Laissez les bons temps rouler! Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton is being released during Mardi Gras season. This year, it falls on Feb. 21. Despite being ravaged by hurricanes, Keaton's reimagined New Orleans, New 2, still celebrates Mardi Gras much like we do now. And because I live in Mobile, Alabama (arguably the home... Continue Reading →
Simons and Schuster was kind enough to share this map they made of the French Quarter in New Orleans, where much of Kelly Keaton's Darkness Becomes Her and A Beautiful Evil take place. Click on it to see the full-sized version. Below, we've got more in-depth info on the landmarks. Jackson Square: Originally called Place... Continue Reading →
One of the coolest parts of Kelly Keaton's Darkness Becomes Her series is the setting: A hurricane-ravaged New Orleans renamed New 2. Most of the buildings and landmarks mentioned in both Darkness Becomes Her and A Beautiful Evil are real. And because we're dorks for this sort of thing at Novel Novice, we WENT to New Orleans just... Continue Reading →
Looks like a Newbery Award boosted numbers for Jack Gantos, whose MG book Dead End in Norvelt is at no. 6 this week. John Green still occupies the top spot with The Fault in Our Stars, and The Hunger Games is at the top of the series list for the bazillionth week. 🙂 This Week... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
It should come as no surprise that this week's top spot belongs to the much-anticipated and lauded The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. (Read our review.) By all accounts, it's an amazing book. Also debuting in the top ten is Beth Revis's A Million Suns, the follow-up to Across the Universe. This Week... Continue Reading →
Retellings of classic fairy tales have been popular in YA the past few years, but until now, I hadn't read one. However, I'm confident in saying Marissa Meyer has done a great service to the original Cinderella story in her romantic sci-fi Cinder. Part cyberpunk, part fairytale, part romance and a little post-apocalyptic, Cinder takes... Continue Reading →
Bust out the confetti! We finally have a new entrants in the top 10! Marissa Meyer's sci-fi romance Cinder is a loose reimagining of the Cinderella story and debuts at no. 10. Look for our review tomorrow (and a special guest blog from her later this month). In paperbacks, Switched by Amanda Hocking landed at no. 4.... Continue Reading →
No new entrants to the top 10, but Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Prince is holding strong, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (a seriously beautiful book--the illustrations are amazing) has gotten a boost thanks to its movie release. This Week Children's Chapter Books Weeks on List 1 THE SON OF NEPTUNE, by Rick... Continue Reading →
This year was truly a banner year for outstanding YA. And while some established authors delivered gems to their fans, the majority of books on my list come from debut authors (which means we can look forward to their sequels in 2012 and beyond!). Below--in no particular order--are my picks for the best of 2011:... Continue Reading →
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