Articles tagged "Ya"

Macmillan Library Selects: Contemporary Teen Titles Coming in 2013

Most of you know by now that Talia and I are very different readers—Talia loves her blood-soaked mysteries and I love my swashbuckling space adventures—so when we both fall in love with the same book we make a big deal out of it.

Here's the big deal this time: not one, but three exceptional contemporary teen novels are coming out early next year that both Talia and I are incredibly excited about: USES FOR BOYS by Erica Lorraine Scheidt, ELEANOR & PARK by Rainbow Rowell, and IF YOU FIND ME by Emily Murdoch.

Read more on each of these titles below. We truly hope you get the chance to read all three!

USES FOR BOYS
By Erica Lorraine Scheidt
January 2013

This beautifully written debut novel is about Anna, a father-less girl who drops out of high school and moves into the heart of Portland to become the independent woman she knows she can be.

"Readers will be moved as smart, honest Anna learns she can draw on her innate strength to write her own story—one with room for the wounded people she loves. Scheidt’s novel packs a punch; this fast-moving book can be devoured in one sitting, but reveals even more upon rereading." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"By novel’s end, readers will find themselves emotionally exhausted but hopeful. [...] Lots of teens will see themselves in the pages of this beautiful, honest novel." —Booklist (Starred Review)
"Anna is so compellingly flawed and quietly winning that readers won’t quibble. Haunting, frank and unputdownable." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

You can download an e-galley of USES FOR BOYS on Edelweiss (instructions on how to get whitelisted here). UPDATE: This title has been released and is no longer available via Edelweiss.

ELEANOR & PARK
By Rainbow Rowell
February 2013

This is the story of two high school misfits in an economically-depressed small town falling in love for the first time.

"The pure, fear-laced, yet steadily maturing relationship Eleanor and Park develop is urgent and breathtaking and, of course, heartbreaking, too." —Booklist (starred review)
"Funny, hopeful, foulmouthed, sexy and tear-jerking, this winning romance will captivate teen and adult readers alike" —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Rowell keeps things surprising, and the solution—imperfect but believable—maintains the novel’s delicate balance of light and dark." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The friendship between the teens is movingly believable. [...] Purchase for readers who are drawn to quirky love stories or 1980s pop culture." —School Library Journal (starred review)

We will have galleys of ELEANOR & PARK at ALA Midwinter (booth 2435) and you can download an e-galley on Edelweiss (instructions on how to get whitelisted here). UPDATE: This title has been released and is no longer available via Edelweiss.

IF YOU FIND ME
By Emily Murdoch
March 2013

Fourteen-year-old Carey and six-year-old Jenessa are living in the backwoods with their drug-addicted mother until they are discovered by their estranged father. He draws them into the real world and helps them navigate family, school, clothes and everything else that comes with teenager territory.

“First-time author Emily Murdoch has written a painful, hopeful, surprisingly quiet book that charts the best and worst of humanity. [...] exposing child abuse, sexual abuse, and drug abuse for the terror they are, she validates the courage and ingenuity of young people the world over for whom survival is instinctive; protection of siblings is nonnegotiable; and love both a right and a gift bestowed upon those fortunate enough to find it.” —Booklist (starred review)
"Murdoch’s debut is beautifully written. The deep bond between the sisters is almost physically palpable, as is their intense longing for love and acceptance; they will quickly endear themselves to readers." —School Library Journal (starred review)
"A compelling narrative that is both unflinching about life's pain and hopeful about its possibilities." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

We will have galleys of IF YOU FIND ME at ALA Midwinter (booth 2435).

UPDATE: School Library Journal featured the IF YOU FIND ME and ELEANOR & PARK jackets at the front of the "Grades 5 & Up" section of their February issue:

Reviews and Publicity

Great Books for Guys on the Tayshas Consideration List!

We're proud to see two of our incredibly entertaining and fierce Young Adult books on the consideration list for the 2013 Texas Tayshas Reading List! We're even more excited that we have both a novel and a nonfiction title under consideration and that both books are 100% dude-friendly.

The titles under consideration:

THE HUNT
by Andrew Fukuda
I AM A SEAL TEAM SIX WARRIOR
Memoirs of an American Soldier
by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin

We're rooting to see both of these books make the final list!

Download the full list of candidates at TxLA.org/groups/TAYSHAS under "2013 Consideration List."

Reviews and Publicity

This is Not a Test is Nominated for 2013 Quick Picks!

Courtney Summers' apocalyptic emotional thriller, THIS IS NOT A TEST—which you may recognize as one of the inaugural recommendations on our new SF/F blog, Uncharted Pages—has been officially nominated for YALSA’s 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers List! We wholeheartedly approve!

Four other Griffin titles were previously nominated: THE HUNT by Andrew Fukuda, BAD BOY by Dream Jordan, GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan, and I AM A SEAL TEAM SIX WARRIOR by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin.

Again YALSA says, "The Quick Picks list [...] suggests books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read."

We're running a giveaway to celebrate Uncharted Pages and there's a copy of THIS IS NOT A TEST in the prize pack. Details here!

Reviews and Publicity

First in the Never-Before-Published Series from Amanda Hocking!

I'm back from sunny Seattle (I can't believe I just said that!) and the brilliant weather got me in the mood to talk about WAKE, the first book in Amanda Hocking's new never-before-published YA paranormal romance series!

From a writer who needs no introduction comes the story of a girl-turned-siren and the new life, loves, and threats she faces while mastering her new siren powers.

io9 included WAKE on their list of "All The Science Fiction and Fantasy Books You Can’t Afford to Miss in August." They said, "August's new book releases are just packed with brilliant new ideas and thrilling stories, from some of the world's best writers." We agree!

And Booklist said, "[WAKE] effectively melds myth and contemporary teen life. High school, family, young love, and mythology all combine to create an easy-to-read paranormal suspense story that will have fans eagerly awaiting new installments."

Dive in (mermaid joke!) by watching the book trailer now:

WAKE will be available this month from St. Martin's Griffin.

Reviews and Publicity

Bad Boy and Wake: 2013 BFYA Nominees!

You know what, guys?

We never properly celebrated the fact that two of our totally stellar teen titles from St. Martin's Griffin were officially nominated for YALSA's 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults reading list!

Well, it's never too late to party, so let's hear it for...

BAD BOY
Dream Jordan
Kate has been institutionalized her entire life, but things start to look up when she connects with a handsome stranger. But can she heed the warning signs of his abusive behavior?
WAKE
Amanda Hocking
Gemma's graceful swimming draws the attention of Penn, Thea, and Lexi, the gorgeous newcomers to her sleepy beachside town. But popularity isn't everything, and the dark secret they harbor threatens everything.

YALSA compiles this annual list to provide librarians with a resource to use for collection development and reader's advisory purposes.

The selection committee will discuss all of the excellent nominations at ALA Annual next month and finish their deliberations at Midwinter in January during which the final BFYA list will be selected and announced!

Reviews and Publicity

Boston Book Buzz: For Teens!

The Boston Book Buzz is currently underway!

For those of us following along at home check out the hastag #bostonbookbuzz and I've listed below all of the teen titles that Talia will be presenting (see her slide show here)!

FIERCE READS

STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth

OF POSEIDON by Anna Banks

MONUMENT 14 by Emmy Laybourne

SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo

Also see: FierceReads.com

MORE TITLES FOR TEENS

WAKE by Amanda Hocking

BENEATH THE GLITTER by Elle & Blair Fowler

WHISPERS AT MOONRISE by C.C. Hunter

ECHO by Alyson Noel

DEATH AND THE GIRL NEXT DOOR by Darynda Jones

THIS IS NOT A TEST by Courtney Summers

SPARK and GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan

GLITCH by Heather Anastasiu

THE HUNT by Andrew Fukuda

Reviews and Publicity

Start Reading The Hunt Right Now!

YA Librarian Stephanie Wilkes brought up a great question during yesterday's EarlyWord Young Adult GalleyChat (see chat details here). She asked, "Anyone read THE HUNT by Fukuda yet?" Jana Warnell tweeted back, "Got THE HUNT from netgalley. Looks so Good!" Well, we figure it's time to start making some noise about this post-apocalyptic YA thriller.

Here's the story: Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

Ready to start reading? You're in luck! The first 80 pages are offered as a free download on the series' microsite, where you'll also find a sweepstakes with a chance to win signed hardcovers and other exciting prizes.

Also, there is an excellent Maximum Shelf entirely dedicated to THE HUNT. My favorite part is the interview between Andrew and Alyson Noël! They interviewed one another about THE HUNT and Alyson's forthcoming book, FATED, the first in her new Soul Seekers series. See their interview here.

Deep Thoughts

Griffin Teen is Now on Facebook

We've been spending a lot of time getting excited about Griffin's stellar list of young adult titles coming in 2012 and considering the number of hits we get on our new Books for Teens: Class of 2012 blog post, we're not the only ones!

If you're also looking forward to these titles, you've got a new place to keep updated on the action because Griffin Teen is now on Facebook! Go on, take a peek at their page. They post videos, excerpts, updates, bonus stories, notes from authors, and more.

And, of course, we encourage you to hit that Like button to stay in the loop.

Deep Thoughts

Dark and Stormy? Yes, Please!

Yesterday afternoon the office went dark.

We don't always have the overhead lights on since we're lucky enough to have massive windows, but we fell to darkness when a herd of black clouds rampaged over Manhattan. See?

storm collage

As we all smashed our noses against the windowpanes, it came to me that this tempestuous sky of DOOM was reminiscent of a few very rad covers of ours:

Young Adult stormy covers

THE HUNT, TEMPEST, and PAST CONTINUOUS are all wrapped up in dramatic images of storms and lightning bolts.

It's also worth noting that all three of these blustery Young Adult titles are led by fierce and heroic teenage male protagonists.

Debuts

Exploring Privilege in Jacques Strauss' Debut

Today we're featuring a unique and beautiful debut that revolves around questions of privilege, revenge, and forgiveness: THE DUBIOUS SALVATION OF JACK V..

Eleven-year-old Jack V. is the son of an English woman and a Afrikaans man and he grows up in a quiet domestic environment during the in the upheaval of apartheid. When their maid's fifteen-year-old son Percy comes to stay, Jack's life is turned upside-down. Percy is bored, idle, and full of rage. When Percy catches Jack in an indelibly shameful moment, Jack learns that the smallest act of revenge has consequences beyond his imagining.

"Yes, first novelist Strauss delivers a beautifully rendered coming-of-age story that simultaneously unfolds an understanding of life in apartheid South Africa, but what’s most remarkable here is the assured and fluid language. The ending is not melodrama but a quiet, brilliantly controlled bang." -Library Journal

"Teens will be caught by this story of a naive kid in South Africa whose personal experience of apartheid politics moves from oblivious to vicious." -Booklist, recommended to YA readers