Smart Chicks Tour - Houston Event

I just got back from the fabulous Smart Chicks event at The Refuge in Houston (hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop). It was awesome! I got some photos and some swag for a giveaway. So exciting!

Since it's late, and I don't feel like editing a bunch of photos, the only one I've got is the one of all the swag. One person who entered our three giveaways will win a bunch of swag, including bookmarks, a necklace signed by Kami Garcia and Margie Stohl, an excerpt from Holly Black's new book, Red Glove, and an excerpt from the new anthology, Zombies vs Unicorns.

Now what everyone's been waiting for: the winners of our giveaways!

First up, the winner of White Cat, by Holly Black. The winner is Meaghan. Congratulations Meaghan! Please email us at blogger@yaliteraturereview.com to claim your prize.

Next, our winner of Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare. Sara! Thanks for entering. Please email us to claim your prize.

And for Radiance, by Alyson Noel, the winner is April! Email us to claim your prize.

Our last winner gets all the swag from the Smart Chicks event. That's everything you see in the picture above, and the winner is Launa Sorenson. Email us to claim your prize.

Congratulations to everyone! Thank you so much for your support. Stay tuned for more great giveaways on the blog, and watch the podcast (yalitreview.libsyn.com) for our interview with the Smart Chicks.

Until next time, go read something!

~ Vilate

Another Smart Chicks Tour Post

Wednesdays are sort of anything-goes days here at the blog, so today I'm going to get into a couple of things. ^_^

First of all, thanks to our wonderful Aly, for passing on the One Lovely Blog award. I'll have a more detailed post up about it next week, but wanted to make sure I mentioned it now.

The rest of this post will be all about the Smart Chicks Kick It tour, which is coming around to Houston September 14th and 15th. On the 14th, they'll be at the Barnes and Noble in the Woodlands. Then they'll be hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop at The Refuge at 7pm on the 15th. That's the one I'll be attending, and I'm so excited.

Not only will I get to take part in this fabulous event, but I'll also be recording a group interview with all of the authors before the show! Yes, that's Kelley Armstrong, Holly Black, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Sarah Rees Brennan, Cassandra Clare, and Margaret Stohl all in one podcast interview!

In honor of the tour and the interview, we've got a couple of fabulous giveaways. Please read carefully for the rules.

First up on the giveaways, I have Holly Black's newest book (signed, of course), White Cat. I also have a signed copy of Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare up for grabs as well as a signed copy of Radiance, by Alyson Noel. That's a total of three separate giveaways. We will have three different winners - one person cannot win all three books. Please remember that when you enter.

For the giveaways:

1. You must be a subscriber of the blog OR a twitter follower (twitter.com/yalitreview).
2. You must comment on this post stating which book or books you're entering to win.
3. You must tweet, facebook, or blog about this contest, linking back to this blog entry.

The deadline for the giveaway books is September 18th. If you have any questions, please email me at blogger@yaliteraturereview.com. Thanks, and good luck!

~ Vilate

Three Viewpoint Thursday: BEFORE I FALL

Here at the Young Adult Literature Review, three of us get together every few weeks to chat about a book that we have all read. Our recent selection is BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. This is Oliver’s debut novel. Since this is a chat, the transcript below does contain many spoilers. If you have read the book, we would love you to help continue the discussion by commenting in the comment section.

********** SPOILERS ************************

Aly: So basically what did everyone think? Did it live up to the hype? Did you like it? Hate it?

Vi: Okay. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I had bouts where I was sucked in and had to keep reading, and then the protagonist would annoy me and I'd want to leave the book forever. It was kind of a weird feeling. I'm not sure about the hype, but there's a lot in here that struck me as bordering on 'literary' fiction. The protagonist would have some deep thoughts that were very interesting, and then she'd go and do something seriously childish, so it was definitely different for me.

Renee: I loved this book, which was surprising because I was kind of skeptical going into it because I wasn't thrilled by THE LOVELY BONES, and I thought it would be the same thing. But it wasn't. I liked how strong the characters were and how different each day was that she kept reliving. It didn't feel as repetitive as I thought it would. And I agree that it had a literary fiction feel to it, which might also be why I loved it so much...

Aly: I realized about 20 pages in that I really dislike chick-lit and high school drama and mean girls and was having a "what was I thinking suggesting this book?" but probably the last 150-200 pages I couldn't put it down. I have trouble with stories where I don't connect with the main characters. Lindsey, Elody, Ally, and Sam were not girls I would ever like in a million years. But the fact that Sam seemed to learn from her experience and evolve and change helped me feel better towards the end. I know a lot of people really loved this book so I was curious to read it. Still mixed feelings but guess I am glad that I did. So, what about the length of the book and the fact that there are 7 days?

Vi: I liked that each day wasn't completely repetitious, and that they took Sam into different aspects of the day and the lives of the people around her. It helped me like her more as she came to realize that she couldn't really hide, but everyone else tried to hide things, too, if that makes sense. Despite the fact that the book is so long, it didn't feel like anything dragged. It was nice to see the various cast of players and how it all eventually worked out on the seventh day.

Renee: I agree. Since each day revealed different people's stories it didn't feel repetitive at all. And it did help me to like Sam, because as she would see the "truth" behind people, beyond her catty mean-popular girl type-casting, I felt like I kept looking forward to how things would be different the next day. And it definitely didn't drag, for me.

Aly: At first I was afraid that the days would be really similar and I liked that a chapter represented a day as the book progressed (well sort of). I did like seeing the back stories as they were revealed and the motivations. And also the "truth" but I was a little confused at the end. Is Sam the only one who dies? Did she get to change it for everyone else?

Vi: As far as I understood it, she's the only one who died. She shoved Juliet out of the way, and heard Juliet's voice as she was dying. But, if someone else has a better explanation...

Renee: I think Sam is the only one who died, as far as I know. I think that was her "mission" or something, to be like a martyr I think.

Aly: That was the part that was confusing at first it seemed that all of them died (well the 4) and then as she tweaked things it was almost as if she was trying to save everyone, knowing that she couldn't really save herself. And that was what seemed really sad. Anyway, was there something that really stood out for you with this story? A character? The writing?

Renee: I loved the writing style, but I really loved the character development. My two favorite characters were Kent and Lindsey, for completely different reasons. I loved Kent because he seemed like such a sincere guy and not the usual bad-boy-turned-good romantic male you see in YA a lot. He was just very loveable.

Renee: I liked Lindsey, because even though I didn't like her as a "person," I liked her as a character. She was very interesting and obnoxious and cruel, but she was obviously making up for her own vulnerabilities and insecurities and I thought she was very sad and complex. I liked that even though she was obviously flawed, she was a good friend to Sam and their gang and in her own way cared. I feel like so many books have girls who defeat the mean popular girls, but very few try to humanize those mean girls, so that was a nice change.

Vi: Very true about the mean girls, Renee. I felt like the author really did an amazing job at portraying all of the characters as having flaws, but good points as well. That's probably what stood out the most for me. And, of course, I had to love Kent. He's such a great character!

Aly: I think that was part of what I thought Oliver did really well. I think she portrayed the whole mean girls/high school drama very well. Not over glamorizing anything or under playing things. I was very pleased when Sam began to see Rob as a jerk. I liked that Juliet had a chance. And I adored Kent. I loved that he was more than what appeared on the surface in some ways and that Sam had a chance to see this.

Aly: So would you recommend this? Would you read more from Oliver? I know her next book seems to be getting some hype already?

Renee: I would definitely read more from Oliver, because I liked her writing style. And I would recommend this, but probably only to 16/17 yr olds or older, because the book does give a very frank (and therefore, not particularly wholesome) picture of the lives of some teens. And like Vi said, it did feel kind of literary fiction adult-ish, like Curtis Sittenfield.

Vi: I actually have someone in mind that might like this. I do think that, because of the literary feel to it, not everyone will take to it. I'm still sort of border-line, myself. I'd also definitely call this "new adult" and would not really recommend it to anyone younger than about 15, although mostly it's because there's a certain maturity in the writing that anyone younger might have trouble with, not that it's overly explicit about anything.

Aly: I think there are actually "younger" teens like Freshmen who will like it because it is chick-lit and because they read at a higher level. I wouldn't put it in a middle grade library because if you tried to limit it to 8th grade then everyone wants to read it. I think some teen readers might find it "literary" but I think it actually moves kind of quickly from the middle to the end. So if they had the attention to hang in...but I probably wouldn't be recommending it to all teens. I would more likely be selective. As for "new adult"...I'm not sure that I agree. I think DUST OF 100 DOGS is very much either new adult or adult with a crossover interest for upper teens because the character doesn't seem particularly YA...but in this case the characters are strictly in the high school age group participating in high school stuff...if you know what I mean.

Vi: I say new adult mostly because the content reminds me of that in BALLADS OF SUBURBIA. I got a more mature vibe. I wouldn't even really say it's a "crossover" novel, because it deals with more high school dramas, but the thoughts and ideas and development of the main character push it into an older category for me. Some more mature younger readers could "get" it, but I think the difference would come when some readers get the entertainment value and some get the real issues it's dealing with. It kind of makes me think of Nirvana's music - it was popular because some teens decided it was catchy, but the ones who really "got" the music were few and far between.

Aly: Any other thoughts on the book? I am kind of feeling like I am missing something but I think we covered most things?

Vi: I think we covered it pretty well.

Renee: Agreed. I think we got most of it, although I was curious about why Sam's reliving her life 7 times was never really explained. Did it have to be exactly 7 days, or if she completed her final mission/martyrdom on day 4 would that have been it? I didn't need the answer to that question to enjoy the book, but I guess I was kind of curious about it...

Aly: I thought it was kind of hinted at by Sam at one point when she mentioned some movie? Or am I making this up?

Vi: I'm not sure. Maybe? Maybe the significance was just that it was a week? She referenced GROUNDHOG DAY day at one point, but there weren't just seven days in that.

Renee: Like I said, I enjoyed it without getting an answer, and I didn't see GROUNDHOG DAY, so I didn't know if I was missing something.

Aly: I would have to check but it didn't necessarily bother me. Also didn't see GROUNDHOG DAY so it wasn't exactly as if I was checking.

*************

Thanks Vi & Renee for participating in the chat. I know that I love discussing books with other book people and in discovering new books. As usual, this was fun. Now, if you have read BEFORE I FALL, how would you respond to the questions?

* Aly

Teen Fiction Tuesday: Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green & David Levithan

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 304
Reading Level: 14 and up


From goodreads.com:

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens--both named Will Grayson--are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history's most fabulous high school musical.

John Green is my favorite author. I'll just get that out of the way now. I could gush about his books for days, but I'll try to contain myself. With Will Grayson, Will Grayson, I knew I could expect in-depth characters, an interesting story, and great writing. But, this book wasn't written by one author; it was written by two. Although David Levithan is another popular young adult author, I had never read one of his books before, so I didn't know what to expect. What I found was brilliance.

Each author wrote from the perspective of one of the Will Graysons in alternating chapters. I expected to love John Green's Will Grayson, and I did. Will is a typical teenager dealing with life, love, and friendship. His best friend, Tiny Cooper, is a larger-than-life character who is both extraordinary and believable at the same time. The humor and honesty in these chapters was highly enjoyable.

Even though I loved John Green's Will, I have to say that David Levithan's Will blew me away. Will is a teenager dealing with depression and I was astounded by how real the depression was portrayed. I've heard reviewers’ comment that this Will was unlikable in the beginning, but I disagree. As a mental health professional, I know quite a bit about depression and I saw Will's "unlikable" behavior as a reaction to the depression. This endeared the character to me instead of pushing me away. It has been a very long time since I've felt so connected to a character. Also, there was more plot in this storyline, so I enjoyed that aspect as well.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is that I couldn't predict the story. Specifically, there is a huge moment in the middle of the book (I won't spoil it) that completely took me off guard. I literally stared at the page for several minutes in shock. I had to re-read the previous passage a few times before it sunk in enough for me to move on. The shock and emotion that part elicited has been unmatched by anything else I've read.

I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book. It was fabulous from beginning to end. I actually stayed up till two am on a weekday, just so I could finish the story. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Happy reading!

~ Rose

Book Review - Mackenzie Blue: Friends Forever?

Author: Tina Wells
Publisher: HarperCollins (June 22, 2010)
Age Level: Grades 4 to 8
Source: Publicist for Review

Description from GoodReads:

Mackenzie Blue is hitting the trails!

It's time for Brookdale Academy's camping field trip, but Zee has much more to deal with than a lesson about nature. . . .

Pros:
1. My BFF, Ally, is visiting all the way from Paris! Ooh la la!
2. My friends and I are so going to win the environmental scavenger hunt!

Cons:
1. We have to stay in teeny-tiny log cabins. How will we all fit?
2. The legendary (and terrifying) Mountain Man . . .


The Mackenzie Blue series is by Tina Wells.  When I was approached by by Buzz Marketing to review the books, I was excited to read a new middle grade series that I might be able to share with my students.  When the books arrived, I realized by looking at the covers and format that there would likely be a formulaic feel to each book. This didn’t bother me.   As a 9 year old, I read every Nancy Drew Book, Hardy Boys, etc.  Each one was really the same with just a different antagonist and different location.  Many children love books in series formats.  With a series, they get to spend time with favorite characters, and there is always the understanding that each one will turn out just fine for the main character and his/her pals. Maybe the best comparison for childrens book series, such as Mackenzie Blue, would be the weekly sitcom or drama. Each week, the main character faces a new challenge, learns a lesson, and everything is wrapped up neatly in 30 to 60 minutes.  Or in case of the book, the dilemma is wrapped up in 200 pages.

In these books, Mackenzie “Zee” Blue is a 7th grader at Brookdale Academy. Her BFF, Ally, has moved to France and she has several other friends including a close male friend named Jasper.  Each book focuses on a dilemma that Zee must learn from.  In the third, and most recently published book, Friends Forever?, Zee is attending science camp with all her the other seventh graders.  In addition to the common issues of being away from home, dealing with outdoor bathrooms, and camp chores, Zee is trying to figure out how to maintain her friendship with Ally (who is visiting from France) and her current friends.  As if friendship troubles wasn't enough, there seems to be something up between Landon (Zee has a crush on him) and Jasper (her male BFF) - could Landon be jealous?  During all this, Zee must also cope with getting her first period.  

When I first started reading the Mackenzie Blue series, there were several things that struck me.  A friend of mine said “You are looking at it with your educator’s eyes”.  Maybe I was – maybe I always do.   However, I was torn.  I realized that there are many tween girls who would likely want to read these books and would enjoy them and even those that we would identify as reluctant or hesitant readers might like them. The books have illustrations dispersed through the pages and at times you see snippets of Zee’s diary or text messages. Zee is a fun main character that girls would like to know.  She worries about her friends, tries to do the right thing, and faces issues that every 12 year old girl is struggling with. These are all positive elements that tween girls love.

So what was my issue? First, I cringe every time an author throws in name brands and certain things that in my mind aren’t necessary and date the book. For example, “She pulled her iPhone out of her pocket. It had a bright blue skin with a big pink Z.” (p. 28 MB #3) Do I really need to know who has an iPhone (or a Sidekick in the first book) or that one of the girls in the cabin has a Louis Vuitton bag? I can honestly answer “no”.  Isn't this the concern with children watching television is that they are overly exposed to products being directly marketed to them? Not only during the commercials, but also in the product placements within the show.  As I read through the books, I almost imagined that I was flipping through a tween version of Vogue magazine.  I found that it often distracted from the story and placed more focus on products than on the wonderful qualities that were hidden within the pages of the book.

My second concern was the Instant Messaging (“IM”) name of “E-zee”.  I am puzzled by the selection of this nickname for a 12 year old girl.  I am especially surprised that Wells, a marketing expert, would not have thought about the connotations of that name.

Finally, and I know that authors often have little control over the covers of their books or the illustrations, but, often I felt that the drawing of the characters made them appear to be in late high school rather than in seventh grade.

I agonized over writing this review and I have probably spent more hours writing and re-writing this because I recognize that I am likely in the minority regarding my opinion of the books.  Ms. Wells has worked hard to write books for girls.  I recognize this fact.  Over the course of the three books, I have also seen growth in her as a writer and I would say in all sincerity that Mackenzie Blue: Friends Forever? #3 is the most developed  of her three books.  However, if I can offer any input to Wells, it would be to focus more on her wonderful characters and spot on issues facing tween girls, then creating a book version of a tween television sitcom.

The Smart Chicks Kick It Tour

This will be my first post on the tour coming up. I'm very excited about the Smart Chicks coming to town - and you can check out their website HERE.

The Smart Chicks will be in the Houston area on September 14th in the Woodlands at the Barnes and Noble (even though it doesn't list it on the calendar), and on September 15th, in Houston hosted by Blue Willow Bookshop.

I will definitely be attending the Blue Willow event, which will be held at The Refuge (they ask that you bring a canned good to help support The Refuge). If you're there, please be sure to find me and say hello!

You can stay tuned to the blog, because we'll be doing some major giveaways in connection with the tour. We'll have books from each of the authors as free giveaways, and we'll have a raffle with at least two prizes. You can start thinking about one giveaway now... The signed copy of City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare, will be a YouTube contest. You'll make a video showing why you deserve to get the signed copy of City of Bones. :)

Before the event, I'll be doing a group interview for the podcast with some of the Smart Chicks. You leave questions for them by commenting on this post, and I'll be sure to include all your questions when I do the interview, but you have to comment here before September 14th.

Get excited! ^_^

Teen Fiction Tuesday: Troy High

Troy High, by Shana Norris

Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 256
Reading Level: 14 and Up
Enjoyment Level: Medium/High


Here come a few more gods and goddesses… Actually, this is just a fun re-telling of a large part of Homer’s Iliad. A nice departure from the fantasy realm for me – I picked it up on a recent trip to the bookstore because it sounded kind of cool.

From amazon.com:

Homer’s Iliad, the classic tale of love and revenge, is shrewdly retold for teens in Troy High.

Narrated by Cassie, a shy outsider at Troy High, the story follows the Trojans and Spartans as they declare war on the football field. After the beautiful Elena—who used to be the captain of the Spartan cheerleaders—transfers to Troy High and falls madly in love with Cassie’s brother Perry, the Spartans vow that the annual homecoming game will never be forgotten. Off the football field, an escalating prank war fuels tensions between the schools.

The stakes are raised when Cassie is forced to choose between the boy she loves (a Spartan) and loyalty to her family and school.

I’ll start this one off by just saying that parts of it fell flat for me, but not enough to make me dislike the book. It was some of the character interaction that left me hanging. Cassie’s relationship with her older brother and his character development leave a few gaps going from his original attitude to the one he’s got at the end of the story. She lets him walk all over her for most of the book, never standing up for herself until the end, and she readily forgives him without much fight, either.

I also felt like Cassie’s relationship with her best friend wasn’t as solid as it could’ve been. There are some major-blowout fights that should’ve given Cassie more pause to think and should’ve had stronger reactions, but the fights seem to blow over without many repercussions. It would’ve been nice to see Cassie dealing more with the consequences of her choices.

But I still enjoyed the overall story. It was fun to research the characters and the history of the Iliad to figure out who was who. I liked the idea of bringing Helen of Troy into the modern age. Transferring the Iliad to the football field gave it new life and made it interesting to me.

The author did a wonderful job with the Helen character, Elena, and her relationship with Cassie is one of the highlights of the book. The chemistry between the two of them is just right. Cassie learns a lot from Elena. I really enjoyed seeing their friendship develop, as it was something I didn’t expect at all.

So despite my picking at a couple aspects of the book, I did enjoy it. If you’re looking for a book that is a quick read and delivers an interesting re-telling, pick up Troy High.

Until next time, go read something!

~ Vilate