blo Teens Read and Write: March 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Stephanie Meyer's New Book


Big Stephanie Meyers news!

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella
will be released at 12:01 a.m. June 5. (Gee, just a few short weeks before Eclipse comes out in theaters. Coincidence? I think not.)

It's a 192 page story that follows the life of Bree Tanner, a newborn vamp that is introduced on page 569 of Eclipse, and ten pages later she dies. (No wonder it's a novella.) First printing will be 1.5 million. Not surprising, but Wow!

According to Meyer, it is an "exercise" she did when she was writing Eclipse to help her understand what was going on in the novel.


Bree is part of the newborn army of vamps that the revenge hungry Victoria creates to help her hunt and kill the Cullens and Bella.

The story covers the last week of Bree's 'newborn' life just before the big fight between the vamp army and the Cullens, and at that point she has been a vampire for about 3 months.

The character will be seen in the upcoming Eclipse movie (June 30) and will be played by Canadian actress Jodelle Ferland.

The cover looks good. I like the 'time running out' concept in the hourglass with the red sand trickling through. Clever!

While it's not Midnight Sun, perhaps this will help satisfy some of the ravenous appetite for all things Twilight!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Teaser Tuesday 3/30/10


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's what you do...
  • Grab your current read
  • flip to a random page
  • select 2 sentences from anywhere on the page
  • try not to include any SPOILERS!
  • make sure you tell the name of book and the author so we can add the book to our TBR pile!
Alyssa's Reading...

Radiant Shadows
by Melissa Marr
pub: April 2010/Harper Collins


He gave her enough to keep her from starvation but the former dark king wouldn't help her fully sate her hungers. she would have to find a few tastes here and there to silence the gnawing insider her.
Again.
(page 37)




Gregory's Reading...





Token of Darkness
by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
pub: Feb 2010/Delacorte
208 pages
The dar
kness was alive, and
it was hungry. Cooper didn't know how he knew that, but he did, the way he knew things in nightmares; it was hungry, and it would devour him if it could.
(page 1)






Jake's Reading...

Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld
pub: Feb 2005/Simon Pulse 425 pages

Suddenly, the stony cliffs beneath her cracked and fissured. A huge rift opened up, the ocean rushing in with a roar that drowned the seabirds' cries. She found herself tumbling through the air, falling down toward the black water.
(page 156)


We'd love to see your teasers so please leave your link!



Monday, March 29, 2010

Bree Despain Interview and Nail Polish Giveaway

Today we're excited to have an interview with Bree Despain, the hot debut author of The Dark Divine (Egmont Publishing).
A prodigal son.
A dangerous love.
A deadly secret . . .
I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”
Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.
As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it_—her soul.
___________________________________________


1. The premise of 'love's first kill' is interesting and original. How did you come up with it?
*SPOILER ALERT* I came up with the idea as I was writing and realized that there had to be a cure to the werewolf curse, but it also had to be something hard to do, or require some sort of great sacrifice. I kept thinking about fairytales like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White in which a curse was broken by true love’s first kiss. But how hard is that? So a hot prince has to kiss a beautiful princess, where’s the sacrifice in that? But then it hit me, what if the cure to the curse was true love’s first kill? What if Grace had to kill Daniel in order to break the curse?! I have to admit that the idea scared me at first—but totally gave me chills at the same time.

2. What are at least 3 things we don't know about your characters?
Grace had her first kiss with a boy at art camp when she was 15.
- As a kid, Daniel’s favorite sandwich was ham with hot mustard and pickles—Grace thinks this is disgusting.
- April is the first girl Jude ever took on more than two dates.
3. What are at least 3 things we don't know about you?
- I wasn't allowed to date until I was 16.
- When I was 17 I went to a royal ball in an Austrian palace.
- My husband and I fell in love because of duct tape

4. Any clues as to why the sequel is titled "The Lost Saint"?
There are multiple characters in THE LOST SAINT who have great potential but have lost their way. During the course of the book, some of them will find themselves again, others will not.

5. Other than Daniel, and if you weren't married, blah, blah, blah, what literary love interest wouldn't you mind having?
Ramses Emerson from the Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters. He’s hotter than Indiana Jones. (From the books in the series when he’s in his early 20s, not when he’s an obnoxious little kid.)

6. How would you deal with it if your husband was a werewolf - not the bad kind - ?

Get him rabies shots, an extra large flee collar, and an endless supply of new clothes since he’d probably destroy most of his good shirts on a monthly basis. Plus, he’d better take me running sometimes.

7. What have been the biggest differences between writing The Dark Divine and The Lost Saint?
Most definitely time. I worked on TDD for 4 years before I even sold it to my publisher, and there was another year of editing and such before it hit the shelves. TLS will be written, edited, and published in just about 1 year’s time. Phew, talk about a whirl wind!

8. You're running from a hoard of zombies and you trip in your stilettos that you never remember putting on. In front of you is a field of broken glass, how do you proceed?
Stand my ground. Stilettos make great tools for zombie dismemberment.

9. There's a zombie apocalypse, what literary character(s) do you want to have fighting by your side and why?
Buffy in a comic book now, does that make her a literary figure? If so, Buffy. No wait, Spike. Definitely, Spike.


10. What super power would you want to have and why?
 Super strength combined with wicked awesome Kung Fu skills.


11. You awaken in your bedroom alone, your husband is missing and the only other being in the room is the re-animated corpse of Liza Minnelli (even though she's not dead), and all you have is half a jar of pickles (dill) and double sided tape. What do you do?
First break the pickle jar. Then pelt the pickles at Liza’s feet as she approaches—everyone knows that re-animated corpses of non-dead drama queens aren’t very smart, so there’s a 99.5 % chance she’ll slip on one of the pickles and fall. While she’s down, I’d bind her with the double-sided tape and then use the broken glass from the pickle jar to remove her zombie head. (Okay, I just freaked myself out a little bit.)




_________________________________


Thanks so much, Bree! Great answers - you are so funny - and yes, you freaked us out a bit too... But we like that about you! You definitely win for Best Answer to a Zombie Apocalypse Question! What a killer imagination. And we'd love to know the story behind the falling in love over duct tape. Well, perhaps another time.

We loved The Dark Divine (review HERE) and can't wait to read The Lost Saint!

And good news! We have three bottles nail polish in awesome Dark Divine Purple.



To enter, please leave a comment (preferably about why/how you think the purple color will come into play in The Lost Saint) and fill out the form here with your name and address.

 Be sure to follow Bree's blog tour as she heads on over to A Good Addiction tomorrow.

Thanks again, Bree and have fun with the rest of your tour.


Visit Bree's Website: http://www.breedespain.com/

Future Tour Dates/Sites:


Sunday, March 28, 2010

Tribute to YA Womens Authors


Kris @ Voracious YAppetite is have a series about Women YA Authors this week and we are honored to be a part of it. Today she is giving a bit of history - very interesting - and the rest of the week she is talking about childhood favorites as well as current wonderful YA women.

Even Jake and Gregory weigh in because they have some favorite women YA authors - they don't all write sappy romance!

Here's what Kris has to say...

As you may already know, March is Women’s History Month!

There are so many wonderful, talented female YA writers, so for the last few days of this month, we’ll be celebrating our favorites from childhood, our current favorites, and a few of 2010’s female debut YA authors whose work we’re really looking forward to.

A few awesome fellow YA bloggers will be sharing their thoughts with me throughout this series:

Hope you can join us for this well-deserved tribute. Great idea, Kris!


Heads up for Tomorrow - Bree Despain Interview and Giveaway




Just an FYI that tomorrow the lovely (and funny) Bree Despain, author of The Dark Divine will be here.

We threw some funky questions at her and she was MORE than up to the task.





Be sure to check it out because in addition, we'll be giving away three bottles of that fantastic Dark D
ivine Purple Nail polish.



See you there!

We're Going on the Radio & Watching New Moon


We're going on the radio!

Terry Kate from Romance in the Backseat has invited us to go on Blog Talk Radio today and join her for some live commentary as we all watch New Moon together.

We've never done anything like this before and thought it would be a hoot!

Terry is the brilliance behind the successful Online Book Blogger and Publisher Conference that we attended last weekend. It was a blast and we learned so much. Not to mention made some great new friends. Terry's having another one in September and we highly recommend it!

You can join us today at 8-10 pm EST (5-7 pm PST) for some fun dishing on New Moon. There will be a chat room going on too. It may be nuts but it should be fun!

Please come join us! Click HERE for the link and grab your popcorn.

It's Movie Night!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Crescendo (Hush Hush Sequel) Synopsis is Here!

I was checking out a great new blog I found. It's another family blogging team, Dwayne and Hanna, at Girls Without a Bookshelf. They are two sisters in London and you'll want to check out their site.

They are also Hush Hush lovers and these ladies are on the cutting edge of literary news. They have the latest scoop/synopsis on the sequel, Crescendo!

Thanks ladies for the heads up and now I'll share it with you!

Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up.

Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came hom
e.
The further Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim bloodline has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl.

Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?
I have to agree with the ladies from Girls Without a Bookshelf. Would Patch really go for the vapid, insipid and obnoxious Marcie Miller? I don't think so. So what's really going on? Guess we'll have to wait until the fall to find out.

I knew her Dad's disappearance would come into play. Is he still alive? Oh, the questions!

According the Dwayne and Hanna, the new cover will be released on April 10.

I'm quaking with anticipation!



Let's Go Do the Hop!


Hey Everyone!

If you get a chance, be sure to join the Book Blogger Hop!

Go on over to Crazy-for-Books to join in and link up! It's a great way to network and find new blogs!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Beastly Trivia and Alex Pettyfer Eye Candy

We watched Stormbreaker not too long ago which was based on the first book in the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. We didn't expect a whole lot but actually found it to be a fun film.

The star, Alex Pettyfer, did a good job and was so cute that I decided to look him up. He'd be a bit older now and I wondered how he aged.

The answer is very well.


So well in fact that he is the gorgeous hunk that is going to be turned into a beast for another upcoming book-to-movie,
Beastly, due to release July 30.


Quite the transformation but yes that's Alex!


I haven't read the book it's the (duh) modern day telling of Beauty and the Beast.

I am a beast.

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

So that's my bit of trivia and eye candy. Check out the movie trailer below.

Did you read the book? What did you think?

Will you be seeing the movie?

I was iffy about the movie before but since I'm a new Alex fan, I'm sure I'll be checking it out. Now the only question is...

Should I read the book before I see the film?



New Favorite Character MEME


Jennifer from The Introverted Reader has started a fun new meme to showcase our favorite chara
cters.

She says:

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too!

I recently read Darklight by Lesley Livingston and adored it, especially whenever the character of Fenn was on the pages.

He was so much fun.


His dry wit and sarcastic humor constantly made me smile.

Fenn isn't the love interest, he's
not even fighting for the attentions of the girl, but that doesn't stop him from giving Kelly's main squeeze, Sonny, a hard time. Doing his best to play on Sonny's insecurities just for the fun of watching him squirm and making him jealous.

Gotta love that mischievous nature but Fenn is above all loyal and true, and ready to die for those he is protecting.


He's a hunky assassin with a soft side - but don't cross him if you want to keep breathing - although, I'm happy for him to take my breath away!


Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Waiting on Wednesday - 3/24/10

Here are the latest additions to my drooling in anticipation list! Or commonly known as Waiting on Wednesday.

Nightshade
by Andrea Cremer
pub: Oct 2010/Philomel Penguin
(Fabulous cover!)

While other teenage gir
ls daydream about boys, Calla Tor imagines ripping out her enemies’ throats. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. Calla was born a warrior and on her eighteenth-birthday she’ll become the alpha female of the next generation of Guardian wolves. But Calla’s predestined path veers off course the moment she saves the life of a wayward hiker, a boy her own age. This human boy’s secret will turn the young pack's world upside down and forever alter the outcome of the centuries-old Witches' War that surrounds them all.

Spells
by Aprilynn Pike
pub: May 2010/Harper Teen
(Love this cover too!)

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever. When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?



Deception
by Lee Nichols
pub: Ma
y 2010/Bloomsbury

When Emma Vaile’s parents go missing while away on a mysterious business trip, she’s left all alone in her creepy old house. But her brother’s very cute best friend, Bennett Stern—Emma’s knight in J. Crew armor—arrives unexpectedly to whisk her away to New England. There, Emma settles into his family’s museum-like mansion and enrolls at an old-fashioned private school. She quickly finds friends in the popular legacy crowd at Thatcher and spends her free time crushing on Bennett. But the eerie visions she’s been hiding from everyone have gotten worse.

Emma has memories of Thatcher that she can’t explain—it’s as if she’s returning home to a place she’s never been. Finally, Emma confides in Bennett and learns she is a ghostkeeper, a person who can communicate with ghosts. Bennett brought Emma to Thatcher to protect her, but now he needs her help tracking an other-worldly murderer. A rich New England setting filled with mystery, tradition, and prep-school intrigue make Deception the perfect choice for fans of series like Kate Brian’s Private, as well as all those paranormal fans. The shocking ending will leave readers desperate for book two.

What do you want?

I'd love it if you would link your Waiting on Wednesday post. Can't wait to see what you're drooling over!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Contest for SHADE at YA Book Queen


I know I'm dying to read SHADE. Only problem... It isn't out for months. Lea @ YA Book Queen is solving that problem for some lucky person by having a contest for an ARC. WooHoo! But you don't have much time. It ends Thurs 3/25. Here's the scoop from Lea!


Win a signed advanced review copy of SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready! This contest is open internationally, and will only be open for a few days so enter quickly by filling out the form provided below!! (on her site - click HERE)
Here's a link to my interview with Jeri if you missed it.

ENDS on Thursday, March 25th, at Midnight. Winner will be announced on Friday.


Hurry over and Good Luck to you all!


Monday, March 22, 2010

Freaksville

Freaksville
by Kitty Keswick
pub: Jan 2010/Leap Books
328 pages


High school is hard enough when you’re normal. There’s peer pressure, book reports, the in crowd and the enormous zit that has a life of its own. Having a family whose skeletons in the closet lean toward the paranormal is not a topper on anyone’s list. Sophomore Kasey Maxwell is busy juggling the typical teen angst. Add visions, ghosts and hairy four-legged monsters into the mix and you get FREAKSVILLE. It’s a wonder Kasey has survived.

Every woman in the Maxwell family has the gift of sight. A talent sixteen-year-old Kasey would gladly give up. All she wants is a normal life. Shopping and talking about boys with her best friend and long-time sidekick Gillie Godshall consume her days. Until Kasey has a vision about Josh Johnstone, the foreign exchange student from England. The vision leads her into new waters, a lead in a play, a haunted theate
r…and into the arms of the Josh. Yet, both Kasey and Josh have secrets lurking in dark corners. Can Kasey’s new romance survive FREAKSVILLE?

If you like a sharp, snappy female protagonist embroiled in danger, mystery and action,
Freaksville is for you.

The strongest thing about the story is Kasey's sassy voice. And talk about energy. This girl has got plenty and it leaps from the pages with a manic pace.

Freaksville is written in blog format from Kasey's point of view, chronicling her crazy adventures.

She knows she's got the gift of sight and when she has a vision of British exchange student hottie, Josh, she follows him. Kasey is smitten and romance quickly ensues. But nothing is easy.

Kasey and Josh get the leads for Romeo and Juliet and their time in the theater becomes dangerous. Kasey starts seeing ghosts and some of them get cranky when she sticks her nose in their business, attempting to solve the mystery of an old disappearance.

Then there's the mystery of her father's job, and some deep family secrets she didn't know about that just happen to connect with Josh, his family, and their deep dark secrets that threaten to turn dangerous for both her and Josh.

The romance is innocent. Mostly sexual tension, lots of 'OMG isn't he dreamy' as well as Kasey going ga-ga over Josh's accent and use of British colloquialisms. She frequently gushed about how everything he said was so cute and adorable. It began to grate on my nerves but I got past it and think younger teen girls would eat it up.

Keswick admits to a love of all things British and it shows. She even puts in a dictionary of the British terms. Another unique aspect of
Freaksville were the drawings that are spattered throughout the book to help you visualize characters and particular scenes. And Kasey has this quirk of writing lists, I'm sure trying to calm and organize the wacky whirlwind she lives in.

Kasey is a screech. Her sarcastic wit had me laughing often, and she is full of spunk and determination. She and her best friend Gillie have a wonderful relationship, open, honest and loyal. Having boys enter the picture didn't interfere with their love for each other.

Annoying/stupid/disloyal/guy crazy BFF's in YA are a pet peeve of mine and I was glad to see that wasn't the case here.

I also applauded the fact that Kasey had a strong relationship with her parents (who were still happily married) and they were involved, caring, interested and supportive. Sometimes they made Kasey crazy (and vice versa), but the relationship was real and healthy. I found that refreshing!

While the real action doesn't get going for a bit, Kasey's high energy and snappy dialogue makes up for it. There's a lot thrown in at the end, including some surprises that come out of the blue, but it all wraps up nicely. And Kasey's adventures will continue with the sequel
Furry and Freaked.

It's a good, light-hearted read with funky characters, a hefty dose of paranormal and layers of mystery weaving throughout. I'd recommend it, especially for younger teens and anyone who loves all things British.

The Cover:
I like it. Very haunting and foreboding. Great shot of the moon, cool font and love the red color. The only thing I'd say is that the cover has a dark feel and the content is light-hearted and fun.

First Line:
So I needed a filter between my brain and my body, one with big flashing lights and blaring sirens that ruptured my eardrums if I was about to do anything stupid.
See what I mean? Strong voice and great sense of character. It's fun!


I received
Freaksville from Angela at Dark Faerie Tales as part of her ARC tour program. Links to other reviews on this tour are HERE if you'd like to check them out.

And if you have a review you'd like to include, as always, please add it to Mr. Linky below.




Sunday, March 21, 2010

In Our Mailbox 3/21/2010

In Our Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Here's our loot!

Before I Fall
by Lauren Oliver
pub: Mar 2010/Harper Collins
470 pages

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all—looks, popularity, the perfect boyfriend. Friday, February 12th should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it’s her last. The catch: Samantha still wakes up the next morning. In fact, she re-lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she had ever imagined.



Bad Blood
by Mari Mancusi
pub: Jan 2010/Berkley Trade
256 pages

Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. Their differences have never been an issue, until now…

When the Blood Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny’s humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven’s chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampiric celebutante.

Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can’t answer the most basic poly-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention—where Magnus and Jane’s bonding ceremony will be the main event—Sunny and her sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny’s not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas—especially bad blood…


Devoured
by Amanda Marrone
pub: Sept 2009/Simon Pulse
304 pages

Megan’s twin sister Remy died in an accident nine years ago, and she’s been haunting her ever since. Knowing how crazy that sounds, Megan keeps this secret to herself and tries to lead a normal life. But when she takes a summer job at Land of Enchantment to keep an eye on her new boyfriend and his lovesick best friend, Samantha, she meets fellow employee Luke who can see Remy, too. Things get even twistier because Megan’s new friend Ari is sporting a massive crush on Luke, who seems to be developing a massive crush on Megan…making for a love triangle that’s positively possessed. Megan wants to keep her distance from Luke, but when Remy’s visions get crazy violent; she knows she needs his help. Because someone’s definitely in danger...the only question is who?


Magic Under Glass
by Jaclyn Dolamore
pub: Feb 2010
240 pages
Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life.

In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir. Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport. When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

What did you get?






Friday, March 19, 2010

What Do You Want More of In YA?

Hi Guys!

Between school stuff due, lifeguard training and this fabulous Book Blogger and Publisher Online Conference all weekend we're swamped! But we promise to get to all the contest stuff as soon as we're done and have some breathing time.

The conference is great and we've met some fantastic folk! Terry Kate, the organizer from Romance in the Backseat asked us to add our voice to a panel today on What Bloggers Would Like From Publishers.

It was lots o
f fun and we met to meet two wonderful and highly successful bloggers also on the panel.



Doug from The SciFy Guy

and

Sarah from She Never Slept

Both
had great insight because of their vast experience. It was an honor to be on with them, although we feel like the silly newbie, but we're trying to hold our own!

Jake and Gregory have thrown me to the wolves by making me (Alyssa) do all the talking on the audio panel but we're all answering questions in the forum. The talking stuff is intimidating especially
when I'm so shy! But everyone has been kind and supportive.

There's still time to join up if you like. You can listen to all the audio panels for 2 weeks after it's over.

We're on a panel on Sunday to cover what we are looking for in YA sooooooo......

Help us out!

Tell us what YOU look for or want more of in YA. We'd love to add your thoughts to the mix so please put them in the comments on this post.

This is your chance to add your voice to tell authors and publishers what you think!

Speaking of voice, that's what we love to see in YA, an authentic YA voice. When the voice is wrong, it ruins the whole experience.

How do you get it in your writing and/or recognize it in your reading? That's the magic elixir. It's hard to give specifics but we certainly know when we're reading a book when it's not there.

What are your thoughts?

We're also getting some great info on how to improve our blog so stay tuned and have a great weekend!

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