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Thursday, September 25th, 2008
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| Subject: | BREATHING ARC GIVEAWAY |
| Posted by: | dreamerwrites. |
| Time: | 1:30 pm. |
| Mood: |  excited. |
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October 11th is the one year anniversary of when I got "the call" from my agent. To celebrate, I am giving away a personalized signed copy of the ARC of BREATHING. If anyone wants to enter, head over to my web site at www.cherylreneeherbsman.com, click over to my blog there, and leave a comment. (Further details on the blog.) Thanks and good luck!
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Friday, September 19th, 2008
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| Subject: | Turner, Megan Whalen: The Queen of Attolia |
| Posted by: | calico_reaction. |
| Time: | 5:39 pm. |
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 The Queen of Attolia
Writer: Megan Whalen Turner
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 360
The premise: Eugenides's luck finally runs out while he's theiving in the Attolian court and caught once more by the beautiful but cold and heartless Queen of Attolia. And her punishment is worse than death, throwing Attolia into war with Eddis, Eugenides home. And Eugenides isn't recovering from his trip from Attolia very well, which encourages Sounis to attack Eddis as well. But that's not all: Attolia has allies, the Medes, and if the Medes manage to win Attolia over, the whole continent could be lost. All Eugenides has to do to stop it is steal a man, steal a queen, and steal peace.
My Rating
Worth the Cash: WITH CAUTION. If you've read The Thief, be prepared that despite the same setting and same characters, this is an entirely different book, especially in terms of voice. I can see how people coming to this book FIRST without having read The Thief will have an easier time than I have, because they won't be jarred by the voice or certain revelations. However, coming from The Thief, I am now very suspicious and cautious about reading The King of Attolia. I will, don't get me wrong: I want to see how this trilogy ends and how it fits together as a whole. Whereas The Thief was personal, bold, and often funny, The Queen of Attolia is quiet, reflective, and distant to a certain degree. Like the title character herself. I may have enjoyed this book more if I hadn't had The Thief to compare it to, so it'll be interesting to see how the final book compares.
The full review, which contains spoilers and explains in detail the trouble I had reading this, may be found in my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Megan Whalen Turner's THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA
Happy Reading! :)
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Comments: Read 3 or Add Your Own.
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Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
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 Uglies
Writer: Scott Westerfeld
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 425
The premise: in Tally's world, turning sixteen isn't about getting the license to drive, it's about turning pretty. This is a world where everyone goes through a major operation at the age of sixteen to become impossibly beautiful, and she can't wait. Until her best friend decides she doesn't want to turn pretty at all, that people shouldn't be ashamed of their faces, and runs away. This shouldn't affect Tally, but some higher-ups have decided to use Tally to track down rebels like her best friend and break up the resistance to the pretty society. Suddenly Tally is learning some very ugly truths about her pretty society, and if she doesn't do what she's asked, she'll never be pretty. But if she does, it means betraying her best friend.
My Rating
Must Have: it's a fast, enticing read that does an amazing job at illustrating the heart of teen issues and fears. And the fact it does it in such a well-drawn SF dystopia makes it something more than a must-YA-read, but a must-SF read as well. I've yet to see an adult SF writer (meaning, writers for adults) take a science fictional spin on the ideas of beauty and letting those ideas drive the story rather than be window-dressing. At least, I haven't seen this in a novel. Short stories, I wouldn't be surprised. Anyway, I look forward to reading the rest of these books, and as of right now, I'm more than willing to check out other Westerfeld titles as well.
The full review, which does contain spoilers, may be found at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Scott Westerfeld's UGLIES
Happy Reading! :)
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Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own.
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Monday, September 1st, 2008
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 Gifts
Writer: Ursula K. Le Guin
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 274
The premise: The families of the Uplands are poor, but carry very powerful gifts in their lineage. Orrec's family's gift is that of unmaking, and when Orrec's gift finally reveals itself, it's wild, uncontrollable. He fears what he might do to those he loves, so he chooses to blindfold himself. But times are changing in the Uplands, with warring families trying to steal each other's land and livestock, and Orrec may not have the time he needs to get his gift under control.
My Rating
Worth the Cash: if you're a fan of Le Guin, particularly her Earthsea stories, I recommend this book. It's a personal story, what it means to have magic and to be responsible for it. It's quiet, but not without conflict, and the human element is sharp and poignant. I'm not entirely convinced this book is something a typical YA reader would eat up, but what do I know? I'm no longer YA, and I don't know any YA readers personally. So I can only recommend this book to fans of Le Guin, or at least those readers who like quiet fantasies with a personal touch. I'll be interested to see what the other two books in this trilogy do, but I'm in no hurry to read them.
The full review, which does include spoilers, may be found at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Ursula K. Le Guin's GIFTS
Happy Reading! :)
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Comments: Read 1 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, August 28th, 2008
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| Subject: | Pfeffer, Susan Beth: Life As We Knew It |
| Posted by: | calico_reaction. |
| Time: | 10:44 pm. |
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 Life As We Knew It
Writer: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Genre: YA/Science Fiction
Pages: 337
This book was an accidental but glorious find. I'm always on the look-out for women writing SF, and finding a woman writing YA-SF was just too good to be true. I grabbed the book as soon as I was able, and I must say, I loved it. In some ways, Pfeffer tested the limits of my disbelief, but overall, it's a beautiful read about family, love, and survival, written with hope instead of depression.
The premise: a meteor hits the moon and knocks its orbit closer to Earth. This makes everything go to hell: tidal waves, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes. It feels like the world is ending, and it just might be. Miranda and her family do whatever it takes to survive the coming days. The book's almost The Road for teen readers, only this book isn't about a journey through nuclear winter, it's about the struggle to stay home, the struggle to take care of the people you love.
The full review, which does include spoilers, may be found at my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Susan Beth Pfeffer's LIFE AS WE KNEW IT
Happy Reading! :)
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Comments: Read 7 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, August 7th, 2008
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Hello, fellow book lovers. In my personal journal I've comprised a list of young adult recommendations for readers out there who can't decide what to pick up next. The list is here:
(YA Novel Recs)
Mods, if this isn't allowed for whatever reason, please delete this post.
(Cross-posted a few places.)
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
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Hello YA Lit Lovers! Do you love the Twilight Saga? Well, Teenlibris.com is hosting a Twilight contest this month. The winners will receive a copy of the new Twilight anthology, A New Dawn (Read an excerpt on teenlibris.com). Along with this awesome book is a CD of songs by The Bella Cullen Project and The Mitch Hansen Band. If you are interested, check it out at http://www.teenlibris.com/contests.html
Good Luck!
-Caroline
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Tuesday, August 5th, 2008
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| Subject: | Turner, Megan Whalen: The Thief |
| Posted by: | calico_reaction. |
| Time: | 9:55 pm. |
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 The Thief
Writer: Megan Whalen Turner
Genre: YA/Fantasy
Pages: 280
After not being able to find this book for a long time, I was thrilled to get my hands on it recently. I read it as soon as I was able, and I must say, I enjoyed it very much, despite certain narrative devices that I will not name here. :) Readers who enjoyed Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora will enjoy this one, I think, provided they don't mind the YA flare. The character of Gen sounds like I would imagine a young Locke Lamora would with a first person POV, but unlike The Lies of Locke Lamora, which I felt ran away with the world-building a wee bit, this book is rather grounded, a fast read, with a cooling setting based on Ancient Greece to boot.
The premise: Gen is a thief who boasts he can steal anything, which lands him in the King's prison. He's stuck there until the King's magus has use of Gen's skills--to steal something that might not even exist, a stone blessed by the gods with the gift of immortality, and the right to rule a kingdom. To his captors, Gen's only a tool, but he's got plans of his own.
The full review, which does include spoilers, can be found in my journal. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome. :)
REVIEW: Megan Whalen Turner's THE THIEF
Happy Reading!
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
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| Subject: | book for sale! |
| Posted by: | myrags. |
| Time: | 8:49 pm. |
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Hey everyone, I was just wondering if anyone wanted to buy a copy of Louise Rennison's "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging"? £4 (p&p included), it's in very good condition. Paypal payments only please! If you're interested comment here or anywhere in my journal. Thanks, and sorry if this isn't allowed - I'll delete it if so! :)
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Thursday, July 31st, 2008
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| Subject: | Looking for a book |
| Posted by: | garnigal. |
| Time: | 10:03 am. |
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A friend recommended this comm to me when I starting whining about a book I lent and never got back. Not sure if anyone will be able to help, since it's rather old (like me).
I think I probably picked it up at a Scholastic book fair in 1990 (when I was in grade 8). It's set in Australia (or New Zealand), and is a fantasy novel. The main characters were named Laura and Sorry (short for Sorenson). Sorry is the unexpected male decesendent of a line of witches and is rather emo about his abilities given his gender. Laura is a newcomer to town and is unhappy with losing her friends and having to take care of her younger brother all the time.
The basic plot is that the younger brother gets hexed by a local store owner through a stamp the warlock/store owner put on his hand. As the boy gets sicker and weaker, the old man gets stronger and younger. Eventually Sorry and Laura save her brother.
Any ideas? If I could just get a title, I could ebay for it.
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Hopefully this is allowed, and I'm at the end of my rope.
So there's this book, and I can't for the life of me (or my santity for that matter) remember the title or author. It was a young adult book (I think) and I have the feeling it was probably british, just based on some of the humor I remember.
In the beginning there's a man (he's of some political or social importance) upsatairs in his home, dressing for some type of formal event. it may have been his wife's funeral but don't hold me to that, it was black tie though, that's for sure.
There's a library in his town and (this is why I think it's british) the librarian is an orangutan, but it doesn't know. Something like, "If you were to point and say, 'Oh look, an orangutan,' the orangutan would turn around and ask where."
So the man gets sucked up(?) through the glass dome roof of the library and ends up back in time. Not too far back though. Here there is a plot to kill the king(?) and there's a band of assassins who are either hired or it's their idea. Something like this is descibed about the best assassin "didn't wear black becasue shadows aren't black," he wore grey becasue then he blended in perfectly.
In the showdown scene there are (I think) blow darts or poisoned wine involved.
There is also a cigarette case (or watch) which ends up in a pawn shop run by a monk... or else the monk just lives behind or near the shop... but he carried a broom to sweep the ants off the sidewalk in front of him so he doesn't accidentally kill one.
Honestly I should just re-write the book, I remember so much about it.
Thank you so much in advance!
cross-posted to a few different communitues
EDIT: Found it! Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. Thank you!
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Comments: Read 4 or Add Your Own.
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Saturday, July 26th, 2008
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| Subject: | Feminist Book Recommendations. |
| Posted by: | amikae. |
| Time: | 11:32 pm. |
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Cross posted at various communities.
After regularly reading requests for feminist book recommendations I've decided to create a community for that very purpose.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) fem_library
The Feminist Library is a community in which members can recommend books to others. With the use of the tags and memory feature it is hoped that it will eventually provide a resource to the countless requests for book recommendations on feminist sites.
Books do not have to be explicitly feminist, just be of interest to some one with 'feminist ethics.' By this we mean it may have a strong female role model, show gay families in a positive light, include strong characters of colour (not just token references) or positively present children doing things that are gender non conformist. This community was mainly set up for people looking for books for their children and teenagers who were disappointed with many of the themes and messages in the books aimed at those age groups. However it is open to books aimed at any age group.
Both Fiction and Non-Fiction can be posted as long as they have a feminist message and are tagged correctly.
This is not a place to request a certain type of book. You can do so at communities like feministbooks and feminist_lit.
This community is not supposed to tread on the toes of the library thing, LJ Feminist site, simply to provide an alternative.
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Thursday, July 24th, 2008
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 Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
Writer: Holly Black
Genre: YA/Urban Fantasy
Pages: 331
Yes, I'm reading ridiculously fast lately.
The next offering is Holly Black's Tithe, so if you're a fan of faeries, you should check this out. I'm NOT a fan of faeries, and read this solely because I was interested in Black's work. And having already read Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely and Elizabeth Bear's Blood and Iron, a lot of this book felt very, very familiar to me, even though this book was published first.
Still, I enjoyed it, but mostly for the romantic elements than anything else, though Black does have some lovely bits of prose in her pages.
The premise: Kaye's always seen faeries. Hell, they were her "imaginary" friends when she was a kid. But since then, she's traveled the country with her rock-star mom, and has since grown out of touch with her faerie friends. But when an incident forces her back home to Jersey, she soon learns her friends weren't imaginary at all, and what's more, they need her help. Unfortunately, her help could mean her death.
The full review, with spoilers, is in my LJ. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Holly Black's TITHE
Happy Reading! :)
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Comments: Read 3 or Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | ARC giveaway! |
| Posted by: | bostonerin. |
| Time: | 9:15 am. |
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I'm running a contest over on my blog to give away an ARC of MODELS. All you have to do is leave me a comment with your worst bridesmaid dress story, and link to the MODELS website on your blog.
You have until midnight on Thursday to submit! Come on by!!
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Saturday, June 28th, 2008
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| Subject: | join a new message board dedicated to ya lit! |
| Posted by: | believergrl. |
| Time: | 10:31 pm. |
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Like OMG Teens Read is a message board dedicated to the discussion of YA Literature. Come on by now by clicking the URL: http://z4.invisionfree.com/Like_OMG_Teens_Read/index.php
At Like OMG Teens Read (LOTR) you will be able to discuss the following about YA Literature: classics, recently released, reviews on books, book series, authors, short stories, books made into movies, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, thriller, chick lit, drama, coming-of-age, and so much more. You can upload your own work for others to see as well.
I'm currently looking for a mod. If you think you've got what it takes contact me:
email- likeomgteensread@hotmail.com
myspace- myspace.com/likeomgteensread
become my friend on livejournal
or join the message board and PM me.
Suggestions are greatly appreciated.
-Thanks, Vanessa.
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Thursday, June 26th, 2008
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Here's a great summer read for teenage girls - I read first it in seventh grade and loved it; now I'm entering college and I still think it's brilliant. Everything is written in free verse, with beautiful illustrations. Highly recommended.
(The video is only a minute long; make sure to turn up the sound.)
Happy reading!
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Saturday, June 21st, 2008
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| Subject: | Help with PhD thesis |
| Posted by: | minzmaus. |
| Time: | 11:12 am. |
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I’m not sure if this post is allowed here, if not I apologize in advance and please feel free to delete it. I would like to ask some help from you with a PhD thesis.
If you have any further questions, please let me know.
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
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Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
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| Subject: | A New Dawn: Your Favorite Authors on Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series |
| Posted by: | smartpopbooks. |
| Time: | 3:31 pm. |
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Want something to tide you over while waiting for the fourth Twilight installment AND the movie? Teen Libris has created an anthology with popular YA authors' takes on Twilight entitled A New Dawn. We've even got a contest coming soon that you can enter to win a copy of Rachel Caine's Feast of Fools and some other unannounced cool stuff. If you want to read an excerpt of A New Dawn, follow this link.  http://www.teenlibris.com/teenlibris3_NewDawn.html
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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| Subject: | Larbalestier, Justine: Magic's Child |
| Posted by: | calico_reaction. |
| Time: | 9:11 pm. |
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 Magic's Child
Writer: Justine Larbalestier
Genre: Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Pages: 291
I was pretty happy to finally be able to pick up the conclusion to Justine Larbalestier's Magic or Madness trilogy when it was released in paperback. Happier still to be finished with my thesis so I could actually read it.
Like Magic Lessons, Magic's Child picks up right where the previous book left off. I really enjoy this trilogy, and I adore the constraints to the magic system, but these are not books you read out of order. Start at the beginning with Magic or Madness and work your way through to the end. Trust me, the story's much better for it.
The wrap-up is good and satisfying, but I think a little too much is packed into this book because so much has to be resolved. Of the three, I think Magic's Child is the weakest, but it's still satisfying, and gives the reader a new insight into the magic ruling this particular urban fantasy. Overall, good stuff, and easy to recommend to anyone who enjoys UF, whether they like it YA or not.
If you're interested in my specific and spoiler-laden review of Magic's Child, it's in my LJ. Just click the link below. ;) As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.
REVIEW: Justine Larbalestier's MAGIC'S CHILD
Happy Reading! :)
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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