Picked up a couple of good ones...

My trip to Florida was fabulous. I spent five days in Orlando high schools where the love for The Compound was astounding. Then I headed over to NCTE and ALAN where I met so many great people and also picked up some good reads. Here are a couple forthcoming novels that I enoyed very much. First up is "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre:



When I first heard about this one, it was titled "Razorland", but I like the new title better. As the back cover says:

"Deuce lives in an enclave, deep underground. Her friends are her family;her life revolves around training to become a Huntress, one of the elite cadre who protect the enclave...."

And of course, then things go wrong.... I took this on the airplane with me and it kept me enthralled the whole time.

The other one I really liked was "Divergent" by Veronica Roth:




Set in a dystopian Chicago, it tells the story of Beatrice Prior and the carefully ordered society that demands all sixteen-year-olds make a choice that will decide their future. Again, this one kept me enthralled the whole time. And let me just say, these were not the only books I read. Since Wednesday, I've read 6 YA's that I picked up at NCTE. Two had huge hype and I didn't like them. One I even skimmed through at parts, because it just didn't hold my attention.  So I'm not a pushover. These two were great reads. And I'm struck by the similarities between the two main characters, both girls, both driven and tough, both people I really found myself rooting for. Good reads, people, good reads. These will be the first two I hand off to my teens to read.