Plague in the Mirror by Deborah Noyes. Candlewick Press. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publishers. The Plot: May is spending the summer in Florence with family friends. It’s not just a great chance to be in Florence, it’s also a way to be away from home, away from Vermont, away from her friends, and away [...]
Candy Crush
By on July 21, 2013
Hello, my name is Liz, and I’m obsessed with Candy Crush. For those of you who aren’t playing . . . . Candy Crush Saga is a game you can play on your phone or computer. It’s one of those “match 3 objects” games, (in this case candies) with each board having a different set of challenges (get a [...]
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad YA Book?
By on July 19, 2013
Kelly Jensen of Stacked has started writing for Book Riot and her latest, What Are Grown-Ups Afraid Of In YA Books, does not disappoint. Kelly has a nice, nuanced post that points to several recent examples of adults fretting over the books teen read. Read the whole post; I particularly liked “when you fear the [...]
Review: Dark Triumph
By on July 18, 2013
Dark Triumph: His Fair Assassins, Book II by Robin LaFevers. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Nantes, Brittany, 1489. Lady Sybella is deep in danger and intrigue. Part of it is because she has been trained by the convent of Saint Mortain to be an assassin. Part of it is [...]
Flashback July 2009
By on July 17, 2013
And now, a flashback to what I was reading in July 2009. Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd HerdEdited by Holly Black & Cecil Castellucci. From my review: “In this collection of short stories, we meet all sorts of people who are interested in something to the point of obsession. Interested to the point where it seems [...]
Review: The Winter Prince
By on July 16, 2013
The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein. Atheneum. 1993. Read ebook edition from Open Road Media, 2013. Personal copy. The Plot: Medraut is the oldest son of King Artos of Britain, but he can never be Prince. He can never be King. He can never be his father’s heir. He can never have what his younger [...]
Disability in Kidlit Blog
By on July 15, 2013
Add this to your “must read” pile: Disability in Kidlit. I should have blogged about this sooner, but I was preparing for ALA and time got away from me. (Note: that will be my excuse for the next few months, OK?) From the Disability in Kidlit website: “Throughout July 2013, this blog will feature posts [...]
ALA: ARCs
By on July 14, 2013
One of the panel discussions I was on at ALA was All About ARCs: “Librarians may have heard of Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs), but do they actually know how to acquire or use them? Why do publishers create these unsaleable copies? Have you seen them at used bookstores, Friends book sales, and should they really be there? [...]
TV Review: Twisted
By on July 12, 2013
Review: Pet Sounds
By on July 11, 2013
Pet Sounds: New and Improved Stories From the QC Report by Quinn Cummings. Quinella Media USA. 2013. Review copy from author. It’s summer, so time for another “vacation reads” book. It’s About: Pets. Cats, dogs, rabbits, even a lizard. The Good: Let me be honest. I am not a pet person by nature. I am, instead, [...]
Flashback July 2011
By on July 10, 2013
And now, a Flashback to what I was reading and reviewing in July 2011! A Lesson in Secrets, a Maisie Dobbs novel by Jacqueline Winspear. Harper Collins. 2011. From my review: “Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and private investigator, is recruited in 1932 to go undercover for the British Secret Service. Her assignment? Get a job as [...]
Review: Wait For You
By on July 9, 2013
Wait For You by J. Lynn (who also writes as Jennifer L. Armentrout). William Morrow, an imprint of Harper Collins. 2013. Personal copy. The Plot: Avery Morgansten is starting college away from home, away from family. Not just away; she’s also chosen a college in West Virginia that she knows will have no one from [...]
ALA: New Adult
By on July 8, 2013
And SexyTimes was had by all! Um, no, not really, but based on the twitter stream for the New Adult Conversation Starter that Sophie Brookover, Kelly Jensen and myself did (Twitter hashtag #ALA13NA), I apparently used that term a lot. As a recap, the three of us did a Conversation Starter on New Adult Fiction at [...]
SummerTeen
By on July 7, 2013
Can We Blame Fifty Shades?
By on July 5, 2013
Oh, here is something that I missed while away at ALA! First, on Wednesday, June 26, GalleyCat reported that “Where The Wild Things Are” Revisited on KickStarter. GalleyCat quotes the two men behind the project as saying that “We have also been very careful not to impinge on Mr Sendak’s copyright and have taken the necessary [...]
Film Review: Warm Bodies
By on July 5, 2013
Crash and Burn, Part II
By on July 3, 2013
Review: Crash and Burn
By on July 2, 2013
Crash and Burn by Michael Hassan. Balzer & Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins. 2013. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: On April 21, 2008, Steven “Crash” Crashinsky saved the lives of every one in his high school — student, teachers, staff — when he somehow stopped his classmate David “Burn” Burnett from blowing up [...]
Review: Aristotle and Dante
By on June 27, 2013
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Simon & Schuster BFYR. 2012. Copy from library. Printz Honor Book. The Plot: Summer, 1987. Angel Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza is fifteen, and it’s the start of another lonely, hot summer in El Paso. Bored, he goes to the local swimming even though [...]
Flashback June 2006
By on June 26, 2013
A flashback to what I was reviewing in June 2006: Poetry Friday: The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith. From my review: “Penny is the understudy in the school play and when her big moment comes — they end up cancelling the play. When she gets her first kiss — she faints.But it’s also serious, [...]
