I'm back, bookworms! Did you miss me? I know I missed you! I'm posting this so late because I spent a lot of today catching up on blog posts. I don't think I missed anything!
Anyway, I had a great vacation. I really enjoyed visiting my family and relaxing. I got a lot of reading and writing in. I read four books and a bit of a fifth. Of those, I'll be reviewing two: Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell (yes, I finally read it!) and Lost Voices by Sara Porter (which is AMAZING! I can't review this for you until June or July closer to when it comes out, but it's fantastic. This reminds me: Fellow book bloggers, I'd love to know how you handle talking about recently-read ARCs that don't come out for months. I usually don't do anything at all until we're right on top of the date. Am I wrong?). Two books were just okay, imo, and the third...well, I only got a couple of chapters into it. I won't tell you the names of the books I didn't enjoy because they weren't for *me* personally. It doesn't mean you won't love them. I'll never review a book I didn't enjoy. It's not fair to the author who poured his/her blood and sweat and tears into the story and it isn't fair to you, the readers who might love the book but decide never to pick it up because of my review. That's a policy I've always had. Today, author Jessica Day George posted similar sentiments on her blog. She sums up everything I think in regards to reviewing books. I seriously loved her post, especially as an aspiring author. You should read this. Speaking of my aspirations, I got some writing done on my trip, which made me happy. Of course, the final day of the trip I realized that the story I've been slaving away on doesn't come first in the series I'm envisioning, so I fiddled around with some ideas that night and yesterday on the plane, I wrote the first eleven pages of the new story. Hopefully it gets somewhere. I'd love to be in editing mode by the summer and submitting to agents by the end of the year, if possible. We'll see!
So what all happened in the week I was gone? A LOT! Look at all the news I missed out on reporting to you guys:
C O V E R A R T R E V E A L E D :
My favorite time of week! So many lovely covers were revealed during my absence. Are you ready for the pretties?
• Vanish by Sophie Jordan: The sequel to last year's awesome debut novel, Firelight (reviewed here)! I'm not sure what I think about the obviously different model this time around, but we'll wait and see. I have to read this book, though! The first one leaves you hanging!
• The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab: I've wanted this book ever since author Alexandra Bracken first blogged about Schwab receiving early cover art. The cover is final now and will have all kinds of fancy embossing. I love reading Scwab's blog and recently was a runner-up in one of her online contests. I'll have to send a picture of the fancy swag she sent out! Is it August yet? (debut author)
• Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez: Okay, so this one posted right before my trip, but I never got around to revealing it here. It's HOT, though. What a gorgeous cover. I think a lot of teens will pick it up. The summary reminds me a bit of fellow 2011 debut author Sara Bennett Wealer's February release, Rival (which I really enjoyed reading) I also love the "o" in the title and the way it's pink, bringing out the colors behind the black silhouette. I also like how the rest of the title is black like the silhouette. Such a fun cover... I can't wait to read this! (debut author)
• Flyaway by Helen Landalf: This cover is so much fun. I love the block font and the fact that the model is made up of a composite that only partially consists of real images. I love the sketchy art effect going on. I also adore the wings and swirlies in the background. What a fun cover!!! (debut author)
• Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George: First in a new series about a castle that's alive. The summary reminds me a bit of Howl's Moving Castle, which I love (both the book and the movie). I LOVE George and can't wait to read a new book by her!
• The Pledge by Kimberly Derting: This Dystopian novel sounds AMAZING. Just look at this GoodReads summary: romantic fantasy novel set in a dystopic, war-torn world, in which a teenage girl realizes that she may be the key to saving her country. I love, love, love this cover. I wish the book was coming out NOW, not in November!
M O V I E N E W S :
*The LA Times has reported that there might, in fact, be a Sea of Monsters movie. Speculation has been rampant for the last year due to the fact that Rick Riordan's first Percy Jackson novel, The Lightening Thief, didn't do as well as anticipated at the box. I won't get into all the pros and cons now, but if you're interested in my thoughts, check out this blog post from when I saw and reviewed the movie last year. While there's no director attached to the movie (it won't be Chris Columbus this time, though he'll be producing it), there are screenwriters currently hard at work.
*I suspect it won't be long now: The search for Katniss Everdeen is close to an end. With filming of The Hunger Games set to start a few months from now, the race is heating up. People have been speculating on actors for months, and it seems that two talented young ladies have come to the forefront: Hailee Steinfeld, who was just an Academy Award Nominee for her supporting role in True Grit (mentioned in Parade, which you can find in your Sunday paper) and Jennifer Lawrence, who had Katniss' spirit in Winter's Bone (according to Lainey Gossip). What do you think? Do they have the chops to handle it? I'm just glad they're looking for the best actress in the role and not just a pretty face. I'm so annoyed when there are people who can't act very well. In fact, there are two movies based on books coming out in the near-future that I'm not sure I want to see due to two of the actors casted, popular as they are...
M A J O R A W A R D S :
The Nebula Award Nominees have been announced. Are you ready to see who was nominated for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy?
• Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
• White Cat, Holly Black (McElderry)
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press; Scholastic UK)
• Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch (Amulet)
• The Boy from Ilysies, Pearl North (Tor Teen)
• I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz; Harper)
• A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow)
• Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)
I'm ashamed of myself. So far, I've only read White Cat and Mockingjay. They're both fantastic. I have several others on my wishlist, though! All I need is time...
M A J O R A N N O U N C E M E N T S :
George R. R. Martin has FINALLY issued a release date for A Dance with Dragons. Seriously this time, people! Get ready to watch those dragons dance on July 12, 2011. Martin even unveiled the potential final cover art:
Have you read his A Song of Ice and Fire series? I haven't. I've been hearing about it since last spring or summer, though. I have co-workers who love it. This winter, I started hearing about it all over again because HBO is turning the books into a TV series, Game of Thrones, which will debut in April. I really want to read this series, but it's a little daunting. Each book is upwards of a thousand pages. Granted, I love a big, fat book, but A Dance with Dragons took almost six years to write and there are still two more books in the series. I think I might wait until the final book is announced with a *real* release date and then read them all together so I don't have to go back and re-read all those pages. Plus, I hate waiting. What do you think? Good decision, bad one?
B O O K D E A L S :
Alexandra Bracken, author of Brightly Woven (Great book. Check out my review here! Out in paperback next month ^_^), announced that she finally sold her new trilogy to Disney-Hyperion. The first book, Black is the Color, sounds amazing. I've been following Bracken's blog for a long time now and have seen some teasers for BITC. I'm so glad she got a book deal!
From her website:
Black is the Color will be published by Disney*Hyperion in Spring 2013, with two more books to follow. Below is a rough summary, but more details will follow soon! In the meantime, you can go have a listen to the two playlists I used while writing it, or you can add it on GoodReads.
In the six years since being plucked from her old life and placed in a government-run “rehabilitation camp,” the only color that has entered sixteen-year-old Ruby’s world is gray of the electric fence surrounding it. The mysterious “Kid-Killer” virus has left most American children dead, but Ruby is not one of them—she’s one of the dangerous ones, the ones who lived.
The ones who developed frightening powers of the mind.
When the opportunity to escape her camp comes, Ruby soon finds herself on the run and joining forces with a small band of other escapees: Zu, a mute girl who can telekinetically control electronics, Chubs, a skinny genius who doesn’t want another kid along to deplete their meager supplies, and Liam, the kind and good-hearted leader of their ragtag group who can move objects twice his size with the wave of a hand. They seem to be on a mission but won’t confide in Ruby, who only wants to learn to control her extraordinary ability which makes her a danger to anyone she gets close to.
The gang soon learns that there are other forces at work, organizations that want to use Ruby in their fight against the tyranny of the political regime. But they also learn there may be someone who can help them all reunite with their families after all: The Slip Kid, a leader who offers shelter to young people in danger and who possesses the secret to controlling one’s powers. As she finds herself drawn to Liam, Ruby becomes more and more desperate for the knowledge she has always craved. But the Slip Kid is not all that he seems, and Ruby soon finds herself unsure of who to trust…and who to love.
Doesn't that sound awesome!?
So that's all the news that had me reeling this past week. Did I miss anything amazing?
Anyway, I had a great vacation. I really enjoyed visiting my family and relaxing. I got a lot of reading and writing in. I read four books and a bit of a fifth. Of those, I'll be reviewing two: Trickster's Girl by Hilari Bell (yes, I finally read it!) and Lost Voices by Sara Porter (which is AMAZING! I can't review this for you until June or July closer to when it comes out, but it's fantastic. This reminds me: Fellow book bloggers, I'd love to know how you handle talking about recently-read ARCs that don't come out for months. I usually don't do anything at all until we're right on top of the date. Am I wrong?). Two books were just okay, imo, and the third...well, I only got a couple of chapters into it. I won't tell you the names of the books I didn't enjoy because they weren't for *me* personally. It doesn't mean you won't love them. I'll never review a book I didn't enjoy. It's not fair to the author who poured his/her blood and sweat and tears into the story and it isn't fair to you, the readers who might love the book but decide never to pick it up because of my review. That's a policy I've always had. Today, author Jessica Day George posted similar sentiments on her blog. She sums up everything I think in regards to reviewing books. I seriously loved her post, especially as an aspiring author. You should read this. Speaking of my aspirations, I got some writing done on my trip, which made me happy. Of course, the final day of the trip I realized that the story I've been slaving away on doesn't come first in the series I'm envisioning, so I fiddled around with some ideas that night and yesterday on the plane, I wrote the first eleven pages of the new story. Hopefully it gets somewhere. I'd love to be in editing mode by the summer and submitting to agents by the end of the year, if possible. We'll see!
So what all happened in the week I was gone? A LOT! Look at all the news I missed out on reporting to you guys:
C O V E R A R T R E V E A L E D :
My favorite time of week! So many lovely covers were revealed during my absence. Are you ready for the pretties?
• Vanish by Sophie Jordan: The sequel to last year's awesome debut novel, Firelight (reviewed here)! I'm not sure what I think about the obviously different model this time around, but we'll wait and see. I have to read this book, though! The first one leaves you hanging!
• The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab: I've wanted this book ever since author Alexandra Bracken first blogged about Schwab receiving early cover art. The cover is final now and will have all kinds of fancy embossing. I love reading Scwab's blog and recently was a runner-up in one of her online contests. I'll have to send a picture of the fancy swag she sent out! Is it August yet? (debut author)
• Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez: Okay, so this one posted right before my trip, but I never got around to revealing it here. It's HOT, though. What a gorgeous cover. I think a lot of teens will pick it up. The summary reminds me a bit of fellow 2011 debut author Sara Bennett Wealer's February release, Rival (which I really enjoyed reading) I also love the "o" in the title and the way it's pink, bringing out the colors behind the black silhouette. I also like how the rest of the title is black like the silhouette. Such a fun cover... I can't wait to read this! (debut author)
• Flyaway by Helen Landalf: This cover is so much fun. I love the block font and the fact that the model is made up of a composite that only partially consists of real images. I love the sketchy art effect going on. I also adore the wings and swirlies in the background. What a fun cover!!! (debut author)
• Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George: First in a new series about a castle that's alive. The summary reminds me a bit of Howl's Moving Castle, which I love (both the book and the movie). I LOVE George and can't wait to read a new book by her!
• The Pledge by Kimberly Derting: This Dystopian novel sounds AMAZING. Just look at this GoodReads summary: romantic fantasy novel set in a dystopic, war-torn world, in which a teenage girl realizes that she may be the key to saving her country. I love, love, love this cover. I wish the book was coming out NOW, not in November!
M O V I E N E W S :
*The LA Times has reported that there might, in fact, be a Sea of Monsters movie. Speculation has been rampant for the last year due to the fact that Rick Riordan's first Percy Jackson novel, The Lightening Thief, didn't do as well as anticipated at the box. I won't get into all the pros and cons now, but if you're interested in my thoughts, check out this blog post from when I saw and reviewed the movie last year. While there's no director attached to the movie (it won't be Chris Columbus this time, though he'll be producing it), there are screenwriters currently hard at work.
*I suspect it won't be long now: The search for Katniss Everdeen is close to an end. With filming of The Hunger Games set to start a few months from now, the race is heating up. People have been speculating on actors for months, and it seems that two talented young ladies have come to the forefront: Hailee Steinfeld, who was just an Academy Award Nominee for her supporting role in True Grit (mentioned in Parade, which you can find in your Sunday paper) and Jennifer Lawrence, who had Katniss' spirit in Winter's Bone (according to Lainey Gossip). What do you think? Do they have the chops to handle it? I'm just glad they're looking for the best actress in the role and not just a pretty face. I'm so annoyed when there are people who can't act very well. In fact, there are two movies based on books coming out in the near-future that I'm not sure I want to see due to two of the actors casted, popular as they are...
M A J O R A W A R D S :
The Nebula Award Nominees have been announced. Are you ready to see who was nominated for the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy?
• Ship Breaker, Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
• White Cat, Holly Black (McElderry)
• Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins (Scholastic Press; Scholastic UK)
• Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch (Amulet)
• The Boy from Ilysies, Pearl North (Tor Teen)
• I Shall Wear Midnight, Terry Pratchett (Gollancz; Harper)
• A Conspiracy of Kings, Megan Whalen Turner (Greenwillow)
• Behemoth, Scott Westerfeld (Simon Pulse; Simon & Schuster UK)
I'm ashamed of myself. So far, I've only read White Cat and Mockingjay. They're both fantastic. I have several others on my wishlist, though! All I need is time...
M A J O R A N N O U N C E M E N T S :
George R. R. Martin has FINALLY issued a release date for A Dance with Dragons. Seriously this time, people! Get ready to watch those dragons dance on July 12, 2011. Martin even unveiled the potential final cover art:
Have you read his A Song of Ice and Fire series? I haven't. I've been hearing about it since last spring or summer, though. I have co-workers who love it. This winter, I started hearing about it all over again because HBO is turning the books into a TV series, Game of Thrones, which will debut in April. I really want to read this series, but it's a little daunting. Each book is upwards of a thousand pages. Granted, I love a big, fat book, but A Dance with Dragons took almost six years to write and there are still two more books in the series. I think I might wait until the final book is announced with a *real* release date and then read them all together so I don't have to go back and re-read all those pages. Plus, I hate waiting. What do you think? Good decision, bad one?
B O O K D E A L S :
Alexandra Bracken, author of Brightly Woven (Great book. Check out my review here! Out in paperback next month ^_^), announced that she finally sold her new trilogy to Disney-Hyperion. The first book, Black is the Color, sounds amazing. I've been following Bracken's blog for a long time now and have seen some teasers for BITC. I'm so glad she got a book deal!
From her website:
Black is the Color will be published by Disney*Hyperion in Spring 2013, with two more books to follow. Below is a rough summary, but more details will follow soon! In the meantime, you can go have a listen to the two playlists I used while writing it, or you can add it on GoodReads.
In the six years since being plucked from her old life and placed in a government-run “rehabilitation camp,” the only color that has entered sixteen-year-old Ruby’s world is gray of the electric fence surrounding it. The mysterious “Kid-Killer” virus has left most American children dead, but Ruby is not one of them—she’s one of the dangerous ones, the ones who lived.
The ones who developed frightening powers of the mind.
When the opportunity to escape her camp comes, Ruby soon finds herself on the run and joining forces with a small band of other escapees: Zu, a mute girl who can telekinetically control electronics, Chubs, a skinny genius who doesn’t want another kid along to deplete their meager supplies, and Liam, the kind and good-hearted leader of their ragtag group who can move objects twice his size with the wave of a hand. They seem to be on a mission but won’t confide in Ruby, who only wants to learn to control her extraordinary ability which makes her a danger to anyone she gets close to.
The gang soon learns that there are other forces at work, organizations that want to use Ruby in their fight against the tyranny of the political regime. But they also learn there may be someone who can help them all reunite with their families after all: The Slip Kid, a leader who offers shelter to young people in danger and who possesses the secret to controlling one’s powers. As she finds herself drawn to Liam, Ruby becomes more and more desperate for the knowledge she has always craved. But the Slip Kid is not all that he seems, and Ruby soon finds herself unsure of who to trust…and who to love.
Doesn't that sound awesome!?
So that's all the news that had me reeling this past week. Did I miss anything amazing?