Archive for the ‘romance’ Tag
New Books Highlight: Summer Reads
Filed under: New Books | Tags: alaya dawn johnson, celia bryce, dystopian fiction, Realistic Fiction, romance, sarah strohmeyer
Leave a Comment Summer is almost here! Summer Reading has started, school is winding down (okay, exams don’t feel like “winding down” but they do signal the end is near!), and the sun is shining. We could use a few more warm days, but soon enough we’ll be complaining about the temperatures and running inside for the air conditioning. On that note: the library has free air conditioning all summer long. Come hang out when you need a break!
Without further ado, some awesome new summer reads. Pick these up ASAP!
Anthem for Jackson Dawes by Celia Bryce
Ahh first love! Summer is a great time to explore romance, whether fictional or in real life. In Anthem for Jackson Dawes, the first love happens to be between two young cancer patients, Megan and Jackson. Sound familiar? While it does have some similarities to The Fault in Our Stars, this story has a very different feel. Less raw sarcasm, more quiet hope. Jackson is the only other teen in the pediatric cancer ward with Megan, and she takes comfort in his presence as she pushes everyone else out of her life. But every love has an ending, and ends come too fast when you’re sick: when Megan goes back into the real world, she is left only with the memories of Jackson to sustain her and bring her back to life.
Sneak Peek! (from Megan’s anthem to Jackson) “Jackson Dawes. He’s as tall as doors, standing in his battered old hat, singing his battered old songs, slapping his fingers down the length of the stand like an upright bass.” (Text copyright 2013 by Celia Bryce)
How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer
A Cinderella story perfect for the summer months. Cousins Zoe and Jess just landed their dream summer jobs – working at Fairyland Kingdom theme park. With a huge college grant on the line for outstanding interns, Zoe has a lot riding on this summer. But when she’s assigned to “serve” the Queen, and finds herself woefully distracted by all the handsome Princes running around, things do not seem promising. As the title implies, Zoe – and all of us – can’t make every dream come true, even in Fairyland Kingdom, but the tough choices she must make between friends, family, and boys, lead to a happy ending.
Sneak Peek! (from the Prologue) “There was no getting around the fact that Tinker Bell was a little bitch. The tiny, white powder-puff bichon frise with professionally manicured toenails scampered under the thornbush and out of sigh. Aghast, I stared at her diamond-studded collar swinging perilously from her leash like a noose swaying from the gallows.” (Text copyright 2013 by Sarah Strohmeyer)
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
With “summer” right in the title, you know this is a sure bet for a beach read. This incredibly fresh and unique dystopian tale takes us to a futuristic Brazil wherein men are no longer the dominant gender, having been nearly wiped out by a plague 400 years earlier. In the matrilineal society of Palmares Tres, 16-year-old artist June Costa dreams of greatness. Until she becomes entangled in a love affair with this year’s Summer King, Enki, the boy who will be sacrificed at year’s end so the city can continue to thrive. June’s art thrives, and as Enki’s sacrifice draws near, the two escape the political turmoil of their city, risking everything in the process.
Sneak Peek! “When I was eight, my papai took me to the park to watch the king die.” (Text copyright 2013 by Alaya Dawn Johnson)
New Books Highlight: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
After looking at three dystopian books last week – that genre that seems to be taking over the world – let’s look at three brand new books in other genres.
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
With its creepy title, this book sounds like a horror story. It’s really a little fantasy, a little paranormal, a little mythology, a little dystopia, and, yes, a little horror. There’s not just one story here, but there is one story. It’s made up of seven different vignettes – seven interwoven tales set on the same creepy Scandinavian island called Blessed. There are funny things afoot on Blessed, and it appears there have been since the beginning of time. Each piece of the puzzle takes place in a different era, starting in 2073, going back through the 10th century, and ending in time unknown. Fantasy, mythology, and paranormal fiction lovers should pick this up.
Sneak Peek! “The sun does no go down. This is the first thing that Eric Seven notices about Blessed Island. There will be many other strange things that he will notice, before the forgetting takes hold of him, but that will come later.” (Text copyright © 2013 Marcus Sedgwick)
Rory Miller’s life changes forever when she is nearly the victim of a serial killer. She escapes, but she knows who he is and what he almost did to her. She and her family enter Witness Protection, which means starting over in a new place, with a brand new life. Until one of Rory’s new friends goes missing. Has the killer she ran from found her? As teens continue to go missing in Rory’s new home of Juniper Landing, other seem unconcerned, but Rory is determined to track down the truth. If you like a little mystery with your stories, and a little supernatural with your mysteries, check this one out.
Sneak Peek! “His hands felt like ice. He rubbed them together, the dry scratching an even tempo in the otherwise quiet woods.” (Text copyright © 2012 by Alloy Entertainment and Kieran Viola)
Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed
And now for some romance! This is positively Downton Abbey from the perspective of two teens, one a rich young woman, and the other, her ladies’ maid. Lady Ada Averley has just returned from India to her family home at Somerton. A new ladies’ maid is found for her, Rose Cliffe, who is the same age as Ada. The two become close, despite their very different upbringings. Ada finds herself inexplicably involved in a less-than-expected romance with Ravi, an intelligent young Indian man in England to attend Oxford. Forbidden romance, upstairs-downstairs relationships a la Downton, and riveting writing make this a keeper.
Sneak Peek! (from the Prologue) ” Lady Ada Averley leaned on the rail of the steamboat Moldavia, feeling the hum of the ship’s huge engines through the steel, a rhythmic shudder like a giant’s breathing. The black sea glittered with the reflection of the stars above her, and the wind tugged at her had and loosened the dark curls that framed her pale face.” (Text copyright © 2013 by Disney Publishing Worldwide)
712 book club this week!
Thursday is the February meeting of the 712 Book Club for y’all in grades 7-12. We’re reading our way through some different kinds of dystopian fiction, since there’s so much of it and it varies a lot! (Last month was Enclave by Ann Aguirre, which was awesome. The sequel, Outpost, is out now and is similarly great.) Read on to find out why you need to be reading this book right now:
This Thursday, in honor of last week’s Valentine’s Day – a day that celebrates all things chocolate – we’re reading All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin. In the dystopian world that she imagines, food is somewhat limited, water is rationed, phones are strictly landlines and cost a bundle, alcohol is legal for everyone, and coffee and (worst of all) chocolate are utterly illegal.
Anya Balanchine’s family is the Russian mafia and she’s a no-nonsense kind of girl. She runs her family, her immediate family that is, as she is in charge of her sister, brother and ailing grandmother (who was born in 1995, just to give you some idea of when this story takes place), after her father was gunned down when she was young. Even when her older brother, who is mentally handicapped, is recruited to work for “the family” under somewhat suspect terms, and she gets sent to jail for dishing out poisoned chocolate, Anya keeps it together. Nothing can cause her to waver from the path of doing what’s right for her family and friends. Luckily for us, there is a forbidden romance in Anya’s future. It might be the only thing that can shake up her cynical, overly practical worldview and let her change her life, and that of those around her, for the better.
The world is not an easy place in this dystopian version of New York City, yet the cool thing about Zevin’s futuristic NYC is that the government’s corruption and distorted sense of rules and regulations have meant that life is sort of a throwback. There are no hover cars or people living on the moon, because dystopia means that people really just live harshly. The rules are strict, and so just like in historic times, such as the Prohibition Era in the 20s, people find a way to get around them. There are speakeasies. And weirdly harsh prisons. Teens get “high” on coffee and chocolate, but don’t like the taste of alcohol, which is legal for everyone, so don’t drink it much.
It’s a really cool example of the dystopian idea that is everywhere in books these days. More like the sci-fi dystopian classic Fahrenheit 451 than the more violent and dark books like The Hunger Games, it’s realistic fiction zoomed into a future gone a bit wrong.
Come chat about it over pizza and chocolate (which is legal here, thank goodness) this Thursday!
New Books Highlight: Romance, or not
Valentine’s Day is over, but why not look at some romances? Are you gagging right now? Okay, then I’ll throw in a totally anti-romantic one, too. This week, two love-centric books and one that is guaranteed to make you forget about romance and that stupid person you have a crush on who does not know you exist.
Kiss & Make Up by Katie D. Anderson
For Emerson and her BFF Trina, this is the Year of the Boy. They’re determined to boost their social status by finding some boyfriends. Emerson’s only got one little problem, though. She can read the minds of the guys she locks lips with. What seems like a curse (you don’t really always need to know what someone is thinking), has its perks when Emerson realizes she can steal test answers while she steals kisses. Even with her shallow nature – she’s addicted to lip gloss – Emerson is a completely endearing character who grows up a lot during this Year of the Boy.
Sneak Peek! “It’s important that you know: my obsession with lip gloss has officially ruined my life.” (Text copyright © 2012 by Katie D. Anderson)
Miss Fortune Cooke by Lauren Bjorkman
Erin, unbeknownst to her friends and family, is the genius behind the popular advice blog Miss Fortune Cookie. When her ex-friend sends a letter, Erin dishes out advice as usual. But then she sees her advice acted upon and is not exactly thrilled with the results. In her efforts to clean up the mess she caused, keep her blogging identity secret, and not drive the rest of her friends away, Erin finds her own path to love, not through fortune cookies.
Sneak Peek! “My friends and I were riding home from school on Muni, clinging to an assortment of slippery handholds, when Linny almost blew my secret identity. Intentionally.” (Text copyright © 2012 by Lauren Bjorkman)
And now for the utterly unromantic choice:
Another in Doctorow’s line of awesomely dark and cool high tech dystopian novels. Marcus Yallow’s past as a “hacktivist” means he’s well-regarded amongst plugged in teens in futuristic California. Despite being locked up for his hacking work, he lands a great job putting his tech skills to work for a politician he can believe in. When hacker friend Masha gives him a flash drive loaded with seriously bad news, he is torn between feeling the need to leak it to further undermine the corrupt government, and knowing that he risks his life, job, and more if he does so.
Sneak Peek! “Attending Burning Man made me simultaneously one of the most photographed people on the planet and one of the least surveilled humans in the modern world.” (Text copyright © 2013 by Cory Doctorow)
MCTBA 2013 nominees announced!
The list of 15 nominees for the 2013 Milwaukee County Teen Book Award is here! Nominees include some books that have been popular here in Shorewood, such as The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Be sure to vote for your favorite before March 1, 2013. Remember, you don’t have to read all of them to be able to vote. If you read one and you liked it, why not make it your choice for the award!
Alex is hiking in the woods when an electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device and killing billions. Alex must survive in this new world, learning who can be trusted and who is no longer human. For all of you post-apocalyptic fans!
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Diagnosed with stage IV thyroid cancer, Hazel has always known her fate. But when she meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group, Hazel struggles to change her outlook on life and love. This is a laugh-out-loud funny read, true to John Green’s style, yet also a deeply sad book.
In a tale full of dragons and royal scandal, Seraphina is a strong willed young lady who uses her musical talents as a distraction for her own dark secret. Sure to become a new fantasy favorite!
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
The day that Rory Deveaux arrives in London is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city. Rory is the only one who saw the prime suspect – and now Rory has become his next target. This play on the Jack the Ripper story is as thrilling as it is magical.
Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl
17-year-old Althea must marry well in order to support her family and maintain their ancient castle. When the perfect bachelor arrives in her tiny town she thinks they may finally be saved, except that his annoying business partner keeps getting in the way!
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Tired of his parents’ fighting and being bullied at school, Lucky Linderman begins dreaming of being with his grandfather, who went missing during the Vietnam War, but a summer in Arizona with his aunt and uncle and their beautiful neighbor, Ginny, help him find a new perspective.
In the 15th-century kingdom of Brittany, Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts – and a violent destiny.
Day is the most wanted criminal in the Republic. June is its most valuable asset. When Day is accused of killing June’s brother, she will stop at nothing to hunt him down – but what if everything she thought she knew was a lie? Bonus: the sequel, Prodigy, is coming soon!
Finley’s life is basketball, so when he’s asked to befriend a nationally ranked player at the same position, he’s unsure of what to do. Events from both boys past start to surface and shape their uncertain futures.
Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick
Peter’s life as a baseball star is over, and now he needs to find something else to do. Of course, he can’t tell his best friend he’ll never play again, just like he can’t tell his parents about his grandfather’s forgetfulness.
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
EPIC ALERT! Puck Connolly is the first girl to ever attempt the race. Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. But can they control the deadly water horses long enough to survive? Check out Stiefvater’s other 2012 release, The Raven Boys: Book 1.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Karou was raised by monsters. Her life as an art student in Prague is constantly disrupted by horned chimaera Brimstone’s mysterious errands to foreign cities. But when black handprints appear burnt into Brimstone’s doorways, coinciding with mysterious sightings of fiery angels, Karou is about to lose everything – and gain a whole new world. The sequel, Days of Blood and Starlight, is now out!
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
A wireless operator during WWII, Verity is a spy and master of deception – and a Nazi prisoner. In exchange for Allied wireless codes, she is allowed to live one day for each new piece of the truth. But as Verity’s story, and the story of her friendship with pilot Maddie, is slowly revealed, the truth is not always what it seems.
The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
In and out of hospitals for a life-threatening illness, sixteen-year-old Cam spends the summer with her family in Promise, Maine where her mother hopes the town’s mystical healing qualities will save her.
How to Save a Life by Sarah Zarr
Jill’s mother is adopting a child from a pregnant teen after the death of her father. Mandy is 19 and running away from the life she knows to give her unborn child a better life than she had. Both girls will need to face their pasts to find the family they need now.
Meet the Morris Award
There are so many book awards these days. Whoever says that reading is a dying art has not explored the world of book awards! There also seem to be an increasing number of awards for YA books, which is great for us YA fiends. Here’s one that you might not know about, but which is really worth exploring: The William C. Morris Award, given by the American Library Association, honors a book written for young adults by a previously unpublished author. Looking at the award nominees for this unique award is a great way to find authors you might not have heard of yet! Here’s the list of this year’s nominees:
Historical fiction. Set in Depression Era America, Wonder Show follows Portia Remini who is on the run from the creepy McGreavy’s Home for Wayward Girls, and on the hunt for her father.
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
Romance. Amelia is 15 and her grocery store coworker crush is…a little older. Set in Australia, this is a funny story of heartbreak and love and, above all, awkwardness.
After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
Post-apocalyptic. In the year 2059 a new Ice Age took the world. Willo Blake was born into this freezing future and must search out his family after they mysteriously disappear from their mountain home.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Realistic/LGBT. The early 1990s was not a great time for the plight of LGBT teens. This fictional look at that time in history tells the memorable and moving story of gay teen Cameron as she makes her way through a gay conversion center.
Fantasy. Dragons and humans co-exist – although not in total harmony – in this cool fantasy debut. Orphan Seraphina grapples with her identity in a magical world rife with scandal and secrets.
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
Lola has an awesome life as an aspiring costume designer in San Francisco with her two loving dads and her rocker boyfriend. But when the Bell twins move back in next door, Lola’s life is turned upside down. For years Lola had a crush on Cricket, but he broke her heart. Now he’s back living next door and Lola wonders if she ever got over him.
If you’re looking for a sweet romance about fun and quirky characters with a fantastic setting, try Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Wait, actually, if you haven’t read Stephanie’s first book, Anna and the French Kiss, go and read that (it’s also amazing), then read Lola. And watch for her third novel, Isla and the Happily Ever After coming Fall 2012.
Romance in Three Genres
Recently I read three amazing books, a fantasy, a dystopian science fiction, and a realistic fiction that all had a strong romance at the core. It’s interesting to read three very different genres take on romantic love in such amazing ways.
The Fantasy:
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
This is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever (yes, ever) read. Karou is a mystery, she’s a girl with blue hair who likes to draw monsters. Well to everyone else they’re monsters but to Karou they’re her family. While Karou is human she has been raised by a race of beings called chimaera. When a mysterious meeting with a beautiful winged creature almost causes her death, Karou wonders what is really going on in the world of the chimaera and how is she involved?
The Dystopian Science Fiction
Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky
In a world where everything is done online, including school, socializing, and shopping, Maddie is unsure about meeting someone face-to-face even if it’s just for a study group. But when she meets Justin for the first time she knows her life is about to change. Justin is part of an underground movement against Digital School, the online school that has replaced all other forms of school. His group believes people need face-to-face communication and contact. But Maddie’s father is the creator of Digital School…will she work against her family to help Justin?
The Realistic Fiction
I’ll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
My heart is happier for having read this book! Sam and his brother were stolen from their mother and taken on the run with their crazy father years ago; all they’ve really known is life on the move. But when Sam meets Emily in a chance encounter he finally sees a reason to want to stay. And Emily has never met anyone like Sam and the instant connection she feels leaves her wondering about this mysterious boy. I’ll Be There is truly an amazing story that will leave you smiling in wonder.
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
Gwyneth feels a little dizzy, there’s a rush of light, and she finds herself at some point in the early 1900′s. Her cousin, Charlotte, would know what to do, she’s been trained since birth to deal with the time travel gene in their family. So why did Gwyneth time travel instead of Charlotte? And what’s all this mystery about a secret society, a chronograph, and going back to the past to collect blood to complete the circle?
Ruby Red is a fun and exciting time travel mystery set in London and starring Gwyneth, a normal 16 year-old completely unprepared to deal with her family’s secret history and the time travel gene she has inherited. Thankfully she has a time travel partner, the good-looking, but rude, Gideon de Villiers.
The first in a trilogy and already a smashing success in Germany, Ruby Red will have you wondering where Gwyneth is off to next, what is the great mystery, and why can Gwyneth see ghosts. The sequel, Sapphire Blue, is coming June 2012!
Ghosts and Witches
A few great reads featuring ghosts and witches:
Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Emerson sees ghosts, apparitions from the past. And until she meets Michael, she fears for her sanity. After meeting Michael she fear’s for her heart. An innovative and delicious supernatural romance.
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Sophie, a witch, is sent to Hecate Hall after her spell goes terribly wrong and she’s discovered. At “Hex Hall,” she meets Jenna, her vampire roommate, Elodie, the mean girl who wants Sophie in her coven, and Archer, the hottest warlock at Hecate and Elodie’s boyfriend. Excitement ensues as Sophie learns more about her magic and tries to win Archer. Don’t miss the sequel, Demonglass!
If those two aren’t enough, here are a few more:
Immortal by Gillian Shields
Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough
Bras and Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
The Other Side of Dark by Sarah Smith
Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe
I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder
A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
