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48 Hour Book challenge via MotherReader Finish Line!

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I’ve crossed the 48 hour marker of MotherReader’s 48 Hour Book Challenge! I’d have held out on posting this until the very end of the day today, at the moment when I finish the last book I want to finish this weekend, but I’m playing fair.

This was so much fun, and I will definitely be participating again. I got through far more reading than I planned to and far less reviewing than I planned to. To be fair, I did do something I never do, which is write extensive notes about the books I was reading in order to write the reviews. It kind of looks like this:


If I didn’t write that all down, I’d have forgotten by the time I actually did review them.

Anyhow. I am fairly impressed with how much I got accomplished reading and blogging wise this weekend. I knocked out a few posts for next week’s contemporary week, and I had the chance to network with other participants and push books on them. Ahem.

Onto the stats.

Total Time Reading: 26 hours

Total Time Blogging/Social Networking: 4 hours

Total Time on the 48 Hour Book Challenge: 30 hours

Books read: 11
To be fair, I think I only read 9 complete books, as two of the books I read I had finished 1/2 of prior to beginning. But even if you combine those two, I read 10 books. The books I read included:
Sarah Darer Littman’s Want to Go Private?
Geoff Herbach’s Stupid Fast
Siobhan Vivian’s A Little Friendly Advice
Wendy Mass’s 13 Gifts
Vera Brosgol’s Anya’s Ghost
Victoria Schwab’s The Near Witch
Janet Ruth Young’s The Babysitter Murders
Lisa Schroeder’s The Day Before
Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting vol 2
Lauren Strasnick’s Her and Me and You
Alexandra Robbins’s The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth

That would be every book in my initial pile (except Sarah Weeks’s Pie), plus three additional titles. Perhaps I read a little quicker than I thought — though I suspect I picked the right kinds of books to read quickly.

I really enjoyed all of my books this weekend, and I feel I had a good balance of serious vs less serious books. My favorites all weekend were, without doubt, a tie between Janet Ruth Young’s The Babysitter Murders and Geoff Herbach’s Stupid Fast. Both will be reviewed here closer to publication date.

Total Pages Read: 2,648

Total Cups of Tea Consumed: 11 (note this is also the number of books I read)

So what to do after all of this reading? I plan on finishing the Weeks book today and diving into more reading, perhaps something longer. I also plan on spending my afternoon cleaning out my book shelves so that I may donate my arcs and finished copies provided by publishers to my teens for their summer reading prizes. I’ll post a picture and count there, but I think the biggest reward I can get from this is shipping those books off to new homes and new readers.

In My BEA Box: More Books!

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Last week, I showed you what I had in my suitcase from BEA. This week, I’ll show you what I packed into my boxes and mailed home. All are arranged by publisher, with links to the GoodReads descriptions and publication dates. Cover images where available, too. Enjoy!

Algonquin Books

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (October, Adult, author of Mudbound)

Bloomsbury

Going Underground by Susan Vaught (September)
Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth (September)
Shifting by Bethany Wiggins (September)
After Obsession by Carrie Jones and Steven Wedel (September)

Nowhere Girl by A. J. Paquette (September)
Between the Sea and the Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore (October)
Battle Fatigue by Mark Kurlansky (October)

Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George (October)
David by Mary Hoffman (October)
Little Women and Me by Lauren Baratz-Logsted (November)
Fracture by Megan Miranda (January 2012)

Candlewick

Ghetto Cowboy by G. Neri (August)
The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett (September)
Circle 9 by Anne Heltzel (September)
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (September)

The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolf (October)
A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler (October)
Steampunk: An Anthology edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant (October)

Carolrhoda LAB

In Trouble by Ellen Levine

Egmont

Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn (July)
Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick (September)
The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen (September)

Blood by K. J. Wignall (September): I already gave this to one of my book club kids who thought it sounded really good
Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison (October)
You Are My Only by Beth Kephart (October)

Hachette (Grand Central)

Pure by Julianna Baggott (February 2012, Adult title)

Harper

Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Illustrated by Carson Ellis (September)
The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle (September)
Eve by Anna Carey (October)

Variant by Robison Wells (October)
Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver (October)

Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt

Hound Dog True by Linda Urban (September)
Pregnant Pause by Han Nolan (September)
Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer (September)

Wisdom’s Kiss by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (September)
Following Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci (September)
Mangaman by Barry Lyga and illustrated by Colleen Doran (September)
Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (October)
The Chronicles of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg (October): Check out the NAMES of the contributors. I know all of them!
Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (January 2011)

Little Brown

The Shattering by Karen Healey (September)
Winter Town by Stephen Emond (December)
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin (January 2012)
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith (February 2012)

Macmillan

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E Pearson (August)
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (September)
Laddertop by Orson Scott Card and Emily Janice Card (October, Graphic Novel)

Penguin

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (August)
The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman by Meg Wolitzer (September)
Shelter by Harlan Coben (September)
The Apothecary by Maile Maloy (October)

Legend by Marie Lu

Random House

The Dragon’s Tooth by N.D. Wilson (August)

Scholastic

The 39 Clues: Cahills vs. Vespers by Gordon Korman (August)
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick (September)
The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch (September)
Flyaway by Lucy Christopher (October): I read this one already, having ordered it from the UK a few months ago. A sweet middle grade novel that’ll make you a little weepy.

Ice Fall by Matthew Kirby (October)
iBoy by Kevin Brooks (November)

Simon and Schuster

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (September)

Sourcebooks

The Predicteds by Christine Seifert (September)
Reasons to Be Happy by Katrina Kittle (October)

48 Hour Book Challenge via MotherReader

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I’m so excited to be able to participate in this year’s 48 Hour Book Challenge, hosted by MotherReader. Since I started blogging, I’ve wanted to participate, but it’s always fallen on a bad weekend for me. This year, I’m in, and this is my official starting post. Unlike some people, I do plan on sleeping, eating, and doing chores this weekend, so I won’t be a straight 48 hourer, but I’d like to get in a good 20-25 hours of reading.

I’ve been crafting the perfect reading pile all week, and here’s a peek at it:


A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian
13 Gifts by Wendy Mass
Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman
Pie by Sarah Weeks
Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Perched on top of the pile is my nook, where I’ve loaded these:
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
The Babysitter Murders by Janet Ruth Young
The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

Unplanned reads:
Castle Waiting, Volume 2 by Linda Medley : Storyline made me realize I needed to reread volume 1, so I only read half of this one.
The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins
Her and Me and You by Lauren Strasnick

I know darn well I will get through a fraction of this pile, but I like having options. I might add another guy-friendly title or two, since I seem lacking.

I’m also planning on getting some blog work done in anticipation of next week, where we’ll be holding a contemporary lit week. We’ll have a couple guest posts and a number of book lists/best-of lists for you to enjoy. If there’s anything you’d like to see/hear about contemporary ya lit, drop a line!

Good luck to everyone else participating. I’m eager to do some catching up on summer titles (that sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?) and to meet some new bloggers.

My stats, for the ever-curious (ahem, wherein you see I am a slower reader than you’d imagine)
Total time read: 25 hours
Time blogged/reading blogs: 2 hours
Total participation time: 27 hours
Total number of books read: 11
Total cups of tea consumed: 11 (coincidence?)
Total pages:
50 + 311 + 224 + 320 + 100 = 1,005 (Friday)
147 + 341 + 330 + 200 + 160 + 100 = 1,278 (Saturday)
75 + 290 (Sunday)
Strange coincidences:
– WTGP and SF both featured a character named Abby!
– I believe there’s been more than one Alex in the stories. As well as more than one Charlotte. And Alex in Lauren Strasnick’s book is a tea addict.
– Lexi is the name of the mc in The Near Witch, which I take to be a shortened Alexandra. Which, you know . . .

Display This: Africa

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Welcome to another installment of Display This. Continuing our theme in world travel, which began with Australia/New Zealand, then moved to the Middle East, then Europe, this week we’re going to Africa. Because young adult books set in Africa are extremely difficult to find, I’ve included a very limited number of non-fiction titles. First books in a series are included, but I’ve left off sequels or companions. Many of the northeastern countries were covered in the Middle East post, so they’ve been left off. Again, I’m open to any titles you know of, and I’m happy to include them on this list. If you would like to steal this, go for it; just give credit to me for putting it together.

Hacking Timbuktu by Stephen Davies: This action-adventure thriller combines computer hacking, parkour, and a wild West African setting. A little reality bending story.

Chanda’s Secrets by Allan Stratton: Set in a small South African city, this story looks at the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the stigmas surrounding the disease in Africa.

The Devil’s Breath by David Gilman: Max learns his father is missing and after receiving a cryptic clue of his potential whereabouts, Max is led to the wilderness of Namibia in this action adventure.

A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park: This dual-narrative tells the story of a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985, both in Sudan, and the way their lives as a native and a refugee intersect.

Broken Memory by Elisabeth Combres: This is the story of the 1994 attacks in Rwanda, told through the eyes of Emma, who watched her mother be killed. It’s a story of survival, guided through Emma’s mother’s last words to her daughter.

The Bite of Mango by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland: This non-fictional title tells the story of Mariatu’s life, which began in a quiet home in Sierra Leone. But a trip to a neighboring village changed her life forever when rebel soldiers attacked, cutting off both her hands. She survived, and this is the story of that attack and how she moved on to her new life in Toronto years later.

Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie: The first in a series set in the Ivory Coast, circa 1978, tells the story of a 19-year-old girl eager to grow up and become an independent woman. This is the golden time for the Ivory Coast, though things are about to change, and the story is actually more light hearted than most set in Africa — though it hits on heavy issues.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah: This non-fictional tale is Beah’s own, about growing up in Sierra Leone, where first he was brutally attacked and then forced to become a solider at the age of 13.

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor: This African fairy tale follows Zahrah, born with the dada (vines in her hair). Though she feels like a normal child, the dada gives her magical powers she soon discovers.

Spud by John van de Ruit: Set in a South African boarding school, Spud is the story of John “Spud” Milton and the hilarious hi-jinx he involves himself in at school.

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay: This is a bit of an older book, but it’s set during World War II in South Africa and explores what it was like to grow up during that era. A different take on the war.

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen: Another older story, the ordinary lives of one million Tutsi Rwandans are changed when they’re forced from their homes and seek safety from political turmoil and violence. The book is told from the perspective of the mother of one of the few survivors of this 1994 attack.

Twitterview: Nova Ren Suma

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Welcome to another installment of the Twitterview here at STACKED. This month, we bring you Nova Ren Suma, author of the upcoming Imaginary Girls, due out June 14 from Penguin. We brought you a review of this one yesterday — it’s a book that impressed both myself (who has a bent to the contemporary) and Kimberly (who has a bent toward fantasy/dystopian/science fiction). Check out what Nova had to say about the book, writing, and her love of chocolate. Bonus: you can enter to win a copy of her book at the end!

Pitch IMAGINARY GIRLS in 140 characters.

Two sisters, their strong bond, and the dead body that threatens to break it. A story about love, sacrifice, and questionable magic.

IMAGINARY GIRLS is a genre-bending novel, neither fantasy nor contemporary nor paranormal. How would you classify it personally?

I think it’s more magical realism than paranormal. I’ve been calling it contemporary realistic with a fantastical, even supernatural, twist.

Why a sister story?
When I was nine, my life changed for the better. I was gifted with a baby sister. My love for her knows no bounds.

Olive, a submerged town, plays a huge role in the lore of both the story and in Ruby’s character. Is this based on anything in our world?

At 16 I stole swims in the local reservoir. Years later, I learned its history, the towns it drowned. From this, a glimmer of Olive emerged.

Perception vs. reality was a huge theme that came through for me in reading. So, answer: is Ruby as powerful as she seems?

I wrote the story through Chloe’s eyes, so those are the eyes I see through, even now. Chloe wholly believes in Ruby’s power, and so do I.

What should readers walk away with from IMAGINARY GIRLS?

That’s up to the reader. Maybe they’d find themselves taken up by the world of the town, and by Ruby, forgetting all else for a while.

What was the most surprising part of writing IMAGINARY GIRLS for you?

How exciting it is to stray from reality, explore the surreal. Once the dams open and the impossible becomes possible—there’s no stopping.

Who or what do you write for?

I write for the girl I was, but mostly for the girl I longed to be.

Your first novel, DANI NOIR, is a middle grade mystery story. Why the jump to YA?

DANI NOIR wasn’t written first; it pubbed first. I wrote two adult novels and started IG before DANI. After, I was itching to return to YA.

How has the transition been in your writing?

A big transition for me was more from writing for adults to writing for young readers. It felt exhilarating. It felt right. I won’t go back.

Who are your top three writing influences?

Jean Rhys showed me a voice. Aimee Bender introduced me to the surreal alive in the everyday. And Laura Kasischke inspired me to write YA.

Who do you believe is breaking ground in YA right now?

I find myself especially taken with dystopians, so I’d have to say those writers reimagining our worlds and foretelling our futures.

What’s the best writing advice you ever received?

“Why don’t you write a YA novel?” The editorial director at my former day job said this to me. Unfortunately it took me years to listen.

What’s your best writing advice to give?

Don’t be afraid to give up. Yes. Give up on what’s not working and start something new. Abandoning novels and starting over brought me here.

What’s next for you?

I’m deep into writing my next novel with Dutton, also YA, a fantastical, ghostly story I’m holding close. I hope it will be out in 2012.

What’s your writing routine?

Writing every day. When I can’t—too busy, too distracted—a terrible guilt descends. Writing every day is the routine I aspire to anyway.

How do you get yourself jazzed up to write?

Music and mochas. Mochas come first thing in the morning. Music loops from my novel’s carefully cultivated playlist all throughout the day.

What’s your favorite ice cream? 🙂

Chocolate chocolate chip, with chocolate sauce on top. Did I mention I like chocolate?