* First of all, we are SO excited for our good friend Suzanne Young, who just announced a new two-book deal:
Suzanne Young’s THE PROGRAM , where teen suicide is an epidemic and a girl struggles to stay out of the Program—a preventative treatment that will erase her memories—in order to save herself and the boyfriend who’s already forgotten her, to Jennifer Klonsky at Simon Pulse in a two-book deal by Jim McCarthy.
Congrats!!! And be sure to check out Suzanne’s next book, A Need So Beautiful, in stores 6/21. We helped debut the trailer for ANSB earlier this week, and we’ve got a contest going on through Sunday, for your chance to win a signed, finished copy!
* As you probably know, our book of the month for May is Divergent by Veronica Roth. That’s why we’re extra excited about the launch of the Divergent Examiner column on Examiner.com — and it’s being written by none other than Amanda Bell, the fab lady behind the Twilight Examiner column (and a good friend of ours here at Novel Novice)! Be sure to check out the column, follow Amanda on Twitter & like her column on Facebook!
*Holly Black confirmed to MTV’s Hollywood Crush that the film rights to her Curse Workers series have indeed been optioned. While this doesn’t mean a movie is guaranteed, it’s certainly a step in the right direction — and one we couldn’t be more excited about!
* Speaking of movies … Cassie Clare shares the latest updates on the Mortal Instruments movie, and where things are at in that process.
* And if you need more Mortal Instruments, check out this delicious outtake Cassie shared on her website, featuring the first scene when Alec asks Magnus out on a date.
* Also in the world of movie adaptations, here’s the latest casting updates from The Hunger Games movie:
- Woody Harrelson cast as Haymitch Abernathy
- Stanley Tucci cast as Caesar Flickerman
- Alexander Ludwig & Isabelle Fuhrman cast as Cato & Clove (District 2 tributes)
* The Seattle PI had an excellent article this week explaining the reasons so many adult readers love YA. As an adult myself (though I use the term “adult” loosely — I’m certain I’m really not mature enough to be a real adult), I found myself easily agreeing with several excellent points in the article. Such as:
the only time I get that really serious can’t-put-the-book-down, fall-in-love-with-the-characters feeling is when I read Young Adult books.
What I like about YA fiction is that it’s so highly relatable.The books are designed to be relatable to young people, and since we were all young once, we can still relate to those angsty teenage emotions.
But while these YA books are so relatable, the fantastical elements make them enough of an escape from reality that you don’t feel like you’re reading a boring book about your own dull life. YA books strike a perfect blend of mirroring real-life and providing an escape from it.
With her trademark lyricism, Maggie Stiefvater turns to a new world, where a pair are swept up in a daring, dangerous race across a cliff–with more than just their lives at stake should they lose.
Novel Novice 
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