Fresh FIction Box Not To Miss
Fresh Takes | Interview with Caridad Ferrer

I love November. It kicks off with Halloween and ends with my favorite family holiday: Thanksgiving. (All the family (and food) of Christmas with none of the give-giving stress.) And this November includes some YA releases from some of my favorite authors. First up, a contemporary novel from award-winning author, Caridad Ferrer, who graciously answered my questions about her upcoming (11/23) novel, WHEN THE STARS GO BLUE. Passion, love triangle, ballet… I’m loving the premise of this book. RCM: What is WHEN THE STARS GO BLUE about? Caridad Ferrer: Essentially, it’s a contemporary reimagining of Bizet’s Carmen (i.e. Ballet & opera) where the gypsy Carmen is Soledad, a driven dancer, the straight-laced Army officer Don José in transformed into Jonathan, an intense, disciplined music prodigy, and the flamboyant bullfighter, Escamillo is now Taz, all-star Spanish soccer player. The action plays out over the course of a summer and is set primarily against the backdrop of competitive drum & bugle corps (sort of like marching band, but several orders of magnitude higher). And like in the original story, lives are changed irrevocably. RCM: What’s the significance of the title? (I love the song by the Corrs.) Caridad Ferrer: Um, because I’m…

Hauntingly Good Reads in October…

I may have mentioned, October is my favorite month. It’s finally cool enough to throw open the windows, sprawl out on my patio in a lawn chair with a pumpkin spice latte and an equally delicious book. BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, should fit the bill. This Southern Gothic is about as Southern and as Gothic as they come. The atmosphere is as thick as South Carolina humidity, with characters so vividly quirky they come off the page. In a switch from the usual “Extraordinary boy pulls misfit girl into his extraordinary world” theme so prevalent in paranormal YA right now, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is told from the point of view of a 16-year-old boy in a small Southern town where there are only two kinds of people living: “The stupid and the stuck… . Those bound to stay or too dumb to go.” Ethan can’t wait to shake the dust of Gatlin off his heels, but when a new girl arrives in town, the niece of the crazy old recluse, he learns of a whole other side of his home town, and nothing he’s taken for granted his whole life is what it seems. There’s this whole…

Rosemary Clement-Moore | A Little Bit of Everything in September…
Fresh Takes from the Teen Shelves / September 6, 2010

There’s something for everyone in YA; it only seems like paranormal dominates the shelves in September. Okay, maybe it does a little, but fortunately you have your intrepid Fresh Takes Column to help you find what you’re looking for. Paranormal I don’t know what is its about autumn (Halloween? The shortening of the days? Some sort of Jungian fear of the approaching dark of winter?) but there is a plethora of paranormals coming out these next few months. I don’t even know where to start with all these great books. Yes, I do. FIRELIGHT, by Sophie Jordan. Here’s what she had to say about her YA debut. RCM: What’s the book about? Sophie Jordan: With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the drakiÑthe descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness leads her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret. RCM:…

August Updates from YA!

Let’s just get this straight: I do not set foot outside during the daylight hours of August unless I absolutely have to. Fortunately for me (and you) there are some fabulous books to spend the day with in air conditioned comfort. Paranormal Most of the fun is taking place in the SF side this month, starting with The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June, by Robin Benway. Three sisters (April, May and June) with very different personalities–and extremely different ways of dealing with a new school and their parent’s recent divorce–unexpectedly each develop supernatural abilities one day. (Redevelop, actually.) One can disappear, one can see the future, and one can read minds. Their abilities help them navigate the hell of high school, but when April gets a vision of disaster, they must band together to save the day, and bring peace to their strained family. This is a paranormal for readers who don’t automatically reach for paranormals. It has magic, but it’s not aboutmagic. Or rather, it’s about the magic of family and sisterhood, and rediscovering those bonds. I adored all three sisters, who take turns narrating the tale. The tone is fresh and funny, but also heartwarming and…

From Young Love to Poison Gardens, Explore the Shelves in July

July is full of cool books to help you beat the heat, with something for everyone. Find them below, grouped (loosely) by genre, so you can find what you’re looking for to get you through the dog days of summer. In contemporary relationship novels, Jennifer Echols always tops my list. She hits all the right notes: flawed but relatable characters, romance interwoven with important steps from kid-world to adulthood and a fantastic voice. Following on the heels of May’s romantic comedy ENDLESS SUMMER, Jennifer goes more for the gut with her new release FORGET YOU (July 20, from MTV Books). RCM: So, first a blurb: What’s the story about? Jennifer Echols: Zoey’s family life is falling apart. Her dad has taken up with a 24-year-old, her mom has attempted suicide, and her arch-enemy Doug has discovered this secret about her mom. Zoey’s terrified Doug will spill her mom’s secret just to spite her. But as long as her relationship with her boyfriend is rock-solid, Zoey thinks she can handle anything. Then she’s in a car accident that wipes out her memory of the entire night. And she can tell from the way Doug’s acting that something big happened between them….

Meet Tera Lynn Childs … plus books for June

Summertime, and the reading is… well, maybe not easy, but a lot more fun than assigned reading in school. Even if you’re not on a school schedule any more, here are some books to check out for vacation reading. Starting the month is FORGIVE MY FINS, by Tera Lynn Childs. I love Tera, and her books, one of which (OH. MY. GODS.) won the RITA® Award last year for Best First Book. I caught up with the author and asked he to tell me a little about this ultimate fish out of water story. Rosemary Clement-Moore: I’m not usually one for puns, but I love the title FORGIVE MY FINS. What’s it about? Tera Lynn Childs: FORGIVE MY FINS is the story of Lily Sanderson, aka Princess Waterlily of the underwater kingdom of Thalassinia, who goes to high school on the mainland. For three years she’s been crushing on swim star Brody and avoiding obnoxious biker-boy neighbor Quince. But when a dark library and mistaken costume identity leaves Lily magically bonded to the wrong boy she’s in for a tsunami of an adventure as she tries to get separated from Quince and convince Brody he’s her perfect mermate before her…

Classics, Vampires and Superheroes…Oh MY!

Some cool books coming out this month, including from adult author Sherrilyn Kenyon and deceased (or possibly undead) author Louisa May Alcott. And more! We start with the lovely and talented Jeri Smith-Ready. She’s already a successful author of grown up urban fantasy (WICKED GAME) and romantic fantasy (EYES OF CROW). Now she debuts a new YA series with SHADE. Mystery, ghosts, romance… This one is right up my alley. I asked Jeri a little about her spooky new project. RCM: So, what’s the pitch? Jeri: 16-year-old Aura can see ghosts. Then again, so can everyone around the world who was born after her. In fact, they have a word for the moment of her birth: the Shift. Aura suspects that the Shift might be connected to her missing mystery dad and an event that happened at Newgrange tomb in Ireland a year before her birth. Ghosts can be annoying at their best. At their worst, as dark, powerful “shades,” they can be deadly. So Aura’s major goal in life is to undo the Shift and make the ghosts go away. And then, her boyfriend dies and becomes a ghost. RCM: Well, there’s an obstacle to True Love for you….

Rosemary Clement-Moore | Exciting Reads for Your April Spring Fever Slack-Off…

Fresh Takes from the Teen Shelves All the news, updates and gossip for the Young Adult — books, authors, movies and more! Ah, spring fever. Every April, I have the hardest time making myself do work. I just want to lay around enjoying the gorgeous weather–not too hot, not too cold–goofing off. Which for me means reading books. Here are a few suggestions for your Spring Fever Slack Off, starting with interviews with Kelley Armstrong and Heather Davis, who were nice enough to tell me about their new releases. Kelley Armstrong has been delighting fans of contemporary fantasy and paranormal romance with her Women of the Otherworld series (Bitten, Dime Store Magic) for awhile, and in 2008, she added a series of YA books to her extensive list, the third of which comes out on April 6th. Kelley Armstrong: THE RECKONING is the final book in the Darkest Powers trilogy. In the first book, fifteen-year-old Chloe Saunders started seeing ghosts. After a breakdown at school, she was taken to a group home, which she quickly discovered was not what it seemed. After being on the run in THE AWAKENING, she’s taken shelter in a place that seems safe. But for…

Fresh Takes from Teen Shelves: More Than Hearts and Flowers…
Fresh Takes from the Teen Shelves / February 17, 2010

As I write this, it is really cold outside. Perfect weather for some escapist fun. Let’s start with a little art heist adventure. In a teen book, you say? Considering that Ally Carter’s popular Gallagher Girls series concerns a girl’s boarding school that fronts for a spy training academy, I’d say she has a handle on escapist teen adventure. HEIST SOCIETY concerns 15 year old Kat, the daughter of master art thieves. She’d love to leave con-artist life for a normal one. But the larcenous world pulls her back in when a powerful mobster is robbed in a heist that could only have been pulled off by Kat’s dad. The only solution for saving her father? Track down the paintings and steal them back. She’s got two weeks, a teenage crew of co-conspirators, and just enough talent (she hopes) to pull of the biggest heist in her family’s history. Asked to compare this new book to her popular GG series, Carter says they’re both packed with “teenagers doing exciting, fast-paced, and probably dangerous things.” Where the GG books are set in a female dominated world, Kat has to deal with a lot of boys, which is something that the author…

Two Series to Check Out — Perfect Reading & Gifts

Fresh Takes from the Teen ShelvesAll the news, updates and gossip for the Young Adult — books, authors, movies and more! With the holidays come up, I have two cool recommendations for you. Both authors were good enough to tell me about the books and share some of the inspiration behind the books. They’re good reading, and not coincidentally, would make great gifts. They’re highly praised, with broad appeal for young readers. (In other words, there’s nothing in them that will make your sister hate you for giving it to your niece. In fact, she’d probably thank you.) First is (the awesomely titled) TIDINGS OF GREAT BOYS, by Shelley Adina. I asked Shelly to tell me what it was about. Shelly: Finals week is approaching, and Lady Lindsay (Mac) MacPhail is still undecided on where to spend the holidays. Normally she’d go home to Scotland, but spending two weeks alone in the castle with her dad isn’t as appealing as it used to be. So she invites her friends Carly, Lissa, Gillian, and Shani to join her for the holidays! Mac is determined to make this the best Christmas ever. She even decides to organize the traditional Hogmanay dance for…