ALAN Here I Come!

I'm super excited to be heading to the ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the NCTE) Workshop for the third year! 
My first year was in San Antonio and I met Rick Riordan, read Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, and discovered e lockheart and her fabulous book The Disreputable History of Frankie Landeau-Banks.  My second year was in Philly and that's where I got the amazing book Thirteen Reasons Why and an ARC of Linger and met and discovered my love of Maggie Stiefvater (she's hilariously awesome to listen to). 


This year it's in Orlando - and I can't wait to see what new YA authors/book discoveries I'll make. This workshop is always an invigorating and inspiring two days of listening to young adult authors talk about their books and the impact they have on adolescents in today's society. It focuses on what the new trends are in young adult literature and the motivations, inspirations, and processes of the authors who write them. I also get a box full of new books from the wonderful publishers who help sponsor the workshop. It's always fun to walk in the first morning and see a room full of adults (teachers, librarians, professors, etc.) tearing into boxes full of books and exclaiming over the contents. It's like Oprah's Favorite Things, but with YA books! I'll be posting a list when I can (probably after Thanksgiving), but that's where I'll be for the next few days...immersed in celebrating young adult literature.

In My Mailbox - New Books This Week (6)

In My Mailbox is a shared posting concept/listing from The Story Siren for YA book bloggers to share titles that have been arriving and will be showing up in reviews soon (read about what it is and how it got started here: In My Mailbox). This will be a semi-regular feature on Teach 8 YA Book Blog.


Sent to Me

SPRAY by Harry Edge
Middle grades adventure book that sounds great for boys.
Thanks to Macmillian!









THE EMERALD ATLAS (The Books of Beginning, Book One) by John Stephens
New middle grades fantasy/magic trilogy releasing in April, 2011
Thanks to Random House!




Won from the Contemps Challenge

THE MOCKINGBIRDS by Daisy Whitney
Got it the day it was announced that I won!  Thanks so much to The Contemps authors - I'm so excited for the 21 books I have coming my way - especially this one that I've heard so much good stuff about and have been waiting to read!




Bought

PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White
Thanks to Borders for the free $10 in Borders Bucks!






Scholastic Book Order

Starcrossed: ARIES RISING by Bonnie Hearn Hill

The Contemps Challenge Winner-ME! New Books Coming Soon

I'm soooooooo excited right now!  I found out that I am the winner of The Contemps Challenge. That means I'm getting 21 new books - what's better than new books to read and bring into my classroom?!?  The Contemps is a group of 21 contemporary realistic fiction authors who got together and created a website to promote their books and the love of reading their genre. They had a contest to get people to take the challenge to read as many of their books as possible. When you accepted the challenge, you also were entered into the contest to win all of the books. I can't believe it, but I won!


Thanks so much to The Contemps: YA Authors Keeping It Real!  Visit their website for more information from all of the authors: The Contemps


This is the list of books I'll be getting as they're published (with publisher and release date):
Losing Faith by Denise Jaden (Simon Pulse, September 7, 2010)
The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend by Kody Keplinger (Little, Brown/Poppy, September 7, 2010)
Girl, Stolen by April Henry (Henry Holt, September 28, 2010)
Freefall by Mindi Scott (Simon Pulse, October 5, 2010)
The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney (Little, Brown, November 2, 2010)
Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler (Little, Brown, December 15, 2010)
Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers (St. Martin's Press, December 21, 2010)
Trapped by Michael Northrop (Scholastic, February, 2011)
Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer (HarperTeen, February 15, 2011
Sean Griswold's Head by Lindsey Leavitt (Bloomsbury, March 1, 2011)
Like Mandarin by Kirsten Hubbard (Random House/Delacorte, March 8, 2011)
Family by Micol Ostow (Egmont USA, April 26, 2011)
Back When You Were Easier to Love by Emily Wing Smith (Dutton, April 28, 2011)
Pearl by Jo Knowles (Henry Holt, Spring, 2011)
Saving June by Hannah Harrington (Harlequin Teen, May, 2011)
Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott (Simon Pulse, May 24, 2011)
The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder (Simon Pulse, June 28, 2011)
Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (Bloomsbury, July 19, 2011)
The third book in the Carter series by Brent Crawford (Summer, 2011)
Sharks & Boys by Kristen Tracy (Disney-Hyperion, Summer, 2011)
Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman (Scholastic Press, August, 2011)

THE UNIDENTIFIED by Rae Mariz

A society in which Generation AAA's schools are now in abandoned refurbished malls, run by corporate sponsors, and all of the main communication is done through social networking - how far into the future is this in reality? THE UNIDENTIFIED takes place in a near future in which teens go to school each day in "The Game" where their every move is monitored by the corporations who sponsor their schools and the more popular they are, the more they can get branded and have nicer things. The majority of their interaction is done through facebook and twitter-like status updates on ipod touch-like handheld devices with GPS tracking. The goal is to set fashion trends, score points at the games (classes), and become popular to be "branded" and hang out in the VIP area while becoming a spokesperson for your corporate brand. Kid is not very popular, and she likes it that way, she can just produce her music and stay out of trouble. It's all fine until the day the body falls into the food court in front of her from the 5th floor railing. The body was a dummy, but the note attached was not - it's from "The Unidentified" - those who are rebelling against the corporate sponsors running their everyday school lives - and refusing to be identified by the material things they own. Once Kid starts to look into it more, she actually becomes more interesting to the corporations and as she gets more involved, she finds out more about how the Game really runs. Can she help out her family without losing herself to the corporate game and lose all of her friends? 


Overall I liked this book and the issues it brought up and the movement of the plot; although, I did have a little trouble totally getting engaged with the characters in the beginning, but was intrigued by the mystery. The book moves along with the mystery to be solved - who are "The Unidentified" and what do they really want and why? It also has quite a bit of action with different scenes wondering what will happen to Kid and her friends and the people she knows within the Game. Ultimately this book is about the choices we make, why we make them, and who is watching. This book is about identity - finding your own, keeping it, and portraying it in the face of others who might be looking for something else. It's an interesting commentary on the social networking society we now live in and the choices we make because we know people are watching - are we really our true selves or are we the self we want to portray to everyone who's reading? 


Reminds me of/Other anti-corporate books like this: Teen, Inc - So Yesterday - The Gospel According to Larry 


4 STARS for THE UNIDENTIFIED

CRASH TEST LOVE by Ted Michael

CRASH TEST LOVE by Ted Michael is the story of a boy and a girl and how they become the crash test dummies of high school love. Henry Arlington is a player - he and his best friends crash local Sweet Sixteen parties just to hook up with girls - helping Henry forget his troubles at home with a father who won't talk about his missing mother. Garrett has just moved from Chicago to New York leaving a boyfriend and best friend behind. They meet at a party, talk briefly, and then on the first day of school, they run into each other and aren't sure what to think. Garrett has no friends, has a boyfriend and best friend back in Chicago who aren't talking to her, and doesn't want to be in New York - so she's giving up on boys and focusing on herself. Henry isn't enjoying the party crashing so much anymore and can't stop thinking about Garrett. One day at lunch she is invited to sit with the "J Squad", the most popular girls at school, and is invited to join them on a probationary basis - as long as she can get Henry to take her as his date to the biggest Sweet Sixteen of the year - the one being filmed by MTV. The J Squad has a hidden motive, but Garrett doesn't worry too much about it until she starts to fall for Henry, and Henry has never stayed with a girl longer than one date.

I liked this book, even if it was somewhat predictable at times. It's like a classic teen movie plot, but with characters that I liked and cared about once I got to know them. There was some good character development in how Henry and Garrett grew up through the course of this novel because I certainly didn't like them in the beginning. I thought they were both doing things that didn't make sense, but as I learned more about each of them, I ended up liking both - I didn't agree with all of their choices, but I was rooting for them. It's an interesting and entertaining coming-of-age story for two characters who aren't quite sure how to handle what happens to them, but since we get to hear the story from both characters' alternating points-of-view, it helps the reader care about them. It's a little more mature, but not too graphic in details. I also really liked that this story didn't have the typical happy ending of a romance story, but left me with hope for these characters who would figure it out and have a decent chance for successful relationships in the future.

3.5 STARS for CRASH TEST LOVE

This book was provided by Book Divas (http://www.bookdivas.com).

NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer

I have to start off by saying that I loved, loved, loved this book. NIGHTSHADE is absolutely making my list of favorite books for this school year.  The cover design is gorgeous, the concept is unique and intriguing, the fantasy world created is fascinating, the plot is fast-paced, the main character is a strong female, the boys she’s involved make are both feasible options, the secondary characters are entertaining, the side story about acceptance of gay friends is handled realistically and well, the (Wisconsin!) author’s knowledge of historical lore is apparent, the secrets make you want to know more, and the writing is engaging.  It was just released last week and I had heard so many positives about it, but when I went to the store to pick a book and saw the cover, I had to pick it up. So I decided to read the first chapter right there to see if I wanted to buy it, and I was instantly pulled into Calla’s world and left the store with the book – finishing it in three days. The book is well over 400 pages, but flies by, especially since the plot pacing is such that I couldn’t stop reading because I wanted to find out what would happen next.

Calla is a Guardian in the Nightshade pack. They are a pack of werewolves who work for the Keepers protecting something hidden. Calla is the daughter of the alpha wolf and she is a month away from a union with Ren, the son of the alpha wolf of the Bane pack. Once Calla and Ren unite, they will be the alphas of a new pack of this younger generation. Unfortunately, since the two packs are rivals, she’s never spent much time with Ren, except to see him dating lots of different girls at their school. This is interesting because as we get to know Ren more, we see why Calla is drawn to him - he's more than just his reputation - and we start to really like him as well for his sense of duty, protectiveness, and heart. Ren and Calla have to start spending time together to prepare for their union and combining their two packs into one. What no one knows is that Calla has already broken a major pack rule, when she saved a human boy from a bear attack in the woods – something forbidden for the Guardians to do.  When their first order as a combined pack is to protect Shay, the new boy, Calla knows she’s in trouble because he’s the boy from the woods. As she spends more time with him she realizes how much she wants to spend more time with him - and so do we - he is caring, honest, and wants to see the best in people. Calla learns a lot about the research Shay has been doing, which is related to the history of her people Calla has been forbidden to read because it is very different from the stories she has always been told.

This book is about Calla finding her way past the order and rules she’s always followed into being her own independent, free-thinking person.  Yes, the Ren-Calla-Shay love triangle is the main conflict in the story, but the reason it’s so important is because it represents two very legitimate choices for Calla: stick with being a Guardian, under the rule of the Keepers, with Ren and be a Guardian and live with her pack as she’s been preparing for all her life - or go with Shay, who thinks she is being treated like a slave, and run for her life to get away from this life that may not be what she always thought it was. The reason both are legitimate choices is because of all of the other family and pack characters in the book – and the fact that there is a feeling that Calla truly cares for both Ren and Shay, but in different ways.  Her ultimate decision is made based on the information she has at the time, and her desire to protect those she loves.  Calla thinks it’s about survival, but Ren counters, “This is only about love.”  And it is because you will end up loving this book!

5 STARS for NIGHTSHADE

I can’t believe I have to wait until next summer to read book two: WOLFSBANE (you can preview chapter 1 on the series website at www.nightshadebook.com)! This is a planned trilogy.

In My Mailbox - New Books This Week (5)

In My Mailbox is a shared posting concept/listing from The Story Siren for YA book bloggers to share titles that have been arriving and will be showing up in reviews soon (read about what it is and how it got started here: In My Mailbox).
This will be a semi-regular feature on Teach 8 YA Book Blog. 


I only got one book this week, but wanted to make sure to thank Penguin Young Readers Group!  The Penguin Books 4 Boys website is a great resource for middle grade and young adult books that will grab the interest of our boy readers, and they do an ARC giveaway every month for the first 100 people to send them an email request. Great resource!

RANGER'S APPRENTICE Book 9: HALT'S PERIL by John Flanagan
Advanced Copy from Penguin's Books 4 Boys  
I know some of my boys will be really excited for this newest one as they've read the whole series.