Release Date: January 5th, 2016
Source: ARC via publisher
Published by: Disney Hyperion

Passenger - Alexandra Bracken | Goodreads

passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them— whether she wants to or not.

Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are play­ing, treacherous forces threaten to sep­arate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home . . . forever


With any book that heavily features cinematic action, there's always the danger (for me) of dissociating from the characters because the focus is more on the plot than their plight. However, this did not happen with Passenger. From the opening pages, I identified with the main characters, Nicholas and Etta, and their character struggles. In the prologue, we are shown a crucial, character-defining moment in Nicholas's life; from that moment on, it's easy to understand his bitterness, his dissociation with the world around him and the privileges and legacy he cannot claim. In the first chapter, Etta is revealed to be a violin prodigy with a competitive, ambitious attitude; she's been waiting a long time for her debut, and she will not back down, a quite refreshing outlook (to me) for a young female character. Both characters are immediately rendered flawed yet sympathetic, with their own struggles to overcome in the duology.

Because Outlander is so successful, it seems like there is an increase in YA time-travel novels (for 2016 and beyond). Honestly, I like this trend, and I want to emphasize how Passenger is different from others in YA that I've read. Perhaps the most key element to this difference is the emphasis in Passenger on travelers not belonging to any one culture. In Passenger, time-traveling has become heavily regulated due to one family bending the others under its heel and a diminished ability to time-travel because of a decline in the population of the genetic predisposition therein. Alex Bracken has imagined several details to accompany the time-traveler "belonging" aspect of her world-building: people being orphaned from their time, shifting timelines because of the actions of certain characters and the war between families for power over the time passages; the discussion of wealth and power inherent to the privilege of time traveling and changing history. In order to survive the trials put by the dominating family with the most time travelers, people have been forced to take desperate action. People from that family, and others, have to learn several languages and the ability to blend in with the tenor and feel of a time period, even when its attitudes are so different from their own. Alex Bracken doesn't seem to skimp on historical detail, even when they're not accepted in our own time but are clearly markers of the struggles faced by characters from their own time period. Altogether Passenger is a fascinating look into history and culture with its well-developed world-building. I once saw that teachers recommended YA historical fiction to their students as a way of encouraging their interest in history; I can see Passenger among these novels, for it is clear that Alexandra Bracken has done her research to make the atmosphere and attitudes realistic.

The romance between Etta and Nicholas is of the slow-burn kind. While the two are indeed instantly attracted to each other, neither knows what to make of and whether to trust the other. Through their shared trials on their quest to retrieve a valuable object, they get to know one another and that attraction is allowed to simmer. However, the romance never takes over the main quest plot or the suspense that Alex Bracken builds about their motives and those of the other characters. In short, Passenger will have a huge audience. Also, it would make for an amazing movie, and I would not be surprised if, in the coming weeks, we hear of a Hollywood studio snatching the rights to this book. Check out the book trailer if you don't believe me.

If you're a The Darkest Minds fan, I do think that you're going like Passenger; there's a similar blend of cinematic action, romance, suspense, and emotionally charged situations. I also would recommend this to fans of A Thousand Pieces of You. Of the time travel YA novels published so far (that I have read!), ATPoY seems the most similar. Cinematic in scope and sharpened by suspense, family drama, flawed, interesting characters, and an intense romantic bond, Passenger is sure to nab its own legion of fans eager for the sequel, especially after that explosive ending.

Today I thought that I'd share my favorite reads from 2015. I've been posting these on a Goodreads shelf all year long, but some of them are books I'd also marked as favorites in 2014: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski, and The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon. Those I read in 2014, though they were officially published in 2015 -- would still recommend reading those! Last year I only made a video as a means of recommending books to people who didn't like YA much, but this year I wanted to make a full list!

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Publishing:
Rights Report

• No Fair! No Fair! And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood - Calvin Trillin, illus by Roz Chast (the first book of poems for children; is inspired by some of Trillin's real-life experiences, with an eye toward the humor of familiar, everyday topics. Publication is set for October 2016; Scholastic's Orchard Books).
• Feathervein - Tonya Hurley (a YA contemporary fantasy, follows Wren, a lonely girl with a gift for communicating with birds. She leaves behind a fractured family to investigate her mother's mysterious disappearance on a birding expedition in the Louisiana bayous, and enters a world steeped in folk magic. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Feiwel and Friends).
• Forward - Abby Wambach (a memoir & young reader’s edition... the 2015 Women's World Cup champion and highest international goal scorer of all time, male or female. The books are scheduled for fall 2016; Dey Street & HarperCollins Children's Books).
• Dimple & Rishi - Sandhya Menon (a contemporary YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be married. Publication is set for summer 2017; Simon Pulse).
• Little Dead Riding Hood and Other Scarytales - Kiersten White (MG debut; a collection of stories. A publication date has not been set; Scholastic Press).
• Sleepover Surprise - Suzanne Selfors (MG; When Leilani's grandmother accidentally sends out sleepover invitations to the kids on the do-not-invite list, Leilani winds up hosting a group of oddballs she doesn't know – and never wanted to. But Leilani learns that none of them are quite what they seem at first glance, as the group works together to gather ingredients for a secret recipe that legend says will grant them a wish. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Macmillan/Imprint).
• 27 Magic Words - Sharelle Byars Moranville (MG; When Kobi is very young, her mother writes 27 magic words on post-its and gives them to Kobi before she and Kobi's amateur magician dad are lost at sea in a sailing accident. Eventually, Kobi cracks the magic of most of the words and uses them to try to keep her new family together, negotiate a decent couch, and survive fifth grade. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Holiday House).

Nothing from last week.

Awards/Lists: Amazon’s Best YA Books of January. The Cybil award YA finalists were announced. Teen’s Best Books of 2015. Frances Hardinge won the 2015 Costa children’s book award. The 2016 Sendak Fellows were announced.

Vote in the 2015 Book Shimmy Award finals, winners to be announced January 11th. You can also nominate your favorite teen reads for the Teen Choice Book of the Year Award until February 2, 2016.

Excerpts: One Would Think the Deep - Claire Zorn, The Warden - Madeleine Roux

Book trailers: Comics Squad: Lunch!

Authors: Brigid Kemmerer & Kelly Fiore on Thicker Than Water (and another with Fiore here), Sarah J. Maas and Susan Dennard on Truthwitch, Curio - Evangeline Denmark, Paper Wishes - Lois Sepahban, This Is Where It Ends - Marieke Nijkamp (and another here), Enter Title Here - Rahul Kanakia, The Museum of Heartbreak - Meg Leder, Momotaro: Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters - Margaret Dilloway, The Lost Celt - A.E. Conran, The Girl from Everywhere - Heidi Heilig, unusual holiday gifts that authors have received

Jake Marcionette is the youngest New York Times bestselling author.

Ransom Riggs recommended his favorite books from 2015. And on that note, 22 YA authors recommend their 2015 Must-Read Picks.

You can vote on the extra content that Renee Ahdieh will be writing for The Wrath and the Dawn duology.

Algonquin YR, specifically Workman, has announced a new campaign: I Love MG. On Twitter, they’ll be discussing it January 25-29.

If you’re looking to diversify your bookshelves, here’s a list of 2015 MG & YA books written by African American authors, as compiled by Zetta Elliott.

We Need Diverse Books also made a flowchart of young adult novels they’d recommend as well as a flowchart of their middle grade recommendations.

Gene Luen Yang was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature 2016-2017. Here’s an interview with him via NPR.

The statistics for 2016 debut novels from Sweet Sixteeners was interesting. I keep thinking that fantasy has saturated the market, but contemporary still leads the charge. I wonder how this compares to other years? Contemporary always seems to have the most published (excluding the years of YA PNR flooding the market? maybe?), but did the fantasy percentage published go up, or am I just making things up?

Kim Savage’s ‘After The Woods’ Shows Why Strong Female Characters Don’t Need To Be Likeable→ I haven’t read this book, but I can agree with the title alone. Anti-heroines, unlikable MCs, yay!

2015 debut authors share what they learned in their debut year here and here.

Scholastic got a bunch of kids together in a video to share why they read.

A new piece in the Harry Potter World → this time, it’s on Merope Gaunt.

You may have already heard about this or were targeted if you’re a YA book blogger → a summary of a catfishing scheme to review a book.

There’s a scheduled series of interviews this week with the Morris Award finalists (esp since the 11th is the big reveal day for the Youth Media Awards → expect that week’s rounds to be huuuuge). So far, you’ve got the interview with Leah Thomas, author of Because You’ll Never Meet Me, and the interview with Becky Albertalli, author of Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Epic Reads made an infographic of all the HarperCollins books being published in 2016. Reeeallly helpful, especially since it’s broken down by genre.

A company is looking to make personalized books.

I think this might be an old graphic, but I just found it and I love it. It’s a *map* looking at the interaction between readers, writers, and the publishing industry (“Writing Reviews Rock,” “Social Media Shores,” “Revision River”).

The 2015 Nerdies were announced: part 1 and part 2 - the finalists. This is the first time I’m hearing about these so that’s why they’re not in the “awards” section.

Do you think that no topic should be taboo when writing for teenagers? (“If you asked the parents and care-givers who objected to these books whether anything is off-limits in writing for teenagers, their answer would be different from that of the writers...The boundaries exist; whether writers should obey them is another matter.”)

My answer to the above question: No topic should be taboo! But, apparently these books were so dangerous they had to be pulled off shelves. So if you ever run into that situation, maybe. But not the topics themselves.

The recent explosion of interest in classic folk stories may be because: “The core of fairy tales seems to reach deeper—well beyond the delights and shocks caused by improbable events—towards a species of raw honesty and authenticity.”

What’s Trending? What Is, What Was, What’s Soon to Be in Kid Lit - a good general summary of some trends in YA last year (like wishing for more diverse books but the stats being lower than we hoped, etc.).

Cover Reveals:


Discussion & Other Blogger Posts:

Looking for a 2016 read? These articles have got you covered → Popcrush’s most anticipated 2016 YA books, Paste Magazine’s 10 most anticipated YA books of 2016, B&N Teen’s 20 Most Anticipated January 2016 releases, B&N Teen’s 12 Most Anticipated Sequels of 2016, B&N Teen’s 13 HIghly Anticipated Sophomore Standalones of 2016, Bustle’s January 2016 13 Best YA Books to Read When the Snow Inevitably Falls, Reading Brightly’s 16 of the Most Exciting YA Books to Read in 2016, Reading Brightly’s The Books Kids Say They Can’t Wait to Read in 2016, Book Riot’s 15 Rad YA Books Coming in 2016

If you’re planning out what to read in 2016, B&N Teen has a really cute YA Book Bingo card that you can fill out with each read from the upcoming year.

Book Riot also has the “Read Harder” 2016 Challenge if you’d like to follow along with that.

Lots of best of 2015 lists still around → best books for women 2015… but interestingly, did you think that best of lists this year were more diverse? I didn’t really notice that, but if that’s indeed a trend, I’d love that.

According to USA Today, these were the must-read romances of 2015 and BookRiot says these YA couples left them breathless this past year.

If you’re looking for something to read to fulfill your Hamilton craving, here are some recommendations. And some more recommendations if you want to read a graphic novel memoir, like the YA Honor Girl pubbed by Candlewick.

Ah, Buzzfeed, your quizzes never fail to amuse. Based on your Zodiac sign, you can discover which member of the Order of the Phoenix you are.

A compilation of great articles & books on girls of color and YA dystopian literature.

The New Year’s Resolutions of a book nerd - don’t buy more books, read XYZ books, follow this challenge, and on it goes each and every year. And here’s a video to that effect too. And more book nerd goals and New Year’s Resolutions inspired by Harry Potter and authors’ reading resolutions for 2016 too.

If you’ve still got holiday gift cards left, here are some ebooks you can get. Timeless classics you can also get with those gift cards.

This is when I know I’m behind on pop culture. There’s a Sherlock Special coming up(?), and if you’re excited, these YA books may be what to read afterwards.

Oh, bookstagram. I adore the pictures set in different colors. I wish I had a rainbow’s worth but alas.

Quotes on winter + taking a chance, and while you’re at it, check out these great opening lines in kidlit (I kinda love those posts because they’re so subjective--except that a lot of people do repeat The Hobbit + HP1).

With all the upcoming movie adaptations this year, try not to spoil the adaptations for your friends.

Movies and TV Shows:

Did y’all like it when I compiled 6-7 months worth of news from this section into a round-up of options, casting news, etc.? As in… should I make another post like that with ALL the options, casting news, etc. from 2015? That would mean including the news from the bookish rounds I’ve made since then and a few more that I’d cut off as the arbitrary limit, like the posts from January-March.

^ Actually, in that list, I didn’t really cover some other movies that I think some of you are interested in, like the live-action Beauty and the Beast movie and so on. I only occasionally cover stuff on fairy tales etc. because they’re not technically adaptations of specific books (also maybe Alice and the Looking Glass, which I just missed). Anywho, here’s some old news: Chloe Grace Moretz has been cast in the live action flick of The Little Mermaid.

The premiere of Shadowhunters the show is coming up really soon. Here was Cassandra Clare’s first visit to the set, and here’s a new teaser video.

Emma Watson started the New Year in tweeting her support for Noma Dumezweni, the actress playing a black Hermione. Yayyy, support all around! Hint, hint, Hollywood, publishing industry, etc.

The 5th Wave movie is coming soon - January 22nd. They’ve got some cool graphics: wallpapers for your phone, “stay human,” and “trust no one.” And if you’d like a sneak peek, looooads of clips this week → an exclusive clip from Just Jared with Evan & Cassie, “he’s one of us,” a featurette discussing how they adapted the book into a film, “I Will be Ready,” “Fight Back,” and “Human.”

EEE, more sneak peeks at Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! A picture & discussion on the casting choice of Eddie Redmayne plus an exclusive look at Eddie Redmayne in the film.

Allegiant is also coming soon. Graphics on Peter, Tris, and Evelyn.

And it looks like Before I Fall will indeed be released in 2016 (I know I’ve said this before, but looking at more shots from the movie-- I’m more and more convinced). Here are screenshots from Claire’s video, highlights from the movie including Sam, Sam + Lindsey, etc., and the Kingston family headshots.

New pictures for the 6th season of Pretty Little Liars!

Similarly, new pictures for the 3rd season of the 100!

“Glyndebourne will next year stage an opera based on Nothing, a YA novel by Danish author Janne Teller released in the UK by Scottish independent publisher Strident.” Whaa. That’s the first I’ve heard of a YA opera adaptation, I guess.

“Tim Federle, author of the Broadway-set novel ‘Better Nate Than Ever,’ has joined Claudia Shear as co-librettist of the upcoming new Broadway musical Tuck Everlasting.” I like Broadway, but I know nothing -- is co-librettist similar to writing screenplays?

Giveaways:

Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaway(s): New Releases 1/04/16! Win TWO of the great new YA novels that release this week, plus read interviews and a round-up of all this week's new YA novels. Giveaway ends 1/10/16.

Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.

Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.

Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.

I will probably be posting a giveaway soon, myself, re: best books 2015 & anticipated 2016 reads.

If you have a giveaway, you should let me know.

Other:

New YA Releases:

December 27 - January 2: Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer, Endure by Sarah B. Larson, What's Broken Between Us by Alexis Bass, Before Goodbye by Mimi Cross, HEAR by Robin Epstein.

January 3 - 9: Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine, This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Thicker than Water by Kelly Fiore, Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley, Upon a Kiss by Robin Palmer, Thief of Lies by Brenda Drake, This Song is (Not) for You by Laura Nowlin, Winter's Bullet by William Osborne, Life at the Speed of Us by Heather Sappenfield.

Recent Recommended Reads: You can read my review of Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. I also wrote about my favorite books that I’d read in 2015.

I went to the launch event for This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Njikamp. Lovely to hear her discuss her writing process (plotting, putting aside a science fiction WIP to write about the four characters in TISITE, whose voices were loud in her head after she saw a school bus for the first time), getting immersed in American culture because gun culture & school shootings = not really a thing in the Netherlands, and much more. Sona Charaipotra, a co-author of Tiny Pretty Things, was the host, and she was also really nice. You may hear more about both books from me in the future.

Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.

Last year, I was tagged by my friend, Ameriie, at Books Beauty Ameriie for New Year's Bookolutions. I had a lot of fun discussing the books I was planning on reading this past year (LOL can you guess my success rate?!), and so I thought that I'd do the tag again this year.

Hello, everyone! Last month, I gathered a round-up of adaptation news from the past six to seven months that I had covered in my bookish rounds posts. The six to seven months was an arbitrary number, and I had missed some adaptation news in choosing that limit.

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books

Warning: there may be spoilers for The Orphan Queen.

The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows | Goodreads

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right.

HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.

HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.

In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.

If The Orphan Queen was the duology opener, tinged with a hint of romance, mystery, magic, and political intrigue, The Mirror King is the bittersweet conclusion that deepens the stakes and our understanding of and intimacy with the characters before we let go. Notably, while the Orphan Queen was a nod to Wil's legacy, The Mirror King is the book in which Tobiah must assert his own and accept the burden of his powers. Both characters have their own character arcs -- where the Orphan Queen featured more of Tobiah as Black Knife and Wil's sneaking around the palace, her nightly adventures, The Mirror King is about the myriad challenges that he and Wil face as not-so-future rulers of their countries. Here are the hard truths about being responsible for other lives.

The Mirror King picks up right where The Orphan Queen left off: Tobiah has been seriously injured, and Wil is partly responsible for her relation to Patrick, who wishes to put her back on her throne. Tobiah eventually makes a recovery, and the wraith boy returns empty-handed. Tobiah and Wil will have to work together to keep their countries at peace and find a solution to the ever growing wraith problem. They have common enemies, and whatever happens between them, they must ensure that their kingdoms are safe first and foremost.

The Mirror King has a lot of plot twists, particularly with regard to the wraith boy and the magic system that Jodi Meadows established, that I didn't see coming. The wraith boy's actions have rippling consequences, and he's much like an inner darkness within Wil (a mirror) that she must confront herself before she can control and prevent any further rashness on his part. Really, he is the first subject she must exert her authority over and rule. Because his understanding is also limited (a creature woken from a deadly mist thing produced by magic users... Mm yeah...), he's got an element of unpredictability that makes The Mirror King feel fresh. How human is he? Is he a part of Wil, and just how far does her animating magic extend? Can he exert his own will and what guides his actions? His limitations and purposes are well explored here. As are the limitations of the magic system in general -- which brings its own surprises.

Similarly, now that Wil's magic has been exposed, it's out for good. The Mirror King has a lot of magic, a lot more political intrigue because our main characters have more on their plates this time around. More of the world is explored as well; with the threat of wraith pressing in, we get to see more of other countries like Aecor. We also get to see new manifestations of magic, and clever ways to keep Tobiah and Wil talking even when they are separated, each on their own journeys.

On that note, the Mirror King shows how much better Tobiah and Wil are together when they actually work together. The Orphan Queen ended on a less than happy note for their romance; The Mirror King throws quite a few hurdles in their way as well. But when all is said and done, and their countries are struggling, and they are the hope of their people, they work well together to provide the stability needed during crisis. And they'll balance each other.

If you liked the mix of romance, magic, adventure and intrigue in The Orphan Queen, you're sure to like the character-focused journeys for Wil and Tobiah in The Mirror King, every bit as magical and romantic as its predecessor. The ending is open enough, I think, for maybe another story, someday, perhaps a novella? Well, one could hope anyway.

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Hi! Today’s post is going to be really long in the publishing section because of recent award announcements. I don’t expand on “best of” lists, but the ALA Youth Media awards are among the most important for kidlit, so I thought that y’all would like to see all the books listed out instead of going the lists yourselves.

Publishing
Rights Report 1& 2:

• Henry & Eva - Andrea Portes (MG modern gothic series is set in Big Sur and follows the titular brother and sister as they attempt to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Publication of the first book is scheduled for winter 2018; HarperCollins).
• Truth Is - Amanda Searcy (debut; a psychological thriller following two teen girls, one from a Texas border town hoping to outrun her past and another who fears for her future in a public housing complex; when their worlds collide, only one girl will make it out alive. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Delacorte).
• Hidden - Miriam Halahmy (a novel about two teenagers facing homelessness. Publication is set for spring 2016; Holiday House).
• Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain - Zac Gorman (middle grade illustrated fantasy series; In the series, a 12-year-old-girl becomes gamekeeper at a massive dungeon full of monsters and winds up having to save the princess when a royal tour goes awry. Publication is planned for winter 2018; HarperCollins).
• The Super Happy Party Bears series - Marcie Colleen, illustrated by Steve James (These chapter books explore the hijinks of the unrepentantly cheery Bears as they annoy everyone in the Grumpy Woods – yet save the day with a party. Publication of the first two titles is scheduled for fall 2016; Macmillan/Imprint).
• Rowan Oakwing: A London Fairy Tale - Ed Clarke (an early middle grade novel about a girl who discovers the secret world of fairies hidden in London's parks. Publication is slated for summer 2017; S&S/Aladdin).
• Boy Robot - Simon Curtis (Boy Robot is the first in a planned science fiction trilogy that follows a group of synthetic cell human teens with special abilities as they fight against the government organization that created them and now wants to destroy them. Publication is scheduled for November 15, 2016; Simon Pulse).
• Gem & Dixie - Sara Zarr (Gem & Dixie is about two sisters who leave home for a road trip when their deadbeat father tries to reinsert himself into their lives. Publication is set for winter 2017; HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray).
• Fakespeare - M.E. Castle (In the MG series, a cast of children gets lost in Shakespeare's classic plays where they must deal with villains, ghosts, mysterious odors, and split tights, among other dangers. The first two installments, which will be illustrated by Daniel Jennewein, will tackle Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. Publication for both books is slated for summer 2017; Macmillan/Imprint).
• The Forgetting - Sharon Cameron (about a place where, every 12 years, every person forgets everything – life, loves, and self – unless it is written; books are worn tied to the body at all times. But Nadia knows who hasn't written the truth because Nadia is the only person who has never forgotten. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Scholastic Press).
• Felix Yz - Lisa Bunker (MG novel which takes the form of blog entries written by a boy accidentally fused with a fourth-dimensional being, set during the last month before an experimental procedure which will either separate them or kill them both. Publication is scheduled for summer 2017; Viking).
• The Star Thief - Lindsey Becker (debut; a middle grade fantasy adventure in which an orphaned girl is caught in the crossfire of a feud between a master of mythical constellations and the captain of a spectacular flying steamship – and doesn't know whose side to join. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Little, Brown).
• Buried Lives: Slaves of George Washington's Mount Vernon - Carla Killough McClafferty (Buried Lives will bring to light the forgotten lives of the slaves owned by Washington for a middle-grade audience. Publication is tentatively set for fall 2017; Holiday House).

Jodi Meadows’s new fantasy trilogy about a girl stripped from her political family and imprisoned, her fellow inmates who know more than they say, and a dangerous secret about illegal dragon trafficking that might be her only hope of escape, to Katherine Tegen Books (announcement from here).

Nothing from last week.

Excerpts: Heartless - Marissa Meyer, The Problem with Forever - Jennifer Armentrout, Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard, Up to This Pointe - Jennifer Longo, Star Struck - Jenny McLachlan

Authors: Passenger - Alexandra Bracken, Front Lines - Michael Grant, The Way Back to You - Michelle Andreani, How It Ends - Catherine Lo, Firsts - Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, Bounders - Monica Tesler, an open mic with many different authors who talk about their personal experiences on B&N Teen, Chris Grabenstein, Last Stop on Market Street - Matt de la Peña and here with Publisher’s Weekly (he’s the first Hispanic author to win the Newbery and the book is the second picture book to receive the award), Laura Ruby on winning the Printz for Bone Gap, and Sophie Blackall on winning the Caldecott

Awards/Lists: The 2015 Middle East Book Award Winners, The 2016 Amelia Bloomers List,Teen Vogue’s Best 7 YA Books to Read Right Now, the ALA 2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers winners were announced (and in the top ten of those quick picks, for fiction: Red Queen; The Iron Trial; Zeroboxer; Dumplin’; The Silence of Six; Shadowshaper; Nimona; Everything, Everything.). Also ALA’s 2016 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Readers (in the top ten for fiction: The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich, read by Charlotte Parry and Christian Coulson; Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, read Mark Bramhall, David De Vries, Macleod Andrews, and Rebecca Soler; Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, read by Kyla Garcia; Half Wild by Sally Green, read by Carl Prekopp; Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01 by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, read by Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lincoln Hoppe, Jonathan McClain; Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray, read by January LaVoy; Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs, read by Kirby Heyborne; Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne; Waistcoats & Weaponry by Gail Carriger, read by Moira Quick) and the 2016 Rainbow List were announced (In the top ten for fiction: Polonsky, Ami. Gracefully Grayson;Selznick, Brian. The Marvels; Albertalli, Becky. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda; Mesrobian, Carrie. Cut Both Ways; Reid, Raziel. When Everything Feels Like the Movies; Scelsa, Kate. Fans of the Impossible Life; Stetz-Waters, Karelia. Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before). Also the ALA 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults List (top ten include: Albertalli, Becky. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda; Bardugo, Leigh. Six of Crows; Brooks, Kevin. The Bunker Diary; Crowder, Melanie. Audacity; Older, Daniel José. Shadowshaper; Reynolds, Jason. The Boy in the Black Suit; Ruby, Laura. Bone Gap; Shabazz, Ilyasah and Kekla Magoon. X: A Novel; Shusterman, Neal. Challenger Deep; Silvera, Adam. More Happy than Not.). And the ALA 2016 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults List (top ten fiction include: Anderson, Laurie Halse. Wintergirls; Bracken, Alexandra. The Darkest Minds; Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days; Jamieson, Victoria. Roller Girl; Kuehn, Stephanie. Charm & Strange; Lewis, John, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell. March 1; Maberry, Jonathan. Rot & Ruin; Meyer, Marissa. Cinder; Mullin, Mike. Ashfall; Yolen, Jane. Briar Rose).

The 2015 Epic Reads Book Shimmy Award Winners: Best of Shelf: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas; The Pagemaster: Sarah J. Maas; New Kid on the Shelf: Sabaa Tahir; Cover Lust: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard; We Need Diverse Books: The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh; Mental Health Matters: All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven; Here and Now Award: PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han; Reality Bites Award: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard; Hot Under the Cover Award: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas; World Series Champ: The Selection series by Kiera Cass; Blast from the Past Award: Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson; The Retelling Award: Winter by Marissa Meyer; Epic Adaptations: Mockingjay Part 2; Most Anticipated Award: The Crown by Kiera Cass; Book Nerd of the Year: Sasha of youtube.com/abookutopia.

Here’s a round-up from Time about the ALA Youth Media Award Winners and one from CNN and one from Publisher’s Weekly, if you don’t want to read the full list below. The ALA Youth Media Award Winners:

John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature: “Last Stop on Market Street,” written by Matt de la Peña, is the 2016 Newbery Medal winner. The book is illustrated by Christian Robinson. Three Newbery Honor Books also were named: “The War that Saved My Life,” written by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley; “Roller Girl,” written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson; and “Echo,” written by Pam Muñoz Ryan.

Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished American picture book for children: “Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear,” illustrated by Sophie Blackall, is the 2016 Caldecott Medal winner. Four Caldecott Honor Books also were named: “Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, written by Troy Andrews; “Waiting,” illustrated and written by Kevin Henkes; “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, written by Carole Boston Weatherford; and “Last Stop on Market Street,” illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de le Peña.

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award, recognizing an African American author and illustrator of outstanding books for children and young adults: “Gone Crazy in Alabama,” written by Rita Williams-Garcia, is the King Author Book winner. Three King Author Honor Books were selected: “All American Boys,” by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely; “The Boy in the Black Suit,” by Jason Reynolds and “X: A Novel,” by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon.

Coretta Scott King (Illustrator) Book Award: “Trombone Shorty,” illustrated by Bryan Collier, is the King Illustrator Book winner. Two King Illustrator Honor Books were selected: “The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore,” illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, written by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and “Last Stop on Market Street,” illustrated by Christian Robinson, written by Matt de la Peña.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award: “Hoodoo,” written by Ronald L. Smith, is the Steptoe author award winner.

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award: “Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement,” illustrated by Ekua Holmes, is the Steptoe illustrator award winner.

Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement: Jerry Pinkney is the winner of the Coretta Scott King – Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: “Bone Gap,” written by Laura Ruby, is the 2016 Printz Award winner. Two Printz Honor Books also were named: “Out of Darkness,” by Ashley Hope Pérez and “The Ghosts of Heaven,” by Marcus Sedgwick.

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: “Emmanuel’s Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah,” written by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Sean Qualls... wins the award for children ages 0 to 10. “Fish in a Tree,” written by Lynda Mullaly Hunt and “The War that Saved My Life,” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley...are the winners of the middle-school (ages 11-13). The teen (ages 13-18) award winner is “The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B,” written by Teresa Toten.

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences: “All Involved,” by Ryan Gattis, “Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Bones & All,” by Camille DeAngelis, “Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits,” by David Wong, “Girl at War,” by Sara Nović, “Half the World,” by Joe Abercrombie, “Humans of New York: Stories,” by Brandon Stanton, “Sacred Heart,” by Liz Suburbia, “Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League,” by Dan-el Padilla Peralta, & “The Unraveling of Mercy Louis,” by Keija Parssinen.

Andrew Carnegie Medal for excellence in children’s video: Weston Woods Studios, Inc., producer of “That Is NOT a Good Idea,” is the Carnegie Medal winner.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Award honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. The 2016 winner is Jerry Pinkney.

Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults: David Levithan is the 2016 Edwards Award winner.

May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site. Jacqueline Woodson will deliver the 2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book translated from a foreign language and subsequently published in the United States: “The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy” is the 2016 Batchelder Award winner. Originally published in French in 2014 as “Le merveilleux Dodu-Velu-Petit,” the book was written and illustrated by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick. Three Batchelder Honor Books also were selected: “Adam and Thomas,” written by Aharon Appelfeld, iIllustrated by Philippe Dumas and translated from the Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green; “Grandma Lives in a Perfume Village,”, written by Fang Suzhen, illustrated by Sonja Danowski and translated from the Chinese by Huang Xiumin; and “Written and Drawn by Henrietta,” written, illustrated and translated from the Spanish by Liniers.

Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States: “The War that Saved My Life,” produced by Listening Library, an imprint of the Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group, is the 2016 Odyssey Award winner. One Odyssey Honor Recording also was selected: “Echo,” produced by Scholastic Audio/Paul R. Gagne, written by Pam Muñoz Ryan and narrated by Mark Bramhall, David de Vries, MacLeod Andrews and Rebecca Soler.

Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino writer and illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: “Drum Dream Girl,” illustrated by Rafael López, is the Belpré Illustrator Award winner. Three Belpré Illustrator Honor Books for illustration were selected: “My Tata’s Remedies = Los remedios de mi tata,” illustrated by Antonio Castro L., written by Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford; “Mango, Abuela, and Me,” illustrated by Angela Dominguez, written by Meg Medina and “Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras,” illustrated and written by Duncan Tonatiuh.

Pura Belpré (Author) Award: “Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir,” written by Margarita Engle, is the Belpré Author Award winner. Two Belpré Author Honor Books were named: “The Smoking Mirror,” written by David Bowles; and “Mango, Abuela, and Me,” written by Meg Medina, illustrated by Angela Dominguez.

Stonewall Book Award - Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award given annually to English-language children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: “George,” written by Alex Gino and “The Porcupine of Truth,” written by Bill Konigsberg... are the winners of the 2016 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Awards respectively. Two honor books were selected: “Wonders of the Invisible World,” written by Christopher Barzak and “Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU,” written by Cory Silverberg and Fiona Smyth.

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,” written by Becky Albertalli is the 2016 Morris Award winner. Four other books were finalists for the award: “Because You’ll Never Meet Me,” written by Leah Thomas; “Conviction,” written by Kelly Loy Gilbert; “The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly,” written by Stephanie Oakes; and “The Weight of Feathers,” written by Anna-Marie McLemore.

I didn’t go over: YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, and the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award. Also deleted the publisher information from each book, as I figured you’d search for them on Goodreads + elsewhere if interested.

If you’re looking for interviews with some of the winners, check out the authors section above!

We Need Diverse Books announced the winners of its mentorship program: Lisa Braithwaite, nonfiction mentee with Patricia Hruby-Powell; Deirdre D Havelock, picture book mentee with Nikki Grimes; Sun Jones, young adult mentee with Malinda Lo; Charlene Willing-McMannis, middle grade mentee with Margarita Engle, and Jacqueline Alcántara, illustration mentee with Carolyn Dee Flores.

Diversity is not a black and white issue and children’s books shouldn’t present it that way.

Algonquin YR, specifically Workman, has announced a new campaign: I Love MG. On Twitter, they’ll be discussing it January 25-29. ← I have been reposting this little blurb about #ILoveMG for the last couple of weeks, but now Publisher’s Weekly has written an article on the hashtag and campaign! Here’s a #ILoveMG post by a librarian.

Ethnically diverse writers writing for the ages of 10-14 should check out the Roll of Thunder Publishing Contest set for April by Penguin Random House.

The format of the recently announced sci-fi duology by Lauren Oliver sounds intriguing, and in this interview with Publisher’s Weekly, she talks about the big plans HarperCollins has plus the Before I Fall movie.

HarperCollins won the lawsuit over Open Road and is now publishing an ebook of Julie of the Wolves.

Just as children’s books need diversity, so do comic books.

Renee Ahdieh will be writing both stories from The Wrath and the Dawn that readers voted on.

Simon Teen’s community, Pulseit, which posted a lot of excerpts of its upcoming titles, is now becoming RivetedLit, with a new site name and tagline all launching in February.

Cover Reveals:

Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

Have you read any of the popular YA books releasing in January?

Why the British tell children’s stories better than Americans -- Me: Why do people make such grand, sweeping statements?

When J.K. Rowling finished Harry Potter, she graffitied a bust of a hotel statue.

It’s all about quotes: sad quotes from your favorite children’s books, quotes on body positivity

Nerdist’s list of 2016 books they can’t wait to read in 2016 features some YA novels. So does Kirkus’s 10 Most Anticipated Titles of 2016 and Goodreads’s 15 Highly Anticipated Titles of 2016.

People on tumblr tend to come up with some of the best posts on YA theories and tropes.

Emma Watson is launching her own feminist book club. I love when celebrities tweet about reading books, so more of these please.

Do you think that the focus of YA movies will shift onto contemporaries now that the Hunger Games franchise has ended? (“Needless to say, we’re at the teen movie tipping point...Of course, that’s not to say dystopian teen epics are going away completely (nor should they)...However, since “The Hunger Games” bowed in November, interest has certainly peaked — but has it waned?.. I’d say so. At this point in the zeitgeist, dystopian YA has a tendency to all look the same after a while...There will always be stories about teenagers coming-of-age in a confusing modern world. I would bet my menial life-savings on it. But what makes stories like “Looking For Alaska,” “Eleanor & Park” and Becky Albertalli’s “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” is that they capture what being a teen is really like. The fear and fun and unexplainable sadness and all of the emotions you feel at any given moment.”). Expecting to see more articles like this crop up, especially depending on how new adaptations do in the theater and beyond.

The New York Public Library just revealed a bunch of images for people to use (in memes?), and some of them are really interesting and quite random.

YA readers make New Year’s resolutions in a particular way.

A comic about the reality of reading and its escape.

2016 YA books with utterly irresistible concepts: yeah, I think that I’d agree in general with the title and some books being auto-buy just because of concept. Like The Winner’s Curse and in this list, The Girl from Everywhere among others.

If you’re a Sherlock fan, these recommendations are for you.

14 of B&N Teen’s Most Anticipated Historical Fiction of 2016: one of my New Year’s bookolutions was to read more YA historical fiction, so I am all over this list, especially Salt to the Sea and Outrun the Moon and A Tyranny of Petticoats.

What’s it like when you’re not a debut author anymore? (“Book releases are kind of like human birthdays….And then eventually you get to the age where you forget how old you are and just want to eat pizza in your apartment with your pants off. Depressing? Sure, but at least you made it to another year.– Hannah Moskowitz”)

Oh, that feeling that another book will never be as good.

I frequently link to B&N Teen blog posts here, and here’s a round-up from the editor of their favorite posts of 2015.

You know what’s sad? Carrie Fisher was in the news a bunch before the release of the new Star Wars movie, but I feel like a lot of articles pretty much emphasized how much weight she’d lost instead of how she’s a mental health hero.

Diverse fantasy books that will challenge your idea of fantasy fiction! Hello… list made for me. (“Fantasy recommendation lists are characterized by their safety...More often than not, though, the recommendations that they receive are the same few critically acclaimed authors whose work is all too often presented as representative of the genre. My belief is that Fantasy literature is the perfect lens for readers to challenge our ideas of humanity, violence, society, and power.”)

Attention to Book Nerds Who Like Yoga!

Gayle Forman's books teach you lots of life lessons.

I wrote about my own New Year’s Bookolutions if you’re interested.

Movies/TV Shows:

2016 is poised to have a lot of adaptations, so to make it easier on all of us trying to keep track, I made a calendar of adaptations (w/ their release dates) that I thought were relevant to the YA community.

Did you watch the Shadowhunters tv premiere yesterday? If not, you’ll be able to watch on Netflix today. And here’s something to tide you over for next week: stills from the next episode, The Descent into Hell Is Easy. Plus, you should let me know if these 10 things made it into the show (or were at least hinted at, in the beginning) -- I didn’t have the opportunity to watch yet.

A new poster for The Jungle Book adaptation.

The season 3 extended trailer for 100 was revealed. So was an intense new clip and photo of Clarke, and a clip of Sam Mendes on the show.

New photos and a clip from the 5th Wave, releasing in less than 9 days now.

Another character graphic for Allegiant: Christina.

Giveaways:

Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaway(s).

Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.

Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.

Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.

If you have a giveaway, you should let me know.

Other:

New YA Releases: Teen Frankenstein by Chandler Baker, Other Broken Things by Christa Desir, The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright, The Killing Jar by Jennifer Bosworth, Traveler (Seeker #2) by Arwen Elys Dayton, Zero Day by Jan Gangsei, Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira, The Assassin's Masque (Palace of Spies #3) by Sarah Zettel, Underwater by Marisa Leichhardt, Up From the Sea by Leza Lowitz, American Ace by Marilyn Nelson.

Recent Recommended Reads: You can read my review of The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows. I also just finished reading Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman, which I actually really enjoyed so maybe more on that later?

I went to the launch event for Passenger by Alexandra Bracken and Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, which was a lot of fun. Do y’all ever want me to write up event recaps? I sometimes don’t even really mention them, but if you’re curious enough, I can.

Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.

Okies! So on I go. Here are the 10 debuts that I'm most excited to read in 2016.


The Loneliness of Distant Beings by Katie Ling

That cover is gorgeous and seems to indicate either a magical realism story or a literary, lyrical contemporary story, like Jandy Nelson's, where the metaphor is emphasized on the cover instead of the people within. The synopsis for the book is a little vague to the point where I'm not entirely sure what the book is about -- is Seren literally floating through space? Or is that a metaphor for her state of mind? And how do Dom becoming the Sun and Seren staying in his orbit play into loyalty to home vs. loyalty to each other? But regardless, I am intrigued, and looking forward to this book.

It's weird for me to think that I've been blogging for nearly five years and booktubing for nearly a year now. It's also weird to me that my first instinct is still to say that both are completely separate; they are different mediums, but they've actually got quite a few commonalities. In thinking about my pending blogoversary come this March and the booktube channel anniversary that passed last month, I was thinking about what both have given me.

1. I'M CONSTANTLY LEARNING:

I think that's the coolest aspect of both the booktube channel and this book blog. Last week, I messed up my bookish rounds, saying that PulseIt was becoming RivetedLit when Riveted was meant to be publisher neutral. I changed it when I realized, but it's very obvious that there are errors here and there and everywhere on the site. Both booktubing and blogging force you to think somewhat ahead for post ideas and designs, and as someone who sometimes isn't the greatest at planning things out and following through, that's wonderful. I want to be more organized. Both could also use nice photos for each post/video, and that's forcing me to consider how best to use skills in photo editing. For booktubing, I'm still learning about outros, adding in audio music and editing videos. There was a series of videos when I simply didn't want to learn what cards were, which was really silly on my part. But because both are different mediums, they're both challenging me to think in new ways, even while encouraging me to be enthusiastic about one of my passions: books.

2. I'M CONSTANTLY IMPROVING AS A PERSON:

The awesome, life-changing aspect of being both a booktuber and a book blogger is that they're reminding me of who I am and what I like. Quite simply, I'm becoming more confident. The more time I spend on this blog, the more confident in my evaluation of books. The more time I spend booktubing, the more I'm learning to project my voice and say what I want about books. I've been told several times in my life that I'm quiet, which is true. I don't like being in the center of attention, and I probably never will, but that doesn't mean that I can't find a comfort zone and that I can't find a way of expressing myself without compromising those ideals. I've becoming more focused, too, on positive reviews; I'm accepting more of my own limitations, one of which is that negativity makes me feel worse about myself.

3. I'M CONSTANTLY GAINING NEW SKILLS:

There's no doubt that both booktubing and blogging have given me new skills. Let's face it: when you write at least 500-1,000 words a week for almost five years, of course your writing will improve. Especially when it's tempered by reading a lot of books. Blogging has helped steer me towards finding my own "writing voice" and forced me to focus my ideas. I asked one of my friends for some advice on my booktube channel; I know that I'm not quirky, but I also know that I could play to my strengths and that I haven't been doing that so far. She pointed out that I needed to project my energy more; project more, she said, and more of "me" would come through. You know what? She's right. The more energy I use to make a video, of course both the silly and serious side of me would come out more. And the more videos I make, the better I'm getting at public speaking -- I've been having a bunch of interviews for graduate students, and while I still get nervous, I'm much more controlled about my opinions as well. I know that some people don't want to blog or booktube because they're afraid of what might happen if future bosses discovered them, but the truth is that I'm a better employee because of the skills I'm gaining (e.g. public speaking and writing) -- and not just the ones that are specific to the medium in question (e.g. blog design and video editing).

4. I'M CONSTANTLY GETTING DEEPER INTO THE BOOK COMMUNITY:

It's absolutely lovely getting to see people's enthusiasm for books expressed in different ways: whether writing a *FLAIL* ~flail~ into your reviews/posts or flailing about in your videos. The different mediums show different sides to books and the book community, and it's also really interesting seeing what books, particularly in YA, are popular in the blogosphere and popular on various booktube channels, and whether there's overlap.

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Publishing:
Rights Report:

• Lilly and Fin - Cornelia Funke, translated by Oliver Latsch (a story of two merkids who must avoid capture by a human couple who collect rare aquatic creatures. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Random House).
• Impassioned - Rebecca Ross (a debut fantasy inspired by Renaissance France about the bastard granddaughter of an Earl embroiled in a plot to dethrone the king. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; HarperTeen).
• The Disappearances - Emily Bain Murphy (debut YA; The novel follows a teen girl who moves to her recently deceased mother's hometown and discovers that every seven years it is cursed to lose the experiences that weave life together – the stars in the sky, the sound of music, the ability to dream – and that her mother may be to blame. Publication is set for spring 2017; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
• The Inevitable Collision of Birdie + Bash - Candace Ganger (debut YA about two teens who fall in love not knowing of their connection to a horrific accident. The book is planned for publication in spring/summer 2017; St. Martin's).
• Things We Haven't Said - Erin E. Moulton (a YA anthology. It will be a collection of true stories from survivors of sexual violence, geared toward empowering teens of today who are facing similar situations; contributors include Melissa Marr, Carrie Jones, and Cheryl Rainfield. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Zest Books).
• The House of Months and Years - Emma Trevayne (MG; 10-year-old Amelia Howling doesn’t feel at home in her new house or with her newly enlarged family, but her parents' preoccupation with her orphaned cousins at least allows her the time to uncover the dwelling's secrets. The house is a calendar house – an architectural oddity designed to reflect lengths of time – but within the 12 rooms and behind the 52 windows, Amelia and her family are not alone. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Simon & Schuster).
• Goyle, Guardian - Paul Durham (MG novels set in modern-day Boston. The darkly humorous fantasy adventures feature a 130-year-old-gargoyle whose human form is that of a 12-year-old boy. Publication is set for 2018; Crown Books for Young Readers).
• Spectrum - Ginger Johnson (debut; a middle grade novel about a boy who can see all the colors of the spectrum in a world of black and white. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Bloomsbury).
• Dreaming in Code: Ada Byron Lovelace, Computer Pioneer - Emily Arnold McCully (middle grade biography; the daughter of Lord Byron, Ada's wild amalgam of mathematics and poetry gave her uncanny vision into the future. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Candlewick).

From last week:

• Henry & Eva - Andrea Portes (MG modern gothic series is set in Big Sur and follows the titular brother and sister as they attempt to solve the mystery of their parents' deaths. Publication of the first book is scheduled for winter 2018; HarperCollins).
• Truth Is - Amanda Searcy (debut; a psychological thriller following two teen girls, one from a Texas border town hoping to outrun her past and another who fears for her future in a public housing complex; when their worlds collide, only one girl will make it out alive. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Delacorte).
• The others still weren’t posted.

Awards: I’d highly suggest you check last week’s post, since it had lots and lots and lots of awards and lists thanks to the ALA Youth Media Award announcements. Lee and Low announced their New Voices Award Winner, 2016 Edward Award Nominees (In YA: Endangered by Lamar Giles, A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis, The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, Ask the Dark by Henry Turner), the 2016 Sydney Taylor Book Award winners (YA: The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz), the 2015 National Jewish Book Award winners (children’s literature: Oskar and the Eight Blessings - Tanya Simon and Richard Simon, illus by Mark Siegel).

You can also nominate your favorite teen reads for the Teen Choice Book of the Year Award until February 2, 2016.

Excerpts: Gertie’s Leap to Greatness - Kate Beasley, The Publisher’s Marketplace YA Spring/Summer Buzz Books Excerpts (including The Raven King, among many others!)

Authors: Underwater - Marisa Reichardt, Lizzie and the Lost Baby - Cheryl Blackford, Sticks and Stones - Abby Cooper, Ivory and Bone - Julie Eshbaugh, the 100 - Kass Morgan, Burn - Elissa Sussman, The Love That Split the World - Emily Henry, The Radiant Road - Katherine Catmull

Book Trailers: After the Woods - Kim Savage (teaser trailer; full to come on 1/22), Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

Multicultural Children’s Day, aka January 27, is coming up soon.

Epic Reads made a recording for the song inside The Siren by Kiera Cass.

Algonquin YR, specifically Workman, has announced a new campaign: I Love MG. On Twitter, they’ll be discussing it January 25-29. → AKA next week! Be on the lookout for #ILoveMG.

Ethnically diverse writers writing for the ages of 8-14 should check out Penguin Random House’s Roll of Thunder Publishing Contest; submissions will start in April.

Simon Teen’s community, Pulseit, has announced the creation of RivetedLit, which is launching in February and focused on YA lit. ← repeating this because I made an error last week when I had first posted the news. RivetedLit is publisher neutral!! PulseIt may have announced the news, but Riveted is still pub neutral!

If you’re looking to keep track of YA debuts releasing in February, here’s a great calendar made by the Sweet Sixteeners.

Lots and lots of YA books being published in January - March 2016, but another great list to help you keep track of them!

If you want to read more books written by diverse authors, you can also read backlist titles in 2016. Here’s a list of 2015 books written by diverse authors.

The Mellon grant from a joined force of five university presses: “A four-year, $682,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded to the University of Washington will help four university presses and the AAUP create a pipeline program to diversify academic publishing by offering apprenticeships in acquisitions departments.”

YES YES YES, the non-white Nancy Drew is actually happening for the tv show adaptation: “But the prospect of a non-white Nancy Drew points to one possible upside to the reboot/remake/revival madness: It opens up the chance for old, beloved stories to be told again with more diverse characters in the spotlight.”

The Diversity Myth: Where Have all the Black Editors Gone? (“Much like this year’s blindingly white selection of Oscar nominees, the overt lack of diverse representation in the publishing world isn’t limited to authors and their books. The Black editor attempting to navigate the intricacies of the corporate publishing system is, by default, a unicorn, simply because Black voices are routinely undervalued and dismissed. In the eyes of white publishing, the universality of a narrative is dependent upon its connection to whiteness.”)

Black Women Writers are also invisible in publishing, but Glory Edim is looking to change that, in part with #WellReadBlackGirl.

It may no longer be Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but you can definitely still check out these recommendations.

Scholastic will no longer be publishing/distributing “A Birthday Cake for George Washington,” and relatedly, Salon discusses smiling slaves at storytime and the need for greater publishing diversity.

A publisher for fangirls by fangirls, with regard to science fiction. (“Mrs. Eckstein started her company, Her Universe, in 2009 after searching for a Star Wars T-shirt at a comic book convention. Unable to find anything suited for women...target an overlooked consumer… Now, Mrs. Eckstein sees another opportunity, this time as a publisher of sci-fi novels written by women.”).

In case you didn’t already know, Alan Rickman passed away last week.

Woohoo! Children’s bookstores got a boost this holiday, with many stores reporting a significant increase in sales, a 7.5%, actually, increase in November.

A Growing (and Fragmented) Children’s Book Market in India (“Currently, the Indian book market is the sixth-largest in the world (valued at $3.9 billion, according to Nielsen) and the second-largest in terms of English-language market (after the U.S.). There are about 10,000 active publishers served by a complex (and often struggling) distribution network, and hindered by rampant piracy (with copies abounding at neighborhood stalls).”)

And news from Canada’s publishing industry, including giving a popular children’s book to Syrian refugees.

A recap of the Diversity in YA panel at ALA Midwinter 2016 from Publisher’s Weekly: “arguably the most well-attended was the YA panel on diversity, which was organized by We Need Diverse Books...The panelists discussed their latest projects, writing diverse characters when one isn’t a member of the group, and how librarians can help create more inclusive collections.“

A brief summary of author and industry events last week.

Wow, did you know that Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard has sold over 157k print units?

And did you know that these YA audiobooks were narrated by celebrities?

Cover Reveals:


You can vote on the cover for the novella, Iron to Iron, set in the Wolf by Wolf series by Ryan Graudin.

Discussion/Other Blogger Posts:

Choosing your next read based on your Hogwarts House: I am such a sucker for these kind of posts, and I will admit, that as a Hufflepuff, I did love Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Oooh, more coloring books for YA: which ones would you like to see adapted into that format?

13 of B&N Teen’s Most Anticipated Science Fiction in 2016: yesssssss, please keep these posts coming. I didn’t know that half of these were science fiction works, and I find it interesting too that there doesn’t appear to be as clear of a pattern among them for sci fi covers (vs. say, contemp covers).

Don’t measure your age in terms of Harry Potter facts; you’ll only feel old.

12 of B&N Teen’s Most Anticipated Indie Books of 2016: YES can we all agree that A Fierce and Subtle Poison sounds AWESOME?

Are you an American Horror Story fan? These recs are for you. Or books for Agent Carter fans! Or maybe you really liked American Girl Dolls growing up -- more books for you too! (I wasn’t a doll girl, but I did read a lot of the novels and loooooved them. Josefina and Kit are strongest in my mind still).

That time when your bag was too small to carry all the books you wanted and you had to decide between the books or the bag.

Get hyped for The 5th Wave adaptation this Friday with some memorable quotes from the book!

Looking for female-driven YA novels? Or perhaps the conclusion to these series ending in 2016? Or books that give #tbt new meaning? And of course, the award #winners soon to be on your shelf?

I want this typographic bookshelf so badly.

J.K. Rowling will always have amazing quotes and life truths to share.

Movies/TV Shows:

2016 is poised to have a lot of adaptations, so to make it easier on all of us trying to keep track, I made a calendar of adaptations (w/ their release dates) that I thought were relevant to the YA community.

The Shadowhunters TV show appears to be doing fairly well: its premiere was ABC Family’s top series debut in 2 years (aka Pretty Little Liars). You can check out the episode stills for episode 3, Dead Man’s Party.

Looks like we might be getting another Narnia Movie! The Silver Chair may be headed our way soon.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery is getting an eight episode tv series in Canada with the CBC. That’s really interesting to me since Anne of Green Gables the movie is supposed to release in 2016 (potentially internationally + U.S.?). I guess double the exposure for any adaptation?

You can check out the full cast for the Broadway musical, Tuck Everlasting.

Ahh, the 5th Wave is premiering this Friday! Check out all these clips: Fan Premiere Recap, Featurette: Meet Evan, Featurette: Meet Cassie, Featurette: Meet Dumbo, Featurette: Meet Flinstone, Featurette: Meet Poundcake, Featurette: Meet Ringer, Featurette: Meet Zombie, “Squad,” and “Chase.”

The School for Good and Evil script is currently being revised.

Lots of pics from Ruta Septys about Ashes in the Snow / Between Shades of Gray as they’re building the set: labor camp set, a look into costume design, film production design pics.

Neil Patrick Harris is playing Count Olaf in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (!!!).

Guillermo Del Toro is in development of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark adaptation.

Giveaways:

Adventures in Children's Publishing giveaway(s).

Giveaways listed at Saturday Situation by Lori of Pure Imagination and Candace of Candace's Book Blog.

Don't forget to enter YABC's giveaways for the month.

Sci-fi and Fantasy Friday {SF/F Reviews and Giveaways}.

If you have a giveaway, you should let me know.

Other:

*In my previous “how to” post, I listed other blogger’s features for how I keep track of new releases. Today and future posts will likely rely on the Hot Off the Press posts by Josephine at Word Revel, a fantastic blogger running an excellent series of posts.

New YA Releases: Sword and Verse - Kathy MacMillan, The Radiant Road - Katherine Catmull, Burn - Elissa Sussman, The Heir and the Spare - Emily Albright, Up to This Pointe - Jennifer Longo, We Are the Ants - Shaun David Hutchinson, Identity Crisis - Melissa Schorr, Bookishly Ever After - Isabel Bandeira, The Isle - Jordana Frankel, Sanctuary Bay - Laura J. Burns, Melinda Metz, Shade Me - Jennifer Brown, Will to Survive - Eric Walters, The Capture - Tom Isbell, Concentrat8 - William Sutcliffe (rerelease), My Second Life - Faye Bird (rerelease)

PB releases: Four: A Divergent Collection - Veronica Roth, Kalahari - Jessica Khoury, The Darkest Part of the Forest - Holly Black, Stray - Elissa Sussman, The Way We Bared Our Souls - Willa Strayhorn, Polaris - Mindee Arnett, The Prey - Tom Isbell, The Five Stages of Andrew Barley - Shaun David Hutchinson, Alex as Well - Alyssa Brugman.

And two more links: a.) here’s a HUGE round-up of YA books that are being published or have been published from January - March of 2016. b.) here’s a calendar of kidlit debuts being published in February if you’d like to keep track.

Recent Recommended Reads: Most of what I’ve read as of late == romance novels or adult fiction. Stuff I won’t write a review for. But you can read about the 2016 YA Debuts on My TBR List. I also discussed booktubing and blogging, and the skills I’ve gained from both this week.

Which articles did you like best? Did I miss any news? Did you host a cover reveal or discussion that I should have posted about? A giveaway? Leave the links, and I'll either edit this post or post about 'em next week.

The first thing I'd like to emphasize in making a list of 2016 books on my tbr list: you and I both must be better allies and make sure to read books by PoC authors in 2016. If you feel like it's too hard to keep track of that tally, Dahlia Adler has made a fantastic running list of YA novels written by authors of color being published in 2016-2017. If you have time, consider looking through that list and seeing which books may be on your tbr list and raise their reading priority, or consider adding the books to your tbr once you've read the GR summaries--whatever you do, at least please look at the list.

Okies! So here are some of my most anticipated books publishing in 2016. This list is definitely not the end all, be all, as that would fail to take account into recommendations and word of mouth from friends, and so on.


And I Darken by Kiersten White

And I Darken is a spin on Vlad the Impaler, who's now Lada. And directly from the summary: "Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu" (Lada's brother) "are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. " A ruthless leader caught in a game of power plus the Ottoman empire means there's going to be Turkish culture -- which overlaps with a lot of Middle-Eastern culture (e.g. my story on Turkish coins on the Lebanese purse). Plus this last line: "But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point." Some people don't like love triangles, but done right, they can be pretty awesome sources of tension and characterization.

The Smaller Evil by Stephanie Kuehn

I've loved every one of Stephanie Kuehn's novels, which often focus on a character who has mental illness, and feature plenty of mystery and thriller elements plus coming-of-age growth realizations. She's a wordsmith; nothing is wasted. Her characterization of mental illness and race and privilege and so many other issues is on point. Her characterization in general is great--she's giving a clear, distinctive voice to a lot of people whose voices aren't heard in the news very often. And her plotting -- she always, always has surprised me with where her stories go and what plot twists she has in store. Reading the synopsis for The Smaller Evil suggests that we're in for another high stakes psychological thriller with fascinating characters and a complicated plot to boot.

Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee

I meant to read Under the Painted Sky last year, and I still want to -- it's definitely on my list for this year too. Stacey Lee has gotten heaps of praise for her historical YA novels, and I want to be one of her fascinated readers. Outrun the Moon is pitched as being perfect for fans of Code Name Verity, which I loved. It seems to be about the major earthquake to hit San Francisco in the twentieth century. As the last line of the synopsis says, "Breakout author Stacey Lee masterfully crafts another remarkable novel set against a unique historical backdrop. Strong-willed Mercy Wong leads a cast of diverse characters in this extraordinary tale of survival." Sounds amazing, doesn't it? And I want to read more historical YA this year, so Stacey Lee, I'm coming your way!

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

Omg. The Raven Cycle is one of my all-time favorite series. I don't really know how to describe it. The first book mentions the idea of a fairy-tale esque curse on Blue: If she kisses her true love, he will die. And then implies that her true love is this boy, Gansey, who seems like a pompous ass when she first meets him. Yet in the end, she gets caught in Gansey's circle; he and his friends are on a quest to discover Glendower, a mythical sleeping Welsh king, who, it's rumored, will grant the person who woke him a wish. Amazing characterization, plotting, atmosphere, magic, explorations of privilege, friendship, romance -- this series has EVERYTHING. READ IT NOW NOW NOW NOW.

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

Another all-time favorite series. Also not sure how to describe the book. The first book is about Kestrel, the daughter of the Valorian general who helped their empire to win the war. She buys a Herrani slave, Arin, at an auction, and the series goes from threats of war to rebellion to romance to strategy games to OMG THIS HAS EVERYTHING. Great world-building, great characterization, great layered, feeling, great romance-- READ THE BOOKS NOW!

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch has been getting a lot of hype, and Susan Dennard has been on my tbr list for a while now, so I thought that I would start here. I don't know too much about the book, but there seems to be four different PoVs, and it's about these two girls who are best friends who are then pursued because one of them has a magical power that means she can discern whether people are telling lies. So in a high fantasy, this equates to a lot of political intrigue and adventure, and putting female friendship at the front is always a plus. I also hear there's a great romance... Action, adventure, political intrigue, friendship, romance--what's not to like?

Summer Days and Summer Nights edited by Stephanie Perkins& A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood.

Anthologies are great. They're an easy way to discover new authors while reading about fascinating worlds and fun characters. The nature of the short story means that everything has to be compact; every scene must work on multiple levels. You can't get by with wasted words. I've enjoyed every anthology that I've read, if not every story within them, and a bunch of YA anthologies have helped me discover some of my favorite authors. For Summer Days and Summer Nights, I'm most excited to read the stories by Stephanie Perkins, Leigh Bardugo, Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, and Veronica Roth. For A Tyranny of Petticoats, I'm most excited to read the stories by Elizabeth Wein, Marissa Meyer, and Marie Lu. And the other authors in Summer Days and Summer Nights (Franceca Lia Block, Brandy Colbert, Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, Nina LaCour, Jon Skovron, and Jennifer E. Smith) and A Tyranny of Petticoats (Beth Revis, Andrea Cremer, J. Anderson Coats, Caroline Richmond, Katherine Longshore, Saundra Mitchell, Robin Talley, Kekla Magoon, Leslye Waltson, Y.S. Lee, and Lindsay Smith), I'm looking forward to being introduced to or becoming reacquainted with their work!

Bright Smoke Cold Fire by Rosamund Hodge

I don't know too much about this book, so I'll just leave the synopsis here ---> "This new series, pitched as "Romeo and Juliet meets Sabriel," re-imagines Shakespeare's story of feuding families and doomed lovers in a city threatened by necromancers and protected by "the Juliet," a girl born in every generation with powerful magic." A.) I've loved everything of Rosamund Hodge's that I've read. Both of her novels, Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound. And all of her short stories. B.) Romeo and Juliet and necromancers? Oh, wow, that sounds amazing. I really do love the idea too of doomed lovers -- when Rosamund Hodge says that, I actually do believe it for her work, haha. Read how dark her short stories are! Magic, romance, political intrigue (feuding families), beautiful writing -- yes, yes, yes!


Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Again, another book where not too much has been released yet, so here's the synopsis --> "Three Dark Crowns tells the story of triplet sisters on a remote island ruled by powerful magic and ancient family lineages. Separated at birth, one of the sisters will grow up to be queen, but in order to ascend to the throne she must hone her magic for a dark purpose: assassinating her other two sisters before they kill her first. " I really enjoyed Anna Dressed in Blood, and I love this element of three sisters, and the crown, and automatic pitting against each other, and magic, and a remote island, and ahhhhhhhh. I love every element -- sounds like great characterization and atmosphere are ahead!

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Furthermore seems slightly different from Shatter Me. It's Tahereh Mafi's debut MG novel, and it focuses on a sort of fairy-tale like story, where a girl's father disappears and she goes on a quest to find him. Here's what the summary says: "... this captivating new middle grade adventure where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places. " Sounds perfect. I also love Mafi's writing, and I trust that it'll be every bit as magical in Furthermore.

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

I read the excerpt for this novel, and was blown away by the characterization and writing and atmosphere and everything. The blurb says: "A hero. A villain. A liar. Who's who?" It seems to have psychological thriller + suspense elements, mixed with April's talent for characterization and atmosphere. And here's what the last line of the summary says: "For fans of Holly Black, We Were Liars, and The Raven Boys, this mysterious tale full of intrigue, dread, beauty, and a whiff of something strange will leave you utterly entranced." I definitely qualify as a fan of all three, and that definitely puts this book on my radar.

Sacrifice by Cindy Pon

I loved Serpentine and can't wait to read the sequel! If you're a fan of how Truthwitch puts female friendship at the forefront, you'd love Serpentine. If you're a fan of the Chinese inspired elements of Alison Goodman's Eon duology, read Serpentine. If you want a lush setting inspired by Chinese mythology, great characterization and an intimate romance, and a plot that doesn't follow the usual conventions, CHECK OUT SERPENTINE and be excited with me for the sequel!

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

I haven't read a single book about Bruja magic. The main character, according to the summary, wants to get rid of her magic and tries to curse it out, only then her family disappears as a result of her actions. And according to the summary, "To get her family back they must travel to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland..." Sounds GREAT.

Poisoned Blade by Kate Elliott

The more I thought about it, the more I enjoyed Court of Fives by Kate Elliott and its complex world-building. As the synopsis for Poisoned Blade says, "the Fives" is "the complex athletic contest favored by the lowliest Commoners and the loftiest Patrons in her embattled kingdom." The main character's world is separated into two classes, so there's also an imbedded class struggle. Here's how I described A Court of Fives: "A love letter to Little Women, female athletes, and epic fantasy set in a Greco-Roman inspired world rife with colonial class warfare." I'd very much recommend this to fans of The Winner's trilogy, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Kate Elliott comes up with in Poisoned Blade.

The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon

Looooooooove the Bone Season. The basic premise is that of an alternative London where you have clairvoyants/"unnaturals" (people with the ability to sometimes manipulate the aether, which is another spiritual plane) and voyants. London is ruled by a government that wants to crush the clairvoyants (hence the "Unnaturals" name), and so the main character is one of many clairvoyants who's in a gang. London is ruled by clairvoyant gangs. Then, one night, she's captured by the voyant police and sent to work at a harsh penal colony, where you find out about the existence of another race, the Rephaim, who essentially are the rulers of London, and they are more powerful than anyone else, particularly in the aether. As the series goes on, you learn more about Samantha Shannon's version of London, the clairvoyant powers, the Rephaim, etc. A series of FANTASTIC world-building, SO much imagination, and a huge, huge cast of characters that leads to unexpected plot twists... and oh, the cinematic action! It's all great fun and so layered, one of those series where rereading, you see all the details the author layered in over time. Highly recommended from me.

Okay, so those books are among my most anticipated non-debuts of 2016. I'd appreciate more recommendations for books to keep an eye out for! I don't think that I have enough books by diverse authors on this list, and I'm looking to be a better ally this year, so if you have any recs, let me know! I will also be keeping an eye out for that as the year goes along. Plus, my list always changes.

Do we have any anticipated titles in common? What are you most looking forward to reading in 2016? Let me know!

Hi, this is quick update! I've noticed that on a couple of days, I've suddenly lost like 40 followers on Google Friend Connect. While you do tend to lose a follower here and there, the sudden loss of this many followers seemed strange to me. I googled to see if Google Friend Connect was experiencing issues (back in 2011 they phased out GFC for non-blogger sites, so wouldn't be the first time). Apparently, starting the week of January 11th, Google has been slowly adding this requirement: you now have to have Google account in order to follow blogs through Google Friend Connect. If you follow blogs with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut, or other Open ID providers, you will lose your subscriptions to blogger blogs via GFC. Fortunately, if you'd like to continue receiving updates from me, you could do as they suggest and sign up for a Google account and refollow your blogs, or you can follow Christina Reads YA on Pinterest, Booktube, Google+, Feedly, Feedburner, Booklikes, Bloglovin', Tumblr, or Twitter. Thanks!

Christina Makes the Bookish Rounds is a feature that will let you know about recent MG/YA/NA book related news. I'll post about articles from the publishing industry, cover reveals, discussions from the book community, the latest tv/movie news, and giveaways that you're hosting. If you would like to follow along with cover reveals during the week, see my Pinterest. (If you're interested in how I make these posts, here's your guide.)

Holy shit! I've made a 100 of these posts?!

Hi, everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve actually hosted a giveaway, but I thought that one really good way of supporting authors whose work you’re anticipating is a pre-order, and for books that are already released, well, hey, that’s a book profit in the author’s pocket.

For three winners, I will purchase a book from The Book Depository, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or a bookstore of your choosing if need be. There will be only one winner for each list; one winner will pick a book from my 2015 Best Books list, one winner will pick a book from my 2016 YA Debuts on my TBR List, and one winner will pick a book from my 2016 (Non-Debut) YA Books on my TBR List.

I’d love to hear from you which of these books you’d love to read! Share the enthusiasm for these either upcoming promising reads, or backlist titles that are equally good reads. This giveaway is INT and ends on 02/29/16.

Yeah, yeah, I know that Goodreads is the bigger social media networking site for readers, but do you ever wonder what a social media site that matched you to books based off your own “reading profile” would look like? And I don’t mean something that’s community run or a book subscription kind of service like Netflix. I mean flat out like a dating site for books—maybe incorporate some of GR’s “recommendations” based off what you’ve already read (but hey, maybe that’s a part of your reading profile?).

Because I’m weird, I think of things like this sometimes, and I wonder what sort of books I’d get matched with? And what categories there’d be and what sort of “tags” would matter most in your descriptions for whatever algorithm matched you to books, and maybe I’m being silly BUT WHATEVER GO WITH IT. Here’s what I imagine my reading profile to look like:


CHARACTERS: I like character-driven stories most, so I like knowing the ins and outs of characters—seeing them in a variety of situations because the plot is that expansive is the best. I don’t think that we need to know every detail of a character, but I like being able to have at least a couple of details to hold onto (e.g. Maggie Stiefvater’s characters -> Adam’s faded coca-cola t-shirt, dusty hair, delicate fingers; Blue’s fingerless gloves, quirky outfits, and choppy hair). If they’re stock characters, let them be like those in Harry Potter (“know it all,” “Chosen One,” “sidekick”), where there’s enough action – and they are allowed to grow in the plots/their character arcs – to make them feel unique to the story. Example from favorites of great characters: The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater.

WRITING: My favorite kind of writing is atmospheric. I love metaphors. I love feeling like I’ve been brought into the world, the setting made real for me. I love symbolic images and cyclical scenes (for that example, The Winner’s Crime by Marie Rutkoski; first chapter, Kestrel’s dinner with that person and the sugar spoon). I like practical, textured writing too (e.g. Kristin Cashore).

PLOTS: Writing, characters, world, and themes/story/big idea all come before “plot” for me. Now obviously all of those factor into plots, but there’s a reason why I’m not a huge fan of action or horror movies – if it feels like the story or characters or world isn’t adding anything new, I don’t care. Plots can be slow, literary—anything, really, but things must happen. I like when synopses are much vaguer about what happens in the plot; I’ve read a couple of books where the synopsis reveals too much. 100 pages into a story, and I’ve still not come across an event that I didn’t already know was going to happen? Example from favorites of great plotting: The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner.

WORLDS: No limits! The general writing rule re: authors having more to say about their world than is actually mentioned in each book shows. Kat Kennedy at Cuddlebuggery mentioned the idea of the Cultural Iceberg when it comes to world-building, and I think that’s true too. So the stories that get into the attitudes and values of the people might feel “deeper” in that world than the stories that only describe the foods and languages of a place.

PACING: This matters much less to me. I don’t mind if the pacing is slow or fast. I think my problem has more to do with the unevenly paced books where there’s action and suddenly the characters are safe and then hey, action again. That’s jarring. Slow—okay, I’ll luxuriate. Fast—okay, I’ll hold my breath. Uneven—what is going on?

“DARKNESS:” No story is too dark! Though please no dark elements just for shock value!

BURKE BAIT (AKA THEMES I LOVE): As a friend recently told me, I don’t think that I’ll ever get over the theme of “hey, look, you’ve been born to this category of people who are told that in some way or form that they do not meet society’s standards, but they RISE up to succeed anyway. What you’re born as doesn’t predict who you’ll become.” Overcoming cultural expectations! There will never be enough books that EMPOWER you to do MORE. This is going to sound stupid, but I also love books that get into what it means to be human.

# BOOKS READ EACH YEAR: Somewhere between 75-150, occasionally more

READING “QUIRKS”: I’ve talked about these before. I’m a kinda sorta book hoarder. I almost never use bookmarks. I dog-ear a lot of passages. I can read around a lot of noise. I’m a mood reader. I’m an unorganized reader. I’m an equal opportunity book lender. I stay up all night to read books and I don’t care what my books look like – whether they’ve got crinkled, messed up spines or stains.

GENRES: Fantasy! Contemporary! Magical realism! Speculative Fiction! Mystery! Suspense! Historical! Romance!

MOTTO: I’m stealing this one from Ameriie at Books Beauty Ameriie. She always says that STORY IS KING. However you choose to tell your Story – whether through the characters or a dystopian rebellion – that is the most important element that needs to come through. C.S. Lewis wrote an essay about the importance of Story – I’m forgetting the name, but it’s out there.

FAVORITE BOOKS: All of the Harry Potter Books (ooooh maybe we’d get to “rank” books within a series based on how we’ve rated them; for me, it’s HP7 > HP6 > HP4 > HP 3=HP5 > HP2 > HP1), all of Kristin Cashore’s books (Fire > Bitterblue > Graceling), The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner (The King of Attolia > The Queen of Attolia > A Conspiracy of Kings > The Thief), The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Boys > The Dream Thieves = Blue Lily, Lily Blue), The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski (The Winner’s Crime > The Winner’s Curse), The Odyssey by Homer, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Emma by Jane Austen, Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, and more.

Man, I’d totally have the reading profile that no one would ever read in full. They’d skim it, fixate on one thing – hey, baby, I’m a book that’s a little dark, you want some? *sigh* What would your reading profiles look like?

Are you looking to tackle your TBR in 2016? So am I! And I really, really need to read a lot of books. By the end of July, I will probably be moving again. I will be starting graduate school in September, and having less than six months before all of that, I need to read the books that I've bought or obtained in the past two years-- at least to make the move easier on me when the time comes. Once I read these books, I can pass them onto friends, send them home, etc. The one thing I don't want to do is just let them sit there because I'm too much of a book hoarder or optimist to let them go, and then have to decide what to do at the last minute. So, I've turned to read-alongs. Read-alongs are awesome because a.) extended discussions of books b.) they keep you on track for tackling your TBR and c.) reader relationships! d.) duh, actually reading. Without further ado, let me know if you have any of these books and would like to read them with me at any of the dates I'll mention.

There's no question that awards help a writer's career. Not only do they often boost sales, involve a money prize, and offer prestige and free promotion for a book, but the author also gets to mention winning that award for the rest of his/her career. What makes me curious about awards is whether there really is a sort of differential perception in adult, YA, and MG audiences.

For adult books, it seems like awards are universally acknowledged as a way of distinguishing literary merit. And for adult books, it's been shown repeatedly how winning them boosts sales. I remember returning from a MEG at NYU with a professor and discussing books with him; he said, well, of course you can't go wrong with a book that won the Man-Booker Prize (he'd mentioned how he loved The Luminaries or was going to read it soon--something along those lines). In the kidlit market, I wonder to what extent awards offer that same sort of prestige. Librarians seem to hold an even greater sway in kidlit, parents asking about books for their children, and one of the easiest things to do is to recommend an award winner. I'm not terribly familiar with the MG book blogosphere, but my impression is that it seems smaller than that of YA blogosphere. There are tons and tons of YA book bloggers and booktubers and so on--can we say then that booksellers and librarians might hold greater influence over MG sales than YA sales, given that bloggers are such a huge mass in the latter but not the former? Maybe that's an unproven, unfounded assumption. But I am curious about the perception of awards in the different communities.

It was reported that winning the Printz and Newbery greatly affected sales for Matt de la Peña’s Last Stop on Market Street, illustrated by Christian Robinson, and Laura Ruby's Bone Gap. Print sales of Last Stop went up by 677% and 264% for Bone Gap. My guess for part of that discrepancy in sales increase is that Last Stop was the second picture book ever to win the Newbery and Matt de la Peña was its first Hispanic author winner. Naturally that got people curious. Of course, maybe Bone Gap was already selling more than Last Stop, and its percentage increase was thus smaller. But I wonder whether part of the discrepancy is also because awards matter more for younger--and paradoxically older--readers; in the YA community, they still hold weight but maybe not as much. Is there a trend to value (value meaning a sales increase, I guess) more commercial than literary (okay, well, let's not get into the artifice of commercial/literary labels) books? I don't really know the answer, but what do you think?

Awards are undoubtedly a mark of respect and prestige regardless of the book's audience, but is it strange for me to think that the readership for YA seems to care less about them than the readership for MG or adult? Or do I have this biased opinion because we as bloggers don't tend to mention awards all that often--we're much more drawn in by the "hype" than anything else?

 I’ve talked on and on before about how fantasy is my favorite genre. I’m more likely to be drawn into reading a fantasy novel than any other, and some fantasy novels have inspired me as a writer too. Yes, I like to write. I’m a writer and a reader and a blogger. For the five authors I fangirl over, some of the commonalities include: a.) character-oriented fantasy; b.) mostly third-person narratives; c.) plots that go beyond the ‘lost prince trying to reclaim throne’ type; d.) complicated characters, plots, everything. And of course, the fact that I feel like my mind is getting bigger while reading their books.

1. KRISTIN CASHORE:

I think that one of the most interesting things about Kristin Cashore’s Seven Kingdoms series is that they’re all so different in terms of plot, though they’re all high-concept works that go waaaaay beyond their simple description (“a young queen must help her country heal after the destructive reign of her psychotic father” could describe Bitterblue but doesn’t get at any of the novel’s complexities). Probably the simplest, most typical coming-of-age of her books is Graceling, but that was her debut novel, and I think that ever since then, she’s been working on adding more and more complexity into her works. For me, she was the first author I’d read in YA fantasy who was also very much writing character-oriented fantasy. After reading her work, I feel like I can’t go back. I can’t read much plot-based fantasy—they’ll never be my favorites compared to the ones that put character first. The ones where the questions and themes and symbols of the series are embedded into the characters—and yeah, plot-based fantasies can do this, but comparatively, it’s a lot harder to add in the same level of complexity into the characters compared to the actual events of the plot. Kristin Cashore is the YA fantasy author who also gets mentioned in almost every YA fantasy comparison (“Graceling meets XYZ”; “For fans of Kristin Cashore”), and that’s for good reason.

2. MEGAN WHALEN TURNER

I’ve basically already fangirled hard over The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. If you follow that link, you’ll get the full sphiel on why I loooooove that series and fangirl over MWT in full, but for now… If I learned how to write high-concept character-oriented high fantasy from Kristin Cashore, I would learn how to write a high fantasy centered on a character that’s like a living legend from Megan Whalen Turner. (If this sounds familiar, that’s because Sarah J. Maas, among many others, was inspired by the Queen’s Thief series). I also think that of all the authors here, MWT probably has the *most* layered into each scene of her books, particularly as you go further into the series. The most in the sense that no scene will ever be just what it is on the surface; you might have a scene where a guard is confronting his peer, but there’s a lot more meaning embedded into the narrative and particularly how that scene contributes to making the main character, Eugenides, even more of a living legend. Yet, for all that the series shows his change in fortune, it never once fails to humanize him. Many fantasies alternative PoVs within a book so that you can relate to different characters; the Queen’s Thief series shows that you don’t need to do that to give a character complexity, but the choice of PoV and what that perspective adds are definitely questions to ask. We don’t always get the main character’s point of view, and he’s not always the main character of the book in question, but there’s no doubt that each book is adding to his character arc and that is the major one tied to the series arc.

3. C.S. PACAT

C.S. Pacat is not a YA fantasy author as of this moment. The Captive Prince trilogy is very much meant for mature readers (but I listened to an interview with her and it sounds like she might be writing a YA fantasy right now—so maybe we’ll hear more from her in the future). I first learned about the Captive Prince trilogy from Emily May at the Book Geek; I was intrigued, but I wasn’t sure if I should add onto my TBR—especially given its heavy sexual violence. Then Sarah J. Maas recommended the books, and my feed was full of the books again. So I decided to read the beginning, and I got hooked by the promise of the characters. As this article on the Female Gaze explains, one of the crucial elements in her books is this shifting of the default to homonormative. In her world, people shudder so much at the idea of bastard children that most relationships are with the same sex. And it got me thinking about how most fantasy novels, and novels in general, fail “to realistically portray sexual dynamics that do not exist in response and relation to traditional heterosexual relationships.” (The article goes over much more than that). C.S. Pacat has written novels where the default has shifted and made me consider—well, hey, why don’t more novels do this? This is something to always keep in mind while world-building. Plus, she’s ALSO amazing at adding in many layers to each scene and creating complex, multi-layered characters; they have a certain vitality, to the point where despite not knowing what Laurent would plan next or what other comradery scenes would come next for the army, I can picture the characters.

4. MAGGIE STIEFVATER

Maggie is the most different of the authors on this list because I wouldn’t technically call her work high fantasy (though if The Scorpio Races is on a fictional island and the society is different from ours with its water horses, why can't it be called high fantasy? finally high fantasy that doesn't equate to medieval patriarchal times...). Regardless, if C.S. Pacat has taught me about the defaults in world-building and characterization, Kristin Cashore about high-concept character-oriented high fantasy, and Megan Whalen Turner about layered plotting centered around a living legend, Maggie taught me the importance of atmosphere, of mood and feeling within a scene, and how those can work to achieve characterization in conjunction with the other elements I've mentioned. Maggie has talked about how she likes to think about her writing as 'moving stuff around in a reader's brain',' which creates a specific effect for each scene (and also each image for her characters). And reading the Raven Cycle, I feel that magic is real. I feel like I'm with her characters, experiencing the wonder of the forest, the creepy delight of trees speaking in Latin. That's a rare gift to find in a lot of fantasies, which prize political intrigue over readers being in the moment with the character.

5. MARIE RUTKOSKI

Finally, Marie Rutkoksi is a mastermind when it comes to introducing symbols within each scene. In The Winner's Curse, Kestrel agrees to something her father says, and he pats her cheek with his dirty hand. That dirty handprint is a wonderful symbol -- for the characters and modern associations. We might think of a "devil's bargain" caked onto Kestrel's face. Her father working with dirt, with his weathered hands; Kestrel wandering around the house, so focused on finding Arin that she doesn't look to see if there's dirt on her face -- so much to be said about the characters. It's just such a strong image! It stayed with me for a long time. And feeling like you're trapped in, marked so strongly by something you agreed to -- I as a reader can really relate to that feeling. In The Winner's Crime, Kestrel is eating desert with a sugar spoon during her dinner with a certain character (maybe the first chapter?). A sugar spoon, specially made, speaks to the luxury of her dining companion and his staff, the amusement and terrible waste of making a spoon that you can only ever use *once*. It also brings to mind the modern phrase of 'eating out of a silver spoon' -- except that this token of privilege is made of sugar. Still, it characterizes Kestrel well, and sets a dark foreboding tone for the rest of novel, given its place at the beginning. The spoon tastes sweet at the beginning but then by the end of the meal, it has dissolved into nothing (which, btw, matches really well with what Kestrel says at the end, no?). And note: those were only 2 images! One for each book! There are so, so many more in The Winner's trilogy.

All of these authors do amazing things with their novels. If you're a writer, especially a fantasy writer, I'd suggest reading their works for yourself to see how they've manipulated these different elements. If you're a reader who doesn't like to write, well, I'd still suggest reading these authors's works because they're brilliant. Are any of these authors among your favorites? Who do you fangirl over, and whose work makes for good lesson material for writers?

Hey, hey. Today I thought that I'd do the 15 Weird Questions Tag that I saw on Ameriie's channel. If you've ever wanted to know more about me, the blogger behind the blog, here's a little insider's chat.

1. A nickname that you get called.

Stinkle, Tinkle, Teenie, Tina, Xtina, Crystal, Kawthar, Hoots. Stinkle comes from a friend calling me Stinkleberry (I don't remember how we both got onto food nicknames), which she's then shortened to Stinkle. Tinkle is from that. Teenie, one of my friends said she just thought was cute and the other said that it fit me really well. Don't really know what that means but I like it anyway. Tina is what my family all calls me, plus my guy friends tended to do that too. Xtina is for all the people too lazy to write Christina but who don't like Tina. Crystal was what an Arabic professor called me, as if Crystal was an actual Arabic name lol. Kawthar was the name my actual Arabic professor called me. Hoots--my best friend was reading William S. Burroughs in high school and gave us Burroughs inspired nicknames.

2. A weird habit.

When you're alone, do you ever get the urge to dance? Not even really dance. It's almost like I'm performing for an audience but the audience is just me. And then when I realize what I just did -- like a slow gif montage -- I'm like wtf?

3. A weird phobia.

I feel like a lot of my phobias have been made mainstream (e.g. insects, sharks, crocodiles, the dark). As a kid, I used to run up the stairs, especially when it was dark, because I was afraid that an imaginary tiger was chasing me. In pools, I hated those bulging lights underwater because I was afraid they would metamorphize into sharks. Also that sharks would somehow come up out of those drains. My family loves to tell the story of when I was four-years-old, woke up crying, and kept saying that an alligator had bitten my finger off, waving my still very intact pinky in their faces.

4. A song you are ashamed to like so you blast it in private.

Here's a secret: I don't listen to a lot of music. I first started listening to music in eleventh grade, when I'd gotten fed up with not knowing what my friends were referring to. I went to a couple of concerts. Occasionally I look up music from tv shows and other pop culture, but do I actively pursue a lot of albums or artists? Nah. So I guess this means I'm not really ashamed to like anything because I'm not invested enough.

5. A pet peeve.

Just one??? And yet I can't remember any now. Hmmm. Smacking. When people don't hold the door open for others--and no, I don't mean "chivalry" from men. I mean everyone. It's just common courtesy. When multiple people are walking on the sidewalk and they don't move to make way for someone walking in the opposite direction. C'mon. You're really going to make me walk in the grass or snow because you can't be bothered to move for ONE moment? Common Courtesy, again.

6. A nervous habit.

I don't think this counts as a habit really, but when I get nervous, my hands get bone cold. It's like my body is saying, hey, send all the blood from the doofus's hands into her brain, she's going to need it. I guess I'm the typical nervous presenter where I say um a lot, fidget on my feet, etc.

7. What side of the bed do you sleep on?

I didn't realize this until now, but I have almost always slept on the left side. I don't think I'd care either way though.

8. The name of your first stuffed animal.

I don't know that this counts, but my brother had a white polar bear stuffed animal he called Marco Polo. And that's really the only stuffed animal I remember holding.

9. What do you buy at Starbucks?

Cafe mocha or the chilled, pre-packaged fraps. I'm all about the chocolate syrup to make coffee taste better.

10. Beauty rule.

Roll out of bed.

11. Which way do you face in the shower?

What does this mean? Is there a special way to face in the shower?

12. A weird body skill.

I don't know that I have any. I can roll my tongue. I think someone once got freaked out when she saw how I could push my thumb back. Something about double joints? I don't know. People get freaked out kind of easily.

13. Comfort food.

My mother's cooking mmmm. Garlic chicken sandwiches -- make garlic dip (garlic cloves, oil, some lemon juice), spread that dip all over a halved pita, add rotisserie chicken and diced tomatoes, fold the sandwich and place under a George Forman grill to make it somewhat panini like. Mmmm. Spicy chicken sandwiches from Stone Oven. Tabboule. Ice cream. Chocolate. Mmmm.

14. A word or phrase that you say all the time.

I used to say No Shit, Sherlock a lot because of my brother. Then it was coolio. Then rawr. I don't know what I say anymore.

15. What do you sleep in?

Giant T-shirt and basketball shorts.

If you want to do this tag as a sort of "let's get coffee, get to know me" post, go for it! Consider yourself tagged by me and come back and leave the post for me to read :). Do we share any weird habits? How would you answer these questions? Let me know!

I've seen the concept of reader loyalty discussed quite a bit in the YA book blogosphere. Something that I wonder about with regard to reader loyalty is whether there's a differential loyalty depending on genre for author vs. a book series.