Publications about books for children and young adults
As a big fan of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling and Fire, I was excited to review Bitterblue (Dial), the third book in her Graceling Realm, for the May/June issue of The Horn Book Magazine. I had to work from the galley, but on Monday the hardcover finally arrived in the office. With elaborate maps and illustrations [...]
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake, editor Holly Thompson, a YA author (Orchards, a 2012 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults book) and a longtime resident of Japan, became especially concerned about teen survivors of the quake and tsunami. She decided to collect YA short fiction from writers and translators connected to Japan either by [...]
It was funny to see this bookshelf in a bookstore at the Houston airport, even funnier after our recent discussions here about the canon, and after my TLA panel circling around the same topic. On Wednesday afternoon, Betty Carter, Sally Miculek, Lauren Wohl, and I entertained all kinds of questions about The Classics: what are [...]
First there was The Queen of Kentucky (by Alecia Whitaker, Little/Poppy, January). Look what popped up yesterday at our offices: The Princesses of Iowa (by M. Molly Backes, Candlewick, May). Could this be a new trend? Regal YA? I hope the royals aren’t limited to the Midwest though—I, for one, wouldn’t mind The [...]
From the celebrity dirt of tabloids to government conspiracies, crimes that shook the world, and ethical outrages, Hallie Fryd’s Scandalous!: 50 Shocking Events You Should Know About (So You Can Impress Your Friends) (Zest Books, February) offers a delicious dish of infamous gossip from twentieth century for rumor-loving teens. The fifty highlighted events, presented in [...]
That New York Times “Room for Debate” on adults reading young adult books is an odd mess. Of the seven essayists, only two actually grapple with the posited question: “Why have young adult books become so popular so quickly — even with not-so-young adults?” Patricia McCormick preaches to the choir that YA books are more [...]
I had some henna art done Friday at a fundraiser, and got several compliments in the office yesterday even though the design is starting to fade a bit. This morning I started following author Catherynne M. Valente on Twitter. I reviewed her wonderfully bizarre YA fantasy novel The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship [...]
Katie Bircher braved the midnight show to report on The Hunger Games. In order to get Richard to go I think I’m going to have in turn see Footnote, an Israeli father-and-son drama that doesn’t exactly sound up my alley (anybody else who was bored by A Separation, raise your unwashed hands). But i did [...]
Excitement was rampant at a March 23rd midnight showing of The Hunger Games (Lionsgate Films), director Gary Ross’s highly anticipated adaptation of Suzanne Collins’s bestselling dystopian novel. Before 11:30pm the theater was already packed, and our mostly undergrad-aged audience was impatiently waiting to see Katniss, the Capitol, and the Games brought to the big screen. [...]
Adding to the media (and merchandising) madness of the new Hunger Games movie, fans in New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Philadelphia can work out like Katniss and Peeta at the “Train Like a Tribute” class offered at participating Sports Clubs (NYSC, BSC, WSC, PSC). The classes, free and open to nonmembers, are starting now at [...]
