Holiday Entertainment

My friend and writer-extraordinaire Sonia Gensler has compiled an awesome list of holiday-themed fiction. You can check it out HERE. 

I'm hoping to read the YA novel THE TWELVE DAYS OF DASH AND LILY by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn sometime this month, as I really loved DASH AND LILY'S BOOK OF DARES.

LET IT SNOW, also YA, by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle is probably my favorite of the ones she listed that I've read.

I've been thinking about favorite Christmas movies and my favorites are pretty unconventional. In other words, weird. But you know, we like what we like and we should never apologize for that. So in case you don't want to watch It's a Wonderful Life for the umpteenth time, here are a couple I love to watch every year.

The first is a class. A classic romantic comedy that I just adore so, so much in all of its black-and-white charm. "The Shop Around the Corner" takes place during the depression and stars Margarat Sullivan and Jimmy Stewart.

Favorite Quote: "The boss hands you the envelope. You wonder how much is in it, and you don't want to open it. As long as the envelope's closed, you're a millionaire."

Next this funny and heart-warming film that probably shouldn't work but really does so perfectly, thanks to spot-on writing and Michael Caine's brilliant acting.

Favorite Quote: "Light the lamp, not the rat!"

We have lots of snow and ice here and more coming next week, so I'll be doing a lot of reading and movie watching I suspect. Hope you can take the time to do the same!

Ten 2016 MG Books to be Excited About!

My favorite kind of book is the kind that makes you laugh and/or cry! While it's hard to know for sure if these books will do that, based on the description and/or the author's previous works, these are the ones I'm betting on.

Middle-Grade Novels

The Pages Between Us by Lindsey Leavitt and Robin Mellom (HarperCollins, 2/9/16) - Told in letters, posters, blog posts, homework assignments, and more, The Pages Between Us is a totally fun, totally earnest snapshot of middle grade friendship—and what it truly means to be there for someone during the ups, downs, and everything in between. Piper and Olivia have been best friends since…well, forever. But they're distressed to find that their new middle school schedules aren't giving them enough together-time. Luckily, an idea sparks when Piper finds a cute, sparkly notebook to disguise as her "French Class" homework. It's genius—now the two BFFs can stick together all the time. And document their adventures—you know, for anthropology's sake. But as the two navigate the tricky new world of sixth grade, they realize that they may need to branch out more than they originally thought. Their notebook, once a life raft, begins to feel like a big responsibility. Can they grow up, without growing apart?



All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor (HarperCollins, Tegan Books, 3/1/16) - Eleven-year-old Perry must trade a prison that feels like home for a home that feels like a prison when an ambitious district attorney has him yanked from the minimum-security correctional facility where he was raised. While learning to navigate on the outside, Perry resolves to reunite with his mother, and in the process, discovers the deepest truths about his mother’s conviction.





Far From Fair by Elana K. Arnold (HMH Books for Young Readers, 3/1/16) - Odette Zyskowski has a list: Things That Aren’t Fair. At the top of the list is her parents’ decision to take the family on the road in an ugly RV they’ve nicknamed the Coach. There’s nothing fair about leaving California and living in the cramped Coach with her par­ents and exasperating younger brother, sharing one stupid cell phone among the four of them. And there’s definitely nothing fair about what they find when they reach Grandma Sissy's house, hundreds of miles later. Most days it seems as if everything in Odette’s life is far from fair. Is there a way for her to make things right?

The Girl in the Well is Me by Karen Rivers (Algonquin, 3/16/16) - Longing to be one of the popular girls in her new town, Kammie Summers has fallen into a well during a (fake) initiation into their club. Now Kammie’s trapped in the dark, counting the hours, waiting to be rescued. (The Girls have gone for help, haven’t they?)  As hours pass, Kammie’s real-life predicament mixes with memories of the best and worst moments of her life so far, including the awful reasons her family moved to this new town in the first place. And as she begins to feel hungry and thirsty and light-headed, Kammie starts to imagine she has company, including a French-speaking coyote and goats that just might be zombies.



Booked by Kwame Alexander (HMH Books for Young Readers, 4/5/16) - In this follow-up to the Newbery-winning novel THE CROSSOVER,  soccer, family, love, and friendship, take center stage as twelve-year-old Nick learns the power of words as he wrestles with problems at home, stands up to a bully, and tries to impress the girl of his dreams. Helping him along are his best friend and sometimes teammate Coby, and The Mac, a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read.  



Unidentified Suburban Object by Mike Jung (Arthur A. Levine Books, 4/16/16) - The next person who compares Chloe Cho with famous violinist Abigail Yang is going to HEAR it. Chloe has just about had it with people not knowing the difference between someone who's Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. She's had it with people thinking that everything she does well -- getting good grades, winning first chair in the orchestra, et CETera -- are because she's ASIAN. Of course, her own parents don't want to have anything to DO with their Korean background. Any time Chloe asks them a question they change the subject. They seem perfectly happy to be the only Asian family in town. It's only when Chloe's with her best friend, Shelly, that she doesn't feel like a total alien. Then a new teacher comes to town: Ms. Lee. She's Korean American, and for the first time Chloe has a person to talk to who seems to understand completely. For Ms. Lee's class, Chloe finally gets to explore her family history. But what she unearths is light-years away from what she expected.

The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner (Bloomsbury, 7/7/16) - A magic-fish fairy tale retelling set in a modern-day ice fishing community, THE SEVENTH WISH is the story of 12-year-old Charlie Brennan, who catches a wish-granting fish, only to find that her wishes go terribly (and hilariously) wrong at first. After things finally turn around, Charlie’s family discovers her older sister is struggling with addiction, and Charlie learns some things can’t be fixed, even with wishing.

Still a Work in Progress by Jo Knowles (Candlewick Press, 8/1/16) - "Please stop standing on the toilet seats" is one of many requests found in the "Suggestion Box" at Noah's small, rural middle school. Here, life seems pretty simple, especially for Noah's two best friends. Their biggest problems are avoiding girls who have crushes on them and figuring out how to dance during the fast part of "Stairway to Heaven." When it comes to girls, Ryan claims to know everything, and Sam doesn’t seem to know anything. But they both agree Noah's older sister Emma is perfect. Emma has always outshone Noah, and he's mostly OK with that. It's only in art class, where Noah is somehow able to coax beautiful forms out of blocks of clay, that he feels special. But the truth is, Emma is far from perfect. The family tip-toes around the issue, afraid The Thing They Don't Talk About could happen again. When Emma starts to show signs that she’s struggling, it's clear that nothing is going to be simple anytime soon. Noah will have to reconsider what’s important, who matters, and how to make his way in a complicated world where, it seems, his art isn’t the only thing that's still a work in progress.

Two Naomis by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich & Audrey Vernick (Balzer & Bray, 9/13/16) - Two girls of the same age, with the same name, live in the same city. And their parents are dating. They must learn how to forge their own identities and a new definition of family, even as they negotiate the preservation of their own routines and cultural traditions. 

Wish by Barbara O'Connor (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 11/1/16) Eleven-year-old Charlie Reese has been making the same secret wish every day since fourth grade. She even has a list of all the ways there are to make the wish, such as cutting off the pointed end of a slice of pie and wishing on it as she takes the last bite. But when she is sent to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to live with family she barely knows, it seems unlikely that her wish will ever come true. That is until she meets Wishbone, a skinny stray dog who captures her heart, and Howard, a neighbor boy who proves surprising in lots of ways. Suddenly Charlie is in serious danger of discovering that what she thought she wanted may not be what she needs at all.

Any middle-grade novels you're particularly excited about this year? Would love to hear about them!

Verse novels and a book recommendation

Last year, the kidlit world was taken by storm with two AMAZING verse novels. First there was BROWN GIRL DREAMING by Jacqueline Woodson, which won all kinds of awards. Then there was THE CROSSOVER by Kwame Alexander, winner of the Newbery medal. I checked both of these out from the library before they won the awards and got insanely popular, and for Christmas I'm asking for my own copies because I want to read them again and again. Maybe I can soak up a little bit of their brilliance, you know?

I was thrilled to see verse novels get some time in the sun, so to speak. In the past, verse novels have gotten a bad rap from the community from time to time. "Verse is just a gimmick," some say. "It's such a waste, breaking up sentences with crazy line spaces and creating all that white space," others complain.

Of course, these are mostly adults with their harsh opinions. Ask kids who've enjoyed THE CROSSOVER, or LOVE THAT DOG by Sharon Creech, or MAY B. by Caroline Starr Rose, or WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW by Sonya Sones and they will tell you how much they love these books and that the verse doesn't take anything away, and in fact, actually adds something wonderful.

Since I've written a number of verse novels, I know that writing novels in verse isn't easy. It's a bit like walking on a tightrope, trying to balance the story and the poetry to create something that is accessible while also poetic, to write a story with a good plot and interesting characters while not using a ton of words. It's tough! But when it's done well, it can be a pretty magical reading experience. And I'm so glad there have been books lately that prove to the world there is nothing wrong with writing this way.

So what if they're different? I mean really, so what? If people don't like them, they don't have to read them. But to out and out say awful things in generalities is just not very useful, and in fact can be hurtful to the authors who enjoy writing this way. Trust me, I know this too well.

Anyway, last week, I finished a verse novel I want to recommend to all of my readers (12 and up) who love verse novels. It's called ONE by Sarah Crossan. It's about a set of conjoined twins, Tippi and Grace, who you will fall in love with. This book made me laugh and made me cry - my favorite kind of book!

Not only is this book a really, really good read, it also made me long to write an entire novel in verse again. It actually made me excited at the thought. Because of the criticism they were getting a few years back, I went through a bit of a crisis with my writing. I didn't want to write entire books in verse anymore. I didn't want to be put under a microscope for someone to declare whether it was just a "gimmick" or not. Besides, I told myself, if I write in mostly prose, maybe I'll be more popular.

Ha. Hahahaha. I will never be one of the "popular" YA authors. So really, I need to do what I do best and not worry about anything else. And when it comes to YA, I think that's writing in verse. I'm fifty pages in on a new project and having so much fun.

So thank you Sarah Crossan, not only for writing this amazing book, but also for putting me back on the path I veered away from for a while. I don't know what awaits me up ahead, but I'm enjoying the journey and for me, that's the most important thing when it comes to writing.

Have a great week!

THE THIRD TWIN by CJ Omololu

I want to tell you about an upcoming book by a special woman, CJ Omololu. THE THIRD TWIN will be out on February 24th, 2015, and because CJ is battling stage 4 cancer, YA authors are teaming up to help spread the word about the book.

If you live in the bay area, check out the flyer below for launch party details happening February 24th. If you don't live in the area, but like mysteries and thrillers, please consider pre-ordering her book at your local bookstore, by calling a A Great Good Place for Books (number below), or at any of the online retailers. Thanks!!

Info about the book:

Identical twins. Identical DNA. Identical suspects. It’s Pretty Little Liars meets Revenge in this edge-of-your-seat thriller with a shocking twist.
When they were little, Lexi and her identical twin, Ava, made up a third sister, Alicia. If something broke? Alicia did it. Cookies got eaten? Alicia’s guilty. Alicia was always to blame for everything.

The game is all grown up now that the girls are seniors. They use Alicia as their cover to go out with boys who are hot but not exactly dating material. Boys they’d never, ever be with in real life. 

Now one of the guys Alicia went out with has turned up dead, and Lexi wants to stop the game for good. As coincidences start piling up, Ava insists that if they follow the rules for being Alicia, everything will be fine. But when another boy is killed, the DNA evidence and surveillance photos point to only one suspect—Alicia. The girl who doesn’t exist.

As she runs from the cops, Lexi has to find the truth before another boy is murdered. Because either Ava is a killer . . . or Alicia is real. 

Book Recommendations

I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately. Because I haven't been writing. Well, that is, I haven't been drafting a story. I've been working on outlines. Thinking about characters. Writing in my journals a lot. Getting ready to start drafting - soon, hopefully! I constantly have to remind myself that just because I'm not drafting doesn't mean I'm not working. Some of the best writing often happens away from the page. It's SO important to remember this.

Anyway, thought it was time to do another post of books I've read and enjoyed lately. You should see the pile of library books on my coffee table right now. It's crazy. Always a case of too many books, too little time.

I have a new favorite author - Jojo Moyes, who writes women's fiction. I've read a couple of her books recently and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

The Girl You Left Behind

I love books that alternate between past and present when they are done well!

Me Before You

Made me laugh and made me cry, as the best books do.

Young Adult:

Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson

Great fantasy with a strong female lead and a plot that will keep you guessing

The Treatment by Suzanne Young

Awesome sequel to The Program - such a unique premise!

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

I really loved the family in this one. Made me long to have a sister or two.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Kept me turning the pages for sure!

And that's what I've been reading! Have a great week!!

Book Recommendations

I've read some good books lately and thought I should share them here!

Middle Grade:

Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

This book has received many starred reviews, and it's easy to see why. Albie is such a great character.

Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

Kate is one of my favorite middle grade authors, and while this isn't my favorite book of hers, I still enjoyed it.

Young Adult:

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

A fantastic end to a fantastic series. I want to re-read the series back-to-back someday. So, so good.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

I read this on vacation and it kept pulling me back. Such a unique premise - really good!

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Note: this is definitely an upper-level YA (like 14 and up, at least)

It is one of the most strange, but also beautiful, books I've ever read. There is one troubling scene I really didn't like, but I still think about this book, months later, and that's saying something. I fully expect to see this one on award lists.

In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim Di Bartolo

I know I keep saying unique and different, but here's another one!! The art, especially, is just... wow! 

Tease by Amanda Maciel

This is not an especially easy story to read (it's about a suicide related to bullying), but it's so well-done and I loved the alternating chapters between the past and the present. Another award-worthy book for sure.

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

A great summer read - I really loved this one a lot, with it's mystery of where her friend has gone and the new friends she makes that help her sort of find herself.

Finally making a dent in my TBR pile, and it feels good! 

Happy reading!!

Book Recommendations

First - how do you like the new design? She still has to add the social media buttons, but other than that, it's done and I have to say -  I LOVE IT! When Lauren, the person I hired to do a custom blogger design, sent me the pink typewriter image as an idea, I freaked out a little bit. I had mentioned the idea of a pen or pencil or maybe some typewriter keys as ideas for the header, and from that, she suggested the pink typewriter. How did she know that's so ME??? I'm not kidding when I say every time a pink typewriter shows up on tumblr, I reblog it. If you would like to give your blogger site a makeover, I highly recommend Lauren. You can find out more by visiting her etsy shop HERE.

Anyway, I haven't done a book recommendation post for a long time. I sometimes worry that people will have their feelings hurt if I don't mention one of their books. But, I can only read so much. I mean, I wish I could read ALL the books that everyone I know writes, but alas, I cannot. And until a week ago, I've been on deadline after deadline, and I didn't even have much time to read. So, right or wrong, here are some books I've read recently that I recommend.

Middle Grade:

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Beautiful language along with lots of fun and unique characters make this one a winner:

Doll Bones by Holly Black

A little creepy but a delightful adventure story that highlights the difficulties of growing up:

Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

A fun mystery with cool art history facts:

How to Outrun a Crocodile when your Shoes are Untied by Jess Keating

This is such a fun novel for tweens, filled with humor and heart (out June 1st):

Young Adult:

Better off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

Really cute - if you enjoy light and fun contemporaries, definitely check this one out:

Also Known As by Robin Benway

This one is so smart and funny - I LOVE Maggie and Roux. I need to get the sequel:

Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick

Beautiful writing and a riveting story make this historical fantasy a gem:

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Tough subject matter, but wow, so gripping and well written.

I hope to read a lot in April, so will have more recs in a month or two, I'm sure. Would love to hear what you've been reading and loving!

ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults and Quick Picks Lists

Every year, committees of librarians read hundreds of titles to try and come up with various lists that ultimately help librarians make purchasing decisions. There are literally thousands of young adult books published each year, and there is no way every library can purchase every book published. It would be nice, wouldn't it? But that's simply not the case, and so, the lists that the ALA provides every year is an incredible resource for YA librarians.

There are a number of these lists, but today I'm going to talk about two of them: The Best Fiction for Young Adults (BFYA) list and the Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers list.

At the Annual Librarian Association conference, they always have a session where the committee gets teen feedback about books on the list of BFYA nominees. On Saturday, I noticed people tweeting teens' comments from that session, and it's always fascinating to hear what they have to say, so I followed the hashtag for a while. Then I clicked over to the link of nominees and once again, like almost every other year, I'm not on the nominee list. And although it stings a little bit each time, I'm sort of used to it by now. 

Two of my books, I Heart You, You Haunt Me and The Day Before, did make the Quick Picks list, designed to help librarians find books that can be great for reluctant readers, which is a wonderful thing.  

In the past couple of weeks, I've seen some bloggers post their "Best of 2013 So Far" lists or "Summer Reading" lists, talking about their favorite reads this year, and I think that's awesome and fun and a great way to mention titles again that came out a while ago. Getting the word out about books you love to readers of your blog and other bloggers is a wonderful thing, and I know all of us authors appreciate that a LOT! 

Pretty tulips for you!

Many bloggers make it a point to post their reviews not just on their blogs, but on goodreads, Amazon, B&N, etc. This is extra work that doesn't necessarily get the blogger anything, but it helps the author a lot, and again, authors appreciate it SO much. 

But please consider there is one more thing that can really, really help an author, and that is to suggest the books you love for the BFYA lists and the Quick Picks list. Anyone can suggest a title. Not just librarians - ANYONE (except for the author, agent or editor of the book).

As I look over the list of nominees, I'm happy to see some titles I've read and loved this year, like Just One Day by Gayle Forman, The Archived by Victoria Schwab, The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr, Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor, etc.

But I'm also disappointed that I don't see some of my favorites of 2013 (in no particular order). Golden by Jessi Kirby. Going Vintage, by Lindsey Leavitt. The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler (which I'm only halfway through, but still, I'm loving it). The Program by Suzanne Young.  The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding. Let The Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger. (If you are wishing I listed your book here, please know: I'm sorry, I have SO many more sitting here in a TBR list, but it's hard to read as much because I've been on deadline a lot the past few months).

You might be wondering why I don't suggest some of these titles for the list myself. Well, because I have to admit that some of these people are my friends, and I'm guessing the committee doesn't really want the selection process to become a - you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours kind of thing, where authors nominate titles for each other. And although I may have picked up the book because a friend wrote it, I can honestly say in the end, I loved the book regardless of that fact.

Anyway, which books I've loved is not really the point here. Have YOU read a book this year that you loved? Do you enjoy supporting that author, so he/she will be able to continue to write and sell more books in the future? Library sales are important sales for YA authors! 

If you are a teacher, a librarian, a blogger, or a reader, and you've read and loved a book this year (that was published in 2013) and think it deserves to belong on library shelves all across the country, please, take a few minutes and tell the BFYA committee about it.

Click HERE to see the list of BFYA nominees so far (because the year is only half over, and more titles will be added).

Click HERE to find the form you can fill out to suggest a book for the Best Fiction for YA list.

Click HERE to see the list of Quick Picks nominees so far (again, the year is only half over and more titles will be added).

Click HERE to find the form you can fill out to suggest a book for the Quick Pick list.

Both of the forms say that suggesting a title does not guarantee the book will automatically become a nomination, but I'm guessing that the more people who suggest a title, the more it makes the committee sit up and take notice.

Again, thanks for all you do to support YA authors!

Books, books, books!

Here's what I've read lately, and I highly recommend them all!! (The first two, THE CENTER OF EVERYTHING and SPLENDORS AND GLOOMS are appropriate for ages 8 and up. The rest are young adult novels - and are appropriate for ages 13 and up).

Hope you are reading some great books as well!

Book Recommendation - Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Have you read DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE?

When it comes to YA, I'm partial to contemporary. I read other things, and often enjoy them, but I still find myself most excited about a new book by my favorite contemporary authors - John Green, Sara Zarr, Sarah Ockler, Lindsey Leavitt, to name a few.

But Laini Taylor's latest, a YA fantasy, I had been excited about reading for at least a good year. First of all, I know the girl has a magical way with words, as is evidenced by her DREAMDARK books as well as LIPS TOUCH. Second of all, there were so many cool things that piqued my interest as I read about the various parties held to celebrate the book, both here and in the UK. Wish bones? Teeth? Blue hair? Marionettes? I could go on and on! Finally, the early reviews raved about it. I mean, RAVED.

And so, a few weeks ago, I finally got to read it. I really have no words for how much I loved this book. The writing is gorgeous, and the story original and fascinating. The worlds she created blew me away. And the mysteries she weaved into the story kept me guessing, and when things were revealed toward the end, it all made perfect sense and yet, I hadn't seen any of it coming.

It's made PW's and Amazon's Best Books of 2011 lists and I'm sure we'll see it on many more lists to come. And rightly so.

I'm not one who gets into trilogies, most of the time. I read the first book, a year goes by, I can't remember much of what happened in the first book to care enough to read the second book. I can't tell you how many books I've read that were the first in a trilogy and then I never read beyond that first book. The exception to this would be THE HUNGER GAMES.

But this trilogy, I'm in it for the long haul. I cannot wait for the second book. Like, I'm DYING to read the next one.

I think Laini Taylor is one of the greatest writers of our time. Yes, I'm lucky to call Laini a friend, but just go and read all of the 5-star reviews on Amazon, and you'll see that many, MANY people feel the way I do. She is one very talented lady!

Don't miss this book. Seriously.