What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

After months of waiting, the time has finally come to welcome into the world What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. The long awaited collaboration between two of the best authors of queer YA more than lives up to both author’s previous books. While Albertalli’s light and cheerful style gives the story a rom-comesque feeling (while still flipping the genres usual stereotypes), Silvera’s chapters ground the book, giving it a thoughtfulness and dimension needed to balance it.
When Arthur accompanied his parents to NYC for the summer he had three goals: make friends at his internship, explore the city, see Hamilton. But now his parents are fighting, one of his best friends won’t text him, and there has been no sign of Lin Manuel Miranda. To top it off he was too clueless to get the name of the cute guy he met at the post office.
Meanwhile, Ben has his own set of problems. His friend group splintered after a couple of breakups, his boyfriend cheated on him and his best friend has all but abandoned him for his latest romance. Oh, and he has to attend summer school. With his ex.
With the help of craigslist, their friends, and plenty of internet stalking via instagram they may find each other, but what then? Will they work together, and what happens when Arthur has to leave at the end of the summer?

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

I’m sure you’ve at least heard of Victor Frankenstein, right? You know he creates a monster and brings it to life. With the 200th anniversary of Frankenstein being this year, Kiersten White has written a spinoff novel focusing on Elizabeth Lavenza, Victor’s childhood friend. With her new book, The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, Kiersten White brings a thrilling and twisted new perspective of the classic tale.
Elizabeth’s mother died in childbirth and she was left with an abusive caregiver who made it known that Elizabeth was a burden. Yearning for a better life, Elizabeth was happy to keep Victor calm and happy in exchange for the new home the Frankenstein’s offer in exchange for help in controlling Victor. Her youth is spent keeping him— and herself, safe, even when she doesn’t know the whole story. When Victor set off to pursue his studies he left Elizabeth behind, and she soon grew concerned about how secure her place in the Frankenstein household was with Victor gone. But when Elizabeth set out to find Victor and bring him home she had no idea what she was getting herself into.

Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak

 Bridge of Clay is a book about stories. It’s about an immigrant girl whose father sent her across the sea with the Odyssey, the Iliad and a love of the piano. It’s about a boy who loved the girl in his paintings more than the one he painted them of. It’s about a jockey and her horse and a very stubborn mule. It’s about a family. It’s about Clay and his brothers. It’s about how everything and everyone has a story if you look hard enough, and those stories shape us into the people we are.

Clay Dunbar’s mother died when he was in middle school. His dad left a few months later. For years it’s just been him and his four brothers and that’s been okay. They made it okay. But now their father is back, and with a request. He wants one of his sons to come back home with him, and help him build a bridge.
Bridge of Clay is a bittersweet story of a father and son reconnecting after years of estrangement. The main plot is interwoven with the lives of the people around Clay, a resonant reminder that there are always other sides to the story and always past experiences that influence the present. Once again, Zusak thoughtfully weaves a masterful tale to stir the hearts of readers everywhere.

Exclusive Interview with Lisa Jensen!

  1. Fairytale retellings have become very popular in recent years, particularly in YA literature; what do you think makes these stories so compelling?

    Like all folklore, fairy tales have been passed down between the generations for centuries. The details of each story may evolve in the telling over time, but the essence of each tale persists — a poor girl goes to the ball and wins a prince; a beauty falls in love with a scary beast. These tales are in our blood!

    But as readers, we also respond differently as we ourselves evolve out of childhood and into adulthood. There are infinite new ways to look at these classic stories, which is what writers find so irresistible. And fortunately, it seems like readers are just as eager to come along for the ride!

    You’ve written a couple adult books as well as having been a film critic and a columnist, what made you decide to make Beast a YA novel?

    Beast was originally written as an adult novel. But an editor at Candlewick, the fabulous Kaylan Adair, fell in love with the book and bought it for her YA line. We had some tweaking to do over the long editing process, but I think it’s a stronger book now. My original take on the story also had to evolve in subtle ways as I began to view it from a YA perspective.

    Your book tackles some important issues (e.g. sexual assault), what do you think the responsibility of authors (particularly of YA and children’s books) is to talk about these controversial topics?

    In Beast, I wanted to focus on the profound effect of assault on my heroine, as she grapples with feelings of shame, despair, and finally, rage. (That’s the “Revenge” part of the story.) She has to learn that she’s not responsible for what was done to her, and that it also lies within her power to seize control of her own life again and grow stronger. That’s the journey she is on, just as Beast is on a journey to find his place in a human world. They both must tap into their inner humanity.

    What advice would you give to aspiring authors about writing and publishing their stories?

    Read everything you can! Especially by authors you love! (Although, back when I was an occasional book reviewer for the SF Chronicle, I found it was almost as useful to learn what not to do from books that I didn’t think worked!) Write all the time, even if it’s just in your own private journal that no one will ever see, to teach yourself to shape language. Then write the story that’s in your heart — nobody else can tell that story in the same way as you. And Never. Ever. Give. Up!

    Some authors have said that they write the books they needed when they were kids, do you feel this is true of yours?

    No, I wrote this book for the person I am now — someone who loves Beauty and the Beast, but thinks the noble Beast deserves to be the hero of the story, not the prince!

    Do you have any plans for future books?

    Always!

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

All the Crooked Saints is a heartwarming tale of family and friendship. The whole book is filled with magic and miracles, darkness and redemption, Saints and Pilgrims, romance and friendship- and of course the odd illegal radio station. As you read you will find complex and unique characters, Beatriz (The Girl with No Feelings), Daniel (The Saint), Joaquin (The rogue radio DJ Diablo Diablo), Peter (the boy with a hole in his heart), Marisita (the girl who blames herself) and a whole bevy of others. In this amazing novel, Steifvater explores the complicated relationship between science and religion in some of the most beautiful and profound words possible: “By relegating the things we fear and don’t understand to religion, and the things we do understand and control to science, we rob science of its artistry and religion of its mutability.” It is a powerful and timely novel for young adults at the moment, and many teens could benefit from reading it.

Maggie Stiefvater is coming to bookshop Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7 pm.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MATT DE LA PEÑA!

mattHis young adult novel, The Living, was just named a Pura Belpré Author Honor Book. The Pura Belpré Awards celebrate Latino/Latina writers and illustrators whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience. Ryan W. of our SC Teen Book Crew recently reviewed it calling it, “One of the best adventure novels I’ve ever read.” Read that review.

Matt de la Peña on ‘Tough Teens,’ reading, and writing

mattOne of our favorite authors has written a blog for NPR about books changing lives. We love it! Just wanted to share it with you as well.

Even more surprisingly, though, when I turned the last page I found myself on the verge of tears. I was shocked. How could black and white on a page make me feel so emotional? I was a tough kid from a tougher family. I hadn’t shed a tear since elementary school. And here I was, choked up. From a book.
-Matt de la Peña, Sometimes The ‘Tough Teen’ Is Quietly Writing Stories

Matt talks with passion about literature in his own life and the lives around him. We’d love to hear any stories you’d like to share about books and reading and the changes they bring. And don’t miss Ryan W.’s review of Matt’s new book The Living.