Monsters are eternally intriguing, and Matt Kaplan offers a unique take on the historical possibilities of where our fears may have originated. From dragons to golems to zombies, the interdisciplinary nature of this work will thrill young science and history readers.
Kaplan is a regular contributor to National Geographic, New Scientist, Nature, and The Economist. Teens [...]
Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite
By on October 22, 2012
The Vanishing Act
By on October 19, 2012
Every night Minou leaves her room for the lighthouse tower, where she knits as long as she can stay awake, as long as her cold hands can manage.
The Vanishing Act has a subtle magic, while being at the same time down-to-earth and philosophical. This is Mette Jakobsen’s first novel, and it is not quite like [...]
Cold Light
By on October 18, 2012
They found a body. I know who it is.
Such a great tag line!
Three teenage girls and the jealousy-filled triangle of their friendships are at the center of Jenn Ashworth’s dark, contemporary British murder mystery.
The author is currently on a virtual (blog) tour of the U.S. that started Tuesday.
ASHWORTH, Jenn. Cold Light. 352p. Morrow. 2012. pap. [...]
The Debut: The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers
By on October 17, 2012 1 Comment
In his debut novel, The Yellow Birds, Kevin Powers draws on his own experience of combat in Iraq to tell the story of Private John Bartle and his attempts to honor a promise to bring his friend Murph home safely from the war. Told in chapters which alternate between a brief two-month stretch of the war, and the much longer period of Bartle’s homecoming and adjustment to civilian life, The Yellow Birds is a rich, powerfully felt addition to the ranks of American war literature. Powers’s novel was recently named a National Book Award finalist.
Looking forward to 2013
By on October 16, 2012
Last week I attended an AAP Book Buzz (that’s the Association of American Publishers). This is a twice-annual event at which publishers introduce upcoming adult titles. It is a gold mine for me, as you can imagine, as I work to tease out the adult books with potential teen appeal.
I thought it would be fun [...]
That’s Not a Feeling
By on October 15, 2012
Dan Josefson’s debut is a good recommendation for teens who enjoy puzzling out unreliable narrators, who enjoy boarding school depictions, and those who like reading about troubled teens. Not to mention troubled adults!
That’s Not a Feeling is a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick (scroll down to find it), and The Atlantic features [...]
The Formula for Murder
By on October 12, 2012
Victorian newspaper reporter Nellie Bly is at it again in Carol McCleary’s latest. Her investigations began in The Alchemy of Murder, and continued last year in The Illusion of Murder (see the AB4T review here). In The Formula for Murder she is joined by none other than H.G. Wells, Oscar Wilde and Conan Doyle.
Coincidentally, yesterday afternoon I had the [...]
Private Galleries
By on October 11, 2012
from graphic novel guest blogger, Francisca Goldsmith:
Artists’ sketchbooks are the analogs to writers’ notebooks: individuals maintain them for different reasons and to suit different personal needs. Steven Heller is eminently suited as editor, critic and art director to curate this compendium of out takes from the wide array of artists who were willing to share [...]
Private Galleries
By on October 11, 2012
from graphic novel guest blogger, Francisca Goldsmith:
Artists’ sketchbooks are the analogs to writers’ notebooks: individuals maintain them for different reasons and to suit different personal needs. Steven Heller is eminently suited as editor, critic and art director to curate this compendium of out takes from the wide array of artists who were willing to share [...]
The Facility
By on October 10, 2012
Simon Lelic’s latest thriller presents readers with a near future Britain in which the government has gained too much power in the name of national security.
(I reviewed Lelic’s first book, A Thousand Cuts, back in 2010. Quite a powerful novel about bullying.)
Read an extract from The Facility here.
LELIC, Simon. The Facility. 341p. Penguin. 2012. Tr [...]
Even Tough Girls Wear Tutus
By on October 9, 2012
Many thanks to Amy Cheney for sending in the following about today’s reviewed book:
Deborah Jiang Stein came to visit the teen girls in Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center on the last day of September. Born in prison to a heroin addicted mother, she spoke about secrets and shame. About prison, drugs, crime, rage, revenge – [...]
Caliban’s War
By on October 5, 2012
Caliban’s War is the second Expanse novel, following last year’s much-lauded Leviathan Wakes. In my post on Leviathan Wakes, I mentioned that James S.A. Corey is actually two people, a pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. They also share a blog called Lizard Brain, which is where I learned that there is also an Expanse [...]
Global History as a Teacher
By on October 4, 2012
from graphic novel guest blogger, Francisca Goldsmith:
World War II, rather like the Torah, is endlessly plumbable for lessons, insights and other instructions from the past that we can apply as we continue to move always toward the future. Keery and Wyatt’s concise and visually enriched version of Canada’s role and military experiences in that period [...]
Vandal Love
By on October 2, 2012
This Canadian debut won Deni Y. Bechard the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for best first novel when it was published there in 2007. This year it finally makes its way to the United States, thanks to Milkweed Editions.
An extensive author interview is available online from The Adirondack Review, and you can give the novel a try on Scribd.
BÉCHARD, [...]
NW
By on October 1, 2012
”I wanted to write a black existentialist novel, told in separate parts, that replicated some feelings I have had about being alive.” (from an interview on The Root)
Zadie Smith is best known for her debut, White Teeth; NW is set in the same London neighborhood. NW refers to the area’s postal code, where its main characters [...]
Adult Books 4 Teens: October 2012 Reviews
By on October 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
fiction
ABBOTT, Megan. Dare Me: A Novel. 304p. Little, Brown. 2012. Tr $24.99. ISBN 978-0-316-09777-2. LC 2011051323.
Adult/High School–Abbott takes the mythology of cheerleading and stands it on its sharpest edge. There’s not much bubbly or perky about these girls–they are hard in mind and body. Accustomed to the inherent privileges of being worshipped and feared from afar, the actual cheerleading has become incidental. For them, there hasn’t been much in life beyond practice, binge-drinking, [...]
October 2012 Reviews: Stars List
By on October 1, 2012 Leave a Comment
The Monsters’ Monster (McDonnell)Illustration by Patrick McDonnell.
Preschool to Grade 4
ASIM, Jabari. Fifty Cents and a Dream. illus. by Bryan Collier. Little, Brown. Dec. 2012. p. 110.
ASTON, Dianna Hutts. A Rock Is Lively. illus. by Sylvia Long. Chronicle. p. 111.
BANKS, Kate. The Bear in the Book. illus. by Greg Hallensleben. Farrar/Frances Foster. Oct. 2012. p. 88.
BARRETT, Judi. Santa from Cincinnati. illus. by Kevin Hawkes. S [...]
One Breath Away
By on September 27, 2012
Heather Gudenkauf’s latest novel of suspense, about a nearly unspeakable subject, grabs the reader from page one. This is Gudenkauf’s third novel, after The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden, both very successful. She has a fun article, “The Rules for Suspense Writing,” up on Publishers Weekly.
GUDENKAUF, Heather. One Breath Away. 370p. Harlequin. 2012. pap. [...]
Reporting on US from the Inside
By on September 26, 2012
from graphic novel guest blogger, Francisca Goldsmith:
Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco form a team that is hard hitting as well as provocative, insightful as well as careful with detail. Neither journalist has ever been shy about taking a side in the story he is reporting and with the material here, side-taking is an essential aspect [...]
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
By on September 25, 2012
Tom Reiss’s childhood fascination with the novels of Alexandre Dumas led him to read Dumas’s memoirs. He was blown away by the superhero-like adventures of Dumas’s father and determined to uncover his larger-than-life story.
In an interview with CBS News, Reiss states, “As an equal fan of history, superheroes, and adventure stories, I was enthralled.” Why has [...]
