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Interview with a Book Blogger: Michelle of Galleysmith

3 Aug
1.What YA character do you identify most with?

It’s hard to say because I identify with each character in a different way.  I firmly believe that we can find something in common with most characters — be it a particular circumstance, emotional tendency or other personal characteristic.  

2. What YA character would like to be friends with?

I’d love to be friends with Cole and Isabel from Maggie Stiefvater’s Wolves of Mercy Falls series for sure.  They’re cool, flawed and it seems like they would be entertaining to be around.  I wouldn’t mind hanging with Tris from Veronica Roth’s Divergent she’s beyond strong both in the physical and emotional sense.

3.What would you say to someone  who says YA books are just for kids?

I’d hand them a copy of Hunger Games, Split, Stolen, Butterfly, Illyria, Want to Go Private, Bruiser or any other YA book with complex characters and plots.  I’d ask the person to read them all then come back to me with the same opinion.

4.What’s been the best part of reviewing YA books?

Reading them first!

5. Any advice for YA book bloggers?

Read what you want, be honest in your reviews and enjoy the ride each story takes you on.

6. What’s your favorite YA sub-genre?

Dystopian, with realistic fiction a close second.

7. Do you have a prediction for the next YA craze (ex zombies? mermaids? suburban kids?)

It seems to me that mythology is all the rage right now for some reason.  Also ghosts seem to be trickling in quite a bit more.  I hope that we see more realistic fiction out there, seems to me it’s inching it’s way up in popularity more and more.

8. What book are you most looking forward to coming out this fall?

Just one?  I will be excited to get the follow up to Lauren Oliver’s Delirium called Pandemonium.  I’m also excited the The Scorpio Races (which I’ve actually already read) by Maggie Stiefvater to release. I want to squeal about it with everyone!

9.What’s been your best experience meeting/talking with a YA author?

Honestly I’m a trainwreck with authors.  I’m not well spoken at all. LOL  I tend to shy away from approaching them for that reason.  I did have a lovely conversation with Meghan McCafferty at an event before BEA and she was just so lovely as I got all fangirly with her.  

10.What are your future plans for your blog or future with books in general?

I’m excited to shift the focus of my blog just a little bit.  I’m all YA all the time to be sure but I’ll be focusing on the educational aspects of reading YA some now as well.  I’m still going to bring the fun stuff but I like the idea that teachers and librarians can use it as a professional tool as well.  As for books, my only plan is to try and read as many as I can!

 

Check out Michelle’s blog Galleysmith.

 

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Interview with a Book Blogger: Brittany of Nice Girls Read Books

30 Jul

Brittany is a a 22 year-old book blogger from Australia.
She’s been blogging at Nice Girls Read Books since September, 2010 and so far it’s been an
absolutely amazing experience! She’s definitely a YA junkie!”

1.  What YA character you identify most with?

I think Gemma Doyle from Libba Bray’s ‘A Great & Terrible Beauty’ is a
great heroine, and she has a lot of identifiable qualities within her to
relate to a lot of readers. She’s humble, but she’s also independent and
eager to learn and grow. Gemma is emotional but incredibly strong, with a
big heart for her family and friends.

There are a lot of leading ladies in YA today that make me want to bash my
head in, particularly the ones that couldn’t make a smart decision if
their life depended on it! I think Gemma Doyle is a great example of the
type of heroine I identify with and enjoy reading the most!

2.What YA character would you like to be friends with?

Ouch, this is a hard one! If I was after a sassy, opinionated friend I’d
definitely pick Isabel Culpepper from Maggie Stiefvater’s ‘Wolves of Mercy
Falls’ series. I think she’s just so fantastic and the type of person I’d
love to have around. I also love Cassel Sharpe from Holly Black’s ‘Curse
Worker’ series – although dangerous with a bit of a shady past, I’d love
to be his friend!

3. What would you say to someone who says YA books are just for kids?

I’d say the person hasn’t read much. Take into account the fact that Harry
Potter was originally intended ‘for kids’. Look how much of the world’s
population has been impacted by the series! I don’t think there’s a set
age on books, especially when it comes to YA and other fiction in general.
Books are meant to be enjoyed and really it comes down to the taste of the
reader. I know lots of people that still enjoy YA in their 40′s and 50′s!

4.  What’s the best part of reviewing YA books for you?

Being able to express your opinion, keep track of your books and indulge
in your passion! I’ve had a huge love for YA for quite some time but it
hasn’t been since I really started BLOGGING, and getting out there and
interacting with other readers and reviewers, that I’ve really appreciated
all that the world of YA has to offer. We’ve got some great authors who
love chatting to their fans, some great creative minds who create amazing
art and videos based on their favourite YA novel and a whole lot more.
It’s just a great community to be a part of.

5.  Do you have any advice for YA book bloggers?

I know this gets stressed a lot, but I have to say it again: if you’re in
it for the free books, then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Review
copies, ARCs and other publishing goodies should be considered as simply
‘icing on the cake’. If you don’t have a passion for reading and blogging
regularly, then you aren’t going to get very far in the book-blogger
world!

6. What’s your favorite YA sub-genre?

I love that there’s a lot of dystopian out now! I think it’s a sub-genre
that can take on so many forms, creating new and original storylines and
characters! While I enjoy it a whole lot, I will have to admit that
anything supernatural or paranormal will always grab my interest first and
foremost.

7.  Do you have a prediction for the next YA craze (ex zombies? mermaids? suburban kids?)

It’s so hard to predict these things. First we had vampires, then
angels… the list goes on. I would LOVE to see more mermaid books,
personally! They’ve always been a favourite of mine and the YA market
needs more of them! Taking a stab in the dark at the next YA phase, I
think it *may* be something to do with real historical events with a new
supernatural spin. We have ‘The Name of the Star’ by Maureen Johnson
coming out, with elements of Jack the Ripper… and we also have ‘Fateful’
by Claudia Gray, set on the Titanic.

8.  What book are you most looking forward to coming out this fall?

Definitely ‘Forever’ by Maggie Stiefvater. I have
been waiting on this book, well, FOREVER! Haha. Ever since starting the
series, I’ve been obsessed with these characters and their story! I can’t
wait to see how Maggie is going rip our hearts out!

9. What had been your best experience meeting/talking with a YA author?

Without question it was the book-blogger breakfast I got to go to in May
with 3 other bloggers and Rachel Caine, author of the Morganville Vampire
series. For almost two hours we got to casually chat with Rachel (who has
been one of my favourites for YEARS!) about her series, herself and
basically anything else we could think of! It was such a relaxed
environment, like chatting with old friends, and it’ll forever stand out
as a highlight!

10.What are  your future plans for your blog or future with books in general?

I plan to keep doing what I’m doing! I started back in September, 2010 and
still haven’t grown weary. Of course there’s off days where I won’t read
or post, but for the most part I think I do a good job of keeping the blog
up-to-date with what I’m reading.
Check out Brittany’s blog  Nice Girls Read Books

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The Implosion of Aggie Winchester By Lara Zielin

30 Jul

Release Date: August 4, 2011
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Preorder: Amazon

Aggie Winchester is pissed. Her mother’s her principal, her ex is a jerk that she still sometimes likes to make out with, her best friend is usually a bad ass but seems to have gotten herself in some trouble she can’t get out of, and she can’t tell anyone she really enjoys the father/daughter bass fishing her dad roped her into. It’s understandable she’d be pretty full of teenage angst.

So Aggie, who a few short years ago was all about pink and prep and popularity got snubbed by the other ponytail and ponies girls freshman year and decided the best way to deal with this rejection was to befriend  Sylvia Ness, the toughest girl in school, and don her signature all black and chains wardrobe. This does not please her perfectionist principle mother, who’s just dropped the bomb she has cancer.  To further complicate things Sylvia just found out she’s pregnant by a guy who uses her solely for sex, but has convinced herself will be there for her and her baby.

Things get totally out of control when Sylvia is nominated for prom queen. Aggie catches her trying to rig the results in her favor, but when someone else wins the crown it looks like the teachers burned the ballots so the school wouldn’t have a pregnant prom queen , and Aggie’s mom might be involved in the cover up.

This book can make the reader a little angry too, but in a good way. The injustices and misunderstandings are felt so keenly by Aggie you can start to feel angry on her behalf, and proud as she starts to wise up to the pitfalls of putting on a mask to defend yourself from pain, or how ill advised it is to continue to hook of with an evil ex.

 

Interview with a Book Blogger: Tirzah of The Compulsive Reader

27 Jul
Tirzah is a junior at Ferris State University, and has been blogging about all things YA at thecompulsivereader.com for almost five years now. She’s a language geek that can speak three, and she’s set on working in the publishing industry in some capacity after graduation.
1. What YA character do you identify most with?

Ah, that’s such a hard question to answer. I feel like I can identify with so many characters on many different levels. One memorable character was Tabitha from Pure by Terra Elan McVoy. I really liked her struggle to reconcile her beliefs and long-time friendships with reality and the new direction her friends were going. I feel like that’s a very real struggle with so many girls, including myself, especially during the later years of high school and the first years of college.

2. What YA character would you like to be friends with?

I think Kate Grable from Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris would be pretty kick-butt to have on my side in case of a zombie attack.

3. What would you say to someone who says YA books are just for kids?

So untrue…ask 10 YA bloggers how old they are, and I bet you over half are over 18. Then go sit in the YA section of any bookstore and estimate the age of the people who leave with books from there. Then pick up any book written by Ellen Hopkins, John Green, Melina Marchetta, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Justina Chen Headley, Laurie Halse Anderson…need I go on? The books and the readers speak for themselves.

4.What’s the best part of reviewing YA books?

Connecting with authors and discovering that one book that didn’t get a lot of attention, but is amazing. Then putting that book in other readers’ hands.

5. What’s your advice for YA book bloggers?

I actually have an entire section of advice on my blog–http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/p/for-bloggers.html, but be persistent, be respectful, be professional, be creative.
6.What’s your favorite YA sub-genre?
I love any sort of fairy tale retellings.

7.Do you have a prediction of the next YA craze (ex zombies? mermaids? suburban kids?)?

Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but I think that sci-fi is going to continue to expand, which is awesome. There’s not enough good YA sci-fi out there…and not just dystopias (though in some senses, many sci-fi books are also dystopias), but true sci-fi. Bring it on.

8. What book are your most looking forward to coming out this fall?

Um, just one? I’ve read Goliath by Scott Westerfeld, which is amazing, I’m beyond excited for everyone to get to read The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson, I can’t wait to dive into Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, who writes beautifully, and the language geek in me is pumped for The Pledge by Kimberly Derting.

9.What’s been your best experience meeting/talking with a YA author?

Meeting with Suzanne Collins just before the release of Catching Fire was an amazing experience I’ll always remember. She took the time to really go in depth about her writing and plotting, was so kind and down to earth, and was appropriately funny and serious. It was an awesome discussion…you can watch it on the Borders Media website.

10.What are your future plans for your blog or future with books in general?

I’m going to keep blogging…it’s such a huge part of my life now that I can’t imagine ever stopping. My goal is to work in publishing after graduation, hopefully on the editorial side, and after that…who knows?
Check out Tirzah’s blog The Compulsive Reader.

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Interview with a Book Blogger: We Heart YA

25 Jul

The women of We Heart YA (Kristan, Sarah, Steph, and Ingrid) were nice enough to answer some questions about YA lit and blogging.

1.YA character you identify most with

Kristan: Anne Shirley. Bookish, imaginative, kind but impulsive. She wanted to lead an extraordinary life, but she was also drawn to the simple things (like family, love, and writing). Other than her red hair, that’s me to a T!

Sarah: Jo March. I started writing what I thought would be popular, then ended up writing from the heart and finding more success. The only thing I would do differently is marry Laurie instead of the old German guy. What was I thinking?!?

Steph: I’d say Anne Shirley, but Kristan already took her. Hmm… I’m most like Fanny Price, but I think more like Anne.

Ingrid: Laura Ingalls. The stubborn younger sister, lover of animals and nature, adventurous but also girly. Yep, that’s me.

2.YA character you’d like to be friends with: 

Sorry, we can’t pick just one! (And there are 4 of us, so that’s okay, right?) We’d love to be friends with Anne Shirley, Katniss Everdeen, Frodo Baggins, Ebon (from Robin McKinley’s Pegasus), and Azalea and her sisters (from Heather Dixon’s Entwined). Let’s just say our parties would be rockin’.

3.Answer to someone who says YA books are just for kids

“You obviously haven’t read much YA then.”

4.Best part of reviewing YA books: 

We don’t review exactly; we prefer to spread the word about books we love. The best part is introducing people to new authors or stories that they will love.

5.Advice for YA book bloggers:

Do something different. Don’t review the same book that everyone else is. Talk about how a book has affected you personally, or why you enjoy YA so much. Introduce the world to a story no one’s ever heard of before. Talk about characters and covers and settings. Give people a variety of stuff to read.

6.Favorite YA sub-genre:

3 votes for contemporary, 1 for fantasy. But the truth is, we our favorite books are spread across all categories!

7.Prediction of the next YA craze (ex zombies? mermaids? suburban kids?)

We’re definitely hearing a lot of buzz around mermaids, but Sarah thinks Kung-Fu is the next big thing. Or, you know, should be.

8. Book you’re most looking forward to coming out this fall: 

LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins, and THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS by Rae Carson.

9.Best experience meeting/talking with a YA author:

A few months ago, we went to see Carrie Ryan, and she was lovely. Very professional, easy and interesting to listen to, and approachable. We may or may not have developed a little author-crush…

We’ve also had great interactions with some YA authors online, like Natalie Whipple and Gae Polisner.

10.Your future plans for your blog or future with books in general: 

We all hope to get our manuscripts polished and eventually published. As for the blog, we just really want to connect with the Young Adult community of readers — and keep discussing great books!

Check out their blog We Heart YA!

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YA Supernatual Mashups

25 Jul

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, lovely concepts, but overlooking a key demographic. It’s YA readers that are crazy about creatures, not English professors. So here are some classic YA novels with a little monster mash mixed in.

1. The Catcher in the Rye and Vampires

Holden is sad, sad, sad. One night he goes gallivanting through New York City, where a creature of the night drains his blood and makes him pale and immortal. Waking up and examining the way his fangs compliment his hat, he goes in search of other vampires to chill with. He finds some fellow teenage vamps who are moody, disinterested, and think a lot about death. Holden finally feels like he belongs.

 

 

 

 

2.The Outsiders and The Werewolves

Ponyboy lives with his brothers Sodapop and Darry, ever since those snooty werewolf Socs on the other side of town ate his parents. Darry and Sodapop are always working and Ponyboy is trying to balance school, track, and making a steady supply of silver bullets. One night at the movies Ponyboy and his friend Jonny are jumped by some of Socs, but after Jonny shots one with a silver bullet he realizes some of the Socs are human and he just offed one of them. Afraid, he and Ponyboy go into hiding, but the Socs, with their keen sense of smell and unquenchable blood lust, search them out and eat them in retaliation. Sodapop and Darry, saddened by their brother’s death, decide to move to another town where werewolves, and therefore the death of loved ones by werewolves, is less common.

3. Looking for Alaska and Aliens

Alaska didn’t die in a car crash, she was abducted by Aliens. They release her three years later, and she and Pudge are married  on the campus  of Culver Creek Prep.

 

 

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Interview with a Book Blogger -Alex of Electrifying Reviews

23 Jul

Alex Bennett is a fifteen year old reader, reviewer, and writer of young adult fiction. Alex is also an intern for Book Cents Literary Agency. Alex, unfortunately, spends his days in a small town in Michigan, yearning for the day he can move far away. His blog is Electrifying Reviews.

What YA character do you identify the most with?
The young adult character I most identify with is Ethan from Beautiful Creatures. He hates living in his small town, and is counting the days until he can get away from Gatlin. I am not a small town person, and don’t like most of the people in my small town. Get me outta here!
What YA character would you most like to be friends with?
The YA character I’d most likely be friends with is… well, I don’t know actually. The first one that comes to mind is Link from Beautiful Creatures, probably because he is laugh out loud funny.
3) Young adult books can be enjoyed by anybody. Many are very sophisticated, and just because the characters are teens does not make the books immature.
What’s the best part of reviewing YA books?
The best part of reviewing young adult books is definitely all of the new friends I’ve made. I now know countless authors, other reviewers, and industry professionals. I wouldn’t change these newfound friendships for the world!
What’s your advice to other book bloggers?
Keep posting quality content often, don’t stress about followers, and don’t spam people telling them to check out your blog.
Do you have a favorite YA sub-genre?
 Right now, it’s probably dystopian. But many are starting to seem very similar to me now.
What do you predict the next trend in YA literature will be?
Hmm… I think the next trend will probably be maybe mystery? That hasn’t been overdone, has it? I really don’t know, since I’m not Raven Symone.
What are some books you’re most looking forward to coming out this fall?
The book I’m most looking forward to this fall is… ah, there’s so many! I would say Shatter Me, but I’ve already read that. Probably Dear Bully, since that book is one that needs to be read.
What’s been your best experience meeting/talking with a YA author?
Book Expo America as a whole was an amazing experience where I met so many authors and bloggers! It was amazing.
What are your future plans for your blog or future with books in general? For my blog,
I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. For books as a whole, I’m hoping to take the journey of publication for my books I’ve written soon. Lit agents, lemme holla at you! ;)
Check Out Alex’s Blog-Electrifying Reviews

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Nocturne By Christine Johnson

23 Jul

Release Date: August 23, 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Preorder: Amazon

Nocturne is the sequel to Claire De Lune, and without reading this introductory novel I was left with a kind of confusion I think made the book pleasantly mysterious. Some background info I gleaned that may or may not be correct.

*In this reality, people know and kind of except there are werewolves, but if anyone finds out you’re a werewolf, you kill them. Unless you make them a guardian, in which case they become a honary member of the pack. One of those two.

*Werewolves are from France, maybe?

*Werewolves change at special ceremonies when the alpha wolf says you can, or just whenever but at will, or sometimes accidentally when they’re  freaking out, but that should be avoided.

*Being a werewolf makes you  hungry.

*Being a pregnant werewolf really, really sucks.

So, back to things I know. Claire is a werewolf and a junior and high school, but only found this out about the werewolf thing recently. Her mom is kind of distant, and is now the alpha wolf of the pack. Claire isn’t allowed to let anyone know she’s  a werewolf, except her boyfriend Matthew who falls under the aforementioned guardian category.

Claire enjoys being a werewolf, but she doesn’t enjoy keeping her secret from her BFF Emily, or the fact that a new girl, Amy, seems to be encroaching on her best friend territory. Because, you know, wolves are territorial, and high school girls are territorial, so Claire is doubly pissed, and sometimes she has claws, so Amy should watch her back.

To make matters worse, Matthew seems to be a little wary of her wolf side, her wolvish duties are butting into serious social engagements, and try as she might she can’t seem to light a fire with her mind (an essential wolf duty, which should she fail to perform, will result in a forced Van Gogh).

And just as it seems Clarie’s life couldn’t get anymore complicated, it seems Amy the encroacher knows her secret and her pack has maxed out their guardian quotient so…..

By the last few chapters of this book it becomes completely un-put-down-able. Really, my only hang up is my overall pet peeve of messing with classic monster tropes (vampires don’t sparkle ect.) but really this book comes down to a solidarity the reader feels for Claire. She never gets whiney or annoying, just scared, confused, and deeply conflicted. And with a character that strong and relatable Johnson has given as a solid YA novel, with or without fur.

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Interview with a Book Blogger-Brent of The Naughty Book Kitties

18 Jul

1. What YA character do you identify the most with?

Oh, such a tough question! I’ve been reading YA for 5 years now, and I
identify with each protagonist I read about—each in a different way
and capacity.
One character I’ve identified the most with recently is Evan from Brian Farrey’s WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. Evan is an artist that likes to mimic others’ work; he never does something that isn’t a recreation of someone else’s painting. And the whole story behind it is that he hasn’t really found out the kind of artist he wants to be, or who even is. Because he hasn’t really found that personal identity, he’s stuck mimicking others.  And I love that—I don’t know who I am yet, either, and I think I’m still on the same journey Evan went through in WITH OR WITHOUT YOU.

2. What YA character would you  like to be friends with?

Carrie Bradshaw from THE CARRIE DIARIES by Candace Bushnell, just because she’s kind of my idol. Carrie has this way of being in the right place at the right time, and she alwaysalwaysalways gets herself out of tough situations by remaining calm, learning from her mistakes, and staying true to herself.

There’s this saying in French–Je prévois de vous promener à pied sans but sans un plan—and it translates to “I plan to walk around aimlessly with no plans.” That’s really how Carrie Bradshaw lives (and leads) her life—she lives in the moment and makes no plans, she lets her life’s path carve its own way into the streets of Manhattan.

 

3. What would you say to someone who says YA books are just for kids?

D0n’t h@t3 us cuz yhu @!n’t us.

Hah, no really. I honestly think the kidlit haters are just angry that we’re filled with so much more wonder, imagination, fun, and love.

 

4.What’s been the best part of reviewing YA books?

Pointing people in the direction of books and authors they otherwise would have never read.

5. Do you have any advice for YA book bloggers?

Blog a lot, blog quality stuff, and let your personality shine through your words. We always say that, in writing, voice is key. Well, voice is key in blogging too.

 

6. Do you have a favorite YA sub-genre?

Contemporary. Sarah Dessen, Kody Keplinger, Stephanie Perkins, Nick Burd; I love them all.

 

7. Do you have a prediction for the next YA craze?

Mystery/suspense/thriller and true crime, with  maybe a dash of horror. I can feel it in my bones.

 

8. What are some books you’re most looking forward to coming out this fall?

I’m so excited for LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR by Stephanie Perkins to come out! I’ve already read it, but I’m excited for its release because I want to discuss its amazingness with the whole wide world.

 

9. What’s been your best experience meeting/talking with a YA author?

I’ve actually never met one of my YA writers in person. 

 

10. What are your future plans for your blog or future with books in general?

Well, I plan to blog forever haha. As far as my future with books go, the plan is to move to NYC fall 2014 and start my career as a children’s book agent. Right now I’m interning for a handful of lit agents, and I’m about to start working with a lit agent who deals primarily with true crime/thriller, where I’ll be learning about contracts, legal stuff, etc. etc. It takes up pretty much all of my
free time, but that’s okay because I absolutely love it.

Check out Brent’s Blog The Naughty Book Kitties

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YA Movie Night

18 Jul

1. The Outsiders-

Revel in all that is S.E. Hinton and  remember a time before Tom Cruise was crazy, the Karate kid wasn’t dancing with the stars, and Patrick Swayze was alive and making us cry like a baby.

 

 

 

 

2.How to Deal

Much as I love Mandy Moore, the movie doesn’t really do the Sarah Dessen novels justice. Still-grandmothers smoking pot is worth the trip to redbox.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1 & 2

Picking which one to watch depends on what kind of death you want to witness. Death of adorably precocious children? Death of young love? Death of a symbol of the titular friendship?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Nick and Nora’s infinite Playlist

Who wouldn’t be in love with Michael Cera, who makes you handmade mix CDs? It doesn’t make any sense. And you can ponder it while enjoying the excellent soundtrack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.

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