YA in LA: YA Guide to the LA Times Festival of Books

Jaclyn Moriarty. Elizabeth Wein. Gayle Forman. Sarah Dessen. Veronica Roth. Jaclyn Moriarty. And that's just to name a few. Someone call Zack Morris because like Noelle, I am having a Jessie Spano-level meltdown.

The LA Times released their Festival of Books schedule today and I thought I'd highlight the most important events -- the YA ones, of course! The Festival runs from Saturday, April 20 to Sunday, April 21 at USC. It's free but all indoor events require a ticket, which are limited and have a $1 service charge per ticket. You also have the option of buying a $30 Festival Pass which gives you 8 tickets for indoor events before they're open to the public, as well as tickets to the LA Times Book Prize ceremony.

Relevant Dates:

• Thursday, March 28 at 10 am: $30 Festival Pass goes on sale. Individual tickets for Book Prize ceremony also on sale. (I don't see the price of this ticket listed.)
• Sunday, April 14 at 9 am: Tickets for indoor events available to the general public. Cost: $1 service fee per ticket.
• Friday, April 19 at 7:30 pm: Los Angeles Times Book Prize ceremony in the Bovard Auditorium (YA finalists listed below).
• Saturday, April 20 at 10 am: Festival of Books begins!

Book Prize Honorees for Young Adult Literature:

• The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi 
• Ask the Passengers by A.S. King
• My Book of Life by Angel by Martine Leavitt
• Boy 21 by Matthew Quick
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Schedule for Saturday, April 20:

Schedule for Sunday, April 21:

I'm going to try to hit as many events as possible. I can't wait to find out if Veronica Roth is really so tall that her height is one of her Frequently Asked Questions, or if Gayle Forman dresses like a hipster adult, or if Tahereh Mafi wears her homemade Shatter Me shoes. I'm so excited (I'm SO excited!) about Elizabeth Wein and Jaclyn Moriarty. Code Name Verity and A Corner of White were two of my favorite books of 2012. Is anyone else planning on going? Which author would you Jessie Spano over?

For more information, check out the official website. All screenshots were taken from the Schedule page.

Bookmark Binge: March 25, 2013

Haven't gotten enough of...

...The Madman's Daughter?
The series will be a trilogy.  The first book was based on The Island of Doctor Moreau, the second book will be based on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the third will be based on Frankenstein.
The book has been optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.
Love the design of the Australian/NZ cover.
Listen to the Official Playlist including liner notes from the author.

...The Archived?
Sneak a peek at the sequel's title and cover design.
The author talks about her inspiration for The Archived and more in this twitter chat.
Watch her Making History with Victoria Schwab vlog tour.

...Written in Red?
Okay, first of all, the Australian cover is so much cooler.
Read an excerpt over at Tor.

...Anne of Green Gables?
I'm not sure, but I think spamming Maggie with the art of Hanoul was the tipping point that finally made her pick up Anne.  Or maybe I just want an excuse to post it all again here: Look at these gorgeous illustrations.
My sister posted the cover featured in this link to facebook with the caption: TRAGICAL. But we loved the internet reaction.
Take a virtual tour of Green Gables and if I am ever near Prince Edward Island I am totally visiting Green Gables Heritage Place complete with recreated village, Haunted Woods and Lovers Lane.


Upcoming Reads and Reviews:

Noelle:

Maggie:

Lunch Table Rankings: March 22

Everyone knows the biggest honor you can bestow on someone is an invite to your lunch table, but an invite doesn't get passed around to just ANYONE....

Back to the Future: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Welcome to Back to the Future, a newer feature at YAA where we revisit young adult books from back when we were well, young adults.  Sometimes we'll be reading these books for the first time, sometimes we'll be rereading to compare how our adult selves interpret the book and sometimes, we'll be doing a bit of both.  

Noelle read Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery about 100 times during her youth.  (Her mom laminated the paperbacks in a futile effort for book preservation to give you an idea).  Maggie just read it for the first time last month.  Did Maggie appreciate it enough that Noelle is able to remain on speaking terms with her? Only one way to find out---To the DeLorean!

            

Goodreads • Buy the book (heck, buy the whole set!) • 99¢ Kindle edition (includes all 8 Anne books, 3 more books and 1 books of poetry by Lucy Maud!)

Book Description: 

As soon as Anne Shirley arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever...but would the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she's not what they expected—a skinny girl with decidedly red hair and a temper to match. If only she could convince them to let her stay, she'd try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes or blurt out the very first thing she had to say. Anne was not like anybody else, everyone at Green Gables agreed; she was special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreamed of the day when she could call herself Anne of Green Gables.

Foreword by Noelle:  I could write a million word ode to Anne Shirley (is that a challenge? IS IT?) but I'll try to keep this short and sweet. Basically, Anne is a bright shining memory from my childhood, a personal hero, a lifetime lunch table place of honor holder and one of my favorite heroines of all-time.  I probably would have blog-divorced Maggie (grounds: irreconcilable differences) if she hadn't immediately promised to read Anne of Green Gables after I discovered she somehow never had!  So no pressure, Maggie (heh) but what did you think of Ms. Shirley?

DRAMATIS PERSONAE ...................................... Anne Shirley

It's not often that a book lives up to its public-shaming-if-you-haven't-read hype. This book lives up to its 104 YEAR HYPE. I almost divorced my childhood for not reading this then. So many of the words that describe Anne are ones that too many girls are running away from today -- imaginative, impertinent, outspoken, smart, driven. If you have a problem with them, you can take it up with the slate being cracked over your head. She's a scrappy little hustler who convinces Marilla Cuthbert to keep her at Green Gables, changing both of their lives. 

I absolutely loved this now and would've adored it back in the day. Like Judy Abbott, another feisty orphan, Anne has so much gumption. Gumption seems like such an old-fashioned word... Is it an out-of-date characteristic? Why don't modern characters have more gumption?! Be the badass you wish to see in the world, girls!

One of the reasons Anne grows up to be badass and not just an ass is Marilla. Marilla was old school 100 years ago. Her strict parenting style would probably be crucified along with Liz Lemon's on Urban Baby, but Marilla Cuthbert does. not. care. I admit, my appreciation for Marilla, like my own mother, came in hindsight. While reading, I sympathized with Anne and her non-puffed sleeves. However, Marilla was as fair as she was tough, and her devotion to Anne was unwavering. 

This brings me to another favorite character with unwavering affection for Anne -- Matthew Cuthbert. Matthew, who knew nothing of fashion or puffed sleeves but knew how important they were to Anne, was soft where Marilla was rigid. His kind and gentle manner brought tears to my eyes. 

Now about Gilbert Blythe. Ah, Gilbert. If only you were my boy next door. A love interest isn't someone who completes you or who you have to change yourself for -- it's someone who challenges you and makes you better and, here's the important part, VICE VERSA. Gilbert is Anne's pace car. Whenever she finds herself slacking in her studies, she mentally checks herself against Gilbert to push herself to work harder. I like that though Gilbert isn't in every scene or even a majority of the scenes, he sneaks in through Anne's subconscious.

"But, oh, Matthew, I'm so sleepy. I can't go to school. I just know I couldn't keep my eyes open and I'd be so stupid. But I hate to stay home for Gil--some of the others will get head of the class..."

Gilbert's scenes made me grin so much, and not just because I was picturing Henry Cavill.

I was worried when I started this book because it seemed, well, old timey and nothing makes my attention drift faster.* I ended up picking up the audio version from the library and put it on while I was stuck in traffic. This worked out really well because I could zone out through some slower parts early on and by the time I was home, I couldn't flip through the pages fast enough. I can't wait to follow Anne to Avonlea and beyond. I'm in complete agreement with Miss Barry when she says,

"That Anne-girl improves all the time. I get tired of other girls -- there is such a provoking and eternal sameness about them. Anne has as many shades as a rainbow and every shade is the prettiest while it lasts. I don't know that she is as amusing as she was when she was a child, but she makes me love her and I like people who make me love them. It saves me so much trouble in making myself love them."

If you haven't ventured to Prince Edward Island yet, just open this book. Anne will do the rest.

Rating: 5/5 stars.

--
*That is until I started Infinite Jest.

Two Mini-Reviews and a Not-So Rory Curtain Review

By Noelle

Ever finish a book and not have much to say? Talk about a blogger's worst nightmare. But somehow, even when I don't have much to say, I always  have something to say so here are a few words on some books I've finished lately.  Rambling, engaged!

Mini-Review: The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd
The Madman's Daughter #1 
Reviewed by Noelle: March 19, 2013
Published January 20, 2013 by Balzer & Bray
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

Okay first of all, a warning---the animal cruelty in this one is hard to take.  Do you know what a vivisection is?  You will after reading this book.

This is a reimagining of the classic The Island of Doctor Moreau (spoilers in link!) and while I haven't read the original I knew enough to expect science experiments gone horribly wrong, an intense, claustrophobic stuck on an island with god knows what atmosphere and hopefully a lot of suspense and intrigue.  And while I got those things for the most part, I also got...a Love Triangle.

I guess if there is only one female of marriageable age on an island there's bound to be some competition for her affection but the amount of thought Juliet spends on her love interests really bummed me out.  After years of scrapping by with just her wits and survival instincts, Juliet manages to finally reunite with her estranged father (who disappeared under shady circumstances and horrible rumors).  Now she's stuck with him on a remote island with a LOT of weird things going on including secret experiments and someTHING killing everyone in the woods but she somehow has time for hourly inner debates over which boy is her number one crush?   I get being swept away by hormones but to me the fear of disembowelment proves to be one of the most effective cold showers of all time.

Credit where credit is due, Juliet can be pretty entertainingly ruthless within the love triangle.  For example: she and Bachelor #2 are racing through the jungle running away from a horrible monster who claws people's hearts out of their chest. Suddenly, she finds herself separated from Bachelor #2 and has the epiphany that if she runs in the water there will be only one trail for the monster to follow--Bachelor #2's trail.  I laughed out loud.

Unfortunately, Juliet's ruthlessness gets hypocritical at times, especially at the end.  There are parts of the story I really did enjoy such as the exploration of what was really going on with her father and the island and I actually really liked the ending--including surprisingly enough, how the love triangle resolved itself. Though now that I know this is a series, I might take that part back.  I'll probably consider this as a standalone novel and leave it at that. Rating: 3/5 stars

Mini-Review: The Archived by Victoria Schwab
The Archived #1
Reviewed by Noelle: March 19, 2013
Published January 22, 2013 by Hyperion
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository

I'm going to let Goodreads explain this one:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often—violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn’t just dangerous—it’s a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da’s death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

Sounds awesome, right?  But despite the really creative concept and setting, I just couldn't get fully invested in this one.  I had to return it to the library 200 pages in and almost didn't pick it up again two weeks later when it became reavailable.  I get easily frustrated with stories where the plot necessitates that no one talk to each other about what they know and there were a lot of holes in the whole history of Histories and why things are the way they are in the Archive (which granted might be purposeful for suspense but left me pretty irritated and confused at times).

Plus, another love triangle? This time it's with Bachelor #1 constantly talking about how attractive he was (seriously it got as bad as 3 times in a page and a half) and Bachelor #2 being unavailable in every sense of the word but alas, super hot.  Granted, if I had realized that Bachelor #1 was more of a love interest with a question mark than a Love Interest all capital letters I would probably have given him more of a break but still--the dude wears guyliner. I did appreciate that (non-triangle) Roland was basically David Tennant's Dr. Who, so points for that!

Entertaining at times but didn't grab me by the Goodreads, know what I mean?  This is another first in a series that can mostly be treated as a standalone and for now, I plan to do just that. Rating: 3/5 stars.

Rory Curtain Extracurricular Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop
The Others #1
Reviewed by Noelle: March 19, 2013
Published March 5, 2013 by NAL Hardcover
Goodreads • Buy at Amazon • Kindle • Book Depository


Not so fast Taylor Doose--put away that Rory Curtain.  What, you say? An urban fantasy without smut? Is that even allowed?!  Yes, readers, it is and I for one really liked the results.  Now before you boo hiss your way stage left, let me assure you, there is a smut foundation built in this one and I feel pretty confident that smut construction will start in the sequel (at the very least romance permits have been filed) and I am definitely going to stick around to find out.

This is an urban fantasy that feels and reads more like a high fantasy.  The world building is very complicated and there is a lot of info to digest about the world and character dynamics.  In short, I'm not even going to try to explain it all here.  Just know it involves a highly advanced species (The Others) that can shape-shift and in the process have begun to take on the characteristics of certain species that are their go-to shifts.  The author really nails the animal mannerisms with some charming and hysterical results.

The heroine is a blood prophet that's on the run and has to take shelter with the Others, as scary as they may be.  At first, the heroine had a few personality traits from her sheltered existence that were pretty frustrating but as she learns the ins and outs of her new situation she really came into her own.

I loved how the Others were actually scary and appreciated the unpredictability of their interactions with the humans.  Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded up on Goodreads for GRUMPY PONIES--and for being the only series of these three I'm definitely continuing.)

Bookmark Binge: March 18, 2013

Can't get enough of...

Six Impossible Things?

Reynje of Wordchasing takes us on a tour of Dan Cereill's Melbourne. Look at all the gorgeous pictures, which Rey takes herself! This is the first post in her YA Guide to Melbourne series.

Inkcrush is such a treasure trove of Aussie YA. Nomes has a recommendation list that I refer to constantly. She also has a fantastic interview with Fiona Wood. Originally given in 2010, Fiona talks about her second book (which was called Pulchritude then) and a possible US release of Six Impossible Things. Three years later, both are happening and I couldn't be more thrilled. Fiona also shares her YA recommendations. Speaking of her second book though...

Look at all these links lying around...

Wildlife, one of my Most Anticipated Books of 2013, finally has a cover! And a blurb from Melina Marchetta!!

The cover was posted by Fiona on her Twitter. Melina's blurb says, "A beautifully crafted novel with achingly real characters that I couldn't get out of my head."

There wasn't much information on Wildlife when we posted our Most Anticipated list, but we finally have a blurb via Publisher's Weekly:

It’s the story of two teen girls – one still reeling from the death of her boyfriend, and the other, the reluctant model for a new ad campaign who is trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to be; they meet during a semester in the wilderness and learn about friendship, loyalty and love.

I know I'm excited. Wildlife will be released in Australia on June 1, 2013 according to her publisher's website, and in the US in the summer of 2014.

In other cover news, Vikki Wakefield's Friday Brown (reviewed by Noelle) has a UK cover. Vikki shared it on her Twitter. It will be published by Hot Key Books on July 4, 2013. What do you think of the new cover?

How does it compare to the original (on the right), designed by the incomparable WH Chong?  According to Vikki, a US cover already exists.

Friday Brown will be released in the States as Friday Never Leaving by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 10, 2013.

Continuing with the Aussie invasion -- is it an invasion if it's welcomed with open arms? -- Simmone Howell's Girl Defective, another of our Most Anticipated Books, was sold to American publisher Atheneum and will also be released in the US.

I'm in love with this cover so I'll be curious to see how Atheneum changes it. Did you notice the slight tweak Pan Macmillan Australia made to the final cover (on left)?

Alpha Reader recently interviewed Simmone about Girl Defective, and I can't find out what the animal heads mean.


Upcoming Reads and Reviews:

Maggie:

Noelle:

Lunch Table Rankings: March 15

Everyone knows the biggest honor you can bestow on someone is an invite to your lunch table, but an invite doesn't get passed around to just ANYONE....

You read that right, Finnick Odair. More photoshoots like this and your Pirates of the Caribbean ass can eat in the bathroom!