YALSA just announced the Teens’ Top Ten nominees for 2013! Voting starts in August, so start reading now! Personally I’m psyched to see Code Name Verity, Seraphina, and Bitterblue on the list. What are your early favorites? Sound off in the comments!
We’ve finally got new footage for Catching Fire, based on the second book in the hit series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins! Check it out below. Is it everything you hoped for? Do you think they’ll do justice to the book? Sound off in the comments!
Title: Eve & Adam
Author: Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
What’s on the cover: An apple that is half red and half silver puzzle pieces. Lightning seems to be striking around it. Blue gradient background with lots of ones and zeroes around the apple. The tagline says “And girl created boy….”
What I think it’s about: Looks like sci-fi. With that tagline, I’m guessing a girl creates some kind of artificial intelligence.
Do I think I want to read it?: The cover tells me just enough to know what genre it likely is and gives some good hints to the plot without giving it away. I’m definitely intrigued, and it’s also a really cool, pretty cover. Initial judgment says yes!
What the blurb says: “In the beginning, there was an apple. And then there was a car crash, a horrible, debilitating injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker could regain consciouness, there was a strange boy checking her out of the hospital and rushing her to Spiker Biopharmaceuticals, her mother’s research facility. Once there, Eve has to heal and cope with an eerie isolation only interrupted by her overbearing mohter, a strange group of doctors, and the mysterious boy who brought her there. Just when Eve thinks she will die – not from her injuries, but boredom – her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy. Using an amazingly detailed simulation that is designed to teach human genetics, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up: eyes, hair, muscle, even a brain, and potential personality traits. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be perfect….won’t he?”
Final verdict: Hey, I was right! The blurb makes it sound like a fun, intersting, thought-provoking book. This one is going on my To Read pile.
Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Other books in series or Standalone: First in a series. The second book, Dark Triumph, was just released last week!
First Impressions: ”Escaping a brutal arranged marriage into the sanctuary of a convent of assassin nuns who serve ancient gods, 17-year-old Ismae learns that the god of Death has blessed her with dangerous gifts and a violent destiny that requires her to destroy the lives of others at the high court of Brittany.” Did you stop reading at assassin nuns and run out to pick up a copy? Because I sure did.
Last Impressions: LOVED IT! This was one of those books that was so compelling that I had to abandon the audio version I was listening to in my car and pick up a print copy that I could tear through faster. It’s fun and exciting but also smart and complex; Ismae is sent to protect Brittany’s duchess and find out what sort of treachery is going on in the high court, so there’s lots of court politics and intrigue. But the best thing about the book is Ismae. She starts off stuck in a bad situation and has to be rescued, but by the end she’s a strong, capable woman who you can really root for.
Thoughts on the cover: Have there been way too many book covers with girls in pretty dresses lately? Yes. BUT not only is Ismae set apart by the crossbow in her hands, she also has a determined and capable look on her face instead of seeming forlorn or overly lovesick.
People who should read this: Anyone who is longing for another kick-butt heroine a la Katniss Everdeen. Plus, there’s also lots of great action and drama, and a bit of romance, so just about anyone could find something they like in it!
People who should not read this: If political intrigue bores you, this might be one to skip (but if you like political intrigue in your novels, definitely pick this one up).
If you like this book, you may also like: Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas,Changeling by Philippa Gregory, The Poison Throne by Celine Kiernan, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
The second trailer for Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, based on the popular series by Cassandra Clare, was just released! Do you think the movie will do justice to the book?
Did you guys know that they’re making Divergent into a movie? Shailene Woodley from The Secret Life of the American Teenager is going to play Tris! If you already read the book and are looking for something similar to read while you anxiously await the movie, check out some of these other futuristic, dystopian novels that have lots of action and strong teen characters:
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Birthmarked by Caragh O’Brien
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Title: Eleanor and Park
Author: Rainbow Rowell
What’s on the cover: On a peach background, a guy and a girl with their backs towards us. One has long and curly red hair and the other has short black hair. They are both wearing headphones and the cords are woven together in the middle.
What I think it’s about: Two teens who bond through their love of music. Probably involves some romance, based on how the headphone cords are wrapped up together. The colors make me think it might be a lighter, fun sort of book.
Do I think I want to read it?: The cover is pretty minimal and gives me just enough clues to be intrigued. I like the idea that it might be about music, and I really like that it’s not a photo of a random person like SO MANY book covers I’ve seen lately. So I think I’ll pick it up!
What the blurb says: ”Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits–smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.”
Final verdict: Okay, so it doesn’t say anything about music, but CLEARLY music is going to play a part in the story, right? And “star-crossed” doesn’t suggest light fun, so I might have been off the mark here. But I still think I’ll be putting this one on my To Read pile!
What do you think about the cover? Have you read the book, and if so, is the cover fitting? Post your thoughts in the comments!
Lexie | 
04 19th, 2013| 