Posts tagged with teen-literature
Award-worthy
The first pictures are out from the upcoming movie adaptation of Angie Thomas's much-buzzed-about debut novel The Hate U Give. I still haven't read this book (though I mean to!), but the movie adaptation has attracted a great cast...
Runaways: An Original Novel, by Christopher Golden
I'm not totally sure what “Original Novel” means to the bigwigs at Marvel, but that's the slightly misleading phrase they're using to describe Christopher Golden's new book Runaways. (I guess “Transparent Cash Grab” didn't fit on the cover.) Golden's book doesn't seem to be a direct relation of either the rebooted comics or the recent TV adaptation, but rather a story that branches off from an early volume of Brian K. Vaughn's original series...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Runaways, by Christopher Golden
This week's Book Giveaway is Marvel's Runaways, by Christopher Golden. It has "An Original Novel" as its official subtitle, which is a little confusing: it's based on the Marvel comic series of the same name, but it appears to operate independently from the storylines created in either the comics or the TV adaptation. A full review will follow shortly, but be warned: it will be rife with possibly confusing spoilers for fans of this story's other formats...
Sure, why not?
According to Deadline, Legendary Entertainment has picked up the rights to Claire McFall's YA trilogy Ferryman, with an eye towards turning it into a create a franchise. I haven't read the books, but the article offers a nice summary...
Renegades, by Marissa Meyer
I've been reading Marissa Meyer's work for a long time. She got her start writing fanfiction, then wrote a series of fairy tale adaptations, then followed those up with an origin story for a famous villain...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Renegades, by Marissa Meyer
This week's Book Giveaway is Renegades, the first book in a new series by the Lunar Chronicles' Marissa Meyer. I was never as emotionally invested in the Lunar Chronicles as I hoped to be, but I'm assuming this new series won't be so visibly cobbled together from outside sources (specifically, fairytales and Sailor Moon), so that might help. A full review will be posted later this week...
High-concept
There's an article over on io9 about Every Day, the upcoming movie adaptation of the bestselling novel by David Levithan. The article's author is (justifiably) wigged out by the idea of the book—it's a romance between a teen girl and a body-swapping entity—but I'm...
The Empty Grave, by Jonathan Stroud
For the past five years, I have welcomed every fall with a new installment of Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. series. I don't know what cutesy name to give to the autumnal equivalent of a “beach read”, but that's totally what these books are—the perfect reading choice as the weather gets gloomier and we all start craving Halloween candy...
Ash and Quill, by Rachel Caine
Ash and Quill is the third installment in Rachel Caine's The Great Library series. In these books, the world's knowledge is jealously hoarded by the all-powerful Great Library. Caine's protagonist is a book smuggler-turned-Great Library soldier named Jess Brightwell. Jess and his small band of allies have recently escaped from the Library's clutches, but soon find themselves in an even worse situation...
Duels and Deception, by Cindy Anstey
I picked up Cindy Anstey's Duels and Deception in hopes that it would be an improvement on Avon's True Romance line, a short-lived attempt to write Regency romance novels for teens. I found the Avon books to be amusing but flimsy (even by romance novel standards), but assumed that Anstey's book—with its eye-catching cover and breathless promotional quotes—would be more impressive. Sadly, I was wrong...
Just Dreaming, by Kerstin Gier
This is damning with faint praise, but Just Dreaming, the final book in Kerstin Gier's Silver Trilogy, is less of a hot mess than the finale of her previous series. So things are looking up (I guess), but Gier is still relying on the appeal of her lively, funny heroines to ease readers past...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Just Dreaming, by Kerstin Gier
This week's Book Giveaway is Kerstin Gier's Just Dreaming, the final installment in her Silver Trilogy. I usually find Gier's books equally fun and frustrating, so we'll see if this story manages to land firmly in one camp or the other. A full review will follow shortly...
Heart of the Storm, by Michael Buckley
Heart of the Storm is the final volume in Michael Buckley's Undertow trilogy. All of the books in this series have been a mixed bag—at times wildly imaginative and exciting, at others just a overstuffed mess—and this last installment is no different...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Heart of the Storm, by Michael Buckley
This week's Book Giveaway is Michael Buckley's Heart of the Storm, the final book in his Undertow trilogy. I've never fallen as deeply in love with this series as I did with Buckley's Sisters Grimm stories, but these books are plenty fun in their own right. A full review will follow shortly...
No, thanks.
Well, I was never particularly excited about a TV miniseries adaptation of Jay Asher's YA novel Thirteen Reasons Why, and this new trailer is not doing much to change my opinion...
The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily is the sequel to 2010's Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. Once again, the authors flip between the two title characters' points of view, as Dash and Lily drift around New York at the holidays. A year into their relationship, the once-devoted couple is struggling on several fronts, but don't worry—in Cohn and Levithan's books, there are few problems that can't be fixed with an impossibly twee grand gesture...
Holiday Book Giveaway: The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily, by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Today's Holiday Book Giveaway is David Levithan and Rachel Cohn's The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily, the sequel to 2010's Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, which we reviewed here. It's also the first book we've read all week that isn't about murder or mayhem...
Remembrance, by Meg Cabot
Remembrance, the fifth and final book in Meg Cabot's 'Mediator' series, is her third attempt at transforming one of her YA series into a story for grown-ups. The end result is vintage Meg Cabot—brash, funny, and just a little bit lazy—but now with more swearing, violence, and sex...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Remembrance, by Meg Cabot
This week's Book Giveaway is Meg Cabot's Remembrance, the long-awaited final book in her (formerly YA) Mediator series. Based on Missing You, Cabot's first attempt at translating one of her teen series into a book for adults, I'm expecting a lot of humor and charm, plus wee bit of swearing and maybe a legit sex scene. A full review will follow shortly...
Don't count this one out
Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley has signed on to star in an upcoming movie adaptation of Patrick Hess's YA series Chaos Rising, according to Variety. There's been a lot of talk about the abrupt downturn in YA film attendance, but...
Mysterious~
I finally saw a trailer for Nerve, the upcoming movie adaptation of Jeanne Ryan's 2012 young-adult thriller of the same name. It looks pretty silly, honestly, but in a fun, colorful, glittery way. Plus, it's summer, and let's be honest...
Paper and Fire, by Rachel Caine
Paper and Fire, the second book in Rachel Caine's Great Library series, picks ups immediately after the events of last year's Ink and Bone. The series is set in a world where access to knowledge is strictly controlled by the Great Library of Alexandria, and the personal ownership of books is forbidden. Caine's protagonist is Jess Brightwell, the son of a book smuggler...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Paper and Fire, by Rachel Caine
This week's Book Giveaway is Paper and Fire, the second book in Rachel Caine's 'The Great Library' YA series. (We reviewed the first book, Ink and Bone, here.) A full review will follow shortly...
RIP, Ms. Duncan
YA suspense author Lois Duncan has died, according to the Washington Times. Ms. Duncan is best known for her book I Know What You Did Last Summer (which was made into a movie in 1997, transforming Duncan's somber novel about teens being forced to take responsibility for their actions into a slasher film, much to her irritation). Ms. Duncan...
And I Darken, by Kiersten White
As one might expect from a story about a gender-swapped version of Vlad the Impaler, Kiersten White's And I Darken is heavy on angst and violence. On the other hand, it is also unexpectedly well-researched and thoughtfully constructed—despite the lurid nature of her subject matter, White has written a respectable alternate-history fiction, not the YA equivalent of Dracula Untold...
Weekly Book Giveaway: And I Darken, by Kiersten White
This week's Book Giveaway is And I Darken, the first installment in a new teen series by Kiersten White. This book is apparently (very) loosely based on the historical events surrounding Vlad the Impaler. I have no idea how a story about a murderous, sadistic, 15th century nutjob will translate into a darkly seductive YA novel, but I'm looking forward to finding out...
Weekly Book Giveaway: Julia Vanishes, by Catherine Egan
This week's Book Giveaway is Julia Vanishes, the first book in Catherine Egan's new Witch's Child trilogy. The plot description—involving magic, orphans, thieves, and serial killers—sounds pretty exciting, so I'm looking forward to reading it. A full review will follow shortly...
Jumping the gun
According to Coming Soon, Awesomeness Films is planning a film adaptation of Aaron Starmer's young adult novel Spontaneous. Here's hoping they didn't pay a ton for the rights; the book doesn't come out for another couple of months, and the idea of a story...
A Song For Ella Grey, by David Almond
David Almond's A Song For Ella Grey is a young adult re-telling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, set in modern-day Northumberland and starring a bunch of small-town emo kids. The story is told from the point of view of a girl named Claire. Claire is obsessively devoted to her friend Ella, but when a mysterious boy with a beautiful singing voice appears, Ella instantly falls in love with him...
Weekly Book Giveaway: A Song for Ella Grey, by David Almond
his week's Book Giveaway is David Almond's young adult novel A Song For Ella Grey. I'm having a bit of trouble imagining how a teen re-telling of Orpheus and Eurydice (which I'm assuming this book is) will work, but that cover art is simply too gorgeous to pass up...