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text 2018-02-27 20:26
Book adaptations to read before watching: 9 books and movies for the Oscar night

We're book lovers but also movie fans! When it comes to books vs. movies the winner is always the same. The book. But that doesn't discourage us from watching after reading. And the Oscars time is just perfect timing for seeking new book-and-movie inspirations.  Just remember: Read before watching! 

 

What are you reading and watching?

 

 

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BOOK:

Painfully Rich: J. Paul Getty And His Heirs by John Pearson 

When John Paul Getty died in 1976, he was the richest man in the world. This text examines the impact of the Getty legacy and its attendant pressures, family intrigues and destructive greed on the rest of the Getty family.

 

MOVIE:

All the Money in the World

The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

 

 

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BOOK:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? BY Philip K. Dick 

World War Terminus had left the Earth devastated. Through its ruins, bounty hunter Rick Deckard stalked, in search of the renegade replicants who were his prey. When he wasn't 'retiring' them with his laser weapon, he dreamed of owning a live animal - the ultimate status symbol in a world all but bereft of animal life.

 

MOVIE:

Blade Runner 2049

A young blade runner's discovery of a long-buried secret leads him to track down former blade runner Rick Deckard, who's been missing for thirty years.

Nominated for 5 Oscars

 

 

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BOOK:

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman 

 

Andre Aciman's Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.

 

MOVIE:

Call Me by Your Name

In 1980s Italy, a romance blossoms between a seventeen year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.

Nominated for 4 Oscars. 

 

 

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BOOK:

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan 

 

In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm?a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not?charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.

 

MOVIE:

Mudbound

Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi, where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

Nominated for 4 Oscars. 

 

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BOOK:

Stronger: Fighting Back After the Boston Marathon Bombing by Jeff Bauman

Jeff Bauman woke up on 16th April 2013, in the Boston Medical Center, groggy from a series of lifesaving surgeries and missing his legs. Just 30 hours prior, Jeff was surrounded by revelry at the finish line of the Boston Marathon cheering on his girlfriend, Erin, when the first bomb went off at his feet. When Jeff awoke, rather than take stock of his completely altered life, he ripped out his breathing tube and tried to speak. He couldn't. So he wrote seven words, 'Saw the guy. Looked right at me,' setting off one of the biggest manhunts in the country's history and beginning his own brave road to recovery. 

 

MOVIE:

Stronger

Stronger is the inspiring real life story of Jeff Bauman, an ordinary man who captured the hearts of his city and the world to become a symbol of hope after surviving the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

 

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BOOK:

The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero,Tom Bissell 

In 2003, an independent film called The Room - starring and written, produced, and directed by a mysteriously wealthy social misfit named Tommy Wiseau - made its disastrous debut in Los Angeles. Described by one reviewer as 'like getting stabbed in the head', the $6 million film earned a grand total of $1,800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. Over a decade later, The Room is an international cult phenomenon, whose legions of fans attend screenings featuring costumes, audience rituals, merchandising and thousands of plastic spoons.

 

MOVIE: 

The Disaster Artist

When Greg Sestero, an aspiring film actor, meets the weird and mysterious Tommy Wiseau in an acting class, they form a unique friendship and travel to Hollywood to make their dreams come true.

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

 

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BOOK:

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool by Peter Turner 

A description of Gloria Grahame's last days recalls her past in New York and her eccentric life in a trailer and her life in Liverpool, where the author and his family cajoled, comforted, and wept with the dying Hollywood star.

 

MOVIE:

Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool

A romance sparks between a young actor and a Hollywood leading lady.

 

 

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BOOK:

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung 

One of seven children of a high-ranking government official, Loung Ung lived a privileged life in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh until the age of five. Then, in April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing Ung's family to flee and, eventually, to disperse. Loung was trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans, her siblings were sent to labor camps, and those who survived the horrors would not be reunited until the Khmer Rouge was destroyed. Harrowing yet hopeful, Loung's powerful story is an unforgettable account of a family shaken and shattered, yet miraculously sustained by courage and love in the face of unspeakable brutality.

 

MOVIE:

First They Killed My Father

Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.

 

 

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BOOK:

Molly's Game: Inside the Wolrd of High Stakes Poker by Molly Bloom 

When Molly Bloom was a little girl in a small Colorado town, she dreamed of a life without rules and limits, a life where she didn’t have to measure up to anyone or anything – where she could become whatever she wanted. She ultimately got more than she ever could have bargained for. In Molly’s Game, she takes you through her adventures running an exclusive private poker game catering to Hollywood royalty like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck, athletes, billionaires, politicians and financial titans. With rich detail, Molly describes a world of glamour, privilege and secrecy in which she made millions, lived the high life and fearlessly took on the Russian and Italian mobs – until she met the one adversary she could not outsmart: the United States government.

 

MOVIE:

Molly's Game

The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

 

What are you reading and watching?

 

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url 2016-03-31 13:16
Young Adult Adaptations That Will Become Successful

As the release dates for the adaptations of the final books in The Maze Runner series and the Divergent trilogy approach, people are hungry for the successor to the young adult franchise throne. After The 5th Wave movie adaptation yielded less than expected in the box office, some film analysts have written that no YA adaptation could truly follow in the footsteps of The Hunger Games, Twilight, and Harry Potter and that the young adult adaptation market was dead.

It's not.

(Will future films ever reach the level of success that those "Big 3" did? I don't know that anyone can make a prediction of that magnitude, but films like Divergent, Maze Runner, The Fault in Our Stars, If I Stay, Paper Towns, etc. were still considered successful even without becoming a "Big 3." And I do think that future films have, at least, the potential to reach that level of success.)

Most of the aforementioned articles, though intended to analyze the future success of the YA adaptation market, fail to take into account the perspective of its target audience, avid fans of young adult books. While they may not live up to the massive success of Harry Potter, these adaptations have the potential to do well and have even caught the attention of Hollywood studios.

Here's to hoping that they're greenlit soon.

 

 

1. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: Every November on the fictional island of Thisby, its inhabitants compete in a dangerous race riding legendary, deadly water horses.

Movies like War Horse (also an adaptation) and Seabiscuit prove that there are plenty of filmgoers who find stories focusing on horses compelling. Like Stiefvater's writing, the story premise has a cinematic quality, and may appeal to fans of The Hunger Games who don't necessarily want another dystopian tale but appreciate the danger inherent to The Scorpio Races. Stiefvater would appeal to Hollywood backers looking for an already established fandom; she has sold millions of copies of her books and maintains an active online presence. As for merchandise, which has typically been associated with several YA films, I can picture water horse stuffed animals and the ribbons that riders wear sold alongside the t-shirts and artwork that would accompany any film. Stiefvater has also posted a recipe for November cakes, a treat written into the culture of Thisby.

Status: In September 2015, Focus Features announced that Matt Sobel would direct The Scorpio Races based off the screenplay written by Jack Thorne.

2. The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani: Two best friends are kidnapped to attend the legendary School for Good and Evil, which trains its ordinary students to become fairy tale heroes and villains.

Technically, The School for Good and Evil is middle grade, not young adult, but it should still appeal to YA fans, especially given its premise. The success of series like Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles and Sarah Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses prove that the young adult market remains interested in fresh spins on fairy tales while popular TV shows like ABC's Once Upon a Time (now in its sixth season) highlight the interest of a mainstream adult audience. The School for Good and Evil also has its own legion of fans: in a promotional article for the trilogy's conclusion, which was published in July 2015, Publisher's Weekly reported that over 500,000 copies had been sold worldwide. Soman Chainani hosts an online Youtube show, Ever Never TV, to promote the books and interact with his fans.

Status: Universal Studios optioned The School for Good and Evil, but as Chainani wrote on his website this past January, the script is currently being rewritten.

3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson: A girl follows travel instructions written in envelopes from her dead aunt, which she must open one by one, and backpacks through Europe without a cell phone or guidebook.

I was in eighth grade when the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants adaptation was released, and I can still remember my excitement. Capturing a similar adventurous summer feel, 13 Little Blue Envelopes is in the unique position as a YA contemporary novel of appealing to fans who don't want another teary If I Stay or The Fault in Our Stars but who liked the recent journey-focused story in Paper Towns. Fans of 13 Little Blue Envelopes will love watching the characters come to life onscreen while a wider audience, unfamiliar with the novel's contents, will be caught in the suspense of not knowing what instructions the next envelope would contain. All moviegoers can imagine what adventure they would plan or take with their own set of envelopes. As one of the early YA writers and a close friend of YA author celebrity John Green, Maureen Johnson has a significant fanbase that should also draw Hollywood's attention.

Status: In conjunction with New Line Cinema, Alloy Entertainment purchased the rights to develop 13 Little Blue Envelopes as a feature film in April 2015.

4. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: A girl no longer remembers the tragedy that happened at her family's summer home but seeks to discover the truth behind all the lies.

The rich setting -- a private island off the coast of Massachusetts -- calls to mind the previously successful adaptation of Gossip Girl and the notoriety of the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard. Slipping into the lives of the wealthy Sinclairs enables a kind of escapist fantasy even as the truth and the main character's confusion lend a heartbreaking edge to the suspense of what happened two summers ago. Random House came up with a catchy slogan to encompass the fanbase: if anyone asks you how the book ends, just LIE. Like Maureen Johnson, E. Lockhart is a well-established YA author and friends with John Green, whose blurb on the first edition proclaims that We Were Liars is "utterly unforgettable."

Status: Imperative Entertainment hired Stephanie Shannon to write the screenplay in April 2015.

Bonus: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, The Fever by Megan Abbott, This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, The Young Elites by Marie Lu, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Famous in Love by Rebecca Serle, and Just One Day/Year by Gayle Forman are also movie and tv adaptations widely held as promising.

(Ask me more about these, and I'll tell you why ;)).

Bonus (X2): Set for 2016 releases, the tearjerker A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, fan-favorite Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling, and star-studded Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs look like promising adaptations as well. And this year we can prove to all the naysayers of YA and YA films that no, they are not dead even if they don't reach the "Big 3" level of success.

Ah, but now you're asking, "So, Christina, what are you trying to do? Is this a call to action? Is this a letter to studios? Are you updating all of us on the status of these films?"

It sort of is a call to action. I wish studios were listening. Sometimes I think that what gets made into a film, or what's optioned, are things that I can't ever actually imagine playing out on the big screen - like whoever optioned the book wasn't actually envisioning the movie but just keeps hoping for the success of the Big 3.

But I'd like to hope that's not what all the options mean; I'd like to hope that the YA market stays alive and well. I'd like to hope that the movies above will eventually get greenlit, as I think that they particularly would be successful. And I am updating y'all on the status of those adaptations, so that we can all discuss the awesome potential of those adaptations and maybe our collective enthusiasm will push for those books to be made into their respective adaptations. Maybe a studio representative will see this post (ha ha ha), and push for those adaptations as well. Who knows? But above all, I do love to discuss YA books, so let's chat!

Do you think that those adaptations will be successful? What books would you add to the list?

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url 2016-01-30 19:19
Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds (100)

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Holy shit! I've made a 100 of these posts?!

 
Publishing:
Rights Reports 1, 2:

  • The One Memory of Flora Banks - Emily Barr (YA debut; a psychological thriller as well as a coming-of-age novel, starring a protagonist with no short-term memory who must navigate the Arctic landscape of Norway. The book will publish simultaneously in the U.S. and U.K. in January 2017. Philomel).
  • Aftercare Instructions - Bonnie Pipkin (YA debut; The novel, which Sarah Dotts Barley and Caroline Bleeke will edit, follows a 17-year-old girl who is left at Planned Parenthood by her boyfriend after they agree to abort her unwanted pregnancy. Van Beek calls the book a “format-crushing story” that shifts between a traditional narrative and a play. It's tentatively scheduled for 2017; Flatiron).
  • Untitled - Caitlin Sangster (debut YA fantasy and its sequel, both set in a world ravaged by a sleeping sickness, which follows a teen who must escape the only society she's ever known when she's accused of treason. Publication is planned for fall 2017 and fall 2018; Simon Pulse).
  • It Started with Good-bye - Christina June (YA debut; a contemporary twist on the Cinderella tale. Under stepmother-imposed house arrest for the summer, 16-year-old Tatum launches a secret graphic design business and starts an unexpected romance with a cute cello player. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Blink).
  • Epic Kale: and Other Cleanses for a Broken Heart - Lisa Greenwald (in which a newly dumped high school student and her loyal best friend start a healthy smoothie business out of a mobile snow cone truck while catfishing her ex-boyfriend. Publication is set for summer 2017; Random House).
  • Quicksand Pond - Janet Taylor Lisle (a middle grade novel about the summer that 12-year-old Jessie spends with her family on a New England pond, involving a star-crossed friendship, a reclusive old lady with buried secrets, and a decades-old murder. Publication is scheduled for summer 2017; Atheneum).
  • Breakout - Kate Messner (standalone MG; in which a small town is rocked when two inmates from the nearby maximum-security prison stage a breakout and a tween reporter is caught in the maelstrom. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Bloomsbury).
  • The Stars Beneath Our Feet - David Barclay Moore (the middle grade story of a boy growing up in the projects of Harlem who discovers that creativity and an unlikely friendship – rather than revenge – are the best way to grieve his brother's untimely death. Publication is set for fall 2017; Knopf).
  • Walk It Down - Ashley Hope Pérez (Walk It Down concerns the deaths of two teenagers in a corn storage bin in rural Indiana. The boys die – literally drown in grain – doing the dangerous job known as "walking down the corn." A third boy survives, trapped for hours after witnessing the deaths of his brother and best friend. Publication is scheduled for 2018; Dutton Young Readers).
  • Press Start! - Thomas Flintham (4 book series; The story features the adventures of retro video game character Super Rabbit Boy as he tries to save his pixillated world, while remaining unaware that he is being played by a real human boy. Publication for the first book is slated for spring 2017; Scholastic/Branches).
  • The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett - Chelsea Sedoti (YA debut; a darkly comedic mystery featuring a teenage girl and the disappearance of a classmate. It is scheduled for fall 2016 release; Sourcebooks).
  • Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom - Booki Vivat (debut illustrated MG; a humorous, diary-style story of anxious 11-year-old Abbie Wu's middle-school struggles and triumphs. Publication is set for fall 2016; HarperCollins).
  • The Skeleton Tree - Kim Ventrella (debut MG; the story of a boy who finds beauty – and possibly a friend – in death with the help of an unusual tree growing in his backyard. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Scholastic Press).
  • The Fictional and (Sometimes) Fabulous World of Ruby Starr - Deborah Lytton (MG chapter book series which stars an imaginative fourth grader. The first book is set for spring 2017, with the others scheduled to appear a year apart. Sourcebooks).
  • Sea Otter Heroes - Patricia Newman (MG science title shows how sea otters play a critical role in keeping the ecosystem in balance. Millbrook Press. Publication for the first book is slated for spring 2017…)
  • Zoo Scientists - Patricia Newman (MG science title profiles what three zoos are doing to help save endangered animals...with the second for fall 2017; Millbrook Press).
  • The Adventures of Sherlock Bones - Lauren Baratz-Logsted (a chapter book series; The first two books, to be published simultaneously, are Case File #1: Dogged to Death and Case File #2: Doggone. Each book is a retelling of a different Arthur Conan Doyle tale featuring a dog as Sherlock Holmes. Books one and two will release in September 2016; Month9Books).
 
Nothing from last week.

Awards: The 2016 People’s Choice Awards have a Young Adult category (aka go vote!). Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely won the 2016 Walter Dean Myers award for All American Boys. J.K. Rowling will be receiving the 2016 PEN award for her work against censorship. The 2016 Hans Christian Andersen shortlist was announced. Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engel won the 2016 Charlotte Zolotow Award.

You can also nominate your favorite teen reads for the Teen Choice Book of the Year Award until February 2, 2016.

Authors: Bookishly Ever After - Isabel Bandeira, The Distance from A to Z - Natalie Blitt, Secrets of the Dragon Tomb - Patrick Samphire, Gemini - Sonya Mukherjee, Poppy Mayberry, the Monday - Jennie K. Brown, The Love That Split the World - Emily Henry (and another), Pull - Anne Riley, Salt to the Sea - Ruta Sepetys, The Dark Days Club - Alison Goodman,Symptoms of Being Human - Jeff Garvin, Lady Midnight - Cassandra Clare, American Ace - Marilyn Nelson

Excerpts: Blackhearts - Nicole Castroman, Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard (chpt 4-7)

Book Trailers: After the Woods - Kim Savage, Pull - Anne Riley, The Siren - Kiera Cass

Multicultural children’s book day is today!

This eleven year old Jersey girl was tired of not seeing herself in books and is now launching the 1000BlackGirls book drive. As of that article, she was at 400 of her 1,000 books. If you’d like to contribute, there is an address at the bottom of the article;Kelly Jensen is also offering to use her knowledge of books featuring black girls.

Unsurprisingly, the diversity in the publishing industry is not great. (“While the lack of diversity among publishing staff was often spoken about, there was very little hard data about who exactly works in publishing…”). You should definitely read the full article and check out the infographic -- they talk more about the challenges of their survey, including the limitations of the U.S. Census (e.g. racial fluidity vs. ‘check this bubble!’), and questions about how these numbers compare to the rest of the world and whether certain areas of publishing (editorial staff) were more open to diversity than others (marketing/publicity). Really fascinating -- if there’s one link to read, read that.

Apparently some free speech groups condemned Scholastic’s pulling of the George Washington cake book. Daniel Older, among others, discusses those groups’ reactions and why Scholastic’s decision to pull the book was appropriate; no text is sacred and context matters. And, as NPR reports, picture books struggle with teaching kids about slavery (aka a further discussion on the book and others… “So the reality is that while kids are already grappling with some of the world's ugliness, she said, adults are still clinging to a Victorian ideal of an innocent child… We must keep the dirty secrets of our society away from those kids. And I think that kids are seeing those contradictions.”). Here was Scholastic’s response to PEN and NCAC.

I don’t tend to read picture books, but this analysis of Last Stop on Market Street and why it won the Newbery makes me want to reconsider that position.

This week is #ILoveMG week run by Workman (i.e. Algonquin YR), and if you’re on twitter, check out the topics for the next three days and participate!

Similarly on twitter, last week on the 21st Courtney Summers started #TotheGirls2016 as she had last year, only now you can submit posts to the tumblr page included in the link all year round, even if you missed tweeting.

Omg, I want this to be my cover for A Tyranny of Petticoats. Maybe like an alternate slip-on cover? I love the original, and I love this artwork too o.OO.

Likewise, look at the art Jenny Han had done in celebration of the pb release for To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

Once J.K. Rowling turned her focus back to Harry Potter (i.e. Cursed Child, Fantastic Beasts), sales of the books more than doubled.

The hot and cold categories of kidlit: what sold in 2015.

Also the bookselling effects of winning the Printz and Newbery: “Print unit sales of Matt de la Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson, are up 677% over last week, and Bone Gap by Laura Ruby enjoyed a 264% bump.”

Congrats to Matt de la Pena for debuting on the Indie Bestsellers list. And congrats to these 100 bestselling books of 2015, according to USA Today. Lots of YA on that list.

World Read Aloud Day is February 24, 2016. Take Your Child to the Library Day is February 6, 2016. Mark ‘em in your calendars, folks.

The next Rae Carson book in the Gold Seer trilogy is called Like a River Glorious.

Transgender teen star, Jazz Jennings, is publishing her own memoir.

A new Beatrix Potter book will be published this fall.

Kate DiCamillo’s Raymie Nightingale is the first children’s literature book selected for One Book, One South. (In addition to a 20-city author tour and appearances at key trade conferences, Candlewick has partnered with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance to introduce One Book, One South, Jr.)

Kwame Alexander: the ‘Say-Yes’ Guy (“He described how he went from signing 100 books over the course of a weekend to signing 600 books in two-and-a-half hours at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla., to encourage booksellers to become “say yes” people, too.”) -- I loved this article.

And I wish that I had PW access so that I could read about how independent bookstores are hand-selling diverse titles -- how booksellers are key to helping make diversity the new normal.

Curious what publishers will be emphasizing come fall 2016? Here are the fall children’s sneak previews.

Macmillan's Imprint Acquires Digital Tween Property 'SpacePop' (“Imprint, a new imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, has acquired the global master publishing rights to SpacePop, a series of digitally distributed animated shorts, from Genius Brands International.”).

Cover Reveals:

Spot the Difference - Juno Dawson, UK
Midnight without a Moon - Linda Williams Jackson
Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen - Jazz Jennings

Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

If you’re looking to read more books by or about people of color, here are four coming out in February alone.

Looking for some time-bending books to read in 2016? Or maybe you want to read a YA book featuring a scary Artificial Intelligence villain? How about the top recommended African-American children’s books? Or books to read after you’ve watched the 5th Wave?

If you’re like me, there are probably a lot of books that went under your radar last year. Here are 15 books that you might have missed but that come highly recommended from B&N Teen.

Coming of Age, Universality, and Diverse Reads (“One of the most common rebuttals people hear to publishing or selling or promoting diverse literature is that the stories are too specific, or there aren’t enough of “those people in the community” to warrant selling / having the book, essentially that the stories aren’t universal...It’s a disconnect and a fallacy. What people love so much about coming-of-age stories is their universality. We can all relate to the trials and tribulations of growing up and finding yourself, of being in that state of anxiety and confusion. The only difference is some stories are about straight, white characters growing up, and the “diverse” titles are about everyone else.”) 100% agree.

An article about why posts saying you’re not going to read white men this year are meaningless - I found this interesting because I actually like those posts, I like how they’re challenging me too to be a better ally, but I also think the main point is important here too: “If only it were possible to do something good and rewarding without publicly prioritizing what effect that act has on you...I think that these pieces, now, at the dawn of 2016, are dead in the water. I have yet to read a single one that does not arrive at and nearly reinforce the same conclusions that prompted it. We know that white male writers take up too much literary attention; the solution is not necessarily jamming everyone else into a bottle of social justice cough syrup, standing on a soap box, and gulping it all down.”

8 John Green tropes and what they really mean - I could get on board with some of these but not all. I was discussing this with a friend and we both agreed that we want to see less talk of subverting the MPDG trope; most often “subversion” means realizing that the MPDG is a person. Subversion should mean actually telling the story of the MPDG (with her voice! not having the guy character have more insights in his own life about personhood via the MPDG). But that’s not what really happens, most of the time.

According to Teen Vogue, these are the best new YA books of 2016.

According to Pop Sugar, you’ll love these YA books no matter your age.

The Young Adult Fiction Sexual Revolution Is Necessary - I love that this article mentions the portrayal of sex in The Duff, and uses that as a springboard to look at how portrayals have changed and where they still need to go.

DON’T READ THIS NEXT BIT IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN SEASON 2 OF THE 100! I have blacked out the text in case...
The 100 as the Show That’s Breaking New Ground for Queer Representation (“It’s rare and laudable for a series to embrace diverse sexual identities in a way that puts them at the forefront of the story without making sexuality the dominant theme of the narrative. But, as Rothenberg notes, it’s also a factor of the setting in which the series takes place. The world of The 100 is one without sexual orientation, in part because it’s a world where homophobia doesn’t exist — survivors have bigger concerns than other people’s relationships.”)
(spoiler show)

Are you anticipating reading these books in February?

Dear friends, there is no world outside of books.

Quotes for animal lovers!

If you use Google Friend Connect to follow blogs without a Google account, you will need to refollow those blogs.

A teen blogger on things that she believes only happen in YA books: #OnlyinYA.

'Trendy' books: should we really be following the crowd? Hmm. I know people tend to get sucked in via hype, but I don’t know that I can think of trends that have really dominated YA such that everyone wanted to jump the bandwagon. Maybe a couple years back and John Green though.

Books that empower kids to stand up and speak out. The only YA/teen book I knew of there was Chelsea Clinton’s. I’d love to see more lists like this.

These books always put these women in a good mood. YASSSS to The Thief series! It’s interesting to me to see the number of kidlit books on that list. The stuff you read early, you never forget.

An interesting look at how YA adaptations are changing, becoming potentially more pessisimistic than they previously were.

Favorite teachers in kidlit books. Can we add Umbridge to this list? (Jk).

Movies & TV Shows:

Here’s where I admit to having failed. I did not know that Recovery Road was a book. I actually didn’t hear much at all aboutRecovery Road as a YA tv book adaptation; for all the adaptation news that I’ve covered, not until now has it come to my attention, which is a total shame. How did I miss that adaptation? How was it so rarely on any of the anticipated lists, if not having casting announced? *sigh* Well, you may have missed the premiere but you can still catch up with the show, first season and all.

Heyhey, apparently they’ve started filming for Ashes in the Snow / Between Shades of Gray, and it is cold. Here’s a set of pictures for filming with a sunrise drone and another set on the first day of filming.

In the round-up of photos from continuing tv show adaptations: pictures from The Vampire Diaries 7.10, Pretty Little Liars 6.13, The 100 3.2.

Disney released the first The BFG (by Roald Dahl) poster.

A new trailer has been released for Allegiant Part I (by Veronica Roth). You can check out the character graphic for Caleb as well.

On the set of Before I Fall, the actresses playing Sam and her sister.

The 5th Wave did okay in theaters - not as well as some other YA adaptations but perhaps this is because of the Blizzard??? But you’ve got some sites predicting YA adaptations are done.

A Little House on the Prairie movie is in the works at Paramount.

The Looking for Alaska movie adaptation may never happen.

Giveaways:

Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaway(s).

Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.

Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.

Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.

If you have a giveaway, you should let me know.

Other:

New YA Releases: The Siren - Kiera Cass (rerelease), The Love That Split the World - Emily Henry, Rise of the Wolf - Jennifer Nielsen, The Possibility of Now - Kim Culbertson, Night Study - Maria Snyder, Front Lines - Michael Grant, I’m from Nowhere - Suzanne Myers, I See Reality: Twelve Short Stories about Real Life, The Morrighan’s Curse - Dianna Salerni, The Year We Fell Apart - Emily Martin, It’s All Your Fault - Paul Rudnick, The Prophecy of Shadows - Michelle Madow, The Mystery of Hollow Places - Rebecca Podos, Arrows - Melissa Gorzelanczyk, Anna and the Swallow Man - Gavriel Savit,Shallow Graves - Kali Wallace, The Memory of Light - Francisco X. Stork, Any Other Girl - Rebecca Phillips, Waiting for Callback - Pedita and Honor Cargill (UK).

PB Releases: I Was Here - Gayle Forman, The Mime Order - Samantha Shannon, Beware the Wild - Natalie Parker, A Cold Legacy - Megan Shepherd, Lies We Tell Ourselves - Robin Talley, Saving June - Hannah Harrington, Unleashed - Sophie Jordan, Model Misfit - Holly Smale, Speechless - Hannah Harrington, Dead Ends - Erin Jade Lange, Quake - Patrick Carman,Can’t Look Away - Donna Cooner, The Fire Horse Girl - Kay Honeyman, The Only Thing to Fear - Caroline Tung Richmond,A Wicked Thing - Rhiannon Thomas.

Recent Recommended Reads: Haven’t gotten to anything yet! But you can read about the 2016 YA books (non-debuts) that I want to read.

Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.
 
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url 2016-01-26 13:37
Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds (99)

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

 

Publishing:
Rights Report:

 

  • Lilly and Fin - Cornelia Funke, translated by Oliver Latsch (a story of two merkids who must avoid capture by a human couple who collect rare aquatic creatures. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Random House).
  • Impassioned - Rebecca Ross (a debut fantasy inspired by Renaissance France about the bastard granddaughter of an Earl embroiled in a plot to dethrone the king. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; HarperTeen).
  • The Disappearances - Emily Bain Murphy (debut YA; The novel follows a teen girl who moves to her recently deceased mother's hometown and discovers that every seven years it is cursed to lose the experiences that weave life together – the stars in the sky, the sound of music, the ability to dream – and that her mother may be to blame. Publication is set for spring 2017; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
  • The Inevitable Collision of Birdie + Bash - Candace Ganger (debut YA about two teens who fall in love not knowing of their connection to a horrific accident. The book is planned for publication in spring/summer 2017; St. Martin's).
  • Things We Haven't Said - Erin E. Moulton (a YA anthology. It will be a collection of true stories from survivors of sexual violence, geared toward empowering teens of today who are facing similar situations; contributors include Melissa Marr, Carrie Jones, and Cheryl Rainfield. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Zest Books).
  • The House of Months and Years - Emma Trevayne (MG; 10-year-old Amelia Howling doesn’t feel at home in her new house or with her newly enlarged family, but her parents' preoccupation with her orphaned cousins at least allows her the time to uncover the dwelling's secrets. The house is a calendar house – an architectural oddity designed to reflect lengths of time – but within the 12 rooms and behind the 52 windows, Amelia and her family are not alone. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Simon & Schuster).
  • Goyle, Guardian - Paul Durham (MG novels set in modern-day Boston. The darkly humorous fantasy adventures feature a 130-year-old-gargoyle whose human form is that of a 12-year-old boy. Publication is set for 2018; Crown Books for Young Readers).
  • Spectrum - Ginger Johnson (debut; a middle grade novel about a boy who can see all the colors of the spectrum in a world of black and white. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Bloomsbury).
  • Dreaming in Code: Ada Byron Lovelace, Computer Pioneer - Emily Arnold McCully (middle grade biography; the daughter of Lord Byron, Ada's wild amalgam of mathematics and poetry gave her uncanny vision into the future. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Candlewick).

 

From last week:

 

  • Henry & Eva - Andrea Portes (MG modern gothic series is set in Big Sur and follows the titular brother and sister as they attempt to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Publication of the first book is scheduled for winter 2018; HarperCollins).
  • Truth Is - Amanda Searcy (debut; a psychological thriller following two teen girls, one from a Texas border town hoping to outrun her past and another who fears for her future in a public housing complex; when their worlds collide, only one girl will make it out alive. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Delacorte).
  • The others still weren’t posted.

 

Awards: I’d highly suggest you check last week’s post, since it had lots and lots and lots of awards and lists thanks to the ALA Youth Media Award announcements. Lee and Low announced their New Voices Award Winner, 2016 Edward Award Nominees (In YA: Endangered by Lamar Giles, A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis, The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, Ask the Dark by Henry Turner), the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award winners (YA: The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz), the 2015 National Jewish Book Award winners (children’s literature: Oskar and the Eight Blessings - Tanya Simon and Richard Simon, illus by Mark Siegel).

You can also nominate your favorite teen reads for the Teen Choice Book of the Year Award until February 2, 2016.

Excerpts: Gertie’s Leap to Greatness - Kate Beasley, The Publisher’s Marketplace YA Spring/Summer Buzz Books Excerpts (including The Raven King, among many others!)

Authors: Underwater - Marisa Reichardt, Lizzie and the Lost Baby - Cheryl Blackford, Sticks and Stones - Abby Cooper, Ivory and Bone - Julie Eshbaugh, the 100 - Kass Morgan, Burn - Elissa Sussman, The Love That Split the World - Emily Henry, The Radiant Road - Katherine Catmull

Book Trailers: After the Woods - Kim Savage (teaser trailer; full to come on 1/22), Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

Multicultural Children’s Day, aka January 27, is coming up soon.

Epic Reads made a recording for the song inside The Siren by Kiera Cass.

Algonquin YR, specifically Workman, has announced a new campaign: I Love MG. On Twitter, they’ll be discussing it January 25-29. → AKA next week! Be on the lookout for #ILoveMG.

Ethnically diverse writers writing for the ages of 8-14 should check out Penguin Random House’s Roll of Thunder Publishing Contest; submissions will start in April.

Simon Teen’s community, Pulseit, has announced the creation of RivetedLit, which is launching in February and focused on YA lit. ← repeating this because I made an error last week when I had first posted the news. RivetedLit is publisher neutral!! PulseIt may have announced the news, but Riveted is still pub neutral!

If you’re looking to keep track of YA debuts releasing in February, here’s a great calendar made by the Sweet Sixteeners.

Lots and lots of YA books being published in January - March 2016, but another great list to help you keep track of them!

If you want to read more books written by diverse authors, you can also read backlist titles in 2016. Here’s a list of 2015 books written by diverse authors.

The Mellon grant from a joined force of five university presses: “A four-year, $682,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded to the University of Washington will help four university presses and the AAUP create a pipeline program to diversify academic publishing by offering apprenticeships in acquisitions departments.”

YES YES YES, the non-white Nancy Drew is actually happening for the tv show adaptation: “But the prospect of a non-white Nancy Drew points to one possible upside to the reboot/remake/revival madness: It opens up the chance for old, beloved stories to be told again with more diverse characters in the spotlight.”

The Diversity Myth: Where Have all the Black Editors Gone? (“Much like this year’s blindingly white selection of Oscar nominees, the overt lack of diverse representation in the publishing world isn’t limited to authors and their books. The Black editor attempting to navigate the intricacies of the corporate publishing system is, by default, a unicorn, simply because Black voices are routinely undervalued and dismissed. In the eyes of white publishing, the universality of a narrative is dependent upon its connection to whiteness.”)

Black Women Writers are also invisible in publishing, but Glory Edim is looking to change that, in part with #WellReadBlackGirl.

It may no longer be Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but you can definitely still check out these recommendations.

Scholastic will no longer be publishing/distributing “A Birthday Cake for George Washington,” and relatedly, Salon discussessmiling slaves at storytime and the need for greater publishing diversity.

A publisher for fangirls by fangirls, with regard to science fiction. (“Mrs. Eckstein started her company, Her Universe, in 2009 after searching for a Star Wars T-shirt at a comic book convention. Unable to find anything suited for women...target an overlooked consumer… Now, Mrs. Eckstein sees another opportunity, this time as a publisher of sci-fi novels written by women.”).

In case you didn’t already know, Alan Rickman passed away last week.

Woohoo! Children’s bookstores got a boost this holiday, with many stores reporting a significant increase in sales, a 7.5%, actually, increase in November.

A Growing (and Fragmented) Children’s Book Market in India (“Currently, the Indian book market is the sixth-largest in the world (valued at $3.9 billion, according to Nielsen) and the second-largest in terms of English-language market (after the U.S.). There are about 10,000 active publishers served by a complex (and often struggling) distribution network, and hindered by rampant piracy (with copies abounding at neighborhood stalls).”)

And news from Canada’s publishing industry, including giving a popular children’s book to Syrian refugees.

A recap of the Diversity in YA panel at ALA Midwinter 2016 from Publisher’s Weekly: “arguably the most well-attended was the YA panel on diversity, which was organized by We Need Diverse Books...The panelists discussed their latest projects, writing diverse characters when one isn’t a member of the group, and how librarians can help create more inclusive collections.“

A brief summary of author and industry events last week.

Wow, did you know that Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard has sold over 157k print units?

And did you know that these YA audiobooks were narrated by celebrities?

Cover Reveals:

*Not really sure if YA/MG(?)


You can vote on the cover for the novella, Iron to Iron, set in the Wolf by Wolf series by Ryan Graudin.

Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

Choosing your next read based on your Hogwarts House: I am such a sucker for these kind of posts, and I will admit, that as a Hufflepuff, I did love Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Oooh, more coloring books for YA: which ones would you like to see adapted into that format?

13 of B&N Teen’s Most Anticipated Science Fiction in 2016: yesssssss, please keep these posts coming. I didn’t know that half of these were science fiction works, and I find it interesting too that there doesn’t appear to be as clear of a pattern among them for sci fi covers (vs. say, contemp covers).

Don’t measure your age in terms of Harry Potter facts; you’ll only feel old.

12 of B&N Teen’s Most Anticipated Indie Books of 2016: YES can we all agree that A Fierce and Subtle Poison sounds AWESOME?

Are you an American Horror Story fan? These recs are for you. Or books for Agent Carter fans! Or maybe you really likedAmerican Girl Dolls growing up -- more books for you too! (I wasn’t a doll girl, but I did read a lot of the novels and loooooved them. Josefina and Kit are strongest in my mind still).

That time when your bag was too small to carry all the books you wanted and you had to decide between the books or the bag.

Get hyped for The 5th Wave adaptation this Friday with some memorable quotes from the book!

Looking for female-driven YA novels? Or perhaps the conclusion to these series ending in 2016? Or books that give #tbt new meaning? And of course, the award #winners soon to be on your shelf?

I want this typographic bookshelf so badly.

J.K. Rowling will always have amazing quotes and life truths to share.

Movies/TV Shows:

2016 is poised to have a lot of adaptations, so to make it easier on all of us trying to keep track, I made a calendar of adaptations (w/ their release dates) that I thought were relevant to the YA community.

The Shadowhunters TV show appears to be doing fairly well: its premiere was ABC Family’s top series debut in 2 years (aka Pretty Little Liars). You can check out the episode stills for episode 3, Dead Man’s Party.

Looks like we might be getting another Narnia Movie! The Silver Chair may be headed our way soon.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is getting an eight episode tv series in Canada with the CBC. That’s really interesting to me since Anne of Green Gables the movie is supposed to release in 2016 (potentially internationally + U.S.?). I guess double the exposure for any adaptation?

You can check out the full cast for the Broadway musical, Tuck Everlasting.

Ahh, the 5th Wave is premiering this Friday! Check out all these clips: Fan Premiere Recap, Featurette: Meet Evan, Featurette: Meet Cassie, Featurette: Meet Dumbo, Featurette: Meet Flinstone, Featurette: Meet Poundcake, Featurette: Meet Ringer,Featurette: Meet Zombie, “Squad,” and “Chase.”

The School for Good and Evil script is currently being revised.

Lots of pics from Ruta Septys about Ashes in the Snow / Between Shades of Gray as they’re building the set: labor camp set, a look into costume design, film production design pics.

Neil Patrick Harris is playing Count Olaf in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (!!!).

Guillermo Del Toro is in development of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adaptation.

Giveaways:

Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaway(s).

Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.

Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.

Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.

If you have a giveaway, you should let me know.

Other:

*In my previous “how to” post, I listed other blogger’s features for how I keep track of new releases. Today and future posts will likely rely on the Hot Off the Press posts by Josephine at Word Revel, a fantastic blogger running an excellent series of posts.

New YA Releases: Sword and Verse - Kathy MacMillan, The Radiant Road - Katherine Catmull, Burn - Elissa Sussman, The Heir and the Spare - Emily Albright, Up to This Pointe - Jennifer Longo, We Are the Ants - Shaun David Hutchinson, Identity Crisis - Melissa Schorr, Bookishly Ever After - Isabel Bandeira, The Isle - Jordana Frankel, Sanctuary Bay - Laura J. Burns, Melinda Metz, Shade Me - Jennifer Brown, Will to Survive - Eric Walters, The Capture - Tom Isbell, Concentrat8 - William Sutcliffe (rerelease), My Second Life - Faye Bird (rerelease)

PB releases: Four: A Divergent Collection - Veronica Roth, Kalahari - Jessica Khoury, The Darkest Part of the Forest - Holly Black, Stray - Elissa Sussman, The Way We Bared Our Souls - Willa Strayhorn, Polaris - Mindee Arnett, The Prey - Tom Isbell,The Five Stages of Andrew Barley - Shaun David Hutchinson, Alex as Well - Alyssa Brugman.

And two more links: a.) here’s a HUGE round-up of YA books that are being published or have been published from January - March of 2016. b.) here’s a calendar of kidlit debuts being published in February if you’d like to keep track.

Recent Recommended Reads: Most of what I’ve read as of late == romance novels or adult fiction. Stuff I won’t write a review for. But you can read about the 2016 YA Debuts on My TBR List. I also discussed booktubing and blogging, and the skills I’ve gained from both this week.

Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.

 

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url 2016-01-14 20:44
Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds (98)

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Hi! Today’s post is going to be really long in the publishing section because of recent award announcements. I don’t expand on “best of” lists, but the ALA Youth Media awards are among the most important for kidlit, so I thought that y’all would like to see all the books listed out instead of going the lists yourselves.

 

Publishing
Rights Report 1 & 2:

 

  • Henry & Eva - Andrea Portes (MG modern gothic series is set in Big Sur and follows the titular brother and sister as they attempt to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Publication of the first book is scheduled for winter 2018; HarperCollins).
  • Truth Is - Amanda Searcy (debut; a psychological thriller following two teen girls, one from a Texas border town hoping to outrun her past and another who fears for her future in a public housing complex; when their worlds collide, only one girl will make it out alive. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Delacorte).
  • Hidden - Miriam Halahmy (a novel about two teenagers facing homelessness. Publication is set for spring 2016; Holiday House).
  • Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain - Zac Gorman (middle grade illustrated fantasy series; In the series, a 12-year-old-girl becomes gamekeeper at a massive dungeon full of monsters and winds up having to save the princess when a royal tour goes awry. Publication is planned for winter 2018; HarperCollins).
  • The Super Happy Party Bears series - Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Steve James (These chapter books explore the hijinks of the unrepentantly cheery Bears as they annoy everyone in the Grumpy Woods – yet save the day with a party. Publication of the first two titles is scheduled for fall 2016; Macmillan/Imprint).
  • Rowan Oakwing: A London Fairy Tale - Ed Clarke (an early middle grade novel about a girl who discovers the secret world of fairies hidden in London's parks. Publication is slated for summer 2017; S&S/Aladdin).
  • Boy Robot - Simon Curtis (Boy Robot is the first in a planned science fiction trilogy that follows a group of synthetic cell human teens with special abilities as they fight against the government organization that created them and now wants to destroy them. Publication is scheduled for November 15, 2016; Simon Pulse).
  • Gem & Dixie - Sara Zarr (Gem & Dixie is about two sisters who leave home for a road trip when their deadbeat father tries to reinsert himself into their lives. Publication is set for winter 2017; HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray).
  • Fakespeare - M.E. Castle (In the MG series, a cast of children gets lost in Shakespeare's classic plays where they must deal with villains, ghosts, mysterious odors, and split tights, among other dangers. The first two installments, which will be illustrated by Daniel Jennewein, will tackle Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Publication for both books is slated for summer 2017; Macmillan/Imprint).
  • The Forgetting - Sharon Cameron (about a place where, every 12 years, every person forgets everything – life, loves, and self – unless it is written; books are worn tied to the body at all times. But Nadia knows who hasn't written the truth because Nadia is the only person who has never forgotten. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Scholastic Press).
  • Felix Yz - Lisa Bunker (MG novel which takes the form of blog entries written by a boy accidentally fused with a fourth-dimensional being, set during the last month before an experimental procedure which will either separate them or kill them both. Publication is scheduled for summer 2017; Viking).
  • The Star Thief - Lindsey Becker (debut; a middle grade fantasy adventure in which an orphaned girl is caught in the crossfire of a feud between a master of mythical constellations and the captain of a spectacular flying steamship – and doesn't know whose side to join. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Little, Brown).
  • Buried Lives: Slaves of George Washington's Mount Vernon - Carla Killough McClafferty (Buried Lives will bring to light the forgotten lives of the slaves owned by Washington for a middle-grade audience. Publication is tentatively set for fall 2017; Holiday House).

 

Jodi Meadows’s new fantasy trilogy about a girl stripped from her political family and imprisoned, her fellow inmates who know more than they say, and a dangerous secret about illegal dragon trafficking that might be her only hope of escape, to Katherine Tegen Books (announcement from here).

Nothing from last week.

Excerpts: Heartless - Marissa Meyer, The Problem with Forever - Jennifer Armentrout, Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard, Up to This Pointe - Jennifer Longo, Star Struck - Jenny McLachlan

Authors: Passenger - Alexandra Bracken, Front Lines - Michael Grant, The Way Back to You - Michelle Andreani, How It Ends - Catherine Lo, Firsts - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Bounders - Monica Tesler, an open mic with many different authors who talk about their personal experiences on B&N Teen, Chris Grabenstein, Last Stop on Market Street - Matt de la Peña and here with Publisher’s Weekly (he’s the first Hispanic author to win the Newbery and the book is the second picture book to receive the award), Laura Ruby on winning the Printz for Bone Gap, and Sophie Blackall on winning the Caldecott

Awards/Lists: The 2015 Middle East Book Award Winners, The 2016 Amelia Bloomers List,Teen Vogue’s Best 7 YA Books to Read Right Now, the ALA 2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers winners were announced (and in the top ten of those quick picks, for fiction: Red Queen; The Iron Trial; Zeroboxer; Dumplin’; The Silence of Six; Shadowshaper; Nimona; Everything, Everything.). Also ALA’s 2016 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Readers (in the top ten for fiction: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich, read by Charlotte Parry and Christian Coulson; Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, read Mark Bramhall, David De Vries, Macleod Andrews, and Rebecca Soler; Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, read by Kyla Garcia; Half Wild by Sally Green, read by Carl Prekopp; Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01 by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, read by Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Jonathan McClain; Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray, read by January LaVoy; Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs, read by Kirby Heyborne; Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne; Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger, read by Moira Quick) and the 2016 Rainbow List were announced (In the top ten for fiction: Polonsky, Ami. Gracefully Grayson;Selznick, Brian. The Marvels; Albertalli, Becky. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda; Mesrobian, Carrie. Cut Both Ways; Reid, Raziel. When Everything Feels Like the Movies; Scelsa, Kate. Fans of the Impossible Life; Stetz-Waters, Karelia. Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before). Also the ALA 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults List (top ten include: Albertalli, Becky. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda; Bardugo, Leigh. Six of Crows; Brooks, Kevin. The Bunker Diary; Crowder, Melanie. Audacity; Older, Daniel José. Shadowshaper; Reynolds, Jason. The Boy in the Black Suit; Ruby, Laura. Bone Gap; Shabazz, Ilyasah and Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel; Shusterman, Neal. Challenger Deep; Silvera, Adam. More Happy than Not.). And the ALA 2016 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults List (top ten fiction include: Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls; Bracken, Alexandra. The Darkest Minds; Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days; Jamieson, Victoria. Roller Girl; Kuehn, Stephanie. Charm & Strange; Lewis, John, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. March 1; Maberry, Jonathan. Rot & Ruin; Meyer, Marissa. Cinder; Mullin, Mike. Ashfall; Yolen, Jane. Briar Rose).

The 2015 Epic Reads Book Shimmy Award Winners: Best of Shelf: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas; The Pagemaster: Sarah J. Maas; New Kid on the Shelf: Sabaa Tahir; Cover Lust: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard; We Need Diverse Books: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh; Mental Health Matters: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven; Here and Now Award: PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han; Reality Bites Award: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard; Hot Under the Cover Award: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas; World Series Champ: The Selection series by Kiera Cass; Blast from the Past Award: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson; The Retelling Award: Winter by Marissa Meyer; Epic Adaptations: Mockingjay Part 2; Most Anticipated Award: The Crown by Kiera Cass; Book Nerd of the Year: Sasha ofyoutube.com/abookutopia.

Here’s a round-up from Time about the ALA Youth Media Award Winners and one from CNN and one from Publisher’s Weekly, if you don’t want to read the full list below. The ALA Youth Media Award Winners:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: “Last Stop on Market Street,” written by Matt de la Peña, is the 2016 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Christian Robinson. Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: “The War that Saved My Life,” written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley; “Roller Girl,” written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson; and “Echo,” written by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: “Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear,” illustrated by Sophie Blackall, is the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Troy Andrews; “Waiting,” illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes; “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford; and “Last Stop on Market Street,” illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de le Peña.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: “Gone Crazy in Alabama,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia, is the King Author Book winner. Three King Author Honor Books were selected: “All American Boys,” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely; “The Boy in the Black Suit,” by Jason Reynolds and “X: A Novel,” by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: “Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore,” illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and “Last Stop on Market Street,” illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Peña.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award: “Hoodoo,” written by Ronald L. Smith, is the Steptoe author award winner.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award: “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is the Steptoe illustrator award winner.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Jerry Pinkney is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: “Bone Gap,” written by Laura Ruby, is the 2016 Printz Award winner. Two Printz Honor Books also were named: “Out of Darkness,” by Ashley Hope Pérez and “The Ghosts of Heaven,” by Marcus Sedgwick.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: “Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah,” written by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls... wins the award for children ages 0 to 10. “Fish in a Tree,” written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and “The War that Saved My Life,” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley...are the winners of the middle-school (ages 11-13). The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B,” written by Teresa Toten.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences: “All Involved,” by Ryan Gattis, “Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Bones & All,” by Camille DeAngelis, “Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits,” by David Wong, “Girl at War,” by Sara Nović, “Half the World,” by Joe Abercrombie, “Humans of New York: Stories,” by Brandon Stanton, “Sacred Heart,” by Liz Suburbia, “Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League,” by Dan-el Padilla Peralta, & “The Unraveling of Mercy Louis,” by Keija Parssinen.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video: Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producer of “That Is NOT a Good Idea,” is the Carnegie Medal winner.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The 2016 winner is Jerry Pinkney.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: David Levithan is the 2016 Edwards Award winner.

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site. Jacqueline Woodson will deliver the 2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States: “The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy” is the 2016 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in French in 2014 as “Le merveilleux Dodu-Velu-Petit,” the book was written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. Three Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “Adam and Thomas,” written by Aharon Appelfeld, iIllustrated by Philippe Dumas and translated from the Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green; “Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village,”, written by Fang Suzhen, illustrated by Sonja Danowski and translated from the Chinese by Huang Xiumin; and “Written and Drawn by Henrietta,” written, illustrated and translated from the Spanish by Liniers.

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States: “The War that Saved My Life,” produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, is the 2016 Odyssey Award winner. One Odyssey Honor Recording also was selected: “Echo,” produced by Scholastic Audio/Paul R. Gagne, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and narrated by Mark Bramhall, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews and Rebecca Soler.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: “Drum Dream Girl,” illustrated by Rafael López, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books for illustration were selected: “My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata,” illustrated by Antonio Castro L., written by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford; “Mango, Abuela, and Me,” illustrated by Angela Dominguez, written by Meg Medina and “Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award: “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir,” written by Margarita Engle, is the Belpré Author Award winner. Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: “The Smoking Mirror,” written by David Bowles; and “Mango, Abuela, and Me,” written by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez.

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: “George,” written by Alex Gino and “The Porcupine of Truth,” written by Bill Konigsberg... are the winners of the 2016 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Awards respectively. Two honor books were selected: “Wonders of the Invisible World,” written by Christopher Barzak and “Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU,” written by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,” written by Becky Albertalli is the 2016 Morris Award winner. Four other books were finalists for the award: “Because You’ll Never Meet Me,” written by Leah Thomas; “Conviction,” written by Kelly Loy Gilbert; “The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly,” written by Stephanie Oakes; and “The Weight of Feathers,” written by Anna-Marie McLemore.

I didn’t go over: YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, and the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award. Also deleted the publisher information from each book, as I figured you’d search for them on Goodreads + elsewhere if interested.

If you’re looking for interviews with some of the winners, check out the authors section above!

We Need Diverse Books announced the winners of its mentorship program: Lisa Braithwaite, nonfiction mentee with Patricia Hruby-Powell; Deirdre D Havelock, picture book mentee with Nikki Grimes; Sun Jones, young adult mentee with Malinda Lo; Charlene Willing-McMannis, middle grade mentee with Margarita Engle, and Jacqueline Alcántara, illustration mentee with Carolyn Dee Flores.

Diversity is not a black and white issue and children’s books shouldn’t present it that way.

Algonquin YR, specifically Workman, has announced a new campaign: I Love MG. On Twitter, they’ll be discussing it January 25-29. ← I have been reposting this little blurb about #ILoveMG for the last couple of weeks, but now Publisher’s Weekly has written an article on the hashtag and campaign! Here’s a #ILoveMG post by a librarian.

Ethnically diverse writers writing for the ages of 10-14 should check out the Roll of Thunder Publishing Contest set for April by Penguin Random House.

The format of the recently announced sci-fi duology by Lauren Oliver sounds intriguing, and in this interview with Publisher’s Weekly, she talks about the big plans HarperCollins has plus the Before I Fall movie.

HarperCollins won the lawsuit over Open Road and is now publishing an ebook of Julie of the Wolves.

Just as children’s books need diversity, so do comic books.

Renee Ahdieh will be writing both stories from The Wrath and the Dawn that readers voted on.

Simon Teen’s community, Pulseit, has announced the creation of RivetedLit, which is launching in February and focused on YA lit.

Cover Reveals:

 


Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

Have you read any of the popular YA books releasing in January?

Why the British tell children’s stories better than Americans -- Me: Why do people make such grand, sweeping statements?

When J.K. Rowling finished Harry Potter, she graffitied a bust of a hotel statue.

It’s all about quotes: sad quotes from your favorite children’s books, quotes on body positivity

Nerdist’s list of 2016 books they can’t wait to read in 2016 features some YA novels. So does Kirkus’s 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2016 and Goodreads’s 15 Highly Anticipated Titles of 2016.

People on tumblr tend to come up with some of the best posts on YA theories and tropes.

Emma Watson is launching her own feminist book club. I love when celebrities tweet about reading books, so more of these please.

Do you think that the focus of YA movies will shift onto contemporaries now that the Hunger Games franchise has ended? (“Needless to say, we’re at the teen movie tipping point...Of course, that’s not to say dystopian teen epics are going away completely (nor should they)...However, since “The Hunger Games” bowed in November, interest has certainly peaked — but has it waned?.. I’d say so. At this point in the zeitgeist, dystopian YA has a tendency to all look the same after a while...There will always be stories about teenagers coming-of-age in a confusing modern world. I would bet my menial life-savings on it. But what makes stories like “Looking For Alaska,” “Eleanor & Park” and Becky Albertalli’s “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” is that they capture what being a teen is really like. The fear and fun and unexplainable sadness and all of the emotions you feel at any given moment.”). Expecting to see more articles like this crop up, especially depending on how new adaptations do in the theater and beyond.

The New York Public Library just revealed a bunch of images for people to use (in memes?), and some of them are really interesting and quite random.

YA readers make New Year’s resolutions in a particular way.

A comic about the reality of reading and its escape.

2016 YA books with utterly irresistible concepts: yeah, I think that I’d agree in general with the title and some books being auto-buy just because of concept. Like The Winner’s Curse and in this list, The Girl from Everywhere among others.

If you’re a Sherlock fan, these recommendations are for you.

14 of B&N Teen’s Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of 2016: one of my New Year’s bookolutions was to read more YA historical fiction, so I am all over this list, especially Salt to the Sea and Outrun the Moon and A Tyranny of Petticoats.

What’s it like when you’re not a debut author anymore? (“Book releases are kind of like human birthdays….And then eventually you get to the age where you forget how old you are and just want to eat pizza in your apartment with your pants off. Depressing? Sure, but at least you made it to another year.– Hannah Moskowitz”)

Oh, that feeling that another book will never be as good.

I frequently link to B&N Teen blog posts here, and here’s a round-up from the editor of their favorite posts of 2015.

You know what’s sad? Carrie Fisher was in the news a bunch before the release of the new Star Wars movie, but I feel like a lot of articles pretty much emphasized how much weight she’d lost instead of how she’s a mental health hero.

Diverse fantasy books that will challenge your idea of fantasy fiction! Hello… list made for me. (“Fantasy recommendation lists are characterized by their safety...More often than not, though, the recommendations that they receive are the same few critically acclaimed authors whose work is all too often presented as representative of the genre. My belief is that Fantasy literature is the perfect lens for readers to challenge our ideas of humanity, violence, society, and power.”)

Attention to Book Nerds Who Like Yoga!

Gayle Forman's books teach you lots of life lessons.

I wrote about my own New Year’s Bookolutions if you’re interested.

Movies/TV Shows:

2016 is poised to have a lot of adaptations, so to make it easier on all of us trying to keep track, I made a calendar of adaptations (w/ their release dates) that I thought were relevant to the YA community.

Did you watch the Shadowhunters tv premiere yesterday? If not, you’ll be able to watch on Netflix today. And here’s something to tide you over for next week: stills from the next episode, The Descent into Hell Is Easy. Plus, you should let me know if these 10 things made it into the show (or were at least hinted at, in the beginning) -- I didn’t have the opportunity to watch yet.

A new poster for The Jungle Book adaptation.

The season 3 extended trailer for 100 was revealed. So was an intense new clip and photo of Clarke, and a clip of Sam Mendeson the show.

New photos and a clip from the 5th Wave, releasing in less than 9 days now.

Another character graphic for Allegiant: Christina.

Giveaways:

Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaway(s).

Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.

Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.

Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.

If you have a giveaway, you should let me know.

Other:

New YA Releases: Teen Frankenstein by Chandler Baker, Other Broken Things by Christa Desir, The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright, The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth, Traveler (Seeker #2) by Arwen Elys Dayton, Zero Day by Jan Gangsei,Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira, The Assassin's Masque (Palace of Spies #3) by Sarah Zettel, Underwater by Marisa Leichhardt, Up From the Sea by Leza Lowitz, American Ace by Marilyn Nelson.

Recent Recommended Reads: You can read my review of The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows. I also just finished reading Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman, which I actually really enjoyed so maybe more on that later?

I went to the launch event for Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, which was a lot of fun. Do y’all ever want me to write up event recaps? I sometimes don’t even really mention them, but if you’re curious enough, I can.

Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.

 

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