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What I’m Reading Now

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Confession: I have read very few YA books over the last couple of months. I’ve been elbow-deep in reading for Outstanding Books for the College Bound, and very few of our nominees are YA novels. The bulk are adult non-fiction. As much as I love adult non-fiction — and I do — it’s much slower reading and it takes a lot more out of me than fiction does. Over the course of all that reading, too, I’ve really come to appreciate non-fiction done well and I’ve really come to dread the non-fiction which isn’t well done. Even fifty pages of bad non-fiction is a lot of investment.

I’ve still got roughly 35 books to finish before ALA Midwinter at the end of January, but because I can’t keep at the pace I am with committee reading, I’ve had to allow myself breaks to put in a novel periodically. It refreshes my reading and it helps me look forward to the things I have to read, since I know I’ve rewarded myself with something I want to read.

Likewise, when the end of the year gets closer and closer, I start getting a little worked up about all of the things I didn’t read that I wanted to read and all of the things I think I should read, both in anticipation of those “best of” lists and awards, as well as getting on top of next year’s reading. So I’ve been making lists and organizing my reading based on those somewhat-arbitrary criteria.

Here’s a look at what’s on my short list and in my current pile of reading or will-be-reading-really soon and why.

Spoils by Tammar Stein: I can’t remember if I’ve talked about it on STACKED or only over here, but Tammar Stein’s High Dive is one of my favorite YA novels. It’s been years since I’ve read it, so my feelings towards it could certainly be different now, but the joy in sometimes not rereading a novel is that the sentimentality you have toward a book doesn’t have to change.

Spoils looks like the kind of realistic fiction up my alley, though. It’s about a family who comes into a financial windfall and what happens when it looks like that luck may run out. There are secrets and sibling relationships, and I have been really feeling stories about the impact of money on one’s life. This one comes out December 10, but I’ve got a copy of it here and I have a feeling it’ll be one I read over Thanksgiving weekend.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson: Of course, I would give any YA book Laurie Halse Anderson writes a shot, but this one particularly struck me as one I should read because it tackles PTSD. I love the way Anderson writes about tough topics and does so in a way that isn’t fleeting.

It kills me this is a January 2014 release because I feel like I’ve been reading about it forever, and I know I’ve had a copy of it on my ereader for months. I’ve been trying to hold off so I can savor it closer to release date, but I have a feeling I’m going to give in sooner, rather than later.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart: Confession time — I read this one already. This past weekend, in fact. It didn’t necessarily pop on my radar as a book I was dying to read, but with all of the buzz surrounding it recently, much from other readers I trust and respect, I couldn’t handle myself. One of the biggest elements of that buzz (which is laid out in the note from the editor at the front of the book!) is that going in not knowing is the best way to approach the book. I’m glad it was that that drew me in, but. . . I also feel a little weird that that is the selling point of the book at this point. Likewise, some of how it’s been described makes me question whether I missed something huge or not (specifically, I’m a little curious about “a passionate, political boy” in the description, as I think that refers to the Indian teen in the story and there’s some question in my mind whether “political” here is a poor word choice to not be describing someone who is actually involved in politics).

That said, Lockhart’s writing and story telling skills are excellent. There are twists and turns in this one, and it’s compelling. It will become a favorite for a lot of readers. But — I didn’t necessarily feel like this was all that fresh. The story utilizes many of the tropes common in horror stories, and it ties them together with bits and pieces of well-known fairy tales, legends, and classics of literature. It does this exceedingly well, and I enjoyed going through the story thinking to myself “this reminds me of King Lear” and “this reminds me of (horror film title I won’t name since it’ll spoil the book).” I may be alone in saying that I didn’t necessarily find myself emotionally invested and I didn’t walk away feeling devastated nor heart broken. I saw a lot of what happened coming, though again, there’s no arguing Lockhart does it very well. I don’t want to say a whole lot more because I don’t want to spoil a book that’s not due out until next May, but I will say it includes amnesia, some PTSD, rich white people, and a couple of dogs will lose their lives.

Burning by Elana K. Arnold: This one caught my eye at Kid Lit Con, when we did a book exchange. I picked it up, put it down, picked it up, put it down, and then decided to go ahead and bring it home. It’s contemporary with two points of view, and it’s by an author I’ve never heard of before. She’s published a non-contemporary title in the past year, and it looks like she’s got a couple of other books coming down the line. Burning Man? Nevada? Gypsies? It looks interesting. This book is available now.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg: Konigsberg’s first book is one of my favorite YA titles, and I picked this one up almost a year ago now and haven’t touched it yet. I’ve read nothing but positive reviews. I am sort of surprised I let this one fall off my radar since I was so enthusiastic about it when I got it, but I hope to follow through with reading it sooner, rather than later. Konigsberg’s book is out now.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl: Obviously, this one isn’t YA, but adult fiction. It got so much buzz, and it sounds like the kind of thing that once you start, you’re sucked in so tightly you don’t want to stop until it’s over. I’ve read small excerpts and I’ve enjoyed poring over how lovely the packaging of this book is, and it only makes me want to spend an entire weekend devouring it. But . . . I did read Pessl’s first novel, which had some of the same treatments — a nice package and good buzz — and I found myself thinking it was really overblown and not enjoyable. I hope that doesn’t happen this time around.

Loud Awake and Lost by Adele Griffin: I am hit and miss with Adele Griffin’s books. I loved All You Never Wanted last year; I felt pretty middle-of-the-road about Tighter; and I wasn’t a fan of The Julian Game. But I look forward to giving another one of her books a try, and this is her newest. It looks like it tackles some aspects of amnesia (which is quite the trend, as I noted above with the Lockhart title, as Kimberly looked at over here, and in another book on my radar, Natalie Richards’s Six Months Later). This book is out now.

I feel like this will be a nice warm up to Griffin’s 2014 novel, The Unlikely Life of Addison Stone.

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher: I don’t need to know more than it’s a YA book by Christopher to be excited, but that it’s also a murder mystery/thriller only makes me more excited to dive in. This one showed up in my mail on one of the days I was having a hard time with committee reading, and I have held off on indulging until I have another one of those days because I think it’ll be a real treat and big change of reading pace. The Killing Woods will be out in January.

What’s on your end-of-year radar? Are there things you’re hoping to catch up with or get ahead on before 2014? Do you have any titles you’d suggest I think about putting into my pile so I don’t miss them?

Twitterview: Karen Sandler (+ giveaway!)

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This month’s twitterview guest is Karen Sandler, author of Tankborn and its sequel Awakening. Before diving into YA science fiction, she wrote over a dozen adult romances and is currently writing a mystery series as well (clearly an author after my own heart). Visit Karen on the web at www.karensandler.net, and enter for a chance to win a finished copy of Awakening at the end of the interview!

1. Pitch the Tankborn series in 140 characters or fewer.

Genetically Engineered Non-human Kayla teams with trueborn Devak to fight for GEN equality and the right to love one another.

2. What inspired Tankborn and its sequels?

Fascination w/ genetic engineering, love of science fiction & YA literature, & a sci-fi movie script called ICER all spawned Tankborn.

3. Describe Kayla for us – what is she like?

Kayla is courageous but insecure, cynical but hopeful, loyal to a fault and a fighter for the underdog.

4. What is Kayla’s world – Loka – like?

Loka is a desert-like planet filled with arachnid-based creatures from the tiny slime beetles to the massive bhimkay spiders.

5. Loka feels like a living, breathing world. Each chapter – and each book – gives us more detail. What research went into its creation?

Much of it came from my imagination. I’m a “just in time” researcher, looking for details as I need them.

6. What inspired the caste system? Are its roots in Earth’s cultures?

I based Loka’s society on both the Indian caste system and America’s history of African enslavement.

7. How have readers reacted to the caste system, GENs, and other unpleasant aspects of Loka?

Many have commented on how thought-provoking the books are & how much the stories reflect both past history & present day events.

8. How likely do you think the world of Loka is for humanity’s future? Are GENs actually possible?

I do think GENs are possible. Some of the science is already there. But would creating humans for servitude be ethical?

9. What can you share about the third book in the series?

REBELLION will introduce new characters, bring back old characters & tie up all the loose ends of the first 2 books. Sorry, no spoilers 🙂

10. What should readers walk away with from these books – if anything?

We are more alike than we are different. Wealth doesn’t equal superiority. We have to decide our own happiness, others can’t dictate it.

11. Tell us a little about the series’ path to publication.

Wrote book on spec (no contract), got a beta read & rewrote, queried 30 agents & found 1, agent marketed book, Lee & Low/Tu Books bought.

12. What were some of your favorite SF reads as a teen?

As a younger teen, I was a huge fan of Ray Bradbury. I’ve read nearly every book of his. Later, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND was a fave.

13. Tankborn is one of few YA SF novels starring a non-white protagonist. What other SF reads featuring people of color would you recommend?

All of the Tu Books releases, of course. Earthsea Trilogy. Liar. House of the Scorpion.

14. Can you talk a little about the importance of writing people of color in SF novels, and why you chose to do so?

I like to have a diverse cast of characters in all my books. But I feel it’s important that the POC be main char, not just sidekicks.

15. Who do you think is breaking ground in YA right now?

Tu Books. They’ve broken out of the Pretty White Girls on the Cover syndrome, put POC front & center on their covers & in their stories.

16. Describe your writing process.

I start as a plotter w/ a synopsis, then as I fill in the details of the story I go off the synopsis rails & write the book like a pantser.

17. What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

Seat of the pants on the seat of the chair. Thinking about writing, imagining writing, isn’t writing. Only actually writing is writing.

18. What’s your favorite writing advice to give?

When people give me ideas for stories, I say, that’s your story. You should be the one to write it.

19. Who are some of your writing influences?

Ray Bradbury & Lois McMaster Bujold (SF), Anne Stuart (romance), John Green & Neal Shusterman (YA), Dick Francis (mystery)

20. What do you like to do in your free time?

I do international folk dance, and love to ride horses (dressage). And I read, read, read.

21. Aside from the third Tankborn book, what’s next for you?

I’m currently working on HANGTOWN FRY, a sequel my mystery, CLEAN BURN. HANGTOWN FRY will be released in 2014 by Exhibit A.

Awakening by Karen Sandler

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I really enjoyed Tankborn, the first in Karen Sandler’s futuristic series featuring a world (called Loka) where some human beings are genetically engineered for hard labor and other undesirable tasks – a scientifically designed slave class. Our protagonist, Kayla, is one of these GENs – genetically engineered non-humans. At age 15, she was assigned to work for a powerful high-born man who turned out to be the leader of the Kinship, an organization dedicated to transforming the society on Loka, freeing GENs from their crippling restrictions, and gaining them rights of full humans – as the Kinship believes they are. Awakening continues this story, after Kayla has joined the Kinship in her own right.

While Tankborn focused on both Kayla and her best friend Mishalla, another GEN, Awakening focuses almost entirely on Kayla, with the majority of the story told from her third-person perspective. There’s a lot going on with Kayla in this installment. She struggles with her feelings for Devak, the grandson of the Kinship’s leader, a trueborn boy. There’s another GEN boy in the picture, Abran, who has secrets of his own. Then there’s the fact that Kayla keeps discovering things hidden in her brain, downloaded and installed there by an unknown person, that hint at a splinter group called FHE: Freedom, Humanity, Equality.

I assumed that much of the story would entail Kayla’s fight for equality with the Kinship, but that’s not quite the direction the book takes. Instead, a large part focuses on a disease affecting GENs (and only GENs) called Scratch. Even more mysteriously than the disease itself, which has no known cure, is the fact that some GENs seem to have the ability to heal others of Scratch simply by touch.

There’s a lot going on in the book, obviously, but I found it to be much slower than Tankborn despite this. It seems less focused and more meandering, with a few too many sections of dialogue where characters simply muse on what to do next instead of just doing it. A benefit to this, though, is that we get a lot more insight into Loka – its culture, its wildlife, and its environment. We learn more about Loka’s moons and their cycles, about the allabain people and their religious beliefs, about the history of the settlements. As a result, Loka feels like a living, breathing place, and it’s clear Sandler has put a lot of thought into making it seem so. Things like this are of huge interest to readers who love detailed world-building, but may be tedious for those who want a more plot-driven story.

I mentioned it in my review of Tankborn, but it bears mentioning again: Kayla is a black girl, and she is the star of this series. She’s not the best friend or the villain; she doesn’t even share protagonist status in this volume like she did in the first. What’s more, her face is prominently featured on the cover of the book. The series is published by Tu Books, an imprint of Lee and Low, who are dedicated to promoting culturally diverse books. In science fiction and fantasy, the lack of protagonists of color is a worrying problem, so books like this are essential.

While I don’t think this series will necessarily appeal to casual SF readers, it will most certainly appeal to seasoned ones, and I hope they’ll give it a try – it’s original, well-written, and unpredictable. We need to show that we want more SF stories like this featuring girls of color – and the way to do that is to read them, talk about them, and buy them.

Check back tomorrow for a twitterview with Karen Sandler addressing some of these things, plus a giveaway of a finished copy of Awakening.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Movie Review: Catching Fire

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I feel like movie adaptations of young adult novels (as opposed to adult novels) have a lot of baggage to carry, doubly so if the movie and novel are SFF. Take this review of The Book Thief film adaptation (but do brace yourself before reading it, as it’s irritating on multiple levels).
What I get from that review and others of its ilk is that a young adult film adaptation not only has to be a good movie for teens, it also has to be a good movie for adults, which is, of course, better. Touching on adolescent emotions and interests is beneath adults, really – no matter that all adults were at one point adolescents themselves (except, perhaps, for Godfrey Cheshire?). I would even go so far as to say that a young adult film adaptation would be lauded if it appealed to adults at the expense of its appeal to teens. It’s the same sort of thing I see when SFF films (for any age group) are reviewed: the movie must appeal to non-SFF fans if it’s to be taken seriously, if it’s to be called truly good.
All of this intro is to say that snooty, stick-up-their-you-know-whats reviewers shouldn’t have a problem with Catching Fire. It’s a very good movie in its own right. It will most certainly satisfy teen viewers. It will also appeal to adults, which doesn’t necessarily make it better, but it certainly makes it more lucrative.
Like the book, this film has a much slower burn than The Hunger Games. I’d say that a good half – or perhaps more – is occupied with events prior to the Quarter Quell. I don’t mean to say it’s boring; it’s far from that. In fact, these sections before the more overt violence in the arena are just as horrifying – but in a different way. When Katniss makes a fatal mistake during her performance in the Victory Tour, and someone dies as a result, it all becomes clear: even the tiniest of wrong moves has deadly effects. This is something the book and the movie both do very well.
Once the Quarter Quell actually begins, the tension ratchets up 200%. As a viewer who knew precisely what would happen and when, I still found myself breathless at several points, shouting in my head to “run faster!” or “look behind you!” I was disappointed by one instance of a “jack-in-the-box scare,” which is a cheap ploy and never executed well, but aside from that, the arena is just as action-packed and horrifying as it should be.
Collins’ killer story (pun intended, so sorry) is buoyed by excellent acting on almost all fronts. Jennifer Lawrence is amazing, as I knew she would be. I was surprised to learn after watching the film that people doubted Sam Claflin as Finnick; he was terrific, with a 1000-watt grin that fits precisely my recollection of the character. (In fact, I cared a bit more about him in the movie than the book!) Woody Harrelson as Haymitch is hilarious but also capable of gravity; Elizabeth Banks as Effie shows us that she’s more than sparkly hair in this installment as well. Lenny Kravitz (Cinna), Donald Sutherland (President Snow), Stanley Tucci (Caesar Flickerman), and Jena Malone (Johanna Mason) are all excellent too. They’re all memorable, they all make an impact, and they all manage to be more than one-note characters. 
The two main boys (Gale and Peeta) are still merely OK. Since Liam Hemsworth (Gale) is given more to do than just mope in the field, he fares a little better in this installment, but I still cringed every time he called Katniss “catnip.” And I know there are Peeta fans out there, but I still find his character pretty bland, and Josh Hutcherson didn’t do anything to change that opinion. (This does change in the third book, when Peeta becomes very interesting indeed, thanks to some Capitol torture. Yes, I realize how heartless that sentence makes me sound.)
I wasn’t bothered by anything that was in the book but didn’t make it into the movie, though I’m sure some others will be (perhaps the fact that there is no Bonnie and Twill will be most upsetting, but who knows). Unlike some other readers, I don’t have all details committed to memory, so chances are I don’t even remember something that may upset someone else. 
I did take note of a couple of things that the filmmakers added which I really liked. The first is a lot of dialogue between Plutarch Heavensbee (portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman) and President Snow (and these conversations made me doubt my recollection of Heavensbee’s true goals, Hoffman is so good at his manipulation of Snow – and the audience). Since the book is told from Katniss’ point of view, these type of scenes aren’t possible there. This is just one example of how certain media forces a different kind of storytelling – and that’s a good thing. Movies are not books. We don’t get as much insight into Katniss’ head in the movie, but we do get these juicy scenes between characters that are not Katniss. It adds a layer of richness to the story that I love. It also enhances the world-building immensely, something I found lacking at times in the books.
Another addition is President Snow’s young granddaughter. She’s a very clever device, seen in a few brief conversations with her grandfather, usually talking about what a fan she is of Katniss. It brings home to President Snow – quite literally – just what Katniss has been doing to Panem. And of course Donald Sutherland is remarkable, allowing the audience to both laugh at him and be horrified at what it all means.
As with the first movie, Catching Fire’s visuals are very slick. The special effects make everything look authentic. This sort of thing is often seen as tangential by some reviewers, but it’s so essential in a movie like this. The Capitol truly is an incredible sight. The districts are equally incredible, but for very different reasons. The excellent visual effects create the buy-in necessary for the audience to be fully invested in the story.
I was happy to see that there was much less shaky cam during the action scenes. There’s not a lot of blood, though the camera does focus on some other gruesome aspects (I had to turn my head away during one scene). As the shaky cam was my primary issue with the first film, I’d say I enjoyed this one a little more. In fact, when it ended, I turned to my boyfriend and told him I wanted to see it again. 

Contemporary YA Week Wrap Up — And A Bit About Kelly’s Book

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To wrap up Contemporary YA Week here at STACKED, I wanted to send a huge thank you both to our guest contributors, as well as to our readers who keep asking for more posts about contemporary YA. In fact, I’ve already received some suggestions for what to consider next year, and I’m compiling a list of those topics so that I can try to make it happen.

If there’s ever a topic that interests you as a reader, I’d love to know. Or if there are things you’ve thought about this week you’d like to read more about, leave those things in the comments. I can’t always follow up or through, but I do always think about them. And I hope the booklists, as well as the rerunning of some older content was valuable, too.

So please, feel free to give us feedback or suggestions or ideas for future contemporary week features — as well as ideas for posts about contemporary realistic fiction outside of this series — because it’s helpful to us to know what’s of interest.

Just because it’s fitting — and because I’m about to dig into revising — I thought it’d be worthwhile to talk a little bit more about my book about contemporary YA too.

The Real Deal: A VOYA Guide to Contemporary Fiction for Young Adult Readers should be out sometime next year, and you can add it to your Goodreads shelf if you want to. As it stands, I’ve not added a short description because the description of the book’s fairly evident from the title.

My book has three distinct parts that all build upon one another. The first part talks about how we define contemporary YA, how reader’s advisory for contemporary YA works, how to be effective and innovative in your reader’s advisory and book recommendations, and gives you the raw tools for working with YA readers and contemporary YA fiction.

The second part contains 10 thematic book lists, each with 15 annotations that can be used not only as book descriptions, but as book talks. They also include read alikes and appeal factors for making connections between and among different books beyond those within the thematic list itself (in other words, while the book list might be about health and well-being, the appeal factors might hit on the fact the book has a great family element to it, making it connect with some of the books in the relationships book list). At the end of each of those thematic book lists is a long list of other books, too. Here’s a sample of one of the annotations:

Finally, the third part of the book might be my favorite: conversation starters. I’ve pulled from the book lists and pooled together five or more books on a big and heavy topic and developed a series of questions and discussion fodder for them. Some of the topics include sex and sexual assault, military service, body image, and more. Essentially, this portion of the book puts the things in part one together with the things in part two and offers a way into talking about tough or touchy subjects with readers. This was the most fun and most challenging to write, but it’s also the part I think will offer the most value. I hope, at least!

Nearly every chapter in the book — and there are 22 — begins with insight from a variety of contemporary YA authors, as well as teachers and other librarians, about what contemporary YA has influenced them or how it is they implement contemporary YA into their own work. I thought it was really important to incorporate some other voices into the book, and I’m really pleased not only with what those contributors had to offer, but how well those contributions played into the things I was talking about in my book.

There’s really not much more to report at this stage in the process. The book’s been with my editor and the publisher now for a few months, and it’s in line for the design process, meaning there will be something that looks like a book-shaped thing very soon. In the mean time, I’m writing an index (yes, writing my own index) and going through the manuscript itself to clarify, tighten, and reword some of the things I haven’t looked at since I turned it in. I’m hoping to sneak in a few more titles into my book lists, as well, since I’ve read quite a bit in the interim.

I’m excited about this book and pleased with how it all came together. I think it’ll be really useful for those who love contemporary YA and those who work with YA readers in particular. And of course, when I know more — publication date, cover, so forth — I’ll share. But I believe this update pretty much covers what to expect content wise.

Perhaps the best part is at this point, I still love contemporary YA and I think that maybe I like it even more now that I’ve spent so much time thinking about it. In fact, I feel like after writing it, I could write even more books on some of the things I hit on within it. Maybe some day!