Posts tagged with teen-literature
Still terrible after all these years
The fine people at The Hairpin recently posted an interview with Ryan Nerz, a late-90s-era ghostwriter for the Sweet Valley High series. Mr. Nerz offers quite the eye-opening look behind the scenes, let me tell you...
The Master of Misrule, by Laura Powell
The Master of Misrule is the sequel to Laura Powell's novel The Game of Triumphs, which we enthusiastically recommended last October. Like The Game of Triumphs, The Master of Misrule is a fast-paced and richly imagined fantasy inspired by the rules of the Tarot...
Lies Beneath, by Anne Greenwood Brown
Before I read Anne Greenwood Brown's novel Lies Beneath, I would have assumed that any book about killer mermaids from Wisconsin had to be campy. Ms. Brown's book has proved me wrong; Lies Beneath has its faults (and plenty of 'em), but it takes itself quite seriously...
Dust Girl, by Sarah Zettel
Sarah Zettel's Dust Girl has been criticized for its cover art, which several reviewers felt failed to convey an important element of the book—that the heroine is biracial. I wasn't hugely bothered by this, as the character is supposed to be able to “pass” as white and the cover model resembles the book's description, but I do have my own objections to the cover: A) it doesn't do much to evoke the book's Dust Bowl-era setting, and B) it's ridiculously boring...
Grimness abounds
NPR has started a new blog devoted to YA literature. It's called "PG-13: Risky Reads", and while I'm not overly impressed by the books they have featured to date (On The Beach, Rubyfruit Jungle, Gone With The Wind, and I Am The Cheese), I'll definitely be checking back to see if their subject matter improves...
The Calling, by Kelley Armstrong
The Calling is the second book in Kelley Armstrong's Darkness Rising trilogy, which is in turn loosely connected to her bestselling (and ridiculously enjoyable) Darkest Powers trilogy. The Calling opens moments after the events of the earlier book: shape-shifting teenager Maya Delaney and a handful of her classmates have been bundled into a rescue helicopter after their remote Vancouver Island town is threatened by a forest fire...
The Gathering Storm, by Robin Bridges
It always feels weird to complain about a story having too much plot, but sometimes I can't help it: Robin Bridges's novel The Gathering Storm—the first book in a projected trilogy—races along at a breakneck pace, but it would have been improved by more world-building and less straight-up storytelling.
Could it really be true?
Will 2012 really bring us a Diablo Cody-penned Sweet Valley High musical? And is the world ready for that much after-school-special-influenced cheese?
The Game of Triumphs, by Laura Powell
15-year-old Cat Harper, the orphaned protagonist of Laura Powell's debut novel The Game of Triumphs, is not your typical wide-eyed fantasy heroine. After witnessing a murder, streetwise, pragmati...
Werewolves on the Titanic!
My e-mail this morning included a promotional note about Claudia Gray's recently-released novel Fateful, which I skimmed with tepid interest. The cover didn't catch my eye, and our "To Be Read" s...
The Nine Lives of Chloe King hits Hulu
The first episode of ABC Family's The Nine Lives of Chloe King (based on the YA novel by Celia Thompson) is now available on Hulu. Here's the trailer, which looks entertaining enough, if a little...
Jessica and Elizabeth ride again
This in-depth look at Francine Pascal and her Sweet Valley High books is a fascinating read. (No joke.) My parents never let me read the Sweet Valley books when I was in middle school, and I hav...
Sherlock Holmes (as portrayed by Justin Bieber)
Ever since I heard about this project, I've been keeping an eye out for the first book in a new series featuring Sherlock Holmes as a teenager. The Times liked Andrew Lane's Death Cloud, and it's...
Everybody's doing it
Huh. The Go Fug Yourself ladies have apparently written a young-adult book.
I do like her haircut, though.
I've never been particularly impressed by Emma Watson's acting, but maybe I'm alone in that: she's apparently starring in two buzzed-about YA movie adaptations: Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Bein...
Gimme a Call, by Sarah Mlynowski
I've been following Sarah Mlynowski's career ever since the publication of her first novel: 2001's Milkrun, one of the first offerings from Red Dress Ink, the now-defunct Harlequin...
A gift from Scholastic to you...
The fine people at Scholastic have made Alexandra Bullen's YA novel Wish available as a free e-book download. From now until January 3rd, click here to read Wish in its entirety. (You can also p...
Artemis Fowl the movie: MIA
Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch column has posted an article guessing at the next YA book to be adapted for the big screen. Most of the story is pure speculation—will Hollywood ever made a 3-D ad...
Right there with you, NPH
Wow, this movie (based on the YA book Beastly by Alex Flinn, and inspired by the "Beauty and the Beast" fairytale) looks seriously terrible:I'm actually almost impressed by how bad this looks.
Build your own book review
I had never heard of Common Sense Media before yesterday, but their purpose statement sounded innocuous enough: they're a nonprofit organization dedicated to "improving the lives of kids and famil...
I'm not gonna lie; I will probably watch this.
I have this 14-year-old family friend who only seems to enjoy books featuring preternaturally good-looking people dying horrible deaths. She's a big fan of the "Pretty Little Liars" series by Sar...
Kiss in the Dark, by Lauren Henderson
Lauren Henderson's Kiss in the Dark is the third book in her series about Scarlett Wakefield, a wealthy, orphaned teen attending Wakefield Hall, her iron-willed grandmother's exclusive English boa...
They Never Came Back, by Caroline Cooney
Caroline Cooney has never quite achieved household-name status, but she's made a successful career out of writing suspense novels for young readers. Her latest effort is They Never Came Back, a f...
Vintage Veronica, by Erica S. Perl
15-year-old Veronica Walsh, star of Erica S. Perl's debut novel Vintage Veronica, has big plans for her summer. She's going to work in the consignment section of Clothing Bonanza, drink mocha smo...
Chalk and cheese
Weird pairing news: Warner Bros. has apparently hired R.J. Cutler (the dude who directed the well-respected documentary The September Issue) to helm their adaptation of Melissa de la Cruz's (deepl...
Perpetual Check, by Rich Wallace
Rich Wallace's novel Perpetual Check is set at a regional chess tournament. Two brothers—sports star Zeke and chubby, retiring Randy—are competing, and the idea of playing against each other has p...
The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein, by Libby Schmais
The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein, the debut YA novel from author Libby Schmais, is a collection of journal entries written by Lotus Lowenstein, a fifteen-year-old Brooklynite who is convinced—d...
All Unquiet Things, by Anna Jarzab
Anna Jarzab's intriguing debut novel All Unquiet Things centers around Neily and Audrey, two wealthy California teens haunted by the death of sixteen-year-old Carly—the beautiful, damaged girl who...
The Diamonds, by Ted Michael
Fans of everything from Mean Girls to The A-List will recognize elements of Ted Michael's debut novel The Diamonds, but Michael's take on this overly-familiar material still feels smart, fun, and ...