Happy Book Birthday to Laini Taylor’s “Dreams of Gods and Monsters” — the conclusion to her epic “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” trilogy. This is one of our most anticipated books for 2014, and while Sandie has already read it, I’m expecting it to arrive in the mail today or tomorrow (it better come, UPS!)….
Book Club Day: Robert Cormier’s I Am the Cheese & The Chocolate War
For our March Book Club, we decided to check out two old-school novels by the late Robert Cormier, who some consider the grandfather of young adult literature. Cormier wrote novels with teen protagonists at a time when the genre was still developing. Random House has reissued paperbacks of his two classic YA books, “I am…
Book Club Day: Grandmaster by David Klass
This month’s selection for our February Book Club Day is “Grandmaster” by David Klass. Overall, we all enjoyed the father-son relationship in the story, and the way the book will remind teens that their parents were people with interests and passions before they got married and had children. Although some of us found the technical…
Book Club Day: Tandem by Anna Jarzab
We first heard about “Tandem” at BEA during the YA Buzz Panel presentations, and it sounded so interesting that when Random House was ready to promote it this fall, I *had* to get it for our contributors to check out; everyone loved the parallel lives plot and is ready to read the sequel. Here’s to…
Favorite Quotes from Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Tomorrow, the long wait is over for those of us who have been anxiously counting down the days until the final installment of the “Divergent” trilogy hits bookstores. At long last, we can finally tear open Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated “Allegiant.” Sandie and I can’t wait to read it at the same time; in fact, she…
“Stargazing from Nowhere” by Isabel Thomas and Marilyn Thomas
Kristen Morgan’s blog is about to get her into trouble. Deep trouble. Online, she is known as “Stargazer” from the popular Stargazing from Nowhere blog, while in real life she is a regular fifteen-year-old high school student. This online anonymity is quite liberating, allowing her to be completely honest with her readers. Through a twist…
National Book Festival 2013: Why I Love It
Even after six years, my family misses living in New York City. But one of the best parts of living in the Washington D.C. area is getting to attend the National Book Festival. The Book Festival will always be dear to my heart, because the first fall we lived here, back in 2007, my mother…
End of Summer Reading: The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland
Now that Labor Day has come and gone and our Northern friends have started school, summer is officially over. Okay, so we know that it’s technically not over until September 22, 2013, but for all practical purposes, the season of beach reading is good and done. But, if you still want one last quick summer…
The Bane Chronicles by Cassandra Clare, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Maureen Johnson
I was so excited when I discovered, just the other day, that Cassandra Clare collaborated with authors Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson to write a series of 10 short stories about warlock Magnus Bane. It seems that the plan is to release the short stories as ebooks each month and then after they have…
Upcoming Books: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
There are many books that we are looking forward to getting our hands on. One book in particular that we are eagerly anticipating is “Isla and the Happily Ever After” by Stephanie Perkins. Release Date: Spring 2014 | Pages: 352 | Publisher: Dutton (Penguin) Pre Order: Amazon ~ Book Depository ~ IndieBound From the glittering…