A little look-see
NPR is offering readers a sneak peek at Jules Feiffer's upcoming graphic novel Kill My Mother, due out next Tuesday. The story appears to be a play on classic Hollywood film noir, re-imagined via Feiffer's inimitable art style...
Unfair
Illustrator and writer Leanne Shapton has designed a series of absolutely gorgeous patterned covers for Jane Austen's six novels. You can admire the books via the website Creative Review, but I have yet to see any signs of them on Random House's American website...
Girl to the Core, by Stacey Goldblatt
Stacey Goldblatt's Girl to the Core has the makings of a sweet, inspirational coming-of-age novel... cursed with a story-crippling flaw. Goldblatt's heroine is Molly O'Keefe, the only girl in a large, boisterous Irish-American family. Molly's a pushover, so when her boyfriend Trevor cheats on her she knows she'll need a distraction to keep herself from taking him back. Unexpectedly, she finds one in the Girl Corps, a Girl Scouts-like group...
Tactile reading
NPR recently posted a fascinating article about how 3-D printing might change books printed for blind readers—imagine a sculptural version of Goodnight Moon, with the mittens and kitten and everything standing out from the page...
Ghoulish tourism!
According to The Independent, the Yorkshire house that inspired Jane Eyre's Thornfield Hall is now open to the public. Charlotte Bronte visited the stately home of Norton Conyers in 1839, and heard the legend of "Mad Mary"...
The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, by Kate Hattemer
Kate Hattemer's The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy is the kind of challenging, dialogue-driven teen drama I would have absolutely devoured as a kid. Sadly, I read it as an adult, which left me with a somewhat different reaction...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, by Kate Hattemer
This week we're giving away a copy of The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, by Kate Hattemer. The PR note I received with the novel claims that it's perfect for fans of Glee. I don't know about Ms. Hattemer (whose writing deserves better), but to paraphrase P.G. Wodehouse: if someone said such a thing about me, I would have risen and struck them on the mazzard, regardless of their age or sex...
Not feeling it.
Okay, I've been super busy this summer, but how did I miss this, and—bigger question—why is it happening? Bookriot informs me that Bloomsbury is releasing another new set of Harry Potter covers, this time featuring the artwork of Jonny Duddle...
Sadly...
The trailer is out for the upcoming Johnny Depp movie Mortdecai, based on the 1970s series of comic novels by Kyril Bonfiglioli. The movie looks absolutely terrible, but I had my hopes up about the books, seeing as A) they appear to be a parody of the Jeeves and Wooster stories, and B) the third is called Something Nasty in the Woodshed, which I assume...
Frostborn, by Lou Anders
While I doubt Lou Anders's Thrones & Bones: Frostborn will attract much of an adult audience, it's the kind of novel parents will love to read out loud to their kids. Anders divides his story between Karn, a human boy destined to inherit his father's farm (and the countless mind-numbing responsibilities that come with it), and Thianna, a half-giant, half-human girl who feels like she'll never fit in anywhere...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Frostborn, by Lou Anders
This week we're giving away Lou Anders's debut novel Frostborn, the first installment of his "Thrones and Bones" series. I'm only a few chapters in, but so far it seems like a brisk, enjoyable read, carefully constructed to appeal to young readers of both genders. It definitely feels like a kid-specific story (unlike, say, Jonathan Stroud's Heroes of the Valley), but budding fantasy fans...
Have at it, Ms. Brownstein.
Time magazine says that Portlandia co-creator Carrie Brownstein has been hired to complete the late Nora Ephron's unfinished adaptation of ITV's 2008 TV miniseries Lost in Austen. Normally, I'd be concerned at the notion of Brownstein getting her hands on a Jane Austen-related property...
Imagine the prices (and contents) of their mini-bars.
It seems there have been complications with some anonymous businessman's plan to open a Fifty Shades of Grey-inspired "erotic hotel" in Vilafranca, Spain, according to THR. The local town council apparently feels the hotel is too close to a famous chapel. A (presumably G-rated) bar and restaurant have been open...
Revenant, by Kat Richardson
After nine books, Kat Richardson has finally brought her Greywalker series to a close, and she's ending the way she began: Revenant is carefully researched, densely plotted, and—it must be said—works much better on an intellectual level than an emotional one...
At least more people will read the book...?
Ugh. Variety informs me that Disney is planning to make a movie version of Madeleine L’Engle’s beloved A Wrinkle in Time, to be adapted by Frozen director Jennifer Lee. I'm always happy to see a woman handling a major film project, but I have concerns about this one, you guys...
I hope that pirate one ends up in Times Square.
According to Refinery29, MAC's upcoming Fall 2014 makeup collection was inspired by the cover art featured on vintage romance novels, and will feature "products [ranging] from vivid lipsticks to killer nail polishes to electric-hued liners". I am SOLD, particularly if...
Starters, by Lissa Price
In the six years since The Hunger Games hit it big, it feels like I've read a million different versions of the “hellish future” story, featuring everything from zombies to World War III to natural disasters. I usually divide these books into two camps: the profoundly stupid violence-for-violence's-sake stories, and the novels that would have been published even if...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Starters, by Lissa Price
This week's Book Giveaway is Starters, by Lissa Price. It's tough for me to tell if I actually want to read this book, or if I'm just attracted to the icy vibe of the cover art. I'd like to think I'm not that easily manipulated by a shiny silver image, but we've been stuck in the throes of 90+ degree temperatures for DAYS here, and it's quite possible my brain has melted...
Happily ever after?
The trailer is out for Disney's upcoming version of Into the Woods. I legit don't understand this movie. If the rumors are true, they're taking out a lot of the depressing bits...
Secret Society Girl, by Diana Peterfreund
While poking around in the deepest, darkest depths of our slush pile, I fished out a copy of Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl. The book was originally published in 2006, but it feels much more recent than that—probably because while it was released about five years too early for the current craze for “New Adult” novels, that's totally what it is: a story for and about young people who are too old for teen books, but not yet in the market for mainstream adult fiction...
You bring the sunscreen, they provide the books.
The website TeenReads is currently offering a great book giveaway package: their eighth annual "Beach Bag of Books" contest. I don't know if you get an actual beach bag, but the chosen titles look like a genuinely fun assortment...
Shellshocked
After finally watching the first two Hunger Games movies last week, I'm slightly more invested in seeing Mockingjay. (Although I still bitterly resent the practice of splitting single books into two movies—you'll have to pry the cost of two tickets out of my cold dead hands, Lionsgate.) The teaser trailer...
The Glass Sentence, by S.E. Grove
Several people have compared S. E. Grove's debut novel The Glass Sentence to Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. I understand the comparison, but, uh, like hell: Grove is a promising writer, but she doesn't have Pullman's skill (at least, not yet). Instead, I was put in mind of a child-friendly version of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell—a truly impressive effort, but...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Glass Sentence, by S. E. Grove
This week we're giving away a copy of S.E. Grove's The Glass Sentence. I know nothing about this book except for the fact that the back cover has a quote from Megan Whalen Turner comparing it to Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass. That's some seriously impressive praise from an impeccable source, so my expectations are very, very high...
Fifty Shades rolls out a trailer
So, they released the trailer for the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movie, and I have to give the filmmakers credit: I didn't start laughing until the very end. Of course, most of that was due to the deliciously slow, creepy version of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love", which lends the story some sorely-needed dignity, but it's still a lot better than I expected...
Harriet the Spy: 50th Anniversary Edition, by Louise Fitzhugh
Before I get started, I should make something clear: this is a review of a specific edition of Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy, not the book itself. I am constitutionally incapable of saying anything about the actual story beyond “If you haven't read it, seriously, drop everything and do so IMMEDIATELY...
I do wish the cover art was better, but...
Rosemary Clement-Moore is one of our favorite YA writers (as indicated here and here). It's been quite a while since her last book, so...
The Fire Wish, by Amber Lough
My hopes were high when I picked up Amber Lough's debut novel The Fire Wish. I'm officially over books about mermaids, witches, and/or dystopian contests, and it seemed to me that a YA take on the material covered in Arabian Nights might be just the ticket to get me excited about the huge pile of teen books looming on my to-be-read shelf again. Things didn't work out quite like I'd hoped, but sincere props to Ms. Lough for originality...
Weekly Book Giveaway: The Fire Wish, by Amber Lough
This week's Book Giveaway pick is Amber Lough's debut novel The Fire Wish. I have no idea if the story's any good, but I'm pleased to see an Arabian Nights-inspired teen fantasy novel (and a little surprised I haven't been sent more of them, frankly). You'd think the gorgeous clothes alone would have been enough to attract more YA authors' interest...