Review: The Lost Saint

I loved Bree's voice in THE DARK DIVINE. It was so easy for me to step into Grace's shoes that I found myself sucked into the story within a few pages.

THE LOST SAINT is no different. From page one, I couldn't put it down. I had to know what Jude, Grace's brother, was up to, what Daniel was like as a boyfriend (finally!), and what this new guy, Talbot, was all about.

Grace is still the strong heroine we've come to know and love, and she braves the obstacles thrown her way like no other. There's no way I'd have the guts to make the hard decisions she makes, but I love tagging along. (And her choice in outfits always cracks me up.)

Click here to read my full review >>


 

Outside In

Trella thought her part of the revolt within the Inside was over.  But others think differently.  The new Committee filled with both Uppers and Scrubs bores her.  She misses her best friend Cog.  Her relationship with Riley becomes more intense.  Then she finds some are trying to sabotage any truce.  Outside In continues Trella's story after the revolt.  This sequel is even better than that first!

Click here to read more.

Drought

Ruby longs to leave behind the brutality and endless work of the Congregation.  Her mother claims their savior will come back and release them.  But she'd been saying this for the last 200 years.  All those in the Congregation have lived for a long time but at what cost?

Then Ruby falls in love with a new Overlord and dreams of running away with him.  Guilt holds her back as it's her blood that makes the precious water the Congregation collects special.  Without it, they all will die.

Drought is a compelling tale of the struggles Ruby goes through.  Should she stay and help the Congregation or follow her heart?

Click here to read more

Bloody Valentine A Blue Blood Book

This collection of short love stories is a must read for fans of The Blue Blood series.  Each of these tales delves deep into the love lives of some of the main characters in this series.  Oliver's quest to forget Schuyler and his encounter with a bewitching bartender are both poignant and bittersweet.  Allegra is shown back in 1985 as a teen who falls for a red blood.  A ring and a curse stand between Schuyler and Jack's bounding. 
Bloody Valentine is a great indulgence for fans of this series and also a fun way to find out a little more about the love lives that have defined them throughout time.

Click here to read more

Book Review: All You Get is Me

Aurora's (Roar) fifteenth summer started out with a crash.  She witnessed an auto accident in which a migrant worker was killed.  Her father, a former attorney for the down-trodden, files a civil suit against the surviving driver, Corrine, on behalf of the deceased's family.  Roar's problem?  She falls in love with Corrine's son, Forest.  Isn't Corrine the enemy?  How can she tell her dad about this?

All You Get is Me by Yvonne Prinz is an immensely enjoyable, fun book.  Click here to find out how Roar's summer shapes up.  http://www.yabookscentral.com/cfusion/index.cfm?fuseAction=books.review&review_id=22223

And while you're at it, pick up her previous book, Vinyl Princess.  You'll be singing its praises.

Review: My Ultimate Sister Disaster

If there were a way to pick your family, fourteen-year old Franny might not pick her own. Her father is a hipster boutique owner, her mother is off in Kenya jumpstarting her career, and her sister Zooey is a precocious prima ballerina. Lately, Zooey’s so absorbed with her ballet career that she barely notices Franny. And since Zooey attends a top ballet conservatory, Franny’s on her own navigating the brutal hallways of her Manhattan prep school, a first-year trying to get noticed on the newspaper (and by its soulful, long-lashed editor-in-chief).               ~From My Ultimate Sister Disaster back cover
 
To read more....click here.

Vote For Your Fave! 2010 Reader's Choice Awards

It's time to cast your vote for your favorite reads and authors of 2010!

Out of over a thousand nominations, we've narrowed down each category to your top five. Vote for your favorite and make it count! You only get one vote in each category.

May the best book win!




















Voting will close at midnight, January 4th, and results will be posted on January 5th. Thank you for your nominations and votes!


 

Nominate Your Teacher for Magic Tree House Educator of the Year

A press release to be shared:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Elizabeth Zajac
ezajac@randomhouse.com

RANDOM HOUSE CHILDREN’S BOOKS SEEKS THE
2011 MAGIC TREE HOUSE EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

Exciting New Prize Package Will Be Awarded to an Exemplary Educator
Who Best Incorporates the Magic Tree House Series into Classroom Curriculums

(December 20, 2010, New York , NY )—Random House Children’s Books (www.randomhouse.com/kids) is pleased to announce the 7th annual Magic Tree House Educator of the Year Award. The coveted award is presented to an educator of grades 1–4 who enhances lesson plans by incorporating Magic Tree House books (both the fiction titles and nonfiction research guides) into the curriculum in an outstanding way. For nearly 20 years, Mary Pope Osborne’s bestselling and internationally beloved series about a brother and sister who travel through time has been trusted by educators for its ability to educate and entertain young readers.

This year’s grand-prize winner will receive numerous prizes, including a trip to the International Reading Association Conference in Orlando , Florida , May 8th–11th, to meet authors Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce, and receive the award from them in an exclusive ceremony. The prize also includes two autographed sets of the entire Magic Tree House series—one for the winner’s classroom, and one for the school’s library, $500 worth of books from Random House Children’s Books, a $500 gift card for classroom supplies, and a Skype school visit with Osborne and Boyce.

Review: Revolution

Andi Alpers is in Paris for the Christmas holiday with her father, a famous DNA researcher, who is going to test a heart to determine whether it belongs to Louis-Charles, son of Marie Antoinette.  They are staying with long time friends G and his wife, Lily.  G, a renowned historian, shows Andi a guitar that is centuries old.  Knowing of love of music, he allows her to play it.

Alone one day, she discovers a secret compartment in the guitar case.  It contains a diary written by Alexandrine Paradis, a teenager living in the time of Louis-Charles, right in the middle of the French Revolution.  Andi is fascintated, entranced by the diary and it transforms her life.

Find out how by reading Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly.  To read my review, click here.

Review: Please Ignore Vera Dietz

There aren’t many contemporary YA novels that I respond to, heart and soul.

The two that come to mind almost instinctively are Holly Schindler’s A BLUE SO DARK (Flux, 2010) and Jandy Nelson’s THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE (Dial, 2010)—if you haven’t read them, do so, as they are brilliant, complex and smart observations of what it means to be a teen. (You'll see yourself reflected in the characters, I promise.)

I’m happy to say that I recently read (and reread—it’s impulsive!) another 2010 book I’d add to that list—A.S. King’s PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ (Knopf, 2010), the second novel from this incredibly talented and poignant novelist. (King’s first novel, THE DUST OF 100 DOGS, was published by Flux in 2009—also an awesome read.)

Though not perfect, VERA DIETZ is a novel that I shall cherish for its voice and its honest portrayal of a cast of characters, all so real it physically hurts.

Click here to read more.

Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings

Jade thought shopping for a tankini was the worse.  How can she find the perfect suit to wear with her plus-sized body?  But that was nothing compared to finding out what she really is.  After taking a relaxing bath she wakes up to find she has a mermaid body!

Her dad kind of forgot to tell her that her mother was in fact a mermaid.  But this doesn't make sense to Jade.  How can a mermaid drown?  Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings follows the adventure of Jade as she sets out to find out the truth about her mother and herself.  Plus still get the cute guy to look her way.

Click here to read more

Review: Keeper

It was supposed to be a Once in a Blue Moon day.  Everything was supposed to be perfect for this rare occurrence.  But crabs wrecked it all.  What?, you say.  Crabs?  How could crabs wreck a perfectly good day?  Well, if you're Keeper and you try to save crabs from being the main ingredient in Signe's famous crab gumbo, you'll know. 

Keeper is positive her mother, who left when she was three, was part mermaid.  Now Keeper is ten and as she passes those crabs sitting on the kitchen table waiting to be put in the gumbo, she's positive that they called out to her that she must save them from this fate.  It stands to reason someone who has a relative who is part mermaid could hear crabs talking to her, right?

So, if you want to know how Keeper, by saving those crabs, set off a chain reaction which turned a potentially good day into a bad day, you must read Keeper by Kathi Appelt.  It is a marvelously written story, a marvelous story about a ten year old girl learning what family is all about.  It has adventure.  It has wonderful characters, human and animal.  It has a great story.  A book as good as this comes along only once in a blue moon.

Click here to read more.

P.S.  Don't forget to check out the great drawings by August Hall.
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2010 YABC Reader's Choice Nominations

This year, YABC is hosting our own Reader's Choice Awards for 2010! We'll be collecting your nominations until Sunday, December 19th. Then, on Monday the 20th, we'll open the voting for your favorites in these categories:

- Young Adult Book
- Young Adult Author
- Middle Grade Book
- Middle Grade Author
- Children's/Picture Book
- Children's/Picture Book Author

Winners are nominated AND chosen exclusively by our YABC readers. Winners will receive a Reader's Choice badge to display on their website, and, of course, unlimited bragging rights.

So get your nominations in today -- don't let your favorite book or author miss out!

Reveiw: The Curse of the Wendigo

First there was the Anthropophagi, a beast without a head, who has its face on its body.  Now there is the Wendigo, a mythical creature with a malevolent cannibalistic spirit into which humans could transform or which could possess humans.  Rick Yancey, in The Curse of the Wendigo has done it again...taken a 'mythical' beast and written a blood and guts and gore book about it.  And it works.  This sequel to The Monstrumologist has just what you want in a book.  The real question is:  is the Wendigo mythical or is it real?  Hmmmm.  Sweet dreams!

The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fused

Imagine if your cellphone fused to your ear.  Well, in Samantha Granger's case it ends up fusing to her whole body. She ends up becoming a walking/talking GPS bank.  The kids at her middle school think she's either strange or amazing.  Then just when things can't get any more awkward then listing off all the locations of cities in South Africa in her Geography class, she ends up going to the locations of 911 calls.  At first she thinks she can help but when things get out of hand, it's up to her to decide who she can trust with her little secret. The Samantha Granger Experiment: Fused  is a fun,  fast-paced tale and a welcome break from the darker stories out there. 

Click here to read more

The Stowaway; Stone of Tymora-Volume 1

Twelve years old and already guarding a secret that could jeopardize his young life, Maimun is marked for death. With a demon called Asbeel tracking his every move through Baldur's Gate, the orphaned boy flees out to sea, stowing away on the pirate hunting ship, Sea Sprite, where he comes across a most unlikely ally: the dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden. As the ship careens through the sea of Swords, fighting pirates and agents of Asbeel, Maimun must com to terms with the secret he carries and find out what his family really means. To read more, click here.

Hush, Little One: A Lullaby For God's Children

This is a wonderful book to read or sing to your little one. Great for children of all ages.

For my full review, click here.

Don't Miss Our December Book Giveaways!

Here's what you could win this month at YABooksCentral.com:

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process. When Grace receives a haunting phone call from Jude, she knows what she must do. She must become a Hound of Heaven.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befriends Talbot - a newcomer to town who promises her that he can help her be a hero. But as the two grow closer, the wolf grows in Grace, and her relationship with Daniel is put in danger - in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her - not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.

>>Click here to enter our THE LOST SAINT Giveaway<<

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In fifteen-year-old Alyssa Bondar's Russian-Jewish culture, having a few drinks is as traditional as blinchiki and piroshki. So when her mom's midday cocktails turn into an all-day happy hour, it seems like Alyssa's the only one who notices - or cares. Her dad is steeped in the nightly news - and denial - and her best friend Lana is too busy trashing their shared Russian heritage so she can be popular.

Alyssa would rather focus on cross-country meets and her first kiss with her running partner, Keith, but someone has to clean up her mom's mess. But who will be there to catch Alyssa when her mom's next fall off the wagon threatens to drag her down, too?

>>Click here to enter our INCONVENIENT Giveaway<<

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After the death of her mother, seventeen year old Elizabeth Carrington is starting over. In a new city, at a new school, with a dad she hardly knows, it isn't going to be easy. Trying desperately to find her way and cope with her unceasing grief, she finds herself surrounded by a force so compelling, so comforting, so captivating that she can't deny its presence and soon fears that if it were to leave her, she might lose her very self. But is it all really happening or has her wavering sanity finally found its breaking point?

Michael's role in this world has been the same for centuries, but now something is different. He is inexplicably drawn to an intriguing stranger so alluring that he can't force himself to resist her. Is he willing to risk everything to be with her, even falling?

A dark force, hell bent on destroying any chance of happiness for his arch nemesis Michael, is lurking in League City, TX, and there is no limit to his need for vengeance. How far will he go to seek revenge for his sworn enemy's betrayal?

Caught in a clash of good versus evil, Elizabeth soon finds herself in the crosshairs of a battle that has been brewing since long before she was even born.

>>Click here to enter our SINFUL Giveaway<<

 

Author and Book Blog Lists - Add Yours!

Are you a book blogger? Add your blog to our Essential Book Blog List!
Not a book blogger? You can add your favorite blog to the list too. Just click on the link below and fill in the form at the bottom of the page:

The Essential Book Blog List

We've also compiled an Author Website List as well. If you have an author website or blog, or you know of an author's site you'd like to add to our list, click the link below and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

Author Website List

 

YA Lit Fan Gift Guide

Fans of YA, you've got to check out these awesome gift ideas for Twilight, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Vampire Academy, Mortal Instruments, Maximum Ride, Uglies, and Shiver.

My favorite has to be the Robward jewelry box. Ha! What's yours?

And don't miss these awesome YA Lit shirts for Twilight and Hunger Games fans. (Click on the shirt to see more sizes, colors and styles.)

If vampires and werewolves can get along, why can't everyone? Hilarious!

District 12 tees - Real or not real? I love these!

     

November Contest Winners Announced

Congratulations, everyone! Don't forget to stop by and enter our December Giveaways for a chance to win THE LOST SAINT, INCONVENIENT, and SINFUL.

Our Rick Yancey Grand Prize Giveaway:
1 copy of MONSTRUMOLOGIST
1 copy of CURSE OF THE WENDIGO
1 $50 Visa Gift Card

And the winner is.....

foxsquirrelrabbit

Congrats!




THE MOCKINGBIRDS Giveaway winners:

anilicious
bookaholic117
cynthiareads
edda.p.manriquez
flychild7
hawkes
judo500
koolkat25654
librarianapril
mrsderaps
musicangelgurl101
readergirls
skellington28210
treerose
xenialok


STAR CROSSED: GEMINI NIGHT Giveaway winners:

cathyblackler
elena.delgado
hdianep
jasw209
judo500
khcrissey2008
meredithfl
oganml921
onebooktime
scadee




LABYRINTH'S DOOR winners:

jessyisawinner
krae991
rockman3
tink3rb3ll4404
treerose

Christmas Classics: Graphic Classics Volume Nineteen

Just in time for the holidays!  This graphic novel has a collection of  Christmas tales that range from the more upbeat tales to darker ones.  Christmas Classics: Graphic Classics is sure to appeal to those who like graphic novels as well as those who like a twist on a classic Christmas tale.

Click here to read more