cole surprises her at the after party with a kiss under the stars, it’s everything Lucy has ever dreamed of… and the biggest BFF deal-breaker ever. Despite Cole’s lingering sweetness, Lucy knows they’ll have to ’fess up to Ellie. But before they get the chance, Lucy’s own Facebook profile mysteriously explodes with compromising pics of her and Cole, along with tons of other students’ party indiscretions. Tagged. Liked. And furiously viral. By Monday morning, Lucy’s been branded a slut, a backstabber, and a narc, mired in a tabloid-worthy scandal just weeks before graduation.
Lucy’s been battling undead masses online long enough to know there’s only one way to survive a disaster of this magnitude: Stand up and fight. Game plan? Uncover and expose the Facebook hacker, win back her best friend’s trust, and graduate with a clean slate. There’s just one snag—Cole. Turns out Lucy’s not the only one who’s been harboring unrequited love… | Published June 17, 2014 by Simon Pulse
#Prettyboy Must Die by Kimberly Reid
When Peter Smith’s classmate snaps a picture of him during a late night run at the track, Peter thinks he might be in trouble. When she posts that photo–along with the caption, “See the Pretty Boy Run,”–Peter knows he’s in trouble. But when hostiles drop through the ceiling of his 6th period Chem Class, Peter’s pretty sure his trouble just became a national emergency.
Because he’s not really Peter Smith. He’s Jake Morrow, former foster-kid turned CIA operative. After a massive screw-up on his first mission, he’s on a pity assignment, a dozen hit lists and now, social media, apparently. As #Prettyboy, of all freaking things. His cover’s blown, his school’s under siege, and if he screws up now, #Prettyboy will become #Deadboy faster than you can say, ‘fifteen minutes of fame.’ Trapped in a high school with rabid killers and rabid fans, he’ll need all his training and then some to save his job, his school and, oh yeah, his life. | Published February 13, 2018 by Tor Teen
Macbeth #killingit by William Shakespeare and Courtney Carbone
Imagine: What if that tragic couple, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, had smartphones? A classic is reborn in this fun and funny adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays! A prophecy from three witches. A social-climbing couple committing a murder most foul. A cover-up that spins way out of control. The classics just got a whole lot more interesting. 
April 22, 2018
What I’m Reading: Travel Edition
April has been a travel month for me this year, as well as in years past. This year’s travel has been a significant breath of fresh air, as the weather in the Chicago area has been anything but spring. I recall vividly spending mid-April on the Mississippi in a rental apartment last year, wandering in the sun and admiring the bright bursts of colors. The only color going on this year comes in tones of white and grey.
There are many things I love about traveling, and perhaps one of the things I like most is curating the perfect reading stack. I want a nice mix of a couple print titles and a Nook that’s loaded with digital galleys. I know fair well that I want to keep it light in packing because I’ll be tempted to pick up books and/or magazines while traveling. I know I get tempted by the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly and paperback bestseller at the airport, and let myself have it if I want it (in part because I know that, much as I want to really read the books I brought, sometimes a plane ride requires a read I don’t need to think about).
I took a long weekend this weekend to head out to Boise, Idaho, meeting Amy Pence Brown and working with her badass teenagers attending the second annual RAD Camp. I discovered Amy through Instagram, when someone generously donated copies of Here We Are for her event, and I’ve been admiring her work since. This year, I’m thrilled to head out there to both teach a yoga workshop to those teens and talk about the book with them. But while not there or wandering Boise, here’s what I’ve got packed and plan on reading.
The Body Is Not An Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
Written by an activist poet, this is a self-love guidebook for being comfortable and happy in one’s own skin. As someone who is happy, comfortable, and confident in my skin, I can’t wait to dig in and see what else this might offer me. More, though, this book comes highly recommended from Amy Pence Brown, who is the coordinator of the RAD Camp — and it’s a book I feel might offer me even more to think about when it comes to how I teach and talk about our bodies in my own yoga classes.
This isn’t related to the inner content, but I have to say having a woman of color on the cover (the author herself, I believe) was absolutely a selling point, too. Too often these sorts of books are geared heavily toward white women, in a really commercialized way.
Honor Code by Kiersi Burkhardt
On the YA side, I’ve just started this one, which is a look at a girl who will go to any length to fit in at her new elite school in order to improve her chances of one day attending Harvard. But, when hazing and humiliation go too far, can she keep it to herself for the sake of “the community?” A book about rape culture, as well as about the violence and brutality many endure to pursue their dreams.
This is my first time reading anything by Burkhardt, as she’s written a number of horse books…and if you know anything about me, you know horses and I are best to keep apart from one another. But Honor Code checks all of the boxes I love in a contemporary YA and am eager to see how it all comes together.
This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving The Place You Live by Melody Warnick
I’m inhaling this one via audio, and I am pretty sure I’ll finish it before getting home. Reading a lot like the books of Gretchen Rubin — that is, conversational and by personal experimentation plus bits of information from research — Warnick talks about how it is someone comes to feel they love or fit into the place they live. She does this by trying out a number of experiments which are meant to help her fall in love with her new town, and she highlights what does and doesn’t work for her. There’s nothing exceptionally revolutionary here, but I’m enjoying it quite a bit, having just moved myself. I’m finding my new town to be absolutely suited for me, and I’m curious why this is a feeling I’ve not had in the other places I’ve lived.
That said, the periodic throwaway comments in the text have rubbed me wrong. There is one point Warnick talks about how getting involved in your community can “do better than zoloft and without the side effects.” It’s a comment that’s 1. ignorant of mental health, 2. ignorant of how medications for mental health work, and 3. just utterly unnecessary. I wish she and her editor had pulled those stray pieces out to make this tighter and offer less opportunities for bristling unnecessarily.
In addition to these books, my Nook is loaded with titles like Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawai (adult horror in translation that plays a bit with the classic Frankenstein), The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory (I don’t read romance, but this one sounds like a great title to dip a bit into the genre with), and also Megan Abbott’s forthcoming Give Me Your Hand.
April 19, 2018
This Week at Book Riot
Over on Book Riot this week (and last, since I forgot to do a round-up!):
Awesome YA art which incorporates YA book quotes (aka: perfect for those in the fandoms of various series or authors).
I’ve had this book list on my mind for a long time, after reading a spate of contemporary YA titles in a row featuring this: YA books about divorce.
National Library Week might be over, but you can donate a few bucks to EveryLibrary any time.
YA book covers featuring interracial couples.
If you have babies in your life, here’s your ultimate shopping list of literary gifts for babies.
There’s also a brand new episode of Hey YA up this week. Eric and I talk about YA verse novels, the exploration of Frankenstein in YA (and why that classic has such YA appeal), and we wrap it up by sharing some of our spring to-read lists.
April 17, 2018
Thriller Roundup
I’m still on a huge thriller kick, seeking a book to match the love I’ve had for The Girl on the Train since I first read it two years ago. Paula Hawkins’ novel is one of the few mega-popular titles that I loved just as much as everyone else. Nothing has really impressed me that much since, but most of my choices are solid and a fun way to occupy a few hours. Here’s a rundown of the some of the recent ones I’ve read and enjoyed.
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn
Anna is agoraphobic and fills her time with talking to people in her online support group, playing chess, watching old movies, drinking too much alcohol, and spying on her neighbors through the window. When she sees the woman across the street with a knife sticking out of her stomach, she tries to notify the police – but they don’t believe her. The woman’s husband presents a different woman as his wife, and their teenage son, whom Anna had met and formed a rapport with when he visited before, refuses to speak about much of anything. This is a psychological thriller very much in the vein of The Girl on the Train, featuring an unreliable narrator who witnesses a horrible crime but won’t be taken seriously by anyone involved. Finn takes his time developing Anna’s character, which can make the book seem slow at times. Before the event that caused Anna’s agoraphobia, she was a child psychologist with a husband and a young daughter. Now she and her husband are separated, and her daughter is with him, leaving Anna alone in the house. She helps other people in her online support group with their own agoraphobia, while simultaneously recognizing that she’s unable to help herself. The suspense builds slowly and deliberately, directing readers first at one suspect and then another, including Anna herself, and while many readers probably won’t be surprised by the ending, it’s executed well and quite satisfying.
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
Ani FaNelli experienced something horrible as a teenager at Bradley School, a prestigious boarding school near Philadelphia. As an adult, she’s tried to reinvent herself with a high-paying job, fancy clothes, and an impressive and handsome fiance. She’s made herself into a hard person, and it’s easy to dislike her, at least initially. She comes across as a bully, invested too much in her own appearance, the appearance of others, and of course, wealth. But there are flashes of someone kinder underneath, and this person is revealed slowly over the course of the book as we learn exactly what happened to Ani in high school. There’s a twist to the story about halfway through the book, and it’s this twist, violent and shocking, that the world within the story actually knows about, and the one that Ani is preparing to talk about publicly for a documentary. This is less of a thriller and more of a psychological study of a woman and how different traumas can affect a person. There’s no big reveal near the end, but it’s satisfying in other ways. Knoll reveals, bit by bit, what happened to Ani and how she’s been coping (and not coping), so by the end, we have the full picture. In that way, it has a bit of a mystery element to it, but readers shouldn’t go into this one expecting another Gone Girl. It’s disturbing, yes, but in a very different way.
The Child by Fiona Barton
I was a bit disappointed by the first Fiona Barton book I read, The Widow. It’s difficult to say why without spoiling the ending, but the experience did give me lower expectations for her second book. Luckily, this one is pretty solid. When the body of a baby is discovered in a backyard, buried many years ago, it brings the lives of three women together: a mother, her grown daughter, and the journalist investigating the case, each with her own secrets and motivations. The identity of the child, and its relationship with the mother and her daughter, is teased out over the course of the book. The story is told from three different perspectives, each woman’s voice and personality distinct from the others, all of them arresting. This is a mystery with solid answers to its main questions: who is the child, and what (or who) is responsible for its death? The path the story takes isn’t always predictable, but it does make sense – there are no twists simply for shock value. With good writing and a satisfying ending, I recommend The Child for anyone looking for an entirely female-driven mystery.
April 15, 2018
YA Hardback-to-Paperback Cover Makeovers: 5 To Consider
Every time I do one of these posts, I’ve got to hold back from how many I pack in. I spent a lot of time on Edelweiss, and whenever I come across a new book package, I make note, meaning that in a couple of months, I’ve got way too many for a single post. But for those who love looking at cover changes, it means there’s another post in the near future featuring some of the others I’ve come across worth talking about.
As always, some of these covers are strong redesigns while others aren’t quite as strong as their original packaging. Let’s take a peek. Love one of these? Dislike one of these? Seen other redesigns lately that are worth looking at? I’d love to hear about those things in the comments.
Original hardcover designs are on the left, and new paperback editions are on the right.
Little Monsters by Kara Thomas hit shelves last spring with sort of an odd cover. I don’t think I “got” what it was trying to do until looking at it right now. We have a profile of a girl on repeat with what looks like weird color blotches beside some of them. But beneath those color blotches are more profiles of the same girl. Perhaps it’s meant to signal mental instability? Confusion? The splotch colors in addition to the child-style font for the title and author, though, don’t especially scream “thriller” to me with this cover. I’m not sure I could pin down what the cover expresses in terms of genre or feel, beyond that it’s a little confusing.
The paperback redesign, though, does this book some tremendous service. The shadow of a face, with the wind-in-the-hair effect of the girl scream thriller. You could shelve this alongside the Gillian Flynn and Karin Slaughter books and have it fit right in. The title font and effect work much better, too: there’s something eerie and off about a title which is in all lowercase letters, and having it centered just below the nose of the girl’s face add to the creep factor. Further adding to the effect with the font is the fact that Thomas’s name is in all caps and in red. It’s a color palette that complements the design really well.
For me, the more appealing cover design is the paperback, which will be available July 3.
Going in the complete opposite direction is Jennifer E. Smith’s lighter-hearted contemporary Windfall. I’ve not yet read this one, but mean to, given that I’ve loved Smith’s work in the past and the premise — a girl buys her best male friend a lottery ticket for his birthday and he wins. There’s also a romance thread through the story.
In terms of cover: the original hardcover is not only adorable, it’s memorable, and it’s in a color scheme that isn’t seen enough in YA. The blue and green with confetti are fun and clever, and the use of the gold tokens on the bottom add to the real lighthearted, sweet feel. Note the tag line for this cover, “Let luck find you.” It’s short and to-the-point, and it ties the entire cover together in a nice little bow.
The paperback for Windfall will hit shelves July 31. This new take on the original is clever in that it retains some of what makes the original work. We see the confetti again, but tis time it’s in a variety of colors. We have two people at the bottom of the cover, as opposed to the tokens, but it’s as nice a mirrored effect as the script-style font for the title carrying over. What’s interesting to me is the complete change in color scheme. The paperback feels like it’s leaning into the Millennial Pink trend almost too hard (and I say this as someone who loves that color). That, paired with the fact that the teens are dressed in a very now look, make me wonder if this cover will date much more quickly than the original. It’s certainly eye catching, but it screams 2017/2018. And interestingly, the tag line is gone, replaced with a blurb from Morgan Matson. That’s the perfect name to have attached as a blurb, but I think I lean toward the tag line working a bit more. Is it me, or does this cover maybe feel like it’s reaching an adult YA reading audience more than a teen YA reading audience?
For me, the hardcover edges out the paperback.
Let’s follow up the eerie and the sweet with the downright strange. Jane, Unlimited hit shelves last year to a lot of mixed reviews. Long-time fans of Cashore were thrilled she tried her hand at a new genre, and many were smitten while others were left a bit confused. I didn’t pick this one up, in part because the hardcover edition told me literally nothing about the book. It’s a purple and silver color scheme, with little more than a standard font used for both the book’s title and the author’s name. The tag line, “One house, limitless possibilities” suggests nothing, either. Is this a thriller? A horror? Contemporary? Fantasy? It’s impossible to tell because there’s nothing here to tell. The book’s sell is on the author name and the title of her previous best-selling work (which, in this case, is likely fair for fans but not useful for newcomers or shelf browsers).
And then there’s the paperback, which comes out July 10. This is perhaps one of the weirdest YA book covers I’ve seen in a long time. I’d argue that it’s not a YA book cover at all, and in fact, rivals many of the bizarre, genre-bending adult covers out there. The artistic direction is entirely different than the hardcover, beginning with the fact that, while a dual color palette, the title font and author name font actually have some weight to them on the cover. The design is box-like, with the red being the sides and the turquoise in the center. Before going further: the colors. They’re slightly disorienting when put together, odd colors to see used in conjunction with one another, especially on a YA book cover. In some ways, that disorientation works quite well — it forces you to pause, consider, and become curious in what’s going on.
That curiosity extends when you realize there is a foot coming through. I noted that the design looks like a box, but I also wonder if it’s meant to play the role of a house of sorts. The red being the walls, the turquoise being the inside, and the foot falling through the roof. This is, of course, a consideration I’m making entirely on the tag line from the hardcover. Would a casual reader who hasn’t seen the original or the tag line put that together? I have no idea.
The tag line is ditched on the paperback, replaced with a blurb from the New York Times review of the book. Here’s where the cover begins to make a little more sense: the review notes it’s a genre bender, and that it’s one which may mess with your brain.
It’s hard to say which cover is more effective. I’m not sure either really does much for the book itself or tells causal readers what they can expect. The paperback might be closer, if only because of the blurb pulled on it. But, this cover doesn’t feel like it belongs in the YA section at all.
For me, neither of these are especially working.
The hardcover version of Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten never got on my radar. It’s not especially remarkable, and even though this is a thriller, there’s little about the cover that would tell you so much. Sure, there’s the tag line “This will be our little secret,” but that tag line doesn’t really go with either the title nor the shadowy girl in the image. Who is telling us to beware? Who is the girl in the image? How does that tie into keeping a little secret? Does it at all? The font for the title is off-putting for me, too, as it feels too rough and jagged, and incongruent with the shadowy image in the background. Is this image moving or is it still? I can’t make too much sense of it.
But the paperback cover caught my eye immediately. This is a creepy as hell cover which brings its creep factor in very subtilely. The white background is stark in contrast to the bright red sucker, which doesn’t land in the middle of the cover, but rather, is placed in the upper third of it. Anyone who knows about design knows this is a placement our brains and eyes find appealing and unique.
Then there are the ants.
Those highly focused black ants stand out against both the white background and the red sucker. Their legs, despite not being especially chill-inducing, manage to bring on the uncomfortable factor because of how clear they are. This cover veers from being gross, though; instead, it has a feeling of discomfort.
The discomfort, though, is made even more obvious with the change in tag line for the paperback “She only looks sweet.” That tag line, with the image, with the thinning out of the title font — along with a slightly disorienting kerning style — makes it clear this is going to be a book that is strange, unsettling, and mysterious. The change from pushing the mystery tropes too hard to stripping them away all together in favor of something completely different piques reader interest in a whole different capacity. More, given that this is a book about the rich elite and a girl desperate to climb the social ladder, the image of the sucker with ants harkens images of childhood, loss, desperation, and ambition so perfectly.
Beware That Girl hits shelves in paperback on May 15.
I don’t want to delve into the cover packaging for If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson too much, but I wanted to include it in this round-up because it’s the book’s 20th anniversary this year. In honor of that, it’s been given a stunning new look. What makes the new cover really stand out for me is not only the fact there’s an interracial couple on the cover, but that the illustrative take fits in with some of the biggest titles in recent memory. I’m not a huge fan of illustrated covers — it’s a trend that burned itself out really quickly and one that often is hard to make distinctions between and among covers — but in this case, the cover is absolutely beautiful, magical, and will encourage new readers to pick up Woodson’s classic.
If You Come Softly’s 20th anniversary edition is available now.
April 10, 2018
Texas Library Association 2018
The Texas Library Association annual conference is one of the best (if not the best) professional library conferences in the nation. I think it fairly rivals ALA and librarians from other states tell me their own state conferences don’t compare. This year was really great – tons of valuable sessions about kidlit and collection management and how to better make your library space a welcoming one for all people, including in particular trans people and people experiencing homelessness.
Long gone are the days when I was so thrilled by the prospect of “free” books that I participated in the initial frenzy in the exhibit halls. Now I wait about 15 minutes for the stampede to die down before venturing in myself, asking a few specific questions – What diverse genre fiction do you have? What are you most excited about in the upcoming season? What do you think has been overlooked? – of the very friendly, passionate, and knowledgeable people staffing the publishers’ booths. (That said, I did still get my foot stomped on the first day by an overzealous attendee who wasn’t paying enough attention to the people around her in her quest for books.) The stack below are the books I’m most excited about adding to the library collection and promoting on our shelves (and reading myself!).
Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen
This is the sequel to Nyxia, one of the three books I discussed in my post on the mini-trend of teens competing with each other to go to outer space. I really enjoyed it, and I appreciated the diversity of its ensemble cast, including the Black protagonist Emmett. I feel like it flew a bit under the radar compared to other big sci fi and fantasy titles, but it’s exciting and fun and also asks the deep questions that SF is so good at. I’m excited to read the second book in the trilogy and hope it doesn’t suffer from a middle book slump. Nyxia Unleashed publishes July 17 from Crown Books for Young Readers.
Contagion
by Erin Bowman
Bowman kicks off the first in a new sci fi/horror series with Contagion, about a crew of people who go on a rescue mission to a distant planet after receiving an SOS message – but what they find is horrifying. I tend to prefer my horror on the written page as opposed to the screen, and the fact that it’s also set in space only makes it more appealing. It’s being pitched as Alien meets The Thing. Contagion publishes July 24 by HarperTeen.
Mirage by Somaiya Daud
One of the few genre fiction titles I found that’s explicitly diverse, Mirage is a big science fiction story about a girl in a subjugated star system who’s kidnapped in order to serve as the body double for a hated princess – and must endure all the danger that entails. There also looks to be a bit of romance and lots of adventure. This seems really fun and like it’s a really big, epic kind of story, which I’m always yearning for more of in teen SF. Plus the cover is gorgeous. Mirage publishes August 28 by Flatiron Books.
Damsel by Elana K. Arnold
Arnold, who has previously stuck to contemporaries, takes a dive into fairy tales with Damsel. It’s an explicitly feminist story, with the “damsel” of the title waking up after being rescued from imprisonment and being forced to fall into the traditional fairy tale role. She’ll be a queen to the prince who rescued her, or so the rite demands – but all is not what it seems. Kelly has loved Arnold’s realistic stories, and I’m excited she’s written a fantasy story now too – it’s the perfect entree into her writing for me. Damsel publishes October 2 by Balzer + Bray.
Fire & Heist by Sarah Beth Durst
I like everything Sarah Beth Durst has ever written, so I picked this one up on name recognition alone. It thrilled me even more to learn that her newest book combines my two favorite genres: heist stories and fantasy. It’s about humans who can turn into dragons and steal treasure, like Ocean’s 8 if the women were shapeshifters. I’m pretty psyched. (That’s actually an understatement.) This may be the first book I crack open after I finish up the mystery I’m currently reading. Fire & Heist publishes December 4 by Crown Books for Young Readers.
April 8, 2018
A Month of Badass Lady Writers
When March began on the heels of wrapping up a month-long Instagram challenge I put together and run at Book Riot, #RiotGrams, I felt like I had enough in me to keep the book love going. Thus, I decided to showcase 31 badass lady-identifying authors, one per day for the duration of the month.
For those who don’t Instagram or who are looking for more book recommendations, may I present those 31? Check ’em out before. Bonus: a couple of other awesome Instagrammers joined in for the month, so if you click over on the hashtag #31daysofbadassladywriters, you can find even more.
A post shared by kelly jensen (@veronikellymars) on Mar 1, 2018 at 7:31am PST
A post shared by kelly jensen (@veronikellymars) on Mar 2, 2018 at 5:49am PST
A post shared by kelly jensen (@veronikellymars) on Mar 3, 2018 at 7:44am PST
A post shared by kelly jensen (@veronikellymars) on Mar 4, 2018 at 6:26am PST
