Book Embargo

Just finished “Girlfriend Material” by Melissa Kantor. I liked it… but I did not love everything about the ending… I did like the relationships between Kate and her mom and sister (though I felt the relationship between her and her dad was a bit weak).

I have read bits of Kantor’s other stuff. I really liked what I read of “If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince?” and I would say I really liked about 75% of this one. I still liked the rest, but my hopes were higher than where Kantor took the novel.

Now with all that depressing review out of the way, who WOULDN’T want to to go Cape Cod (albeit with her mom who is taking a break from her dad) and be seen as the cool girl? It made me not look forward to 6 months of winter, but did make me long for summer nights and walking on the beach.

Definitely worth it to pick up because it WAS a fun time. I would be interested to get feedback on what you thought of the ending. See if you thought the same stuff was missing as I did… though maybe it is just because there is a sequel already in the works…..

Tags: breakup bible, confessions of a not-it girl, disney, girlfriend material, hyperion, hyperionteens, kantor, melissa kantor, summer reads, teen summer reads, ya novel, young adult

Everyone is neurotic. At least, I hope so, so that I am not alone. Alicia Thompson’s book helps prove that. Leigh Nolan is such a great girl and has no problem “thinking up for her self,” even if she has trouble speaking up for herself, if you get what I mean. She is majoring in psych and going to the same school as her high school boyfriend, who is a bit of a dick. Each of the chapter headings are different psychology terms, Counterconditioning, intimacy v. isolation, and confirmation bias.
Absolutely fabulous. Such a fun read.

Fabulous review here, from someone who I guess knows the author, at Shane Guy External. And another good description at Marsh Agency.com which I will copy for you here,

Eighteen-year-old Leigh Nolan is just starting her freshman year at a small college in California and is suffering from the psych major syndrome, a common affliction wherein a psychology major, overwhelmed by conditions, effects, and disorders, begins to overanalyze her own life.
When Leigh is asked to complete forty sentences about herself for an assignment, some of her answers start her thinking. What compels her to procrastinate on every paper she has to write? Why does she lie all the time, mostly about little things that don’t even matter? And how in forty sentences could she have possibly forgotten to mention Andrew, her boyfriend of over a year? Although, what exactly is going on with the lack of intimacy in their relationship anyway?
Not that Leigh feels guilty about that last one when she shows up at Andrew’s apartment, all dressed up for their date, and finds him still in his pyjamas. Nor does she feel too bad that the date is a bust, largely due to her aversion for peanut sauce (she never told Andrew she hated Thai food, but still). Now, Leigh’s appreciation of Nathan, Andrew’s aloof math-major roommate, walking shirtless around their apartment . . okay, that she feels a tiny bit guilty about.

Unfortunately, this book is not due out until AUGUST of 2009. Not sure why I have already gotten an advance of it… but yeah. It was so much fun.

There is this whole story line about being a mentor, and yeah it will spoil it a bit for you, but it made me laugh SO HARD, I have to share it with you. This is Leigh describing a contest she got 2nd place in, “…”You can achieve anything you want. Well, almost anything. You know, if there wasn’t some stupid girl who wrote some cookie-cutter piece of crap essay about The Heart of Darkness.” THIS IS TO A BUNCH OF MIDDLE SCHOOLERS!!!
Oh lord priceless.

So yeah, definitely check it out. It has good times, bad times, serious topics and one liners, and lots of overanalyzing. But it also has lots of good kids, which make every book better to be. Remember August 2009, BE THERE!

Tags: alicia thompson, august 2009 release, college, disney, fiction, hyperion, hyperion teens, leigh nolan, novel, psych major syndrome, psychology, stiles college, teen read, thompson, young adult

Ah, Tammy Pierce. How I love you. I don’t love that new books aren’t coming out 5 a year, but as an adult, I must deal.

yeah, I’ve lived that.

I do love that she also loved Impossible by Nancy Werlin. It was a beautiful novel and its use of “Scarborogh Fair,” WOW. I don’t know any young adults who have read it, just other staff from my shop, but yeah, everyone should read it.

Just a general, “make sure you have read some Tamora Pierce lately” blog post, with some fabulous Impossible thrown in for variety.

Happy Monday!

Tags: books, fiction, garfunkle, hardcover, impossible, nancy werlin, paperback, pierce, scarborough fair, simon, tamora pierce, tortall, werlin, young adult

I just found a new book! No idea how I missed it since apparently there are now four out in the series. Oh well! I just know that it is FUN! Shannon Greenland has written a series called the Specialists. It is about teens who excel in one area, and are recruited to a secret government organization (who becomes more like a family) where they learn limits, further their skills, and learn respect for themselves and their friends.

From Shannon’s website, here is the description of the first novel, Model Spy…

Sixteen-year-old Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. When David, her incredibly nice, not to mention super cute and irresistible, college RA, asked her to uncover some top-secret information, she thought why not? All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system. Simple enough for a computer techie genius like herself. But a few hours later, she is caught. Only this isn’t a run-of-the-mill arrest. Rather than serve a jail sentence in a juvenile detention, she accepts the option to change her identity and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. After all, she has no family or friends at school. What does she have to lose? Instantly, Kelly Spree, a.k.a. girl genius GiGi, is born. And as if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well. Before she even begins to understand what is going on, she’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. Her partner? None other than David himself!

A really nice review here at FlamingNet.com.

And from Shannon’s website is a great bio.

You name it. Shannon Greenland’s done it. Hiking, rafting, swimming, snorkeling, sailing, surfing, mountain biking, spelunking, canoeing, power lifting, running, camping, para sailing . . . well, you get the drift. She’s traveled the world extensively and is thrilled to be living on an island, looking for her new adventure. Believe it or not, Shannon dreaded reading and writing when she was a kid. How ironic that she’s now an award winning author.

Goes to show you, you don’t have to start out liking books and reading to end up loving them Check out the Specialists Novels, because they are F-U-N!

Tags: fiction, greenland, kelly james, model spy, novel, penguin putnam, shannon greenland, speak, specialists, spy, young adult, young adult novel

One of the reasons I like to read fiction is because at the end, the characters can be happy. The goal of course is for the author to make it believable, but still, I want HAPPY people…

I just finished reading Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins. It was beautiful. It takes place in India in the 1970’s. Here is the jacket blurb on it…

When her father loses his job and leaves India to look for work in America, Asha Gupta, her older sister, Reet, and their mother must wait with Baba’s brother and his family, as well as their grandmother, in Calcutta. Uncle is welcoming, but in a country steeped in tradition, the three women must abide by his decisions. Asha knows this is temporary — just until Baba sends for them. But with scant savings and time passing, the tension builds: Ma, prone to spells of sadness, finds it hard to submit to her mother- and sister-in-law; Reet’s beauty attracts unwanted marriage proposals; and Asha’s promise to take care of Ma and Reet leads to impulsive behavior. What follows is a firestorm of rebuke — and secrets revealed! Asha’s only solace is her rooftop hideaway, where she pours her heart out in her diary, and where she begins a clandestine friendship with Jay Sen, the boy next door. Asha can hardly believe that she, and not Reet, is the object of Jay’s attention. Then news arrives about Baba . . . and Asha must make a choice that will change their lives forever.

It was a beautiful book.. (haven’t I said that already?) But it really was. The family dynamics, with the father gone to America, the mother and two sisters left to live with relatives. The money problems, the Indian culture, it was all so beautifull7 written and described.

However, it was not a romance novel where everyone lives happily every after in their perfect world. It was a novel of family honor and respect, doing what is right even though it may kill you inside.

It was beautiful and worth it, but have tissues ready at the end!

Look for it on the shelf of your local independent bookshop in January of 2009. I also wanted to include this bio of Mitali, from her website, because it will definitely show you how this woman knows her stuff about different cultures!

Mitali Bose Perkins was born in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Her name means “friendly” in Bangla, which she tried to live up to because the Bose family moved so often – they lived in India, Ghana, Cameroon, London, New York City, and Mexico City before settling in the San Francisco Bay Area when she was in middle school. Mitali studied political science at Stanford University and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, surviving academia thanks to a steady diet of kids’ books from public libraries and bookstores, and went on to teach middle school, high school, and college students. She lived in India, Bangladesh, Thailand, and California with her husband and twin sons before the Perkins family moved to Newton, Massachusetts, where they live now.

Tags: calcutta, fiction, india, mitali perkins, novel, secret keeper, secrets, young adult

MADISON IS NOT your average 12-year-old girl from Michigan in 1980. She doesn’t use lipgloss, but she loves to play sports, and joins baseball for the summer—the first girl in Southern Michigan to play on a boys’ team. The press call her a star and a trailblazer, but Madison just wants to play ball. Who knew it would be so much pressure? Crowds flock to the games. Her team will win the championship—if she can keep up her pitching streak. Meanwhile, she’s got a crush on a fellow player, her best friend abandons her for the popular girls, the “O” on her Hinton’s uniform forms a bulls-eye over her left breast, and the boy she punched on the last day of school plans to bean her in the championship game.

This is the description of “No Cream Puffs” by Karen Day. It has a May 2008 release date, so it is coming out pretty far in the future, but it is good enough to talk about NOW. It is being published by Random House and this is Karen Day’s second novel.

Let me tell you why I liked this book. It felt like you were twelve again. You are beginning adolescence, becoming a teenager, your body is changing and your mother obviously doesn’t understand no matter what she says. Madison doesn’t like the attention she is getting, she just wants to play ball. She likes the cute boy on the team, but he isn’t all he is cracked up to be, and it is sometimes a shock to discover what is hidden from you. When I was a kid there were plenty of things I noticed… There were even more things I did NOT notice. Madison has a similar feeling. Her older brother and her mom discuss the hostages in Iran. (The book takes place in 1980.) She doesn’t understand what is actually happening… or where Iran is, but she does understand the tension and that it isn’t right.

This book FEELS like a twelve year old. And that is why I liked it, beyond the fun story, interesting situations and good characterization.

Look for No Cream Puffs by Karen Day wherever books are sold (though preferably at your local independent bookshop) in May of 2008.

1980, 2008, baseball, book, day, elementary, gulf war, iran hostage crisis, juvenile literature, karen day, madison, may 2008, no cream puffs, random house, twelve years old, young adult, young riders

Tags: 1980, 2008, baseball, Book, day, elementary, gulf war, iran hostage crisis, juvenile literature, karen day, madison, may 2008, no cream puffs, random house, twelve years old, young adult, young riders

You know you have found a good book when one of your favorite authors says,

Everyone will love this book.
-Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight

Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman, website here, was just released in paperback, and is an Austen-esque novel. I was at a booksigning for Stephenie Meyer and picked up a copy of Enthusiasm. It was really cute! Definitely a fun story that you should all pick up!!!!

While familiarity with Austen’s world through her books or, more likely, the movies will deepen readers’ appreciation for Shulman’s impressive first novel, it is no means a prerequisite to enjoying this involving and often amusing narrative of friendship, courtship, and (of course) true love. —Carolyn Phelan, Booklist, starred review

Despite the fact that Julie Lefkowitz is often exasperated by her best friend Ashleigh, “an Enthusiast,” the 15-year-old loyally tolerates and often takes part in Ashleigh’s various crazes. Ashleigh’s current interest is the book Pride and Prejudice, and her latest scheme is to crash a formidable boys’ school to attend a dance and find a 21st-century version of Mr. Darcy for herself, as well as a suitable companion for Julie. Dressed in vintage gowns, the girls do manage to slip into the dance and hook up with two agreeable young gentlemen. The problem is that both girls become smitten with the same guy—the shyer, more refined of the two boys. What follows is a sequence of witty exchanges, comic errors and miscommunications that could be taken right out of a Jane Austen novel. When all four characters get cast in a play, opportunities for passionate encounters abound; love triangles emerge and eventually evolve into appropriate romantic pairings. Those familiar with Jane Austen’s writing style and themes will most appreciate the many overt and subtle references to the 19th-century author. If a couple of episodes seem a little over the top (as when [spoiler omitted]), readers caught up in this debut novel’s romantic whimsy and humor will willingly suspend their disbelief.
—Publishers Weekly

Comical misunderstandings ensue in this innocent who-will-wind-up-dating-whom farce. Shulman manages to lift the story above standard fare with clever plotting and quirky, often elegant writing that should please the literary crowd while keeping romance lovers engaged. Several cuts above the usual fare. –Kirkus

Check out this fabulous novel, available in paperback at your local independent bookshop!!

book, books, enthusiasm, kirkus, polly shulman, pride and prejudice, publishers weekly, reviews, ya, young adult

Tags: Book, books, enthusiasm, kirkus, polly shulman, pride and prejudice, publishers weekly, reviews, ya, young adult

Jennifer Scales is a normal girl. Until she hits puberty. Sadly for Jennifer, she doesn’t just have to have acne… she gets to turn into a dragon. And so it begins. A quote from Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace.

PROLOGUE: THE RUIN OF EVENINGSTAR

On the day Jennifer Scales turned five, her family moved. That same morning, their quiet river town of Eveningstar, Minnesota died a horrible death.

Jennifer remembered only dim twilight against her window, her mother rousing her, and jeans and a sweatshirt finding their way onto her while her head drooped.

If she thought a little harder, she could remember walking through the crisp, brown woods behind her house until they reached the Mississippi River, stepping onto a flat, slippery boat that sunk a bit with her weight, and shivering a bit in her mother’s firm arms while her father’s voice calmly reassured her.

And if she relaxed her mind, which she wouldn’t be able to do until she was older, she could remember standing on a bluff beyond the other side of the river, watching her hometown burn from a safe distance under the crescent moon. She heard the roars of beasts — dinosaurs? — the howls of wolves, and the screeches of unknown things.

The morning of September 18, those things laid waste to Eveningstar. No one from beyond its borders ever tried to put out the fires, or bury those who died there, or even televise the incident.

No one went there. No one remembered there. Eveningstar, Minnesota, settled by Scandinavian immigrants and incorporated over one hundred years ago, fell into ashes and out of existence.

A review of Jennifer Scales #1 from A blog of Two Witches,

I have read Ms. Davidson’s “Undead and Unwed” adult fiction novels and enjoyed them thoroughly, so I was very hopeful in regards to this book. I knew going in that she had the ability to meld fantasy fiction and humor while not sacraficing characters or plot, but I wondered how her personal flair would translate for younger readers.

She won me over all over again!!

And another review from the SF Site,

Best known for her romantic comedies involving vampires and werewolves, MaryJanice Davidson teams up with her husband here to deliver the first in a new series, and they get things rolling with a fairly strong start. While much of Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace is dedicated to setup and exploration of the series’ premise, it still offers a good, entertaining story filled with some intriguing turns and surprises. As concepts go, it’s relatively underutilized, and still feels fresh, giving off a Buffyesque vibe. Jennifer is a good, strong character with a lot of potential, and I look forward to future offerings in this series.

Book cover of Ancient Furnace looks something like this,

and book cover of the new book coming out on June 5th, looks like this…

Here is a ticker for the new Jennifer Strange novel. I for one, CANNOT wait. I really enjoyed the first two. And yes, the titles DO mean something…

MaryJanice Davidson and Anthony Alongi are married and let me tell you, they sure can work some magic on the pages. I haven’t read Davidson’s adult stuff, though the rumor is that it is hilarious, but I can vouge for Jennifer Strange. Indeed I can.

Ancient Furnace and Messenger of Light are available now and Silver Elm Tree is out in the beginning of June. So get reading!!

alongi, ancient furnace, anthony alongi, beaststalkers, davidson, dragons, fiction, jennifer scales, juvenile literature, maryjanice davidson, messenger of light, newolves, paperback, scales, silver tree elm, unwed and undead, vampires, wereachnids, young adult

Tags: alongi, ancient furnace, anthony alongi, beaststalkers, davidson, dragons, fiction, jennifer scales, juvenile literature, maryjanice davidson, messenger of light, newolves, paperback, scales, silver tree elm, unwed and undead, vampires, wereachnids, young adult

If you don’t watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert then you are missing some good times. Colbert’s report on Captain America was absolutely wonderful and he continues to hang the Shield on set.

Additionally, from my post on Stephenie Meyer’s new book Eclipse and her original Twilight and New Moon you can tell that I LOVE Stephenie Meyer.

Put Stephenie Meyer together with Stephen Colbert, and PRESTO CHANGO you get this video. Watch and enjoy my friends!

(also, Here behind this link if you don’t want to watch here)

Hope you enjoyed!

angel, angel: the series, colbert, colbert report, Daily Show, david boreanaz, eclipse, embedded video, fiction, jon stewart, meyer, motherload, new moon, nosheep, nosheep.net, stephen colbert, stephenie meyer, stewart, twilight, vampires, video, young adult

Tags: angel, colbert, colbert report, Daily Show, david boreanaz, eclipse, embedded video, fiction, jon stewart, meyer, motherload, new moon, nosheep, nosheep.net, stephen colbert, stephenie meyer, stewart, twilight, vampires, video, young adult

An American High School tradition, the Prom Night… (do other countries have proms?) However, it is not always perfection. Sometimes (think Buffy in the original movie of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) our prom nights end in disaster. And, it is always fun to read about OTHERS misfortunes. Along that idea, Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe and Lauren Myracle have brought us, Prom Nights from Hell.

From the Harper Collins website for the book,

Prom Nights from Hell
by Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, Kim Harrison, Lauren Myracle and Michele Jaffe

In this exciting collection, bestselling authors Meg Cabot (How to Be Popular), Kim Harrison (A Fistful of Charms), Michele Jaffe (Bad Kitty), Stephenie Meyer (Twilight), and Lauren Myracle (ttyl) take bad prom nights to a whole new level—a paranormally bad level. Wardrobe malfunctions and two left feet don’t hold a candle to discovering your date is the Grim Reaper—and he isn’t here to tell you how hot you look.

From angels fighting demons to a creepy take on getting what you wish for, these five stories will entertain better than any DJ in a bad tux. No corsage or limo rental necessary. Just good, scary fun.

That site also connects you to the individual author’s sites.

* http://www.kimharrison.net/
* http://www.laurenmyracle.com/
* http://www.megcabot.com
* http://www.michelejaffe.com
* http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

We all know that this blog LOVES Stephenie Meyer. Also Meg Cabot, with strong interest in Kim Harrison. I like others in the same blogging genre as Myracle though I have yet to read her stuff (think back to my blog post on Shana Norris’s new 2008 title Libby Fawcett, same idea). I need to do some research into Jaffe as I have not heard of her before. But she is hobnobbing with some good folk, and connections are everything in this business!

It has a book embargo for April 24th this year, (right at the beginning of PROM SEASON!!!) so check it out at your local independent bookshop!

blogging, book, books, cabot, embargo, fiction, genre, jaffe, lauren myracle, libby fawcett, meg cabot, meyer, michele jaffe, myracle, norris, paperback, shana norris, stephenie meyer, ya, young adult, stephenie meyer

Tags: blogging, Book, books, cabot, embargo, fiction, genre, jaffe, lauren myracle, libby fawcett, meg cabot, meyer, michele jaffe, myracle, norris, paperback, shana norris, stephenie meyer, ya, young adult