The Saturday Post: ‘Hunger Games’ trailer, movies & more


* Brand-new trailer for The Hunger Games movie is here. Watch now & enjoy:

You can also see this trailer during the Super Bowl Pre-Game show on Sunday. Also for fans of The Hunger Games: contests; lots of them. Win tickets to the premiere. And brand spankin’ new merchandise. (Which may or may not be part of a special Hunger Games movie countdown giveaway coming next month …)

* The film rights to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars have been optioned by Fox 2000. So far, I’ve seen mixed responses from fans about this news. It would be great to see the story on the big screen … BUT, what if they screw it up? What do you think?

* Speaking of movie adaptations … the big screen version of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl has nabbed its first cast member: Viola Davis as Amma!

* The CW has ordered a pilot for a new TV show based on The Selection by Kiera Cass, which will be released later this year.

* The trailer for Holly Black’s Black Heart was also released this week at Hollywood Crush! I can’t wait for this book — and it will be our April book of the month!

* Maggie Stiefvater finally announced her new series — known on Twitter as MagicalNovel, here’s the news from Scholastic about The Raven Boys:

Filled with mystery, romance, and the supernatural, The Raven Boys introduces readers to Richard “Dick” Campbell Gansey, III and Blue Sargent. Gansey has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on the hunt to find Glendower, a vanished Welsh king. Legend has it that the first person to find him will be granted a wish—either by seeing him open his eyes, or by cutting out his heart. Blue Sargent, the daughter of the town psychic in Henrietta, Virginia, has been told for as long as she can remember that if she ever kisses her true love, he will die. But she is too practical to believe in things like true love. Her policy is to stay away from the rich boys at the prestigious Aglionby Academy. The boys there—known as Raven Boys—can only mean trouble. When Gansey and his Raven Boy friends come into her life, Blue realizes how true this is. She never thought her fortune would be a problem. But now she’s not so sure.

Exciting, no? It’s the first in a four-book series. Book one is out in October!

* And finally, the ladies of The Hillywood Show have released their Breaking Dawn: Part 1 Parody:

What we loved about Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

This month, we are so excited about the release of A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton — but it was the first book in this series that really got us hooked. So today, we take a look back at what both myself & Steph had to say about Darkness Becomes Her in our reviews last year:

From my review:

Sexy new paperback cover!

If you took some of today’s hottest genres in Young Adult fiction, mixed them together and added a heavy dose of Greek mythology, the results would be Kelly Keaton’s Darkness Becomes Her

And in a world where the YA shelves are packed with paranormal stories, Keaton makes her mark [...] It’s new, unique and brilliant!

There’s one other element about Darkness Becomes Her that was a real high point for me, and that’s the fact that it’s a much more mature YA book than many on shelves today. Yeah, it’s got that “14 & up” warning (which for some parents can be a turn-off), but as an adult reader, it’s refreshing to find a character in YA that is so mature. Ari is 17 in this book, but she’s only a few months shy of 18 and she carries herself much more like an adult than a teenager. Sure, she’s still figuring some things out and she definitely makes mistakes — but it’s nice to see a character mature enough to recognize and learn from her mistakes independently. Ari is a well-rounded character, with a tough past (she’s experienced some horrors in her youth) and a unique outlook on life. And much like my favorite vampire slayer Buffy, Ari knows how to kick serious butt. Not because she’s a supernatural beastie … but because her good foster parents taught her self-defense! How cool is that?

From Steph’s review:

The original hardback cover

Kelly Keaton takes this concept [of Southern grotesque] and stretches it to the Nth degree, making her central characters a supernatural group of misfits among misfits. The result is a kick-ass, gritty, creepy, lush story that makes the Southern setting as much a character as the (non-)human ones. It’s like she took every cool part of “gothic” and stuck it in a blender, creating a smoothie of literary awesomesauce.

Ari — the female lead – has the punky grit of Katniss (The Hunger Games) and Evie (Paranormalcy); Sabastian (ohhh, Sebastian … and his dad, too!) has the dark mystery of Varen (Nevermore); and the adults in the Novem remind me very much of the Conclave of Shadowhunters (The Mortal Instruments.)

Seriously, it’s everything awesome in one book. And it would get tedious, except Keating keeps the plot moving at breakneck speed. It never gets bogged down and the mythology is never over the reader’s head.

For the comments: Have you read Darkness Becomes Her yet? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

A Beautiful Evil Greek Mythology Writing Contest

Our February book of the month A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton features all sorts of awesome twists on Greek mythology — so we’re using that as our inspiration for this month’s writing contest!

The Contest

In 250-500 words, write a short story that is inspired by Greek mythology. Your story should be set in the present day, but should feature some element that is based in classic Greek mythology.

Submit your short story (or story excerpt) in the Novel Novice & A Beautiful Evil Greek Mythology Writing Contest Entry Form to enter.

The Prize

Up to four (4) winners will each receive a set of finished copies of Darkness Becomes Her and A Beautiful Evil courtesy of Simon & Schuster!

The Rules

  • U.S. only
  • One entry per person
  • Use the entry form
  • Entries should be 250-500 words in length
  • You may submit an excerpt from a longer story
  • Use proper grammar & spelling

The Deadline

All entries are due by midnight (PT) on Wednesday, February 29th!

Questions? Leave ‘em in the comments & we’ll reply!

A Wrinkle in Time – 50th Anniversary Blog Tour


Today, I am so thrilled to be taking part in the 50 Years, 50 Days, 50 Blogs Tour in celebration of the 50th anniversary of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

I first read this book when I was in seventh grade, when it was assigned as summer reading for school — but I loved it so much, I proceeded to read the entire series that very same summer. This was one of those series that impacted my reading choices as a teen and into adulthood, and that’s part of why I’m so thrilled to see A Wrinkle in Time back in the spotlight for its 50th anniversary.

When I was asked to be part of this blog tour, I was asked to write about a character in the book — and immediately claimed Charles Wallace. The younger brother of the main character, Meg, Charles is one of the most unique characters I’ve ever encountered.

A five-year-old super genius, Charles Wallace is central to the plot of A Wrinkle in Time — and in many ways, is the catalyst that propels the story forward. First, he is the one to introduce Mrs Whatsit to Meg and the rest of his family — thus propelling them on a journey to find their father. Later, Charles Wallace becomes trapped on a planet when he is telepathically taken over by a being known as IT — launching the final climax of the book, in which his sister must rescue him.

Charles Wallace is one of those characters you can’t help but love. He is brilliant and kind and loving, but also young and vulnerable. Not only does the main protagonist Meg adore him — but so, too, does the reader.

Find out for yourself what there is to love about Charles Wallace and A Wrinkle in Time in the new 50th anniversary edition, now in stores everywhere!

The new, 50th anniversary edition of A Wrinkle in Time includes:

  • Frontispiece photo*†
  • Photo scrapbook with approximately 10 photos*†
  • Manuscript pages*†
  • Letter from 1963 Caldecott winner, Ezra Jack Keats*†
  • New introduction by Katherine Paterson, US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature †
  • New afterword by Madeleine L’Engle’s granddaughter Charlotte Voiklis including six never-before-seen photos †
  • Murry-O’Keefe family tree with new artwork †
  • Madeleine L’Engle’s Newbery acceptance speech

* Unique to this edition
† never previously published

Be sure to check out the Wrinkle in Time facebook page & visit the other blogs on the 50 blog tour!

And finally, here is the book trailer for the 50th anniversary edition, which is stunning & makes me feel all kinds of nostalgic:

February 2012: A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton

Today, we are delighted to launch out first book of the month for 2012 — A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton, the upcoming sequel to Darkness Becomes Her.

We adore this series — which features an edgy YA heroine, a futuristic versions of New Orleans, and some very clever twists on Greek mythology.

To celebrate our new book of the month, here is a February desktop wallpaper calendar. Just click to view full-size, then right-click to save. And scroll down to learn more about A Beautiful Evil:

A power she can’t deny. A destiny she’s determined to fight.

When Ari first arrived in the dilapidated city of New 2, all she wanted was to figure out who she was. But what she discovered was beyond her worst nightmare. Ari can already sense the evil growing inside her—a power the goddess Athena will stop at nothing to possess.

Desperate to hold on to her humanity and protect her loved ones, Ari must fight back. But Athena’s playing mind games, not just with Ari but with those she cares about most. And Athena has a very special plan for the brooding and sexy Sebastian.

Ari is determined to defeat Athena, but time is running out. With no other options, Ari must unleash the very thing she’s afraid of: herself.

Writing Prompt: First Date

We’re changing up the writing prompts a little bit in 2012.  Rather than a “lesson” every other month, we’re going to have open-ended prompts to get your imagination turning.

You can write fan fiction stories or your own original stories.  It’s all for fun and practice because, of course, the number one way to be a better writer is to simply write more.

Here’s February’s prompt:

For this month, we are specifically requiring you to write fan fiction.  We want you to take two characters from different young adult books/series and show us what their first date would look like.

Have fun with this!  Your story can be romantic, cynical, funny, sweet, awkward, goofy, scary, you name it.  It just has to make sense for the two characters you choose.

 

Submitting Your Story

There are a few options for submitting your story:

  • Post it on a website such as fanfiction.net, LiveJournal, your blog, etc. Be sure whatever site you choose does not require users to login in order to read your story.
  • Email the link to your story to christie.novelnovice@gmail.com.
  • If you don’t want to post your story on a website, you can email it to christie.novelnovice@gmail.com. Please use DOC or PDF format only. If you wish to remain anonymous, please let me know when you send it (and don’t include your name in the file).
Stories are due February 28 if you want them shared on Novel Novice.

What do you think about our writing prompts feature?  Are you planning to participate? We’re open to suggestions for improving as we go, too.

New Young Adult Book Releases: January 31, 2012


Here’s a look at some of today’s new YA releases:

The Edumacation of Jay Baker by Jay Clark

 A few “sexy” bullet points about Jay:

• He is in love with a cheerleader named Cameo “Appearance” Parnell
• He is forever losing “Love-15” to tennis-playing goddess Caroline Richardson
• He rocks a touché array of pop-culture references, jokes, and puns
• His family-life cookie is about to crumble.

Live vicariously through Jay as he faces off against his mortal enemy, gets awkward around his dream girl(s), loses his marbles in a Bermudian love triangle, watches his parents’ relationship implode, and, finally, learns to get real and be himself(ish).

Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

Incarnate by Jodi Meadows

NEWSOUL
Ana is new. For thousands of years in Range, a million souls have been reincarnated over and over, keeping their memories and experiences from previous lifetimes. When Ana was born, another soul vanished, and no one knows why.

NOSOUL
Even Ana’s own mother thinks she’s a nosoul, an omen of worse things to come, and has kept her away from society. To escape her seclusion and learn whether she’ll be reincarnated, Ana travels to the city of Heart, but its citizens are suspicious and afraid of what her presence means. When dragons and sylph attack the city, is Ana to blame?

HEART
Sam believes Ana’s new soul is good and worthwhile. When he stands up for her, their relationship blooms. But can he love someone who may live only once, and will Ana’s enemies—human and creature alike—let them be together? Ana needs to uncover the mistake that gave her someone else’s life, but will her quest threaten the peace of Heart and destroy the promise of reincarnation for all?

Jodi Meadows expertly weaves soul-deep romance, fantasy, and danger into an extraordinary tale of new life.

The Girls of No Return by Erin Saldin

CUT meets HATCHET in this lacerating debut about girls, knives, and redemption.The Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area stretches across two million acres in northern Idaho. In its heart sits the Alice Marshall School, where fifty teenage girls come to escape their histories and themselves.Lida Wallace has tried to negate herself in every way possible. At Alice Marshall, she meets Elsa Boone, a fierce native Idahoan; Jules, who seems too healthy to belong at the school; and Gia Longchamps, whose glamour entrances the entire camp. As the girls prepare for a wilderness trek, Lida is both thrilled and terrified to be chosen as Gia’s friend. But everyone has their secrets–their “Things” they try to protect; and when those come out, the knives do as well.THE GIRLS OF NO RETURN is a bold and powerful debut.

Lenobia’s Vow (A House of Night novella) by PC & Kristin Cast

The second in the enthralling new mini-series of novellas from the #1 bestselling authors of the House of Night, Lenobia’s Vow tells the gripping story behind the House of Night’s enigmatic riding instructor – and one of Zoey’s closest allies against evil

The House of Night is an international publishing sensation; with almost 12 million books in print, and an incredible 120 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, the series has taken the world by storm. Now, the excitement continues as the Cast mother-daughter duo shares the back stories of a few of the House of Night’s most important – and mysterious – characters. The second of the House of Night Novellas brings us Lenobia, the strong, beautiful horseback riding instructor, who guides Zoey through some of her darkest hours, and has a dark secret buried in her own past…

In a small southern town at the turn of the century, young Lenobia is developing into a beautiful young woman with ideas of her own. But when she is Marked as a fledgling vampyre, her world turns upside down, and she is drawn to the musical streets of New Orleans. There, she learns of the city’s dark underbelly, ruled by powerful black magic. As Lenobia experiences her first love – and loss – and discovers a passion for horses to sustain her, she must come face-to-face with Darkness itself. And she may not escape without scars.

In stores Thursday:

Harbinger by Sarah Wilson Etienne

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn’t expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she’s going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she’s come home. She’s even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she’s the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can’t trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her – and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

For the comments: Which of today’s new releases are you most excited about?

Tour de Nerdfighting in Portland, Oregon & Poster Giveaway

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the official Tour de Nerdfighting with John Green & Hank Green … that is to say, the rock show that was pretending to be John’s book tour for The Fault in Our Stars.

Anyone who’s been to one of these tour stops knows how amazing it is. It’s not just a book reading or a signing; it’s an experience. And while I was grateful for John and Hank for making Portland part of the tour, what I took away most from this event wasn’t anything they did specifically.

Rather, the most significant part of the Tour de Nerdfighting for me, was spending the afternoon in a room filled with a few hundred people — mostly teenagers — who were unapologetically exuberant about an author and books and writing and generally being awesome people. The fact that John & Hank have inspired that sort of enthusiasm among teens for books and literature and embracing their nerd side just makes me all kinds of happy. And that happiness was embodied during the Tour de Nerdfighting.

And now, onto the photos and videos and contests.

The event started out with John reading from his #1 NYT best-seller, The Fault in Our Stars:

And Hank sang some songs:

And then a “surprise performance by Sleater Kinney” … good job, Greens. You had us fooled for about two seconds:

Followed by Q&A and more music:

During the Q&A sessions, John & Hank have a rule: whoever goes over their time limit and is speaking when they run out of time, gets shocked. John (as noted by the triumphant fists in the air in the photo above) was victorious. I captured Hank’s shocking punishment in video:

And then, the epic finale:

Win a Tour de Nerdfighting Poster

I managed to snag a few extra Tour de Nerdfighting posters while I was there, and if you couldn’t make it to one of the tour stops, you are in luck. Because we’re giving away three Tour de Nerdfighting posters right now!

Just fill out the Novel Novice Nerdfighter Poster Contest Entry Form & tell us your favorite John Green book for your chance to win!

The rules are:

  • U.S. only
  • One entry per person
  • Use the entry form

All entries are due by midnight (PT) on Friday, February 3rd!

For the comments: Did you make it to another one of the Tour de Nerdfighting events? Tell us about it below!

John Green, Cynthia Hand’s latest bracket the top 10

For the second week in a row, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars is at no. 1 and getting rave reviews. At no. 10 is Cynthia Hand’s latest, Hallowed, the sequel to Unearthly.

This Week Children’s Chapter Books Weeks on List
1 THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, by John Green. (Dutton, $17.99.) A 16-year-old heroine faces the medical realities of cancer. (Ages 14 and up) 2
2 THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, by Brian Selznick. (Scholastic, $22.99.) An orphan thief must decipher his father’s last message. (Ages 9 to 12) 97
3 THE SON OF NEPTUNE, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $19.99.) The cast of characters expands; Book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus. (Ages 9 to 12) 16
4 MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN, by Ransom Riggs. (Quirk Books, $17.99.) An island, an abandoned orphanage and a collection of curious photographs. (Ages 12 and up) 33
5 THE LEGO IDEAS BOOK, by Daniel Lipkowitz. (DK, $24.99.) Projects with plastic bricks. (Ages 7 and up) 12
6 THROUGH MY EYES, by Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker. (Zondervan, $16.99.) The quarterback’s journey, rooted in his Christian faith. (Ages 7 to 12) 3
7 EVERY THING ON IT, by Shel Silverstein. (Harper/HarperCollins, $19.99.) Poems and drawings by the author of “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” (Ages 9 to 12) 17
8 WONDERSTRUCK, by Brian Selznick. (Scholastic, $29.99.) In alternating stories told in words and pictures, children look for loved ones. (Ages 9 to 12) 19
9 THE LOST HERO, by Rick Riordan. (Disney-Hyperion, $18.99.) A return to Camp Half-Blood and semi-divine characters. (Ages 10 and up) 63
10 HALLOWED, by Cynthia Hand. (HarperTeen, $17.99.) In this sequel to “Unearthly,” Clara is torn between love and the role she seems destined to play as an “angel-blood.” (Ages 13 and up) 1

The Saturday Post: Awards Galore, Book Trailers & More!

* The Printz, the Morris and the ALA’s other Youth Media Awards earlier this week — with John Corey Whaley’s Where Things Come Back winning both the Printz and the Morris, two huge honors for YA lit. Check out an interview with him in the LA Times.

* In years past, the children’s authors who won the Newbery and the Caldecot at the YMAs would appear on morning television following their wins. But this year — NONE of the major networks accepted offers to have these authors appear on their morning shows. As someone who works in morning TV news I am baffled by this decision. As someone who supports reading and literacy, I’m just appalled.

* Check out this year’s list for YALSA’s Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers and YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults. Congrats to everyone!

* The Oscar nominations were announced this week, and while Harry Potter was once again snubbed, two Scholastic book adaptations received some top honors: Hugo and War Horse. Congrats!

* Speaking of book to movie adaptations, The Mortal Instruments Examiner explores the growth of YA adaptations in Hollywood.

* Check out Novel Novice contributor Tiffany Truitt’s first author interview, for her upcoming debut novel Chosen Ones.

* In case you missed the hilarity this week on “The Colbert Report,” Stephen Colbert interviewed beloved children’s author Maurice Sendak. It’s hilarious. Check out part 1 and part 2 online!

* Here’s the book trailer for Pink Smog by Francescia Lia Block, the Weetzie Bat prequel released this week:

* Also released this week, the book trailer for Incarnate by Jodi Meadows:

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