Tag Archives: Dystopian

Book Trailer Thursday (66)–The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe & Fever by Lauren DeStefano

24 May

Finding book trailers was easier today, so I’m posting two!  The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is a new dystopian from Disney-Hyperion and Fever by Lauren DeStefano is the second book in The Chemical Garden trilogy.  I like both trailers and I hope you enjoy them as well :)

Summary of The Way We Fall (From Goodreads): It starts with an itch you just can’t shake. Then comes a fever and a tickle in your throat. A few days later, you’ll be blabbing your secrets and chatting with strangers like they’re old friends. Three more, and the paranoid hallucinations kick in.

And then you’re dead.

When a deadly virus begins to sweep through sixteen-year-old Kaelyn’s community, the government quarantines her island—no one can leave, and no one can come back.

Those still healthy must fight for dwindling supplies, or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

Because how will she go on if there isn’t?

Summary of Fever (From Goodreads): Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago – surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous – and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion…by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price – now that she has more to lose than ever.

Let’s Try Again: My List of Six

6 May

I don’t remember when I tried Michelle from Galleysmith’s idea of creating a list of books to read in a certain amount of time, but I do know it helped a little bit even though I didn’t completely succeed.  I’m a list maker, but I’m horrible at setting books-to-read goals because I’m such a moody reader.  If I’m in the mood for something lovey, but I’m currently reading something suspenseful, there’s a good chance I’ll switch books.  I’m not always that way, but I know myself enough as a reader to recognize that I do this.  I’m trying Michelle’s idea again because it’s the end of the school year, I have books to read for our new curriculum, I’m starting my second to last Masters class, and I’m going to be overwhelmed.  So I figure if I create a list of books to (try t0) stick with, then maybe I’ll be less stressed and more productive.

Here’s my list of six (six because I’m not getting over my head with this):

The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert (Goodreads)

Out of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg (Goodreads)

Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender (Goodreads)

Vicious Little Darlings by Katherine Easer (Goodreads)

The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima (I WILL finally finish this!) (Goodreads)

Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore (Yay!!) (Goodreads)

Alternates in case I can’t get into one of my six:

Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin (Goodreads)

A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger (Goodreads)

Deadly Cool by Gemma Halliday (Goodreads)

Book Trailer Thursday (62)–Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

26 Apr

I’m getting ready to start reading Struck by Jennifer Bosworth, so I was pretty darn excited to see the trailer.  The cover for this book is really cool, and even though it has a girl on the cover, I think my guys in class will read it without hesitation.  The whole premise sounds fun and exciting, and the now the trailer has left me wanting to read it even more.  A lightning addict?  What a concept!  I’m wondering if Mia will be like Storm from X-Men (probably my favorite comic book series).

What do you think of the trailer?  Is Struck part of your TBR list?  If you’ve read it already I’d love to know what you think!

Struck Book CoverSummary (From Goodreads): Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

 

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

23 Apr

Insurgent book coverTitle: Insurgent, 525 pages

Author: Veronica Roth

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: May 1st, 2012

Interest: Awesome series

Source: ARC received from the publisher

Summary of Insurgent (From Goodreads): One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

Exciting.  Gripping.  Thrilling.  These are the best words I can use to describe the awesome that is Insurgent by Veronica Roth.

Let me say first, that if it’s been a while since you’ve read Divergent then I recommend either re-reading the whole book or at least the last few chapters because Insurgent starts right where Divergent left off.  There aren’t any recaps either.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started Insurgent, but let me tell you I wasn’t disappointed!  We’re thrown right back into the chaos we were left with and I couldn’t stop reading.  I think I was about 60 pages in and then BAM!  Major action was happening all around.  It was exciting and non-stop action.  I sat there, awe-struck and completely engrossed the entire time I was reading.   In some ways Insurgent reminded me of Mockingjay in the way the tone changed from Divergent to Insurgent.  It’s not dismal and depressing like Mockingjay was, but Insurgent has more of an intense urgency to it.  Thankfully Roth allowed us some breaks from the action and intensity with scenes full of well-done humor and romance.

I positively love Tris’s character, and in Insurgent we see a different side of Tris—a more vulnerable side.  She’s still reeling from the death of her parents and suffering over the fact that she killed Will.  These deaths haunt her for most of the novel and affect her personality.  She’s not as tough, but she’s still stubborn, adventurous, brave, and reckless (reckless according to Tobias).  We also witness how loyal she is, even if at times she and others question her loyalty.  Tris begins to learn who she really is in Insurgent.  In Divergent she was still figuring that out, especially since she switched factions.  I often worried about Tris, but ultimately I’ve grown to love her character even more because of her supposed weakness which results in immense character growth.  You have to love a protagonist that can overcome her demons.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I can’t write this review without mentioning Tobias.  I still love his character, and I still love him and Tris together.  All I will say is that it’s rocky between Tris and Tobias and I admire Veronica Roth for how she handled their relationship.  She kept it real and didn’t add any extra unnecessary dramatics like so many authors do.  That is all :)

It’s been a week since I finished Insurgent, and my mind is still reeling over everything we learn.  Tris finds out so much more about what it means to be Divergent, but the ending left me with even more questions when I thought many were answered.  But not only am I questioning things about the Divergents, I’m wondering about Amity and Abnegation.  Veronica Roth blew my mind with the ending which is the biggest reason I’m reeling and slightly incoherent.  I need to know more about ALL OF THE THINGS that I can’t discuss b/c it would spoil the book. But ALL OF THE THINGS are exciting and mind-boggling and discussion worthy.  Seriously, read Divergent if you haven’t already so you can read Insurgent and enjoy the awesome!

Dewey’s April Read-a-Thon

21 Apr

I found out about the 24 hour read-a-thon late (of course), but I think I’m going to try it!  Right now as I write this blog post, over an hour late considering this started at 8am EST, I’m listening to an audiobook.  I’m happy I’ve discovered audiobooks because this will help me feel more accomplished while I write this post, put together today’s crock pot dinner, and clean our bathroom during one of the breaks.

Anyway, I decided that since I’m late to the party and have a large stack of books I need to finish, I’m going to work on finishing those for the read-a-thon.  I also brought home a graphic novel to read (they recommend starting with a short book), a short ARC, and some alternates.  Here’s my official list:

Books w/100 or more pages left:

  • Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
  • The Exiled Queen by Cinda Williams Chima
  • Starters by Lissa Price (on my Kindle)
  • Vicious Little Darlings by Katherine Easer

Fresh books I want to read:

  • The Lightning Thief graphic novel
  • The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert (ARC)
  • Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach (ARC)
  • Or maybe others b/c it’s Saturday and I’m fickle sometimes :)

Audiobook for during cooking, cleaning, breaks (Cooking & cleaning I want to accomplish during breaks):

  • Switched by Amanda Hocking

I have no idea if I’ll accomplish this or even stay up for the full 24 hours (yeah I probably won’t).  But I like the challenge and I need to beef up my “Read in 2012″ list.  Is anyone else participating?!

Book Trailer Thursday (59)–Insurgent by Veronica Roth

5 Apr

Squee!  The book trailer for Insurgent by Veronica Roth doesn’t tell us too much about the book, but it makes me extra excited for the release anyway.  This book trailer is, however, better than the trailer for Divergent.  Is anyone else über excited about the release of Insurgent?  Has anyone been lucky enough to read it already?!  If you didn’t already know, Insurgent releases on May 1st!

Insurgent Book CoverSummary of Insurgent (From Goodreads): One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

 

Spring Break #BookaDay Goals

1 Apr

I didn’t know if spring break would ever arrive, but it’s finally here!  Keith and I talked about going to Chicago for a few days, but because of the weather being a tad sketchy lately we decided to stay home.  I love taking trips with my husband, but I also love being at home with him while relaxing and reading.  Spring break officially starts tomorrow, but I’ve been organizing and starting my #bookaday goals this weekend.  I will admit, however, that I was pretty darn lazy yesterday (I slept for most of the day) and didn’t get much reading done.  The laziness has continued today, but I’m determined to finish a book!  I think I have my list pretty much narrowed down, even if it’s a lofty list.

A majority of the reading I’m doing this week is work-related.  When I say work-related, though, I’m referring to Y.A. titles I need to read for work, which is quite happy-making!  My freshmen are in the middle of reading Romeo & Juliet, but this year we’re including a group of Y.A. titles to read with To Kill a Mockingbird that fit with some of the themes and issues (prejudice, maturity, loss of innocence, etc.).  Most of them I’ve already read, but there are some titles that others in my department have read and I have not, or titles my friends on Twitter recommended when we were deciding on this list that I still need to read.

I’m also working on narrowing down ideas and titles for my Y.A. Lit II class that I’m teaching next year.  My goal for the class is that we’ll still read three novels as a class, but this time the novels will be genre-focused and the students will read an additional title that fits that genre.  I’ll be pretty flexible when it comes to which title they pick as their additional title, but I’d also like to have some new titles that the school can purchase extra copies of for my students.  I know for sure that we’re reading dystopian and fantasy, but I haven’t decided which genre to read for the third genre.  Historical fiction really isn’t very popular, but paranormal fantasy is, so I was thinking about  a title that mixes both of them.  Then I could allow students to choose either another like that or either a paranormal fantasy or a historical fiction title as their additional choice.  I was also thinking about verse novels even though I don’t consider those a genre.  I know sci-fi is a good choice, but I already have a hard enough time reading those that I don’t know if I really want to teach one.  I feel like a bad teacher saying that. :/

Anyway, the real reason behind this post, the books!

Timeless by Alexandra Monir (Goodreads)–The publicist sent this to me, so I’m reading it now and enjoying it so far.  I think there might be a giveaway in the near future as well!

Cover BittersweetBittersweet by Sarah Ockler (Goodreads)–My girls in book club chose this as our next title, and we’re meeting to discuss this after school on the Tuesday we get back from break.  I need to read it ASAP!  I started it a while ago and it’s pretty good, as I expected, so I’m looking forward to finishing it.

Book Cover Out of the PocketOut of the Pocket by Bill Konigsberg (Goodreads)–Homosexuality isn’t an issue in To Kill a Mockingbird, but the prejudice involved compares with the prejudice in TKAM.  We also wanted to include some LGBT novels because it relates to some of our students and it’s often ignored or misunderstood.  There’s a good chance there will be upset parents, but we’re preparing ourselves for that.

Book Cover Marcelo in the Real WorldMarcelo in the Real World by Franciso X. Stork (Goodreads)–This is another title we’re using with our TKAM unit.  I think the students should read this book because we have some many autistic students in our building, and the summary makes me think of Boo.  I could be wrong, and that might be a stretch, but it still has many of the issues that TKAM does.

Book Cover StartersStarters by Lissa Price (Goodreads)–I’m thinking about this for my dystopian unit in Y.A. II.  I’ve heard great things about it, so I’m excited to try it.  I hope it’s as good as everyone says it is!

Book Cover The Girl of Fire and ThornsThe Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson (Goodreads)–I have this at school right now, so I bought a copy for my Kindle.  Ever since I challenged myself to read more fantasy, I’ve found that I really enjoy it.  I’ve read mostly good reviews for this debut.  One of my freshmen read it and asked about the second book as soon as she returned it because she enjoyed it so much.  I hope it’s a winner because I’m considering this for the Y.A. II class.  I’m trying to choose a novel that’s newer for this genre study because I have so many avid fantasy readers, and it’s difficult to find a book that none of them have read.  Or at least most of them haven’t read.

This is a pretty ambitious list considering I still have a number of plans this week which involve travel, so I don’t know if I’ll actually read all of these in a day each, but I’m going to try!  I challenged my students to try #bookaday, even if it meant reading 20 pages, one book, or five books.  I hope they update me in the comments of this post, or at least have some exciting stories to tell me when we return from break.  Are any of you on spring break and setting up a reading challenge?  Have you already had spring break?  I know not all of my readers get a spring break, so maybe you’ve read some of these books.  I’d love to hear from you! :)

My Favorite Read Alouds

20 Mar

Did you have any teachers in high school that read a book to your class simply for the enjoyment of listening to a good book?  I didn’t.  I really don’t remember any of my middle school teachers doing this either.  A few of my elementary school teachers read to us, but it was less frequent after 3rd grade.  I’m thankful my parents read to my brother and me on a regular basis since this didn’t happen all that much at school.  When I was working towards my bachelor’s degree the idea of reading aloud to my future high school classes never occurred to me.

The summer I took Dr. Steffel’s YA Lit class at CMU my plans changed.  I’ve mentioned Dr. Steffel many times before, and it’s because she’s been such a positive influence on my teaching career.  On the first day of our class, we sat in a circle and she read Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos.  She used different voices and everything.  I was astounded!  I couldn’t believe we were being read to in a college course, but I loved it.  Even though Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key is young for a high school classroom, I really enjoyed the story.  Everything we did in class and everything Dr. Steffel did in class served a purpose; she wanted us to follow her lead and bring these lessons, strategies, ideas, etc. into our classrooms.

I tried my first read aloud while student teaching.  I had a few sophomore English classes, so I decided on Shattering Glass by Gail Giles.  It’s an edgy book, and there’s some bad language and mature situations, but it’s an excellent pick for reluctant readers.  I was  nervous about reading this during student teaching, but I went ahead and did it anyway.  I had a rationale prepared and everything.  My students loved it and often asked me to read “just one more chapter.”  Since then I’m much more comfortable reading books where characters swear, but I make sure to choose books that aren’t over the top in that category.  It sometimes shocks my students to hear me read those parts, but we have a conversation about why that language is in the book and how we won’t be using that language in class.

So let’s get to my favorites already! :)   I like these books for a number of reasons, but one of the most important qualities I look for in a potential read aloud is the amount of dialogue.  Too much dialogue can get confusing when reading it aloud, especially since the kids don’t have the book in front of them to follow along.  I also try to pick books that I know will be entertaining and have a nice moral. Shorter chapters are always a plus too.  And I need to really like the book too, because otherwise I’m not going to enjoy reading it out loud over and over again.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (Goodreads)–I’ve read Speak out loud so many times!  It’s such a powerful story and so easy for my students to relate to.  Plus, since Melinda isn’t speaking to anyone all that much, most of the book is made up of her thoughts and opinions which is easy for the kids to follow.  The characters are well developed, and well, it’s Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.  Do I need more reasons? ;)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Goodreads)–Last trimester is the first time I’ve read this out loud.  My freshmen were really interested in it because of the upcoming movie (Ahh!! This Friday!!), so I decided to give it a shot as a read aloud.  Some of my students weren’t sure at first because the beginning of the book is a big slow as the world develops and we get to the training center and the actual games.  Once we reached that point, they were begging for more chapters.  It helps that many of the chapters end with cliffhangers.  My only complaint is that the chapters are so long.

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (Goodreads) (My Review)–I don’t remember what prompted me to choose Hex Hall as a read aloud, but I did for the first time last year.  I read it to my freshmen and the majority of them LOVED it.  In one class, we even went on to read the sequel Demonglass.  Oh my gosh did we race through that book!  It ran right into the very end of the school year, but we finished it.  Sophie is very clumsy, sarcastic, and easy to like.  She reminds me of  a female Ron Weasley.  There’s some foul language in Hex Hall, but nothing that was overly shocking or made me pause.  I should note that in general, I’m on the liberal side of things when it comes to YA and what I put in my classroom.  Many of my students prefer realistic fiction, but besides one or two in each class, even my die-hard contemps fans liked Hex Hall.  The guys even laughed and wanted me to read more :)   I read it again this year to a new group of freshmen and had the same enthusiastic response.

Boy21 by Matthew Quick (Goodreads) (My Review)–I’m actually in the middle of reading Boy21 aloud for the first time.  I’m reading it to my freshmen classes, but I wasn’t sure what they would think.  After reading Hex Hall and The Hunger Games this year, I didn’t know how my kids would react to a sudden switch to something realistic.  We voted on Friday, and the majority of all my classes chose to keep reading it.  Boy21 is a powerful read with a fantastic message without being preachy.  It’s diverse, has guy appeal without alienating the girls, and it’s humorous.  The chapters are short so I have more flexibility in how much I choose to read each day.  Finley doesn’t like to talk that much, so the dialogue is balanced with Finley’s thoughts and observations.  Right now my kids are really curious about Russ, aka Boy21, and what’s going to happen between him and Finley as the story progresses.

Here are a few more titles I’ve had success with reading aloud:

  • My Brother’s Keeper by Patricia McCormick (Goodreads)
  • Harris and Me by Gary Paulsen (Goodreads)
  • Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson (Goodreads)

Here are some titles that I’ve recently read and plan to read aloud in the future:

  • Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick (Goodreads) (My Review)–I just finished reading this book, and I just know my students would love it as a read aloud.  It has a wonderful balance of narration and dialogue.  It’s really funny and full of heart.  It’s a clean book in regards to sex and language, but there is a minor scene that involves drinking.  I think it’d work for middle school classrooms as well as high school classrooms.
  • Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters by Meredith Zeitlin (Goodreads) (My Review)–We read so many serious stories in high school that I like to mix it up and read something funny out loud when I get the chance.  Kelsey is hilarious and just a fun character to read.  This is a pretty clean book as well which I always appreciate.  There are a couple scenes with drinking, but I they’re definitely not glorifying it!  I think we’re going to finish Boy21 with enough time to read another book, and if that happens I’ll be reading this one to my freshmen next :)   I love this book and would read it to more than just my freshmen.

Sophomore Reading Challenge + Top Ten Tuesday

10 Jan

I’m a big fan of Top Ten Tuesday posts (I LOVE lists!), and Shanyn at Chick Loves Lit is one of my favorite bloggers.  Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  Shanyn started a new challenge this year called the Sophomore Reading Challenge.  The goal is to read past debut authors’ sophomore book releases.  You can learn more about it here because Shanyn explains it much better :)   Hopefully you’ll join her challenge if you haven’t already!  This week’s Top Ten Tuesday post is all about authors that we wish would release new books, so I figured these two topics blend well together.

1. Kelly Creagh–I LOVED Nevermore and  many of my students do as well.  Creagh’s debut released in 2010, so I’ve been waiting a long time to read her second book in the series titled, Enshadowed (Goodreads).  It’s set to release on my birthday (yay!) which is August 28th.  I really hope it actually releases this year because it had an earlier release date that fell through.

2. Veronica Roth–Divergent is awesome, so waiting until May to read Insurgent (Goodreads) feels like forever!

3. Kirsten Hubbard–Like Mandarin was one of my favorite 2011 debuts and it really didn’t get enough hype.  Hubbard’s sophomore release is titled Wanderlove (Goodreads) and it releases in March.  I hope more stores will carry this title, so Kirsten Hubbard’s talent is exposed to a wider audience.

4. Denise Jaden–Denise’s debut, Losing Faith, released in 2010.  It was one of my favorites that year, so I’m so excited that she finally has a second book releasing this year!  Her new book is titled Never Enough (Goodreads) and it releases in July.

5. Nina LaCour–Hold Still is one of those books and I positively LOVE it.  It’s extremely popular with all of my students, so the fact that Nina LaCour FINALLY has a new book releasing next month is HUGE!  Her new book is titled The Disenchantments (Goodreads) and releases on Feb. 16th.

6. Kendare Blake–Kendare is one of my favorite 2011 debut authors.  I’m not a horror fan, but Anna Dressed in Blood rocked my socks!  The sequel, Girls of Nightmares (Goodreads), doesn’t release until August 7th.  That’s a long time to wait for more greatness!

7. Ann Aguirre–Last school year my book club decided to read Enclave.  I wasn’t sure if the girls were going to enjoy it and they ended up loving it.  They enjoyed it so much, they told me to look for an ARC of Outpost (Goodreads) at NCTE which I didn’t find. We’ll have to wait until September to read the second book.

8. Michelle Hodkin–I was fortunate enough to read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer in June, but it didn’t release until the fall.  Now I’ve been waiting even longer than normal for the second book to release (Goodreads), but it doesn’t have an official title OR release date.  I really hope it releases sooner rather than later!

9. Tom Leveen–I read Tom Leveen’s 2010 debut, Party, during a plane ride and decided right away that I wanted to read more of his books.  He finally has a sophomore novel releasing on April 24th.  His new book is titled Zero (Goodreads).  It’s not on Shanyn’s Goodreads Sophomore Reading Challenge list, but I’m still counting it :)

10. Kim Harrington–Clarity is a wonderful YA mystery debut with a touch of the supernatural.  It’s hooked some of my reluctant readers, so I’m really excited to read the sequel, Perception (Goodreads) which releases in March.

My Favorite 2011 Debut Authors

31 Dec

I’ve been reading YA lit non-stop since the end of college, but since I started blogging and reviewing the books I read, I’ve really kicked it up a notch.  I’ve gone from reading around 40 books a year, to over 80 last year, and now I’m over 100 this year!  Blogging this past year and a half has really opened me up to a wonderful network of teachers, librarians, bloggers, and authors.

I really can’t praise the debut authors of 2011 enough.  They’ve been incredibly generous and approachable on top of being crazy talented.  If you haven’t checked them out yet, the Class of 2K11 can be found here and The Elevensies can be found here.

I’ve read over 40 2011 debuts, so I decided to compile a list of my favorite debut authors.  These are the top 10 authors that have left me eager to read more of their work, whether it’s a sequel to their debut or something fresh.  And because I could never order these by favorite, I’m listing them in the order I read their books :)

Gae Polisner–Gae’s wonderful debut is The Pull of Gravity and she’s one of the biggest reasons I’ve been exposed to so many debut authors.  She helped me create and start my Students Want to Know feature.  Gae is also the first author to contact me and ask me to review her book.  I read TPoG in November 2010 and really loved it.  This past summer I wrote the teachers guide for it and am now teaching it with Of Mice and Men to the freshmen at our high school.  Besides all of this, Gae is an excellent writer plain and simple.  TPoG is a quiet novel, but it’s one that will stand the test of time.  I really can’t wait to read what she publishes next!

Lorraine Zago Rosenthal–Lorraine’s beautiful debut is Other Words for Love.  Lorraine contacted me a the end of 2010 to see if I’d like to be part of her blog tour for her novel’s debut this past January.  I received an ARC to read before my part of the blog tour and couldn’t put it down (My review).  It’s become one of the most popular novels in my classroom library.  Lorraine is truly talented and really knows how to create a character and connect both reader and character.  I hope she has a new book releasing soon.

Geoff Herbach–Stupid Fast is one of the best books with guy appeal that I’ve read in a long time.  Geoff Herbach really knows how to connect with guys that feel like they don’t quite fit in or where they’re heading.  Not only is Stupid Fast highly entertaining and funny, it has a wonderful message for its readers about family, friends, and being yourself.  Geoff has a sequel to Stupid Fast that’s set to release in the spring titled Nothing Special.  I’m beyond excited to read it!

Sara Bennett Wealer–My students read Sara’s debut Rival before interviewing her for our Students Want to Know post.  So many of the girls brought the book back to me raving about it and telling me that I need to read it.  One or two even ruined the ending on accident thinking that I had already read it.  One weekend I finally picked it up for myself and couldn’t get enough of it.  I knew the ending, but it didn’t matter because I was so connected to the characters and their stories.  Sara really knows how to develop layered characters that stick with you long after finishing the novel.  I haven’t heard much about a new novel in the works, but I hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Veronica Roth–I heard so many rave reviews for Divergent that I knew it was a must read.  During the summer Veronica was part of an author tour that made a stop at Schuler Books & Music in Lansing that I attended with my friend and alumni book club.  Listening to her speak about the book really solidified my need to read Divergent.  I’ll admit that it took me a little bit to get into her debut, but once I did I couldn’t put it down!  Tris is a strong and admirable protagonist living in a dystopian world.  The ending of Divergent left me saying “Wow!” and begging for the sequel, Insurgent.

Amy Fellner Dominy–I love it when students come up to me, a book in hand, to tell me how much I need to read that book.  A couple of my students did that with OyMG after reading it for the interview with Amy Fellner Dominy.  I read OyMG this summer and couldn’t put it down. It’s a sweet, humorous book that packs a wonderful message.  Amy’s a talented author and I know she’s going to write more wonderful novels.

Carrie Harris–I’m not a zombie fan. I don’t watch The Walking Dead or anything like that.  Carrie’s debut novel is a zombie book titled Bad Taste in Boys.  I absolutely loved it!  Bad Taste in Boys is laugh out loud funny.  It is gross at times, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle.  I’m pretty sure Carrie is writing either a sequel or a companion, so you better believe I’ll be reading it!

Kirsten Hubbard–Kelly at Stacked is a go-to librarian and blogger.  And when she highly recommends a book, in particular contemporary fiction, you read it.  I think all but one of the books she recommended have been rated highly by me.  So when Kelly told me how much she enjoyed Like Mandarin I knew I needed to read it sooner than I planned to.  Like Mandarin is a debut that I want to put in the hands of all of my female students, especially the freshmen.  I often felt like Grace, wishing to be like other girls and living in my head.  I see girls like Grace all the time at school.  Kirsten Hubbard is simply outstanding and really knows how to develop complex characters.  Her new book, Wanderlove, releases  on March 13th.  I have an ARC from NCTE which I can’t wait to read.

Jessica Martinez–The opening pages of Virtuosity grabbed me and never let go.  What a beginning!  What a fantastic debut!  To be honest, I should have included a tie in my Favorite Books of 2011 post because Virtuosity is really one of my favorites of the year.  I started reading it late in the afternoon this past summer and didn’t put it down until I finished it.  I sat there awe-struck wanting to read it again and read another book written by Jessica Martinez all at the same time.  I’m not involved in music in any way, at least not since middle school when I stopped taking band, but even then I never considered my instrument to be a part of me.  Carmen has so much going on in her life that’s causing her to make some difficult decisions, both morally and personally.  This story stayed with me for a while after reading it.  I’ve heard that Jessica Martinez has a new novel in the works, but that’s all I know.

Kendare Blake–Just like with zombies, I’m not a horror fan.  I’ll sometimes wake up from nightmares about horror movies I watched when I was eight.  It’s just not my thing.  Kendare signed up for my Students Want to Know feature, so I offered her debut to some of my students to read prior to the interview.  One of my boys in class came back about a week later telling me that Anna Dressed in Blood is the best book he’s ever read.  Well, any time a student tells me this I know I have to read it.  I did just that the following weekend and ended up positively loving Anna Dressed in Blood.  Is it gruesome at times?  Yes.  Is there humor?  Yes!  Is there a love story?  Yes.  Is this a book that will appeal to both guys and girls?  Yes!!  Almost every one of my students that has read Anna Dressed in Blood has returned it with rave reviews.  Kendare Blake has the perfect balance of humor and horror.  And not only that, she did an excellent job writing from a guy’s point of view.  Will I be reading the sequel, Girl of Nightmares, this summer?  Yes!!

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