Showing posts with label YA/teen books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA/teen books. Show all posts

Apr 21, 2012

Book Review: Croak by Gina Damico

Croak by Gina Damico
9780547608327, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $8.99


Irreverent and hysterical, Croak tells the surprisingly believable story of the Grim Reaper. Or Reapers, to be precise, as there’s a whole group of Grims, and Lex Bartleby’s Uncle Mort is the head of them all. Shipped off to upstate New York to “milk cows or something,” Lex is surprised to find out she’s actually a Grim apprentice – and more than that, she’s the best Grim apprentice anyone’s ever seen. But when someone starts using the Grim powers to Kill people who haven’t yet died, Lex is torn – they’re killing bad people, like murderers, who Lex secretly wishes were dead, but it’s also an unforgivable use of Grim powers. As Lex and her friends get closer to uncovering who is doing this, she struggles harder with the question of whether to join the rouge Grim or turn them in.

Local Boston-area author!
Posted by at 9:40 AM 5 comments
Labels: , ,

Jan 31, 2012

Around the World Challenge: January & Global Domination Challenge: Africa


The objective is to read a new book from a different country for each of the 12 months in a year.

Time for my January review:


Spud by John van de Ruit

John Milton has a lot on his plate, as any 13-year-old boy does. He is heading off to a private, all-boys boarding school, thanks to a new scholarship and his beautiful singing voice. While he's excited to be leaving behind his crazy and embarrassing parents and eccentric grandmother he calls The Wombat, he's terrified to discover what awaits him at school - things like being nicknamed Spud because his balls haven't dropped yet, having a crazy bunkmate who only talks to inanimate objects and pulls out his own hair, and getting caned after getting caught with the rest of the Crazy Eight (his first-year dorm mates) sneaking out to go midnight swimming. He also meets both The Mermaid and Amanda (2 girls! While attending a boy's school!), trounces and gets trounced on and off the cricket field, decides to become both an actor and an activist, and explores the complexities of forced friendship and loyalty. With no punches pulled, no description too graphic, from the heights of love to the depths of loss, Spud captures it all in his diary, fully chronicling his first year at boarding school.

All of this takes place during the 1990s, making the backdrop issues of apartheid, the release of Nelson Mandela, race relations, class relations, and other related social issues. It's a bit crazy to think the 1990s are now "historical fiction," but Spud does a great job of capturing a White teen perspective at the time - learning about issues that didn't seem important until they suddenly are, struggling to catch up and make meaning out of political history, living in an accepting mixed-race environment at school but dealing with blatant racism at home, etc.

AND


Spud: The Madness Continues by John van de Ruit

Surprise! I read two books for this challenge this month. I had forgotten that Spud, my original book choice, has 2 sequels! I was only able to get my hands on the second book, Spud: The Madness Continues, but I've requested my library purchase the third, so stay tuned to see if I ever get a chance to read it.

In Spud: The Madness Continues, the madness of the Crazy Seven (Seven due to a loss of one boy in Spud; then Eight, when a new boy comes; then Seven, when the new boy leaves; then Eight, when they induct Roger the Cat as an official member; then Six, when two of the boys get expelled; then Seven, when one of the boys gets back) really does continue. Spud is going to turn 15 during this year, is no longer in his first trembling year at the school, and has high hopes for both ball dropping and hair appearing in that same region. Despite his optimism (and the eventual voice-cracking, ball-dropping accomplishment), Spud soon finds that with both enemies and allies still at school, this year will not be any smoother. Still writing in his diary, the Spud of this year will chronicle his mother's plans to emigrate, The Wombat continuing to lose her mind, and his father's moonshine business; his first breakup, first ball hair, and first trip to England; the Crazy Eight's torture attempts at the Normal Seven (the new batch of first years); his actor career hitting a snag when he's cast as the Dove of Peace in a disastrous school play; and all the usual adventures of midnight swimming, cricket matches, brews, books, and broads, with just a hint more seriousness this year than last.

Let's see if I followed the guidelines:

1. Books must be set in the country. - Yes, all over South Africa, with a brief stint in England in book two.

2. Books should be by an author of that country, if you can find/get hold of one. - Yes, John van de Ruit is apparently quite a big deal over there.

3. Books must be fiction or memoir. Children’s books count too. - This is children's historical fiction, perfect for advanced tweens and early teen readers.

4. Books can count towards other challenges. - As I'm also participating in the Global Domination Challenge over at Insatiable Booksluts, I will count this for my Africa read.

Stay tuned for next month: FEBRUARY: Bangladesh - Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins

For my complete book list, click on my original post or the challenges tab.
Posted by at 12:05 PM 4 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Jan 29, 2012

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by

So many books, so little time! Last week, I received:
by Gabrielle Hamilton

Despite the lack of an Oxford comma in the title, this still caught by eye when advertised. Random House was nice enough to send me a copy. 

Description: Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent twenty hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; Hamilton’s own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a prickly marriage that nonetheless yields lasting dividends. By turns epic and intimate, Gabrielle Hamilton’s story is told with uncommon honesty, grit, humor, and passion.
Restoration
by Olaf Olafsson

Okay, in the first place, great name. Then you add love stories, war, Tuscany, and I'm hooked. Ecco books, an imprint of HarperCollins, sent me a copy at my request.

Description: Having grown up in an exclusive circle of wealthy British ex-pats in Florence in the 1920s, Alice shocks everyone when she marries Claudio, the son of a minor land-owner, and moves to San Martino, a crumbling villa in Tuscany. Settling into their new paradise, husband and wife begin to build their future, restoring San Martino and giving birth to a son. But as time passes, Alice grows lonely, a restlessness that leads her into the heady social swirl of wartime Rome and a reckless affair that will have devastating consequences. While she spends time with her lover in Rome, Alice's young son falls ill and dies, widening the emotional chasm between her and her husband-and leaving her vulnerable to the machinations of a nefarious art dealer who ensnares her in a dangerous and deadly scheme. Returning to San Martino, Alice yearns for forgiveness. But before she can begin to make amends, Claudio disappears, and the encroaching fighting threatens to destroy everything they built. Caught between loyalists and resisters, cruel German forces and Allied troops, Alice valiantly struggles to survive, hoping the life and love she lost can one day be restored.

Embrace
by Jessica Shirvington

There's a very cool story to this book - I belong to the Young to Publishing Group, Boston chapter, and Sourcebooks reached out to us as a group in the industry and sent us ARCs. I got a package in the mail at work - how cool is that?

Description: On her 17th birthday, everything will change for Violet Eden. The boy she loves will betray her. Her enemy will save her. And she will have to make a choice that could cost not only her life, but her eternity.


(And a big thank you to Book Stacks On Deck for the mailbox pinup!)
Posted by at 6:47 AM 4 comments
Labels: , , , , ,

Jan 25, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: FrostFire by Zoe Marriott

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

And now for today's:

FrostFire (Burn #2)
by Zoe Marriott
9781406318142, Walker, Pub. Date: June 2012 

The first book in this series, Daughter of the Flames, was a much under-rated, under-appreciated, strong female protagonist fantasy novel that came out in 2008. Many years later, there is a whole new audience that will be appreciative of both the first and what promises to be an equally kick-ass second book in this series.
The publisher's description:

 Frost is cursed - possessed by a wolf demon that brings death everywhere she goes. Desperate to find a cure, she flees her home, only to be captured by the Ruan Hill Guard. Trapped until she can prove she is not an enemy, Frost grows increasingly close to the Guard’s charismatic leader Luca and his second in command, the tortured Arian. Torn between two very different men, Frost fears that she may not be able to protect either of them ... from herself.
Posted by at 7:10 AM 4 comments
Labels: , , ,

Jan 18, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep 
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

And now for today's:

Froi of the Exiles: The Lumatere Chronicles
by Melina Marchetta
9780763647599, Candlewick, $18.99, Pub. Date: March 2012

It should be no secret by this point that I adore everything Melina Marchetta writes. This, the second novel in her first fantasy series, The Lumatere Chronicles, should be no exception. Though I was originally nervous about her foray into the fantasy genre, she has not let me down, and I rave about the first book, Finnikin of the Rock, here.

Here is the publisher's description:

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home . . . or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood . . . and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.
Posted by at 6:03 AM 5 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Jan 11, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: The Agency: The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y.S. Lee

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep 
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

And now for today's:
9780763653163, Candlewick, $16.99, Pub. Date: February 2012 

I really enjoyed the mix of spy thriller, romance, and character growth that were present in the first two historical YA novels in this series (A Spy in the House and The Body at the Tower), so am very much looking forward to book # 3. Maybe I'll even write up a review this time!

Publisher's description:
Get steeped in suspense, romance, and high Victorian intrigue as Mary goes undercover at Buckingham Palace - and learns a startling secret at the Tower of London.

Queen Victoria has a little problem: there's a petty thief at work in Buckingham Palace. Charged with discretion, the Agency puts quickwitted Mary Quinn on the case, where she must pose as a domestic while fending off the attentions of a feckless Prince of Wales. But when the prince witnesses the murder of one of his friends in an opium den, the potential for scandal looms large. And Mary faces an even more unsettling possibility: the accused killer, a Chinese sailor imprisoned in the Tower of London, shares a name with her long-lost father. Meanwhile, engineer James Easton, Mary's onetime paramour, is at work shoring up the sewers beneath the palace, where an unexpected tunnel seems to be very much in use. Can Mary and James trust each other (and put their simmering feelings aside) long enough to solve the mystery and protect the Royal Family? Hoist on your waders for Mary's most personal case yet, where the stakes couldn't be higher - and she has everything to lose.
Posted by at 6:51 AM 2 comments
Labels: , , ,

Dec 21, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:
Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep 
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

My posts about middle grade titles are here:
The Pirate Captain's Daughter by Eve Bunting

And now for today's:

Scarlet
by A.C. Gaughen
9780802723468, Walker & Co (Bloomsbury, $17.99
Pub. Date: February 2012

A retelling of Robin Hood with "Will Scarlet" as a girl - so excited! This is my favorite type of retold story, with a new female character as the starring role; then throw in cross-dressing, thieves, and Robin Hood, and I'm hooked. Here's the publisher description:

Many readers know the tale of Robin Hood, but they will be swept away by this new version full of action, secrets, and romance.

Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in. It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for.
Posted by at 6:30 AM 1 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Dec 20, 2011

Top Ten Books I Want for the Holidays

The Broke and the Bookish, a brilliant book blog, 
hosts a weekly top ten list meme.

I like this meme because I like lists. I like this meme because it reminds me of the Top 5 lists from High Fidelity (by Nick Hornby as a book, starring John Cusak as a movie). And I like this meme because it causes me to think long and hard about book-related topics. So here goes:

Top Ten Books I Want to Receive for the Holidays

1. The Next Always (Inn Boonsboro Trilogy, Book 1) 
by Nora Roberts
9780425243213, Berkeley (Penguin), $16

My favorite romantic fiction author's new book. I can't wait to curl up with this and read it in  one sitting.
The historic hotel in BoonsBoro, Maryland, has endured war and peace, changing hands, even rumored hauntings. Now it's getting a major facelift from the Montgomery brothers and their eccentric mother. As the architect of the family, Beckett's social life consists mostly of talking shop over pizza and beer. But there's another project he's got his eye on: the girl he's been waiting to kiss since he was fifteen...

2. Saints Astray (Santa Olivia, Book 2) 
by Jacqueline Carey
9780446571425, Grand Central Publishing (Hachette), $14.99

I fell in love with Jacqueline Carey's writing in high school. She seems to be fearless in terms of the tremendous scope of her work, covering time, space, topics, and creating worlds like few others before her.

Fellow orphans, amateur vigilantes, and members of the Santitos, Loup Garron-the fugitive daughter of a genetically engineered "wolf man"-and Pilar Ecchevarria grew up in the military zone of Outpost 12, formerly known as Santa Olivia. But now they're free, and they want to help the rest of the Santitos escape. During a series of escapades, they discover that Miguel, Loup's former sparring partner and reprobate surrogate brother, has escaped from Outpost 12 and is testifying on behalf of its forgotten citizens-at least until he disappears from protective custody. Honor drives Loup to rescue Miguel, even though entering the U.S could mean losing her liberty. Pilar vows to help her. It will take a daring and absurd caper to extricate Miguel from the mess he's created but Loup is prepared to risk everything... and this time she has help.

by Chris Riddell
9781405050593, Macmillan

I'm not sure what happened to this book. The first two books in the Ottoline series (Ottoline and the Yellow Cat and Ottoline Goes to School were both brilliantly illustrated, well-written, and overall darling books to hand to anyone, but girls especially, age 4-8. Though my sources say this was published by Macmillan in 2010, that may have only been in the UK as I've never seen this one a bookstore shelf and it's not available from Indiebound. But somehow, some way, I will get a copy.

Ottoline and Mr. Munroe do everything and go everywhere together. That is, until the day Mr. Munroe mysteriously disappears leaving a strange clue written in string...Armed with her Amateur Roving Collectors' travel pass Ottoline sets off on a journey over, under and on top of the sea to find her hairy best friend - and bring him back home.

4. The Outcasts (Brotherband Chronicles, Book 1) 
by John Flanagan
9780399256196, Philomel Books (Penguin), $18.99

Oh John Flanagan - I loved your Ranger's Apprentice series, perfect for boy and girl readers age 10-14, and now, now you've begun another.

They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others - they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger's Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn't mean they don't have skills. And courage - which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field . . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing.

by Taylor Stevens
9780307717108, Broadway Books (Random House), $14

A female Jason Bourne? (-ish.) Yes, please!

Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.

Until now.

A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget. Gripping, ingenious, and impeccably paced, The Informationist marks the arrival or a thrilling new talent.

by Maggie Stiefvater
9780545224901, Scholastic, $17.99

This would be my first Maggie Stiefvater, and considering her reputation, I think it's about time.
Some race to win. Others race to survive.
It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line.
Some riders live.
Others die.
At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them.
Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn't given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition - the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

by David Levithan
9780375860980, Knopf (Random House), $16.99

Dear David Levithan, you make my heart sing and hurt with every one of your books. Thank you. Love, me.

In this high school-set psychological tale, a tormented teen named Evan starts to discover a series of unnerving photographs—some of which feature him. Someone is stalking him . . . messing with him . . . threatening him. Worse, ever since his best friend Ariel has been gone, he's been unable to sleep, spending night after night torturing himself for his role in her absence. And as crazy as it sounds, Evan's starting to believe it's Ariel that's behind all of this, punishing him. But the more Evan starts to unravel the mystery, the more his paranoia and insomnia amplify, and the more he starts to unravel himself. Creatively told with black-and-white photos interspersed between the text so the reader can see the photos that are so unnerving to Evan, Every You, Every Me is a one-of-a-kind departure from a one-of-a-kind author. 

by Kelly Milner Halls
9781452102641, Chronicle Books, $16.99

What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of "he said/she said" stories-he tells it from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. These are stories of love and heartbreak. There's the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside, the toxic girl who never learned to be loved; the basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; the gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen. Each story in this unforgettable collection teaches us that relationships are complicated-because there are two sides to every story. 

by Joseph Gordon-Levitt
9780062121660, It Books (HarperCollins), $14.99

Because this sounds wonderful and looks adorable.

HitRECord’s collaborative coalition of artists and writers are making history with The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, a collection of innovative crowd-sourced creative projects that pushes the limits of originality, cooperation, imagination, and inspiration. HitRECord, a grassroots creative collective founded by actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known worldwide for his performances in (500) Days of Summer and Inception, is a forum where thousands of artists worldwide share work and contribute to their peers’ projects in writing, music, videos, illustration, and beyond. Alongside Dean Haspiel’s ACT-I-VATE, a groundbreaking comics collective, and the photographer JR’s Inside Out Project, hitRECord is a haven for budding creatives. Now, the collective has edited together its most promising stories and illustrations to serve as its face in introducing the world to a new generation of talent, in The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories. 

10. I'm leaving this one open-ended and hoping that someone actually does give me a book for the holidays this year, as that rarely happens, for some very odd and unknown reason. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Posted by at 6:55 AM 14 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dec 14, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

My posts about middle grade titles are here:

And now for today's:
Born Wicked, The Cahill Witch Chronicles, Book 1
by Jessica Spotswood
9780399257452, Penguin, $17.99
Pub. Date: February 2012
"A Great and Terrible Beauty meets Cassandra Clare in this spellbinding fantasy."
Uh, yes please! Here's the rest of the publisher description:
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they're witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship - or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother's diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family's destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood - not even from each other.
Posted by at 6:20 AM 8 comments
Labels: , ,

Dec 12, 2011

In My Mailbox

This is my first week participating in the In My Mailbox meme - partly because I can't resist yet another way to list the books in my life and partly because I actually received some books in my mailbox this week, thanks to the amazing Holly Ruck, my former Houghton Mifflin Harcourt rep and current friend. THANK YOU so much, Holly! So, without further ado, may I present:

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by
The Story Siren.

This week, I received:

Circus Galacticus
by Deva Fagan
9780547581361, Harcourt (Houghton Mifflin), $16.99
Teen/YA

Publisher's description:
Rebel. Champion gymnast. Intergalactic traveler?
Trix can deal with being an orphan charity case at a snotty boarding school. She can hold her own when everyone else tells her not to dream big dreams. She can even fight back against the mysterious stranger in a silver mask who tries to steal the meteorite her parents trusted her to protect.
But her life is about to change forever. The Circus Galacticus has come to town, bringing acts to amaze, delight, and terrify. And now the dazzling but enigmatic young Ringmaster has offered Trix the chance to be a part of it. Soon Trix discovers an entire universe full of deadly enemies and potential friends, not to mention space leeches, ancient alien artifacts, and exploding chocolate desserts. And she just might unravel the secrets of her own past—if she can survive long enough.
by Frederic S. Durbin
9780547370255, Houghton Mifflin, $16.99
Middle Grade

*I read this as a manuscript when I was working for HMH - can't wait to read the final version!
This beautifully written fantasy tackles the issues of slavery and freedom. Twelve-year-old Cymbril is a slave on Thunder Rake, a gigantic wagon city that rolls from town to town carrying goods to be sold by its resident merchants. The Rake’s master purchases a new slave, a mysterious boy named Loric who is one of the magical Fey. Because he can see in the dark, Loric’s duty is to guide the Rake through the treacherous wilderness at night.Cymbril and Loric secretly join forces to plan their escape—soon the two friends thread their way through a series of increasing dangers, encountering an enchanted market and deadly monsters as their one chance for freedom draws nearer.
by Stephen Davies
9780547390178, Clarion (Houghton Mifflin), $16.99
Teen/YA

I really enjoyed Hacking Timbuktu, which came out in 2010, and which I apparently forgot to review. Excited to read more high-octane adventure.

A high-tension, high-tech thriller with an African setting.
Jake and his sister, Kas, whose father is the British ambassador to Burkina Faso, are abducted, bundled into a van, and driven into the unknown. In smartphone contact with his father, Jake learns that the kidnapper with the spider web tattoo is the remorseless outlaw Yakuuba Sor, who is connected to an international terrorist organization. But is he the real Yakuuba Sor? And is Sor really a dangerous criminal? In this fast-paced tale laced with trickery and murder, Jake and Kas discover that with the corrupt local government and British Intelligence arrayed against them, survival in the African desert may be the least of their problems.
by Lou Beach
9780547617930, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $22.00
Adult

Alternately surreal, funny, ominous, and lyrical, Lou Beach’s 420 Characters offers an experience as dazzling as any in contemporary fiction. Revealing worlds of meaning in single paragraphs, these crystalline miniature stories began as Facebook status updates, and mark a new turn in an acclaimed artist and illustrator’s career. 420 Characters features original collages by the author.
Posted by at 7:14 AM 1 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Dec 7, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Waiting on Wednesday (WoW) is a weekly meme hosted by

My posts about adult literary fiction are here:
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

My posts about my guilty pleasure reading (romantic, often paranormal, novels) can be found here:

My posts about YA/teen titles are here:

My posts about middle grade titles are here:
And now for today's:
by Veronica Rossi
9780062072030, Harper Collins, $17.99
Pub. Date: January 2012 

A young adult book by a first-time author, this is a retelling of Romeo & Juliet in a post-apocalyptic setting. Here is the publisher's description:

Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.
Posted by at 6:00 AM 4 comments
Labels: , , , ,

Dec 4, 2011

Books I Discovered This Week: 11/27/11-12/03/11

Adult Fiction

Adult Non-Fiction

Children's Non-Fiction
  • Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy

Middle Grade

Picture Books

Teen/Young Adult
Posted by at 7:43 AM 0 comments
Labels: , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)