Christina Reads YA

Do you want your fiction to teach you something new? And by teach, I don't mean life lessons, the themes about love being the thing you'd risk everything for and so on. I mean actual facts or cultural beliefs, like how Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, though it adds in a lot of other details, taught me about Greek mythology. "Greek mythology made fun" is like a tagline for that series, and for his others, Egyptian and Roman mythology made fun. I really enjoy those books, because they teach me something. I never had a Greek mythology class in school, so most of what I know comes from those books -- and I'm glad of it because so many people seem to write retellings of Greek mythology!

I once read that teachers wanted more YA historical fiction because they could assign those to their kids in parallel with textbooks and be able to discuss the history in a more engaging light with their students. Which reminded me of Robin LaFevers's series; though I don't know how real the God of Death was to people in that period or if that was something LaFevers changed for her world, it was fascinating learning about the kind of politics that would occur in a Brittany court.

And then that got me wondering whether each genre could teach you something different. I don't know about you, but I have different expectations for the underlying purpose for each genre. Dystopian fiction seems more philosophical, what have we done wrong; a criticism of our current society. Fantasy is about transporting us into a new world that's also familiar to us because there are metaphors and symbols of literary truths from our society. Contemporary seems about the lives we live and the immediate meaning to them. Historical, similar, but also how we lived then and whether we've come any farther. But those are just the expectations of different genres; can different genres teach you different things and would that work as well as for contemporary novels as it does for fantasy (i.e. Rick Riordan's series)? Magonia by Maria Headley had a lot of facts and a different historical perspective (the French medieval sailors' origin for Magonia), and I really enjoyed learning about that too. But again, fantasy, and Robin LaFevers's series has an element of fantasy to it too.

Then again, this is under the assumption that you would actually want to learn something from a fiction novel -- for me, the answer is yes if it's done well. Though I can also see why people would say no, especially when nonfiction is the place to go to learn specific facts, right?

Do you want your fiction to teach you something new? And do you think that certain genres are more suited to that purpose?

Do you ever search for translated or foreign editions of books? When I was in high school, I specifically looked for the French edition of the fourth Harry Potter book. Some other book I'd read suggested that one of the characters was trying to teach his or herself how to read in another language by comparing a book in the language in you already knew to the translated version. And I remember getting so excited because I thought, okay, so you actually like the Harry Potter books. This will help with your French classes and you might actually get to a speaking level of French that's not embarrassing.

It's BookTubeAThon week (https://twitter.com/BookTubeAThon). Seven books, seven days, seven challenges that are hosted on different channels (yesterday was from Ariel Bissett about Book Dominoes; day 2/today is Scene Reenactment from Raeleen at Padfootandprongs). I'm probably not going to have time to participate in the video challenges and do all this reading... so I've chosen to prioritize the reading. Big surprise, huh?

So what books am I planning on reading?

Well, we'll see how far I actually get but...

1. Venetia by Georgette Heyer

After reading Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix, I saw in the acknowledgements / author's note that he was inspired by Jane Austen and... Georgette Heyer, who was apparently the founder of Regency Romance novels. What! I read a bunch of historical romances, several of which are Regency romances, and I had never heard of her. Wow, clearly I was behind. Then NPR wrote an article about 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances. You guessed it: Venetia is on that list, and I decided why not.

2. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

This book was actually going to be one of the books selected for discussion with my book club but then complications arose... but hey, I was going to read this regardless. It was recently made into a film adaptation, and it's been compared to The Fault in Our Stars. So when it was at BEA, I grabbed it. It's got a very distinct teenage male voice. I've been listening to it on the way to work and just yesterday, there was a line about terrorists and hummus and I was kind of offended until I realized oh, hey, everyone probably gets offended at least once while reading this book. It's just so frank, and that frankness is refreshing. Plus some parts of the book have been really funny.

3. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

This I got from audiobooksync, which I extolled quite extensively here on the blog. Love audiobooksync! Less a fan of this book so far. It's been hailed as a classic, and I'm pretty sure (?) it's on Gutenberg, but even though I'm about 60% into the audiobook, my thoughts align with this review a lot. The Englishman looking down on all the peoples in the countries he's visited... ugh.

4. The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove

I absolutely loved The Glass Sentence (my review & I listed Sophia as one of my favorite heroines). I pre-ordered The Golden Specific (I asked about it at BEA, too, & listed it in my books I want to read in 2015 video). The Glass Sentence is like everything you could ever want in an MG fantasy adventure, and I can't wait to dive back into S.E. Grove's world and learn more about the Great Disruption and all the different cultures and their different time periods and Sophia and Theo and Shadrack and oooooooooh.

5. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

This book has been chosen by my book club for our title this month, so aha! Maybe this challenge will help me to get ahead and read it much in advance of our meeting. I'm pretty sure this is going to be a BIG fall book: look, it already has over 2,000 ratings and it hasn't even been released yet. Also, everyone seems to be talking about it, and it's gotten plenty of rave reviews. I've read about 20 or so pages and it's got an easy to read writing style. Can't wait to read more!

6. More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

This book was so good when I started it two months ago but then it became one of those books that I was leisurely reading and put aside for something else, I don't even know what anymore, and then I was like, "oh yeah, I'll totally get back to it." It's been two months people. It was good and it was entertaining me. Don't let this become another book that was good and that gets shelved for no reason whatsoever except that I apparently have a short attention span and/or bad memory. I WILL USE THIS CHALLENGE FOR GOOD.

7. Court of Fives by Kate Elliott or The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Not sure which of these two books to choose from for the last title to read! I sincerely doubt I'll be able to get through all seven books in seven days, but hey! Let's be more optimistic! Which book do you think that I should read? I'm excited for both, of course, and I'm an indecisive person, so help a girl out and choose for me, haha :).

So that's what I'm insanely planning to read in a week. This week. Haahaha, well, since I sort of have a head start on some of these books, maybe I'll actually have some progress...???

Even if you're not a BookTuber, I'd highly recommend checking out the video challenges. I spoke recently about lacking motivation for reading / blogging / booktubing. Watching the video made me laugh and feel all hyped again. It's always a treat to see someone else's enthusiasm for reading and books, so hey, if you need a cheer, there you have it.

What are you going to be reading this week or just this month? Have you read any of the books I've listed above? Which should be my seventh book? Let me know what you're reading and up to!

Okay, y'all. I've got a question to pose to you: how do you get your motivation up to read and/or blog? And I don't mean a reading and blogging slump. To me, a reading slump implies that I've been reading books that just haven't jived with me. A blogging slump can range from any number of things: whether you're not in the mood to write reviews, or to blog, or to do anything associated with your blog, etc. That's not quite what I mean.

For instance, I'm sure you've noticed that I haven't posted a bookish rounds post in about a month. That's not because I no longer want to do those posts - in fact, I'm still updating my Pinterest Cover Reveals board, and when I see blogging news, I'm adding it into my ongoing Google Doc for those posts. It's more like I can't shore up the motivation to finish them - to think of the amount of time that it will take me to finish that post! - when I finally come back home and I have only a couple of hours to myself before I'm too exhausted to do anything but sleep.

The same goes for reading. It's not like I've been reading bad books (the ones I'm "currently reading" all have really wonderful openings, writing styles, etc.). At work, I've been reading a lot of audiobooksync titles (because when you're doing mind-numbing things, you better have something to entertain you). But it's not the same. I once used to listen to audiobooks on my way to and from the train station; I used to listen while I was at the gym, too, and that's when I read Paper Towns. I used to also listen to Startalk podcasts when I wasn't in the mood to read a book. Lately, though, I haven't felt like listening to anything, and coming home, I haven't been reading very much either.

Maybe y'all should pick something for me to read? On my bed, waiting to be read, are: The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove, The Wild Ones by C.A. London, More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera, Shadowshaper by Daniel Older, The Court of Fives by Kate Elliott, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews, Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, George by Alex Gino, The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle, and A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano. (They're on my bed since some have already been released and some are being released in August/September).

Or maybe y'all can share with me tactics that you use to reignite that motivation, even if you feel really tired and hardly in the mood to do anything.

Have you tried one of the audiobooks offered by Audiobooksync? Maybe I should have written this earlier in the summer - oh well, remember this for next year, if you're interested, and these next two weeks. Audiobooksync is a program sponsored by AudioFile magazine, in which a classic is paired with a young adult novel, and available for free download during the week that they are offered. If you're in the U.S., well, here are a lot of big name titles like The Ring and the Crown and Around the World in 80 Days (and if you're not in the U.S., there are still plenty of titles for you too).

For me, Audiobooksync has offered titles that have introduced me to some fantastic authors. Last year I was introduced to Code Name Verity, a book which nearly made me cry and which made me a huge fan of Elizabeth Wein. I was so excited to learn about Rose Under Fire being offered this year, and indeed it was an absolutely excellent read (hugely recommended if you haven't already read it!). This established Elizabeth Wein as one of the queens of historical YA for me. And not just YA titles cause the excitement. For years I have been meaning to read books written by more "traditionally classic" authors. This year I got to listen to Great Expectations, and Charles Dickens was as fabulous an author to finally have read as was Elizabeth Wein.

Whether I'm walking to the train station before work or performing mind-numbing repetitive work, I'm going to be & have been taking advantage of this wonderful opportunity. I hope that you will be too, and perhaps we can discuss these books. There are only a couple of weeks left now, but you can definitely also mark your calendars for next year (mark the beginning of May & then check back with the website, or at least that's what I'm planning on doing).

Release Date: July 24, 2015

Paper Towns - John Green | Goodreads

Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

So, this is the first time I've done a movie review, but it's probably not a movie review in the traditional sense, anyway.

If you're wondering whether they've adapted the book you know and love accurately, here are a couple of differences:

(I read Paper Towns last April. I sort of remember the book but forgive me if I've gotten some of the details fudged).

• The Sea World scene was not included.

• Although they included the Robert Joiner death scene, they do not discuss how Q once wonders whether Margo has committed suicide (i.e. "his strings were all cut."). The death scene is more the marker of "separation" for Q and Margo.

• When Ben has to pee during the road trip, he actually ends up spilling some of his pee on Radar. I don't remember that happening in the book, if it did, and I definitely slid down in my seat when it did in the movie. So gross.

• The ending confrontation with Margo was probably the most changed scene. When they arrive at Agloe, New York, Margo is not there. They run out of time. Everyone tries to get Q to leave; he screams at them. Lacey leaves, saying that "Margo wouldn't have come looking for her." When Q actually does meet Margo, it's because he's sitting outside the bus station in Roscoe (he told Ben, Radar, Angela, and Lacey to take his car and go), and he sees her walking outside. After saying that Q doesn't actually know her, Margo takes him to a diner to explain why she left. When they're parting, he says that she should call her sister. She says that she does everyday. (Movie Margo seems a little more thoughtful than Book Margo in that regard, and Q less a director of what Margo does/realizes that she should do.).

• The movie ends with the boys all headed to college in their respective cars, and Radar giving them Black Santas as gifts.

• Angela is featured more. I don't think that she went on the road trip with them in the book, but she did in the movie, which I personally loved.

One girl, when I was exiting the theater, said that they changed more about the Paper Towns movie than they did for The Fault in Our Stars adaptation. I would agree with that assessment, and I personally enjoyed TFioS more than I did Paper Towns (mostly because I like the TFioS actors better). But above all, I'd say that if you're a fan of the book, you'll probably be a fan of the movie. They do justice to the book's themes, add in its combination of humor and life journey/questing, and especially remember to voice-over the famous quote: “What a treacherous thing to believe that a person is more than a person."

John Green also has an introductory clip explaining that every member of the cast was really dedicated to the making of the adaptation, which reminded me that he's essentially a celebrity now. He seems the main reason his books are being made into movies - he'll probably be over six million twitter followers at the year's end. (Though I think Paper Towns and TFioS are also easy to adapt - the road trip, the night activities, and so on.) If you're his fan, or a fan of his books, you'll probably like the movie.

Release Date: October 13, 2015
Source: BEA
Published by: Katherine Tegen

Newt's Emerald - Garth Nix | Goodreads

Lady Truthful will inherit her family’s most valued heirloom on her eighteenth birthday. Until the Newington Emerald is stolen.

Lady Truthful, nicknamed “Newt” by her boy cousins, discovers that to her horror, the people closest to her have been framed for the theft. But Newt won’t let their reputations be damaged by rumors from a false accusation. Her plan is simple: go to London to recover the missing jewel. Despite her best intentions, a young lady travelling alone is frankly unacceptable behavior. So Newt and her aunt devise another plan…one that entails men’s clothing and a mustache.

While in disguise, Truthful encounters the handsome but shrewd major Harnett, who to her amazement volunteers to help find the missing emerald under the assumption that she is a man, Henri de Vienne. But once she and her unsuspecting ally are caught up in a dangerous adventure, Truthful realizes something else is afoot: the beating of her heart.

Truthful has far more than romantic complications to worry about. The stolen emerald is no ordinary heirloom-it is the source of the family’s luck and has the power to yield vast magic. It would be completely disastrous if it fell into the wrong hands. The fate of England depends on Truthful securing the emerald.

A good comparison title is Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White. Although Illusions of Fate is an alternative historical fantasy -- England is never named; the main countries are Albion and Melei -- it feels inspired by a historical England. A similar combination of wit, magic, adventure, and romance are mixed together in this novel as they are with Illusions of Fate, so if you enjoyed one, you may well enjoy the other. Gail Carriger has also blurbed Newt's Emerald, but I regret that I have yet to read her YA spin-off of the Parasol Protectorate, and don't know whether any differences I've noted from Soulless to Newt's Emerald are due to audience alone.

Lady Truthful is a fierce heroine who will stop at nothing to get back her emerald, the family heirloom, and help reassure her father. People will discourage her, remind her that she's a woman and that her reputation cannot be compromised, and still she will fight harder to recover what's rightfully hers. There's an element of cross-dressing that remains realistic (and true to the world) while providing humor and more plot opportunities, and Truthful's aunt is a particular delight as a side character in helping Truthful with her illusion. If you enjoy hate-turned-love romances, you may also enjoy the encounters between Lady Truthful and her love interest, Charles. This book is light fun and easy to read. If all of the above appeals to you, feel free to enter the giveaway below. It's INT and ends 08/07/15.

RAFFLECOPTER FORM IS AT ORIGINAL LINK; sorry!

Hey, everyone! Today I'm participating in the Cinderella Book tag. Mel of the Daily Prophecy tagged me about a month ago, and I'm just getting to it now. Whoops.

Cinderella's not actually my favorite fairy tale. Until recently, I thought that it fit into traditional gender roles / damsel in distress / prince and fairy godmother will save you. (Also the makeover trope where she's only "beautiful" (or at least noticeable // empowered) after the fancy gown and so on). Then Melissa Grey was tweeting about how Cinderella was a survivor of child abuse and it took courage to remain kind and open to love, which is also true. And made me wonder... why do they never make that the focus of the adaptation? Because it has never actually seemed that way to me, and seemed less about Cinderella being kind and courageous and more about the stepsister being so awful. I haven't seen the live-action film yet. Verdict? I also admit to being biased about fairy tales, since so many of them often pit women against each other, and that's a huge pet peeve of mine (cc: the stepsisters/mom).

1. EVIL STEPSISTERS
A book with characters you hate.

2. PRINCE CHARMING:
A book with a gentleman.

Okay, so to me this is a kind of weird category. This is a blog mostly focused on YA books. Gentleman is a word so rooted in history, social inequality, privilege.... it's weird to still be referring to guys as gentlemen, unless it's in that historical context. Also, if a teenaged character is referred to as a gentleman, I don't know that I would believe in that character / my instinct might be to say that character is a Gary Stu, and we're romanticizing that time and context again. ANYWAY. I mean, I could choose from my historical romance novels where gentlemen is a real thing, can point out Pride & Prejudice, 'had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner,' or whatever the exact line is. But if I'm restricting myself to YA.... I guess I'd go with Po fromGraceling. I might also say Finn from Illusions of Fate, since I think (don't quote me on this), Kiersten White had been describing him as Howl from Howl's Moving Castle meets Mr. Darcy. If you're going for Mr. Darcy, you're going for the gentleman character, I guess.

3. CINDERELLA:
A character that is graceful, kind and defiant.

Mel said Agnieszka from Uprooted by Naomi Novik, and I would agree with that choice. But I won't repeat Mel's choice. I'll go with the main character of A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. She is graceful and kind with her tribe and family. She's defiant because she's decided to step in for her sister and marry an evil ruler in order to try to rid the kingdom of evil. Her interactions with the evil king are very exemplary of this defiance. The main character of Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith also exemplifies grace, kindness, and defiance. (Well, maybe not the grace as much, but she eventually learns the court's ways...). She's kind to most everybody except for the romantic interest and the villain. The villain is another evil king who, from the very beginning of the book, she and her brother wage war against because they are little defiant rebels who think his rule inhumane. And last but not least! Serpentine by Cindy Pon. The main character is a handmaid to her best friend, and so part of her job requires that she be graceful and kind in most aspects of her life. Her defiance relates to the transformation she undergoes: into this serpentine like form. What that form and transformation means for her life, that is what she opposes and how she exemplifies defiance. To say more will be a spoiler... but have that on your shelves too!

4. FAIRY GODMOTHER:
A character that always has someone looking out for them.

5. HELPFUL CREATURES:
Something that makes you happy when you’re sad.

So, I could very well say my family and friends and list out all my favorite things, but since this is mostly focused on books/characters, why not. Reading wise, what makes me happy is discovering a new favorite, even if a book hangover accompanies that because HELLO NEW FAVORITE. Who cares if you're bemoaning being unable to find a book as good as the one you just read because rereading is just as good.... Recently, for me, this was  Poison Study by Maria Snyder. I read on in the series, but my favorite remains the first book because it had a pretty complex, dynamic plot that I didn't expect for a book focusing on a food taster. Also, the Yelena/Valek relationship.

6. ASHES:
A book you didn’t care for.

 

Man, I feel like I can name so many books/characters for this category. A character should almost always go through some sort of transformation (though for some books, the character isn't supposed to find redemption, so that character growth arc won't exist for a reason). I suppose it depends on what you mean by transformation - the YA makeover? The actual turning of the pumpkin into some chaise? I don't really like the YA makeover trope because I think that feeds into dangerous stereotypes about beauty and power and so on, but if you interpret transformation to be some sort of unveiling of character... or a character growth arc... well, again, many books, but I guess I'll highlight some of my favorites. Fire by Kristin Cashore. If I'm not mistaken, she starts off the book not being surprised that this poacher shoots her, mistaking her for a deer because of her drab clothing. Girl has some serious self-loathing and regret, but then over the course of the novel, she finds family, a city to love, belonging, and self-love and acceptance. It's a wonderful, powerful transformation that I adored. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy is about a self-proclaimed fat girl entering a beauty pageant to reclaim her sense of self. This book refreshingly doesn't have the trope of the fat girl needing to lose weight to feel good about herself. Her transformation more has to do with the self-doubts that arise when she begins a relationship. To reclaim herself and her positive attitude about her body, she enters the pageant and by the end, another beautiful growth arc. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston. In this retelling of Arabian Nights, this version of Scheherazade, the main character has to undergo quite a bit of a transformation in order to defeat the evil king. To say more is a spoiler but... read the book!

8. IMPOSSIBLE:
A book with an ending you didn’t see coming.

Honestly, very few endings surprise me. But I'll mention a few. Chime by Franny Billingsley was written in this beautiful, circular poetic style that made it very hard to guess what would happen next. It also features an unreliable narrator who doesn't realize how unreliable she is, so there's a double whammy. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski. So, I had a feeling things would end badly, but I didn't predict that. I mean, with all these endings, it's always really cool to go back and see where the author laid her clues. Also, Black Iris by Leah Raeder. If I hadn't read a spoiler-filled review before reading the book, I probably would've been really surprised by how things ended. Very good romantic suspense novel.

9. JUST BREATHE:
Something that inspires you to be courageous.

I think Mel changed this to someone who inspires you to be courageous? If not, well, I did. Lol, in keeping with the book theme... Emma Watson and Hermione Granger. Emma Watson really exemplifies Hermione's character and is a really great feminist role model. Allie Brosh, the author of Hyperbole and a Half. She speaks so realistically, so truthfully about depression, and yet in a comedic manner that never undercuts her handling of the subject. She's an inspiration for those inner battles we all have. Susan Cain, the author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. Cain really understands introversion and knows how to inspire people like me to be quiet leaders.

10. HAPPILY EVER AFTER:
A book with a perfect ending.

Release Date: August 18, 2015
Source: eARC via First to Read
Published by: Dial (Penguin)

The Boy Most Likely To - Huntley Fitzpatrick | Goodreads

A surprising, utterly romantic companion to My Life Next Door—great for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han

Tim Mason was The Boy Most Likely To find the liquor cabinet blindfolded, need a liver transplant, and drive his car into a house

Alice Garrett was The Girl Most Likely To . . . well, not date her little brother’s baggage-burdened best friend, for starters.

For Tim, it wouldn’t be smart to fall for Alice. For Alice, nothing could be scarier than falling for Tim. But Tim has never been known for making the smart choice, and Alice is starting to wonder if the “smart” choice is always the right one. When these two crash into each other, they crash hard.

Then the unexpected consequences of Tim’s wild days come back to shock him. He finds himself in a situation that isn’t all it appears to be, that he never could have predicted . . . but maybe should have.

And Alice is caught in the middle.

Told in Tim’s and Alice’s distinctive, disarming, entirely compelling voices, this novel is for readers of The Spectacular Now, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, and Paper Towns.

This was interesting and not quite what I had expected - not in a bad way, just surprising. I hadn't read the synopsis before reading the book, and a certain plot twist took me completely by surprise despite the hint above. I actually think that if possible, if you haven't already looked at that synopsis or the rest of this review, well, going in blind may increase the suspense and your enjoyment of the various plot twists.

Okay, so first off, Tim's voice is really, really distinctive in this novel. Huntley Fitzpatrick gets a lot of props from me for writing someone on the verge of a million bad behaviors but who has his own distinctive humor and character arc. What happens to Tim the alcoholic in The Boy Most Likely To is a lot more emotionally satisfying than the character arc for The Spectacular Now (a comparison title) because there's actual growth. We start off the novel with Tim going to meet the "Nowhere Man," which you learn is Tim's father, and it's quite the hook: if Mr. Mason can't see Tim becoming anything else but a failure, should we? (Of course). It took me a while to get connected to Tim (despite being interested in the course of his redemption / character arc) compared to Samantha and Jase -- because I'm essentially more like them -- but then you really get to know Tim in a way that maybe you didn't for Sam and Jase; the ups and downs are much more extreme. The kid goes from failing at various things (getting expelled from many schools, etc.) to exceeding the expectations most people have of him to nearly breaking his own self-imposed limits multiple times to making everyone laugh because flippancy is his self-defense mechanism. But above all, what Huntley Fitzpatrick introduced for his character does wonders.

I also had a harder time connecting to Alice than Samantha and Jase, and part of that is because I didn't actually really remember her from My Life Next Door. Tim was one of the main side characters. So was Nan and Sam's mom (+ political adviser) and the Garretts as a whole. And here, though Alice has her own character arc and plot twist to handle, the book is still named after Tim in the way that My Life Next Door focused on Sam. But in the end, like what happened with Tim, Alice also grew on me and the moments she and Tim spend together are greater than the ones they spend apart. Unsurprisingly, Huntley Fitzpatrick excelled at showing their chemistry. (There's also no worries about the first person narratives - not only do the voices sound unique, but the book also prints Alice and Tim in different fonts).

The Garretts, as always, are the charming backdrop, providing much needed humor and stability for the characters and us readers. When all goes bad, all you have to do is make sure you don't frighten George. You also get more time with the Garretts than what I remembered from My Life Next Door, so the characters actually feel more fleshed out (Harry/Duff/Patsy/George/etc.) as well as their relationships with one another. Nan and the Masons are also fleshed out, and it provides a nice contrast between the three different families and their cultures - Reed, Mason, and Garretts (plus the people Tim knows from his AA meetings - 'you can find family in unexpected places,' one character says (or something similar, if not exactly that)).

Although I liked My Left Next Door more -- because I am more like Jase/Sam and I would take Jase over Tim lol any day -- I'm pretty sure that fans of MLND will love this sequel and the rising stakes that have been laid. It has a very similar tone to MLND: introducing serious issues to further character development but including plenty of sexy and summer-worthy twists beside humorous interactions with the Garretts for a well-rounded read. Don't make Mr. Mason's mistake, and give Tim a chance this summer.

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from fellow bloggers, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Publishing:
Rights Report 1, 2:

• Timekeeper trilogy - Tara Sim (The debut LGBTQ steampunk series, set in an alternate Victorian era in which time in each city is controlled by a clock tower, follows teenage prodigy clock tower mechanic Danny. Hoping to save his father, who is trapped in a town outside of London, Danny is also battling a force seeking to destroy all of the towers and stop time. The first book in the series is slated for fall 2016; Sky Pony Press).
• Songs About a Girl - Chris Russell (YA debut about a wallflower teen girl who is swept up into the surreal world of the world's hottest boy band, and becomes caught between the charms of its two star members. A publication date has not yet been set. Macmillan's Flatiron Books).
• This Promise I Will Keep - Aisha Saeed (In it, a Pakistani teenager enters indentured servitude to pay her family's debts, and must choose between pursuing an education and freedom or the chance to save her village from a dangerous threat. Publication is scheduled for 2017; Penguin's Nancy Paulsen Books).
• Untitled - Kym Brunner (It tells the story of a teenager at his first falconry meet who is determined to win the Best Apprentice pin. But he runs up against trouble when he finds himself falling for a girl whose parents are leaders of a radical animal-rights group. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
• Unnatural Deeds - Cyn Balog (in which a girl, found lying battered and broken in a ditch, must recount the events that led to her demise, and ultimately, to murder. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Sourcebooks Fire).
• Untitled - Susan Kuklin (Next nonfiction book for young adults. Kuklin, who won the 2014 Stonewall Honor Award for Beyond Magenta, will now shift her focus to young, undocumented immigrants. The book, which is not yet titled, will be accompanied by Kuklin's photography. Publication is set for fall 2017; Candlewick).
• Genesis Begins Again - Alicia Williams (The middle-grade novel deals with family and body image, as 13-year-old Genesis struggles with the shade of her skin. Dlouhy also acquired a second, untitled novel by Williams. Publication is scheduled for winter 2017; Dlouhy Books at S&S/Atheneum)
• The Bastard Table - Andrew Shvarts (a YA fantasy debut in which the bastard daughter of the Lord of the West and a group of fellow outcasts witness her father commit a murder, and are forced to go on the run to save a princess and prevent a war. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Disney-Hyperion).
• The Memory of Objects - Danielle Mages Amato (YA debut; When a 15-year-old uses her new ability to access the powerful memories attached to objects in order to resurrect her brother's reputation after he dies of a suspected overdose, she is plunged into the world of psychometry, murderabilia, and the underbelly of political corruption and social inequality in Washington, D.C. Publication is set for winter 2017; Balzer + Bray).
• The Capybara Conspiracy - Erica S. Perl (MG in which non-jocks kidnap their sports-obsessed school's beloved mascot, Cappy the Capybara. The book will be published in fall 2016, Knopf).
• Benjamin - Kelsey Sutton (MG verse; Benjamin lives on the moon, keeping watch over the world below but caring nothing for the lives he observes... until he discovers Sam, a girl who makes him long for more. Publication is planned for summer 2017, Philomel).
• Courage - James Preller (MG; Eleven-year-old William Meriwether Miller's summer plans are abruptly pushed aside when his typically not-there father announces that they are going on a road trip to retrace the steps of Lewis and Clark. It's scheduled for fall 2016; Feiwel and Friends).
• Maxi's Secrets - Lynn Plourde (MG; Timminy is the shortest kid in fifth grade, and he's afraid the teasing will get even worse when he adopts an enormous dog named Maxi. As it turns out, Maxi is deaf. And, along with the take-charge blind girl next door, Maxi's got a lot to teach Timminy about accepting yourself for who you are. Publication is slated for spring 2016; Nancy Paulsen Books).

From Publisher's Lunch:

• Rachel Renee Russell's new illustrated book series called THE MISADVENTURES OF MAX CRUMBLY,introduces Max Crumbly and his daily ups and downs at South Ridge Middle School; homeschooled by his grandmother until he begs his family to send him to public middle school, Max begins to rethink that choice when another boy keeps stuffing him in his locker, to Aladdin for publication starting in April 2016 followed by a second book in Spring 2017. See a full article on the book deal here.
• Shelley Johannes' (debut) first three books in the BEATRICE ZINKER, UPSIDE DOWN THINKER series, charting the adventures of a plucky third-grader whose topsy-turvy point of view turns the world sunny side up, to Disney-Hyperion.

From Last Week:

• Jack and the Beanstalk - Josh Funk (about a young Jack who is not keen on climbing any beanstalks and would much prefer to tell his own story. The book is slated for fall 2017; Amazon/Two Lions).
• Finding Marvin Gardens - A.S. King / Amy Sarig King (debut MG about a boy who encounters an entirely new creature in the woods behind his house – an animal that eats plastic – and the consequences that ensue. Publication is set for spring 2017; Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine Books).
• Orphan Island - Laurel Snyder (pitched as Lord of the Flies meets The Giver. It tells the story of a girl named Jinny, one of nine kids who live on an idyllic island without adults where, every year, a new young child is mysteriously delivered by boat and the oldest is taken away. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; HarperCollins's Walden Pond Press).
• Dragons vs. Drones - Wesley King (New MG series Pitched as part Eragon, part Transformers, the books follow a young computer genius who is chased by sleek, high-tech drones into a land populated by Godzilla-size dragons, setting off a war that only he can stop. Publication for the first book is slated for spring 2016; Razorbill).

Book Trailers: Vengeance Road - Erin Bowman, The Hired Girl - Lara Amy Schlitz, The Book of Spirits and Thieves - Morgan Rhodes

Authors: RubyFruit Jungle - Rita Mae Brown, Raising Rufus - David Fulk, The Abyss Surrounds Us - Emily Skrutskie, Alive - Chandler Baker, Secret of the Sevens - Lynn Lindquist, Book Scavenger - Jennifer Chambliss Bertman, Legacy of Kings - Eleanor Herman,

Awards: Vermont Youth Book Awards, 2015 Carnegie UK Medals, Amazon’s Best YA books so far (& best books of the yearso far)

Excerpts: Shadowshaper - Daniel Jose Older, The Copper Gauntlet - Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, Date with a Rockstar - Sarah Gagnon, Every Last Word - Tamara Ireland Stone, Hello, I Love You - Katie M. Stout. Jesse's Girl - Miranda Kenneally.The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness, The Sword of Summer - Rick Riordan

*You can read the inspiration chapter behind Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.

The Ferguson Library was named the library of the year.

Gayle Forman is writing her first novel for adults (13 children’s book authors who would have written for adults too - a list to accompany that article).

#WeNeedDiverseBooks: the hashtag that sparked a literary movement. Checking in on Diverse Books: a CBC Panel. It’s still a white children’s book world. But you know, booksellers can also battle bias on the shop floor and keep in mind how youdesign backlist titles too.

A publishing house will only be publishing female writers for a year. That’s cool… and also I’m wondering how long before you get a man going “that’s sexist0131281!!!”

Penguin Random House reached a deal with Amazon. So no more pushback on Amazon this year, it seems. Maybe more in the future? Or pubs were real hesitant after the Hachette incident?

YES PLEASE: an attorney was getting the local barber shops to stock books for boys. Why not? I always get really, really bored if I’m getting my hair done… read a book! Good idea and gets kids to read more too.

Really cool: a professor teaches a social justice and YA lit course. Here’s his syllabus. (This is when I know behind. I haven’t read most of the books on that list, sadly…)

Heather Brewer will soon become Zac Brewer to embrace his true self.

The Accident Season is being pitched as a cross between We Were Liars and How We Live Now.

A brief summary of author and industry events.

J.K. Rowling wrote about why the Dursleys hated Harry so much (lol at the explanation for the Dursleys’ names), and well there are 36 things still unexplained about HP (okay, so I was less convinced that there needed to be a spin-off / JKR should never leave HP again until I saw this and was like, how did I never notice these things about the books?).

FiveThirtyEight tried and failed to identify the most banned book in America from ALA’s yearly lists.

From YA Highway, which has better links than I would for this: "Nine black church-goers at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina were gunned down by a white man who hoped to start a race war. The victims included librarian Cynthia Hurd, manager of one of Charleston County's busiest branches. You can donate to Friends of the Charleston Library in her honor. You can also refer to the #CharlestonSyllabus, a public list of books on race, compiled in the wake of the massacre."

Cover Reveals:

Cover Reveal watch - Today: CamGirl by Leah Raeder. Also probably more from HarperCollins. (See my Pinterest - I missed a bunch of covers that should have been in this post but will be in next week's instead...)

Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

Are you anticipating these July releasing books?

What about these 13 best new books in June and 24 June books that might just charm your pants off? Or June’s Best Bets?

Great YA Break-up Novels. Definitely on The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes.

6 Great YAs Exploring Childhood Abduction, 20 Unlikely YA Heroes That We Love (is Celaena a heroine or an anti-heroine for the very reasons they mention? Same with Adelina, who Marie Lu said is a villain, not a hero), 20 YAs That Kept Us Up All Night (article proof that I need to read more horror novels, ha), The Preapocalypse Is Now: 5 YAs That Take Place Before the World Ends, 20 Books to Read After Paper Towns, 8 Life-Affirming YA Books Guaranteed to Fill You With Joy, 7 Super-Twisted YA Friendships (Sadie/Miles in Delicate Monster is most definitely twisted).

What happens when you think you’ve lost your book?

Best young adult books for the summer + another summer list + and yet another + and another, curated by TED speakers..

The 10 Best Independent Bookshops in the world: do you agree?

Symptoms of a book hangover. ← Currently my symptoms. I need the cure!

Do you think these side characters need their own books?

Articles all about the importance of YA these days: a golden age for kidlit, which sf/f book helped you to grow up, selfies, sex, and body image - the revolution in books for teenage girls, if Hollywood won’t feature modern superheroines then it’s up to YA literature.

Blogging:
Support/Advice/Questions:
** Rita at Blog Genie: 5 Reasons Bloggers Need to Build an Email List
** Rita at Blog Genie: 5 Beginning List Building Mistakes You Can Fix Today
** Rita at Blog Genie: 14 Ways Evernote Can Make Blogging Easier
** Rita at Blog Genie: 3 Steps to An Effective and Consistent Blogging Routine
** Aimee at Deadly Darlings: How to Start a Book Blog (Mechanics & Essentials)
** Rachel at Parajunkee: Ten Steps to Increase Your Facebook Engagement
** Rachel at Parajunkee: Organize Your Blogging Life
** Ashley at Nose Graze: It Makes Total Sense That Blog Tour Organizers Allow Only Positive Reviews
** Ashley at Nose Graze: New Plugin and Theme
** Stephanie at These Paper Hearts: Always Test All Aspects of Your Blog and Design

Blogging & Bloggers:
** Debby at Snuggly Oranges: The State of the Blog
** Amber at The Mile Long Bookshelf: Blogging: Things I Suck At
** Cassie at The Casserole: Why I Blog
** Sarah at The Reading Petal: Caught in Comparisons
** Ruby at Feed Me Books Now: Lost Months & Lost Words
** Chyna at Lite-Rate-Ture: Signs That You Want to Quit Blogging
** Ashley at Lovely Literature: Blogger guilt: Zero Motivation
** Annie at the Runaway Reader: Feeling My Age in the Blogging Community
** Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner: 5 Years of Blogging
** Asti at Oh, The Books!: Accepting Changes

Reviews, Ratings, ARCs, Authors, Recommendations:
** Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction: I’ve Met You, Now I Need to Read You
** Rebecca at The Library Canary: 5 Books That Should Be on Your Radar
** Stephanie at Chasm of Books: 5 Novels You Should Read This Summer
** Jen at YA Romantics: Are You An Early Review Avoider?
** Lisa at Read. Breathe. Relax.: Who Are Your Auto-Buy Authors?

Reading:
The Experience:
** Kel at Booked Till Tuesday: A Lesson Learned Abroad
** Shannon at It Starts At Midnight: We All Read Throne of Glass (And No One Remembers)
** Julie at Chapter Break: Books That Ruined You for Other Books
** Kayla at The Thousand Lives: The Struggle is Real | Dealing with Book Amnesia
** Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner: I’m Not Too Old for That
** Anya at On Starships & Dragonwings: Should You Only Request Books You’ll Love?
** Trish at Between My Lines: Why Do You Read?
** Chiara at Books for a Delicate Eternity: Why Meh Books Can Be Good Books
** Cait at Paper Fury: Overlooked but Highly Useful Lessons You Can Learn from Books
** Cait at Paper Fury: What Is the Most Delicious Part of a Book?
** Mitchii at Aeropapers: Seemingly Impossible Journey?
** Josephine at Word Revel: 5 Reasons for Multi Format Reading
** Pam at [YA]Escape From Reality: Is It a Spoiler to…?

Books, Books, Books:
** Lillian at The Whimsical Carousel: Books to Survive High School
** Alicia at a Kernel of Nonsense: Why Do You Buy Books?
** Kelly at Stacked Books: How Do You Organize Your Books?
** Alise at Readers in Wonderland: My TBR Jar and I Are Frenemies
** Lyn at Great Imaginations: How Far Would You Go for Your Favorite Books?
** Emz at Paging Serenity: Uniform Book Sizes
** Sandra at Tea Between Books: The Despised Phrase

Summer Miscellany:
** Jim at YA Yeah Yeah: Diversity Panels
** Amy at Ten Penny Dreams: How to Choose Your Holiday Reading
** Amber at Books of Amber: An Epic Guide to Summer Novels

Release Date: June 23rd, 2015
Source: Hardcover from the publisher
Published by: HarperTeen

Emmy and Oliver - Robin Benway | Goodreads

Emmy’s best friend, Oliver, reappears after being kidnapped by his father ten years ago. Emmy hopes to pick up their relationship right where it left off. Are they destined to be together? Or has fate irreparably driven them apart?

Emmy just wants to be in charge of her own life.

She wants to stay out late, surf her favorite beach—go anywhere without her parents’ relentless worrying. But Emmy’s parents can’t seem to let her grow up—not since the day Oliver disappeared.

Oliver needs a moment to figure out his heart.

He’d thought, all these years, that his dad was the good guy. He never knew that it was his father who kidnapped him and kept him on the run. Discovering it, and finding himself returned to his old hometown, all at once, has his heart racing and his thoughts swirling.

Emmy and Oliver were going to be best friends forever, or maybe even more, before their futures were ripped apart. In Emmy’s soul, despite the space and time between them, their connection has never been severed. But is their story still written in the stars? Or are their hearts like the pieces of two different puzzles—impossible to fit together?

Readers who love Sarah Dessen will tear through these pages with hearts in throats as Emmy and Oliver struggle to face the messy, confusing consequences of Oliver’s father’s crime. Full of romance, coming-of-age emotion, and heartache, these two equally compelling characters create an unforgettable story.

Emmy and Oliver is, without a doubt, a wonderful summer beach read. It's true that the novel tackles tough issues - namely Oliver's kidnapping and how that, and his return, affects him and the community at large - but Emmy and Oliver tackles these issues with a light heart. The humor and banter between Emmy and her friends, and Emmy and her parents, help balance out the novel's serious topic.

Probably my favorite part of this novel was the character cast and how seamlessly Robin Benway had run through the dialogue between the characters, namely Emmy with her parents and friends. Lately I've been cracking up with my coworkers about dad humor - Benway nails this to a pitch. Same with the interactions between Emmy and her friends; all the inside jokes, their banter helped lend authenticity to the characters, their situation, the novel at large (and they often also brought a smile to my face!). Still it's not all fun and games - I also appreciated Benway's effort to give her main side characters conflicts of their own - Emmy's parents and their overprotective attitude after Oliver's kidnapping; Drew and his parents's intolerance; Caro trying to find herself in her overstuffed house.

The same goes for the romance. Emmy and Oliver first become friends - so that Oliver can have someone to confide in - before anything romantic can happen. But when it does, the banter and trust between the two of them shows their very clear chemistry. So, so cute together, and I was rooting for them from the start.

Emmy and Oliver is also a fairly quick read. I read about 40-70 pages each train ride to and from work, which meant finishing the novel in a matter of a few days. The writing is smooth & the novel the fast-paced. If you want easy to ready writing, engaging characters with humorous and heartfelt banter, and a sweet romance, this should be your next summer read.

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from fellow bloggers, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Yet another month has passed since I did one of these posts… whoops.

Publishing:
Rights Reports 1, 2, 3, 4:

• Outward Blonde - Trish Cook (YA pitched as an outdoor Orange Is the New Black for the Gossip Girl set. When NYC socialite Lizzie Finklestein has an epic night on the town resulting in a writeup in Page Six, her billionaire parents send her to Camp Smiley, an Outward Bound-style rehab camp that forces Lizzie to come to terms with herself and nature. Publication is slated for 2016. Adaptive Books).
• A List of Cages - Robin Roe (a debut novel in the tradition of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, told from the alternating perspectives of Adam, a charismatic 17-year-old with ADHD, and his foster brother, a sensitive boy in a dangerous living situation that Adam must save him from. Disney-Hyperion).
• Untitled - Kim Zarin (debut YA novel; modern retelling of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Simon Pulse).
• New YA series - Adrianne Strickland and Michael Miller (pitched in the vein of Joss Whedon's Firefly with elements of Marie Lu's Legend. The first, Shadow Run, follows the orphaned Qole, a young but savvy captain of a ragtag crew on a “fishing” starship, who have just become the focus of a corporate arms race; and Nev, the prince whose mission to exploit them turns into one to save them. The first book is planned for fall 2016; Delacorte Press).
• Birds and Other Transdimensional Things - Leah Thomas (featuring a teen girl coping with her mother's suicide attempt amid the emergence of parallel dimensions; Birds will be published in winter 2018; Bloomsbury).
• An untitled sequel to Because You'll Never Meet Me - Leah Thomas (which continues the story of Ollie and Moritz's friendship. The sequel is scheduled for winter 2017. Bloomsbury)
• The Problem with Paris - Denise Grover Swank (in which a young pianist heads to Paris to see her father who abruptly abandoned the family months before, and spends the summer repairing their relationship while falling for the son of a local music teacher. Publication is slated for spring 2016; Blink).
• Key to Heaven - Darcey Rosenblatt (debut set in Iraq and Iran in 1982, which follows a music-loving boy as he joins the Iranian army at the age of 12. It is set to publish in winter 2017; Henry Holt).
• Vilonia Beebe Takes Charge - Kristin L. Gray (a debut middle-grade novel in which fourth-grader Vilonia must prove that she is responsible enough to get a dog, in order to help her mom get over her grief. Publication is planned for spring 2017; S&S/Paula Wiseman Books).
• Prisoner of Ice and Stone - Ruth Lauren Steven (In the MG fantasy debut, 13-year-old Valor is accused of attempting to murder the prince and is sent to prison, where she attempts to break out her twin sister. But in the process, they discover that a much thicker plot may lie behind their crimes. The first book is scheduled for global release in winter 2017; Bloomsbury).
• Seven Ways We Lie - Riley Redgate (debut told from the perspectives of seven teenagers – each seduced by one of the seven deadly sins – whose paths converge when they accidentally expose a life-altering secret. It's scheduled for publication in spring 2016; Abrams/Amulet).
• American Kestral - Trudi Truiet (in which a U.S. teen battles evil twin sisters and overcomes her own worst fear to prevent the foreclosure of her grandmother's ski lodge. It's slated for spring 2017 publication under the MIX! imprint; S&S/Aladdin).
• Graffiti Girl - Laurie Boyle Crompton (about a girl who is obsessed with painting graffiti lions in out-of-the-way spots, until her secret is discovered by the wrong person, with unexpected consequences. Publication is planned for winter 2017; Sourcebooks Fire).
• Virgo - Alexandra Blogier (it centers on a girl who is the last human left on Earth after an alien race annihilated humanity. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Delacorte).
• Pashmina - Nidhi Chanani (YA graphic novel tells the story of an Indian-American girl who struggles to fit in at high school, then discovers more about her family's history with the help of her mother's magical pashmina. Publication is slated for 2017; First Second).
• Good Girls Don't Lie - Alexandra Diaz (Pitched as a Mexican-American Juno, a realistic coming-of-age story starring good girl Josie Figueroa. Publication is set for spring 2016; Leap Books).
• Smoot, A Rebellious Shadow - Michelle Cuevas, illustrated by Sydney Smith (The book tells the story of Smoot, a shadow gone rogue who abandons his boy and inadvertently inspires a shadow revolution. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; Dial).
• Jack and the Beanstalk - Josh Funk (about a young Jack who is not keen on climbing any beanstalks and would much prefer to tell his own story. The book is slated for fall 2017; Amazon/Two Lions).
• All American Boys - Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely (a YA novel that follows two teenage boys – one white, one black – who offer dueling perspectives, told in alternating chapters, on an act of police brutality. The book has been fast-tracked by S&S for release in fall 2015 because of its timely subject matter. S&S's Caitlin Dlouhy Books).
• The Lost Property Office - James R. Hannibal (In the MG thriller, 13-year-old Jack is trying to find his kidnapped father while attempting to stop a villain from recreating the Great Fire of London. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Simon & Schuster).
• Finding Marvin Gardens - A.S. King / Amy Sarig King (debut MG about a boy who encounters an entirely new creature in the woods behind his house – an animal that eats plastic – and the consequences that ensue. Publication is set for spring 2017; Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine Books).
• You’re Welcome, Universe - Whitney Gardner (an illustrated YA debut novel about a Deaf teen artist who must decide between being painted into obscurity or getting caught after she finds herself locked in a graffiti war with an opponent who takes it a step too far. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Knopf).
• Orphan Island - Laurel Snyder (pitched as Lord of the Flies meets The Giver. It tells the story of a girl named Jinny, one of nine kids who live on an idyllic island without adults where, every year, a new young child is mysteriously delivered by boat and the oldest is taken away. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; HarperCollins's Walden Pond Press).
• Words on Bathroom Walls - Julia Walton (debut. It's a teen boy's journal to his therapist as he starts an experimental drug trial to treat his schizophrenia. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Random House).
• My Kind of Crazy - Robin Reul (pitched as Freaks and Geeks meets The Spectacular Now. After his promposal goes up in flames (literally), down-on-his-luck Hank strikes up an unusual friendship with a budding pyromaniac, who is struggling with her own darkness and thinks he may be a kindred spirit. Publication is slated for April 2016; Sourcebooks Fire).
• Lucy and Linh - Alice Pung (a literary Mean Girls meets Fresh Off the Boat that follows Lucy as she tries to balance her life at home surrounded by her Chinese immigrant family, with her life at a pretentious private school. Publication is set for fall 2016; Knopf).
• The Lotterys Plus One - Emma Donoghue (debut MG when Sumac Lottery's racist, homophobic grandfather nearly burns his house down, he has to move in with her family, a volatile situation about which no one is happy, least of all Sumac, who has to give up her room. Publication is scheduled for February 2017; Arthur A. Levine).
• Summerlost - Ally Condie (MG debut follows 12-year-old Cedar, who is struggling to accept the sudden deaths of her father and younger brother. At the titular summer camp, organized by a Shakespearean theater troupe, the young heroine, in Condie's words, “finds herself surprised by the wonderful, magical feeling of falling into an unexpected friendship” as she “explores long-held mysteries within her community and concerning those she loves.” Publication is slated for April 2016; Dutton).
• The Black Witch - Laurie Forest (debut first in a fantasy series set in the magical, diverse realm of Earthea. There a fiercely determined heroine must embrace a power she never knew she had in order to protect everyone she loves from the darkness sweeping across their world. Publication is set for spring 2017; Harlequin Teen).
• Pablo and Birday - Alison McGhee (MG which follows a boy who, as a baby, crossed the ocean in an inflatable pool. Accompanied on his journey by a parrot, he is eventually raised by a small fishing community. Publication is projected for summer 2017; S&S/Atheneum's Caitlyn Dlouhy Books).
• Dragons vs. Drones - Wesley King (New MG series Pitched as part Eragon, part Transformers, the books follow a young computer genius who is chased by sleek, high-tech drones into a land populated by Godzilla-size dragons, setting off a war that only he can stop. Publication for the first book is slated for spring 2016; Razorbill).
• Joaquin's Rebellion - Guadalupe Garcia McCall (It's a YA Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1915 Texas during the height of the Mexican revolution, about a Mexican-American teen trying to protect his family's ranch and his sweetheart's safety while caught between the Texas Rangers and Mexican revolutionaries. Publication is set for fall 2016, with a sequel,The Long Journey Home, scheduled for 2017. Lee & Low's Tu Books).
• The Art of Losing - Alexandra Ballard (YA debut narrated by a girl in a residential treatment center for an eating disorder. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Farrar, Straus and Giroux).
• The Memory Thief - Bryce Moore (in which 11-year-old Benji meets people who can show and manipulate memories; soon, a lot of people in town are acting like someone has stolen their minds, including Benji's twin sister Kelly. Publication is slated for spring 2016; Adaptive Books).
• Vanguard - Ann Aguirre (set in the same world as her Razorland saga, which chronicles the adventures of Tegan and the warrior-poet who loves her. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Feiwel and Friends).
• Find Me in Dobbs Ferry - Sheela Chari (a middle-grade mystery in which 12-year-old neighbors Myla and Peter search for clues surrounding the link between a coveted necklace and the disappearance of Peter's brother. Along the graffiti-covered train lines north of New York City, the unlikely pair encounter parkour-performing thugs, cryptic street art, and missing diamonds before uncovering the family secret that started it all. Publication is set for spring 2017; Abrams).

Kami Garcia's THE LOVELY RECKLESS, pitched as "The Fast and the Furious" meets Romeo & Juliet in a YA contemporary romance about the daughter of an undercover cop who falls for the car thief her father is pursuing, to Imprint, for publication in Fall 2016.

From last time:

• Look Out for the Fitzgerald-Trouts - Esta Spalding, to be illustrated by Sydney Smith (MG series features a band of loosely related self-reliant siblings who live alone in their car on a tropical island, populated with terrible grown-ups. The book will be published simultaneously in Canada by Tara Walker at Tundra/Penguin Random House in spring 2016. Little, Brown).
• The Dark Lord's Daughter - Patricia Wrede (MG series follows a girl who discovers she has inherited a dysfunctional, depressed magical kingdom. Publication is slated for 2017; Random House).
• Untitled - Candace Fleming (New chapter-book series in which historical figures make their way into a contemporary setting. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Random House's Schwartz & Wade Books).
• Dead (But Cautiously Optimistic) - James Preller (pitched as The Walking Dead meets The Mysterious Benedict Society. In the “not-too-distant future,” a seventh-grade undead boy has to adjust to middle-school life as a zombie, and with three unlikely friends, he navigates a mystery involving global warming, disappearing bees, and billionaire developers... and more zombies. It's slated for fall 2016; Feiwel and Friends).
• Mighty Jack - Ben Hatke (MG graphic novel sold to First Second (due in fall 2016 and 2017)) 
• Miracle Molly - Ben Hatke (an illustrated middle-grade novel (due in spring 2017), sold to Roaring Brook)
• The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming - J. Anderson Coats (MG novel; It tells the story of a headstrong girl with big dreams who boards a steamship bound for Washington Territory, as part of the Mercer Expedition of 1866. Publication is set for spring 2017; Atheneum).
• Untitled - Candace Fleming (an untitled chapter book about Strongheart, the early canine film star. It's scheduled for fall 2016; Random House's Schwartz & Wade).
• Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here - Anna Breslaw (debut; 16-year-old New Jerseyan Scarlett Epstein finds herself without an outlet for her online writing after her beloved TV show gets canceled, leading her to write fanfiction about the kids in her own high school. Publication is set for spring 2016; Razorbill).
• Ryan Quinn: Freedom Run - Ron McGee (MG series follows the titular 14-year-old who, after his parents disappear, finds out his family is part of a secret organization dating back to WWII that performs dangerous rescue missions. It's planned for fall 2016; HarperCollins).
• Matylda of the Bright and Tender Skin - Holly McGhee (MG debut tells the story of two friends, loss, and a leopard gecko named Matylda. Publication is set for spring 2017; Candlewick Press).
• The World from Up Here - Cecilia Galante (a middle-grade novel following a 12-year-old girl who, in the wake of a family event, must confront her fears while moving to an aunt's house with her autistic brother and their dog. Publication is set for summer 2016; Scholastic).
• Deleting Tenley Tylwyth - Jennifer Gooch Hummer (In the MG Debut, a 13-year-old girl who can create weather patterns must protect humans from an evil and vindictive Mother Nature. Publication is slated for 2017; Month9Books).

Interviews: Emmy & Oliver - Robin Benway, The Summer of Chasing Mermaids - Sarah Ockler, Proof of Forever - Lexa Hillyer, Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon, Freaks of Nature - Wendy Brotherlin, Crow’s Nest - Angelica Jackson,Between the Notes - Sharon Huss Roat, Secrets of the Dragon Tomb - Patrick Samphire, 5 to 1 - Holly Bodger, Made You Up - Francesca Zappia, Scarlett Undercover - Jennifer Latham, Burning Glass - Kathryn Purdie, The Edge of Forever - Melissa Hurst,Conviction - Kelly Loy Gilbert, Tiny Pretty Things - Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, Skyscraping - Cordelia Jensen,South of Sunshine - Dana Elmendorf, Extraordinary - Miriam Spitzer Franklin, The Witch Hunter - Virginia Boecker, The Girl from Everywhere - Heidi Heilig, The Sound of Life and Everything - Krista Van Dolzer, The Cost of All Things - Maggie Lehrman, Nearly Found - Elle Cosimano, Finding Audrey - Sophie Kinsella, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Jesse Andrews,The Winner’s Crime - Marie Rutkoski, Daughter of Deep Silence - Carrie Ryan, Brutal Youth - Anthony Breznican, Tiny Pretty Things - Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton, Fallout - Gwenda Bond, An Ember in the Ashes - Sabaa Tahir, Brenda Bowen, Nowhere But Here - Katie McGarry, Emmy and Oliver - Robin Benway, Anita Silvey, Cassie Beasley

Awards: Boston Globe-Horn winners. I know I missed some here. Sorry.

Excerpts: the Epic Reads Impulse sampler, Hello, I Love You - Katie Stout, Brutal Youth - Anthony Breznican, The Boy Most Likely to - Huntley Fitzpatrick, Unforgiven - Lauren Kate, The Accident Season - Moira Fowley-Doyle, Nightfall - Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski, A Book of Spirits and Thieves - Morgan Rhodes, Morrighan - Mary E. Pearson, Lair of Dreams - Libba Bray, Bone Deep - Kim O’Brien, Hollywood Witch Hunter - Valerie Tejeda, I Am Princess X - Cherie Priest, Mary Unleashed - Hilary Monahan, The Porcupine of Truth - Bill Konigsberg, Another Day - David Levithan, Siren’s Fury - Mary Weber, Trigger - Courtney Alameda, A Whole New World - Liz Braswell, All the Devils Here - Astor Penn, Black Widow Forever - Margaret Stohl, Far From You - Tess Sharpe, Illuminae - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff, Passenger - Alexandra Bracken, Nothing But Shadows - Cassandra Clare, read by Nico Miralegro, The Witch Hunter - Virginia Boecker, The Artisans - Julie Reece, A Girl Undone - Catherine Linka, This Raging Light - Estelle Laure

Book Trailers: Extraordinary Means - Robyn Schneider, The Cemetery Boys - Heather Brewer, Burn - Sarah Fine and Walter Jury, The Last Ever After - Soman Chainani, The Witch Hunter - Virginia Boecker

BookCon Panels: Abigail Breslin: This May Sound Crazy, Lauren Oliver & Gayle Forman, (not sure if this still works but)Live Book View Now

I mentioned this briefly in my BEA recap, but here’s the actual article: Early Favorites for Young Readers.

BEA & BookCon 2015: Love is in the Air at YA Editors’ Buzz Panel, Editors Buzz about Middle Grade Books, YA Authors Talk Friendship, Growing Up, WNDB Advocates for Diverse Books, Chronicling Middle Grade Characters and Adventures,Talking Truth, Love, Diversity and Writing at ‘Reality Bites’ Panel, Children’s and YA Publishing in China, Writing about Tough Topics for Teens, Telling the Truth for Every Age, Wild at Heart: Animal Fantasy in Children’s Books, YA Panel Celebrates WNDB, Talks Diversity, CHildren’s breakfast speakers say Life is a Story, Judy Blume

A photo recap of BEA & BookCon.

I missed most of these, but here was a brief summary of author and industry events for May 21 and for last week.

Morgan Matson announced the title and synopsis of her new book.

Fan of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy? There’s a campaign right now to unlock extra material, including something between Brimstone & Karou.

Your monthly #WeNeedDiverseBooks articles: The Sweet Sixteens (authors debuting in 2016) discussed diversity on their blogs, #weneeddiversebooks has left its mark on bookcon (I would hope so! and why diverse books are more powerful than ever), 9 YA authors remind us why we need diverse books, a diverse summer reading list for kids, #WeNeedDiverseBooks hasannounced its internship project recipients, (and not from WNDB: why I teach diverse literature).

Curious about the new Princess Diaries books? Here’s everything you need to know.

A list of books that have gotten starred reviews so far.

Mark Haddon asks that people don’t use Curious Incident as a textbook to autism. To what extent can books serve as supplemental reading?

Lol, every month, there is at least one article on things that J.K. Rowling says on twitter (#twitterqueen). This month it is the marriage of Gandalf and Dumbledore.

Chris Riddell is named the U.K. Children’s Laureate and Jacqueline Woodson is named the Young People’s Poet Laureate.

Candlewick is the first publisher to partner with Zazzle.

James Patterson is starting his own imprint at Little, Brown: jimmy patterson

Sarah Dessen is a lot of things. Now also The George Clooney of YA. (didn’t realize they started using George Clooney as an example like that?). (Video of Sarah Dessen talking about female friendships here).

The #BooksArentDangerous campaign set out to help put books in the hands of kids in need.

What is Kindness? Thoughts from R.J. Palacio.

The one word John Green regrets using in Paper Towns.

Cover Reveals:

Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

Booktrust, reports the Guardian, says that fathers are not reading enough to their children.

Have you read any of these popular June releasing books? And are you anticipating these YA books releasing in June?

Even BookBub is getting on the YA trend and listing out which YA books it’s excited for in June. Pop Crush’s best YA books of June.

Books to read if you, like me, loved Brown Girl Dreaming.

Bibliotherapy: reading has a positive effect on mental health.

Hello, everyone! I know y'all are busy and it's hard to keep up with various blogs & booktube channels, so as usual, I've created a recap post on what I've done in May & June. Let me know what y'all have been up to, what you've been reading & which books you've received :).

On the blog, I talked about my experiences at BEA for Day 1 (VIDEO), Day 2 (VIDEO), and Day 3 (VIDEO). Each day had a little something different about it, and the videos talk more about the experience whereas the blog posts are more typical recaps. In terms of book tags, I did the New Releases Tag (VIDEO) and the Extraordinary Means Tag (VIDEO). I fangirled about Books that (I think) You Should Anticipate (VIDEO) and my favorite YA heroines (VIDEO) and even read the first chapter from Black Iris, a very good book, after discussing my April book haul. I reviewed A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston, Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson,Dumplin' by Julie Murphy, Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn, Black Iris by Leah Raeder,Uprooted by Naomi Novik, and The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson. I only had two bookish rounds posts these past two months: edition 79 and edition 80. Hopefully I will be making one soon!

As you might be able to tell in the video... I've moved! Part of the reason why this blog has been so stagnant of late is because of my moving and needing to get internet and needing to do a lot of other things :P. But though I haven't been blogging as much, I have been reading a bunch! Here are some recommendations from yours truly.

A THOUSAND NIGHTS by E.K. Johnston. So, as I linked above, you can read my full review if you'd like. But if you want a few words: EPIC. Atmospheric. If there's one Middle Eastern inspired fantasy novel to read, it's this one. Find an ARC or pre-order. Can't wait to read more from E.K. Johnston!

SERPENTINE by Cindy Pon. FANTASTIC. Reminded me of older fantasy narratives, and I think that it'd be perfect for fans of THE HERO AND THE CROWN & Rae Carson. Features a wonderful main female friendship, sweet romance, and such significant growth for the main character.... plus the lush setting! Cindy Pon gives plenty of details that help to create an atmosphere of a distinctly different time and culture and to settle you into her fascinating world. Also, can I say how fantastic it is that the main character is the handmaid? LOVE when the perspective shifts like that (since so many fantasies are told from the PoV of the lost heir, etc.).

BLOOD AND SALT by Kim Liggett. I've never seen/read "Children of the Corn," but I kept wanting to picture this novel as a movie. The writing is quite cinematic, the setting, the atmosphere... creepy corn fields. Kim Liggett has also established her world and the culture of Quivira so well that it makes the plot quite unpredictable with its various twists and turns. Romantic horror *is* a good description of BLOOD & SALT. The first part is more traditional horror elements (e.g. crows, murders, etc.) and the second half gets more into the deepening stakes/consequences (e.g. love, betrayal, etc.), but neither gets to be too much as Liggett livens her narrative with little humorous tidbits in the MC's voice & jokes among the characters. One-of-a-kind seems like a good descriptor too, though I've not read enough horror to say that with authority.

People who blurbed this book: CARRIE RYAN, NOVA REN SUMA, KENDARE BLAKE, APRIL GENEVIEVE TUCHOLKE, MEGAN SHEPHERD, GRETCHEN MCNEIL. I haven't read books by the latter two, but the others feel so very appropriate. The old time-y feel of the setting in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, along with the mix of those magical/paranormal elements - what's real? what's actually happening? The blood and gore, and spiritual background in Anna Dressed in Blood. The reservoir feeling *real* with its own history and sacrifice and sibling relationships in Imaginary Girls. The forbidden romance and hungry creatures just beyond the wall in The Forest of Hands and Teeth... And yet, even with these comparisons, it's also easy to say that Kim Liggett has created something that is entirely her own.

WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Aisha Saeed. Loved this. Can't remember who chose this from my book club, but can't wait to discuss it with them! I nearly sobbed while reading this - might actually be the hardest I've cried while reading a book - and that is a rare thing indeed. Aisha Saeed is a PRO at showing you Naila's journey step by step, so that it feels like you're living her nightmare as well. All the details, the emotions, the information - very important read and highly recommended.

INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher. I can't really judge this book accurately. I listened to it while moving/unpacking and doing the dishes, and while on my way to work. Unfortunately, dropping your shitty self-assembled IKEA furniture on the floor for the tenth time and then cursing does mean that you will then miss some details in your audiobook. I could've gone back, but I never do, so oh well. Cool concept, though, and a lot of interesting details, action scenes. I remember first being interested in this novel and its sequel, Sapphique, because Martina Boone had posted an excerpt of Sapphique's opening as an example of extraordinary introductions. Catherine Fisher does know how to build up tension.

DAUGHTER OF DEEP SILENCE by Carrie Ryan. The writing is so tight here, really helps with the revenge thriller vibe. This book reminded me of how I'd started reading THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH a couple years back, but something had distracted me from it. I've loved every one of Carrie Ryan's short stories that I've read - her atmosphere is always excellent. Looking forward to reading more from her.

SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo. If you wanted more world-building from the Grisha Trilogy, this is the solution to all your answers. Though I'm wary of GAME OF THRONES comparisons, a multi-perspective, high fantasy with many cultures interacting with one another meeting OCEAN'S ELEVEN feels like a very accurate description of this book. I can see this one becoming really popular, probably even more popular than the Grisha trilogy (which it accentuates perfectly, adding onto the storyline & world wonderfully. As a companion, this should make new readers eager to check out the first three books and the history referred to in SIX OF CROWS, but it's also readable for them, with the necessary information explained so that they're not left in the dust. It's also good for readers already familiar with GRISHA as it's expanding on the magical foundations of the world itself, and thus does not actually get into repeating the world-building you already know aside for a few tidbits.).

And I am now currently reading A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz with the lovely Mel at The Daily Prophecy :).

Books that I purchased: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper (a children's fantasy classic that was compared to Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass + Lord of the Rings in an essay from my kidlit class called "End of Magic") & The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer (described as an Icelandic mythology based Lord of the Rings).

So, what have y'all been up to this past month?! What have you been reading, purchasing, and so on? Are you looking forward to any of these books or have you already read them yourselves? Let me know!

Release Date: October 6, 2015
Source: ARC (BEA)
Published by: Disney-Hyperion

This is a SUPER early review, but that's meant to encourage anyone who has an ARC to read and review it and pre-order along with those who don't have one, and/or spread the word. Also, there will be no spoilers.

A Thousand Nights - E.K. Johnston | Goodreads

Lo-Melkhiin killed three hundred girls before he came to her village, looking for a wife. When she sees the dust cloud on the horizon, she knows he has arrived. She knows he will want the loveliest girl: her sister. She vows she will not let her be next.

And so she is taken in her sister's place, and she believes death will soon follow. Lo-Melkhiin's court is a dangerous palace filled with pretty things: intricate statues with wretched eyes, exquisite threads to weave the most beautiful garments. She sees everything as if for the last time.But the first sun rises and sets, and she is not dead. Night after night, Lo-Melkhiin comes to her and listens to the stories she tells, and day after day she is awoken by the sunrise. Exploring the palace, she begins to unlock years of fear that have tormented and silenced a kingdom. Lo-Melkhiin was not always a cruel ruler. Something went wrong.

Far away, in their village, her sister is mourning. Through her pain, she calls upon the desert winds, conjuring a subtle unseen magic, and something besides death stirs the air.

Back at the palace, the words she speaks to Lo-Melkhiin every night are given a strange life of their own. Little things, at first: a dress from home, a vision of her sister. With each tale she spins, her power grows. Soon she dreams of bigger, more terrible magic: power enough to save a king, if she can put an end to the rule of a monster.

EPIC.

This is the book to read if you want a Middle Eastern inspired fantasy. I confess: most of the time, Middle Eastern inspired work catches my eye, but I avoid reading it because I get overly critical. It's easier for me to feel like an American writing about the Middle East - well, while reading, I feel *that*; that, very rarely, do I get the sense that the culture is authentic and captures the Middle Eastern spirit well. I am not Middle Eastern, but all my relatives are, and I have grown up surrounded by this culture and wishing for it to be better portrayed. Also, I tend to avoid 1001 Nights retellings because if they are a romance, they often will romanticize the piece of shit king who's killing girls (often it's because of a curse, you see, the king is not a flawed douche, he only does what he does because he's forced to - a framework which not only romanticizes what happened but in blaming any flaws he might have on a "curse," also makes him a much less interesting character) and because of the inherent sexism of the framework (not only the killing girls but also feeding into the whole "Scheherazade is the *only* girl who could captivate the king;" she's not like the "other" girls who were too stupid and got killed). Another thing: most Middle Eastern mythology and folklore have a religious background. There's no avoiding references to God and the like, and yet many retellings do not get into the religious aspect (how can you be authentic to the Middle East if you don't get into the HUGE part religion has played? Yes, there are Middle Eastern atheists, but for the most part, religion is a HUGE part of every day life and has been for a LONG time) because that's a sticky issue and oh well.

This book addresses ALL OF THAT and more: stories have a power larger than life in A Thousand Nights. E.K. Johnston has written a retelling that is faithful to its original material but also something entirely of her own making.

The awesomeness of A Thousand Nights:

Hello, everyone! If you haven't already read my BEA Day 1 and BEA Day 2 recaps, you can do so at those links. Friday, the 29th was in some ways more chill than the other two days and somehow more hectic because my two most anticipated titles had events going on at the same time that day. Today's video recap won't have C.J., as we got back at midnight & were so exhausted, we went to sleep, and she went to the airport the next day :).

So we were a bit late into BEA today, such that when we got there, the line to go inside had already started to move. Whoops. But, actually, it's amazing how strolling in like that can reduce stress levels. I knew we had various plans because C.J. ofSarcasm and Lemons, Summer of Blue Sky Shelf, and I had some of the same books on our lists, but getting to sleep a little bit more, actually getting lunch that day (yes, I literally did not eat lunch on either Day 1 or Day 2 - it just slipped my mind)... much better. Plus, focusing on fewer books - also much better.

C.J. went to go sit in the 10:30 signing line for SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo, and was like tenth at 9:03. Yeah, BEA is that intense. (I also didn't realize this until later). Summer and I were in the BLACK WIDOW: FOREVER RED 9:30 autographing line for Margaret Stohl along with the lovely Brooke. I passed by the Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff 9:00 signing for THE ANATOMY OF CURIOSITY, but the line was already pretty big at the very beginning, so I skipped onto the Widow signing, which was the plan (C.J. in line; Summer & I to join later). As soon as I finished with that signing, I went over to the line for Six of Crows and got the sense that people were glaring / telling me to leave / to not join C.J. So I did leave. Debated what to do.

NGL, I was a little upset. But then later, I got really embarrassed by myself. Upset? What right did I even have to be upset? This is an industry event. It was my number one most anticipated title, but I'm not entitled to anything and am I really that important in the face of other people who can also promote the title? NO. Freaking BEA and getting caught up in the book fervor - I hate that, and you know what? I'd made my choice in not going to that line immediately - I should have realized that was what would happen. The moment I realized that some of my upset was rooted in this entitlement, I just wanted to go crawl into a dark corner to get over myself.

I went to two events and kinda did just that.

The two events I went to were the BLOOD AND SALT by Kim Liggett signing and the DAUGHTER OF DEEP SILENCE by Carrie Ryan signing. Kim Liggett seemed really friendly, and as with all signings, I was trying to prepare a generic question (can't ask any specifics if I haven't read the book yet; also awkward penguin = me), but all that went out of my head after Kim Liggett came around the table to hug me. She'd recognized me from my booktube channel! So shocking to me - I'd only started that channel in December and deleted many of my earlier videos because of my crappy webcam and I even nearly skipped the entirety of March. If people have recognized me, it's from my blog. Booktube? Woah. She also said that I had a calming voice and wanted me to... read to her? I don't remember what she said she wanted me to do though. Her reaction was one of the many things that calmed me, actually. It was gratifying. I don't spend much time promoting this blog or that channel, or on twitter, so it's just unexpected. And I got lucky with that Carrie Ryan signing - she was going so quickly that I was able to step in towards the end, when there were only like 10 people in front of me, and it still worked!

After I got those books, I found an open table by the Starbucks on the first floor, calmed myself and my earlier disappointment/embarrassment/etc., ate lunch, and read the PW Show Daily.

Another thing or two I learned from the PW Show Daily:

Y'all want to know which books are going to be "hyped" soon, right? Here's information from the article, "Early Favorites for Young Readers."

"As booksellers, librarians, and publishers descend on the Javits Center for the first full day of BookExpo America, there was strong early interest across all age ranges and genres, including adult books with YA crossover and vice versa..."

• Crown: Ernest Cline's Armada
• National Geographic: Anita Silvey's Untamed: The Wild Life of Jane Goodall
• Penguin Random House: Ruta Sepetys's Salt to the Sea, Marie Lu's The Rose Society, Jake Halpern and Peter Kujawinski's Nightfall, Moira Fowley-Doyle's The Accident Season, Richelle Mead's Soundless, Eric Carle's The Nonsense Show, Pharrell's Happy!, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's Illuminae, Nicola Yoon's Everything, Everything, Jory John's I Will Chomp You!, Rebecca Stead's Goodbye Stranger
• Bloomsbury: Aimee Carter's Simon Thorn and the Wolf's Den and Lauren DeStefano's A Curious Tale of the In-Between
• Abrams: Jeff Kinney's Old School, Robbie Robertson's Hiawatha and the Peacemaker
• HarperCollins: Julie Murphy's Dumplin', Nicholas Gannon's The Doldrums, Patrick Ness's The Rest of Us Just Live Here, Rae Carson's Walk on Earth a Stranger, Garth Nix's Newt's Emerald
• Disney: Mercedes Lackey's Hunter
• Charlesbridge: Pamela S. Turner's Samurai Rising
• Chronicle: Mac Barnett and Christian Robinson's Leo, Hannah Moskowitz's A History of Glitter and Blood
• Shadow Mountain: Brandon Mull's The Caretaker's Guide to the Fablehaven, True Heroes by 21 authors
• HMH: Erin Bowman's Vengeance Road, Gary D. Schmidt's Orbiting Jupiter (Clarion), Estelle Laure's This Raging Light, Joelle Charbonneau's Need, Audrey and Don Wood's The Full Moon at the Napping House
• Simon & Schuster: Kevin Sands's The Blackthorn Key, Kenneth Oppel's The Nest, Erin Bow's The Scorpion Rules
• Workman: Polar, Daniel Nayeri's How to Tell a Story
• Little, Brown: Ali Benjamin's The Thing about Jellyfish
• Candlewick: Maggie Thrash's Honor Girl, M.T. Anderson's Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad
• St. Martin's Press: Rainbow Rowell's Carry On
• Scholastic: Brian Selznick's The Marvels

(Probably not every hyped title - and not just from the publishers, but across the industry it seems - but still a decent list, no?).

I actually went to go ask about Ruta Sepetys's title after reading this article. Turns out they had manuscripts available for booksellers - a little fascinating, no, how books come in so many different forms at BEA for promotion? I went around to the publishers, but I already had so many books, it was a little ridiculous. I did get THIS RAGING LIGHT, though, because C.J. and everyone else seems so excited by it & it was a YA Editor's Buzz Panel book. Eventually, to kill time, I started to read BLOOD AND SALT, which is quite good (see the video for more! + this blog later!).

Essentially I needed to catch the 2:51 train from New York Penn station to go back to my job. We're currently on a sort of deadline to run subjects at work, and so it didn't seem right to take Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off without running a single subject. And the very last thing on my schedule was the 2:30 galley drop of SIX OF CROWS, which I'd missed that morning (and work => why I'd wanted to get it in the morning). So I started to hover around the Macmillan booth, reading BLOOD AND SALT, at like... 12:40. Yeah, I had a feeling I was going to annoy the publicists, but I honestly didn't want to start a line so much as see when the line started and make sure that I was early so that I could go catch my train. Oh well. Line formed, line dispersed, line formed, line moved. And then once it was official, I got to talk to awesome people like Kel, Jen (in my book club :D), Kay, Lauren, and Danielle. Lines are sometimes the best!

As soon as I got that book, I sped over to NY Penn station. Made it with four minutes to spare. Books are important, people... but so is making your train.

#BEA15 ended then for me. I came back into the city after work for one last important thing:

OMG THAT BROADWAY IS AMAZING. If y'all are in New York, see it ASAP! If it comes to your city's theater sometime, SEE IT (especially if you're a writer). It's the story of how J.M. Barrie found his inspiration for PETER PAN. It was made into a film a while back, but the Broadway play is so much more inspiring (C.J. told me the film was quite depressing, actually - this play was not depressing; it had a little bit of everything - sad, funny, inspiring, glorious (aka: Christina in awe)).

On Saturday, May 30th, aka BookCon Day 1... well, I was at the Javits for like 20 minutes because I didn't want to brave any super long lines. I picked up my press badge, found the line for the SERPENTINE by Cindy Pon signing, and then left. I knew that Ameriie at Books Beauty Ameriie was really looking forward to that title, so I got it for her. I also read it immediately so that when she got a chance to read it, I'd be able to discuss the book with her. Highly recommended book! FIND & READ IT, PEOPLE.

BOOK HAUL:

Hey, hey! If you haven't already read my recap of Day 1 at BEA 2015, you can do so at that link (also includes a video, as this post does, with C.J. from Sarcasm and Lemons). Today honestly felt much better & I have more detail in this post than from last time as well. Same questions for the video though: a.) favorite moment of the day; b.) favorite book/grab; c.) most surprising moment/book; d.) most anticipating (and today, since our answers were unlikely to change from last time: expectations for the last day aka tomorrow!).

One of the first things I remember people advising re: BEA is to get a hotel in NYC - don't deal with Port Authority in NJ, try to save money in NJ, etc.. But I happen to live and work in NJ, and can take the train, have that ride take about an hour and be good to go, without the costs (it's okay for me, too, because I'm used to this). Still... then there are the days when you want to get to Javits by 7:30 and are awake before 5 to catch a train you literally have to sprint to (we were late).

TRUTH!

Things to learn from those PW Show Dailys!

 

At Harlequin Breakfast

So cool though that Libba's title has so much hype over it! I also asked Libba Bray who her favorite character was and she said that it changes depending on the scene that she's writing. She also said that Theta gets some "good lines" in this series. Also, the publicist who I was standing next to in line said that she thought that thrillers and mysteries (though just "everyone appreciates a good story") would be the next big thing.

At some point during the day, I wandered into the Penguin booth and found THE ACCIDENT SEASON and WILD ONES. One early morning and the other later. I also specifically sought out the EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING galley drop at 4:30, the 2:00 drop of THE MARVELS, the random drop of THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH. The best thing was getting to talk to everyone while being in line, like Kel at the LOIS LANE lane and Monica at the Libba Bray line and older friends like Liliand Kristin. Also hanging out again with Summer.

But, now, the worst thing is that I am way too tired to continue writing. Toooooo tired. After that train and the time of night it is now...

BOOK HAUL:
if you're really looking forward to any of these titles, and we're friends, you can definitely borrow these books. let me know!