The Fault in Our Stars

The 2012 edition of What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use is now available at http://www.lulu.com/. Click on the book cover at the top right of my blog page and it will take you to this site.  I have added over 130 new titles from 2011 and have reorganized the bibliographic summaries so that one book in a series is referenced and then all the books in the series are listed in a separate series section.  The new books have also been integrated into the units for the classroom.
 I've already read several terrific books for 2012.  My favorite so far is The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns) Virtually every review of the book is starred, and it was Amazon's young adult book of the month.  In my opinon, the book is very deserving of all this praise.
Hazel Grace Lancaster is a stage IV cancer survivor who due to a medical breakthrough has been given a reprieve from death. Her parents and doctor insist that she attend a cancer support group where she meets Augustus "Gus" Waters, a basketball player who has lost his leg to osteosarcoma.  The two connect when Hazel introduces Gus to her favorite novel about cancer called An Imperial Affliction. Hazel is obsessing over the book's ambiguous ending, so the enterprising Gus arranges a trip to Amsterdam where they meet the author who is an American expatriate.  Of course, the trip does not turn out as planned. 
The book is set in Indianapolis, where I grew up. In the book Gus goes to North Central, my former high school, and lives in my best friend's neighborhood. Recognizing one landmark after another only added to my delight in the book.  Gus and Hazel's witty repartee and poignant struggles with life and death issues endear them to the reader.  This is John Green's best effort to date, and that's saying something, considering his Printz award winner and honoree.  The tough subject matter and romantic interludes make this a book for more mature readers.

New Dystopian Series

Although there is an abundance of dystopian series available now, authors are still coming up with unique twists on the genre.  Marie Lu's Legend series, Gabrielle's Zevin's Birthright series, and Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles all have something new and wonderful to offer teen readers.

Legend takes place in the not too distant future in a plague ridden America.   June, a  privileged daughter of the Republic, receives perfect scores at the Trial, a test administered to all teens. Her scores insure her a great future in the military. Day, who was born in the slums and supposedly failed the Trial, is a hero to the street people, because he fights injustice wherever he sees it. When Day tries to get plague medicine for his sibling, he kills June’s brother, and she vows revenge. However, when she finally captures him, she finds out all is not as it seems.

All These Things I've Done, the first book in Gabrielle Zevin's new Birthright series, introduces Anya Balanchine, the daughter of a deceased mafia boss, whose mafia family deals in contraband chocolate and coffee in 2083. When Anya falls in love with the new D.A.’s son, their star-crossed relationship is fraught with problems; especially when her ex-boyfriend is poisoned by her family’s chocolate and she is the number one suspect.

 Cinder, the first of four books in the Lunar Chronicles, retells the Cinderella story in a futuristic dystopian world. Cinder, a cyborg, who is a gifted mechanic, is hated by her stepmother and blamed for exposing her stepsister to the plague that is ravaging their world. Cinder gets involved with Prince Kai when she works on one of his droids. Little does she know that she is the key to dealing with the intergalactic struggle that threatens them all. Cinder will be available January 3, 2012.

Kids in Foster Care

Coincidentally, I recently read two books about kids in foster care which I really enjoyed.  In Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett the story is told from the female foster child's point of view, and Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson is told from the perspective of the teenage girl whose family takes in a foster daughter, who is a nightmare. The contrasting points of views illustrate how complicated fostering a teenager can be.  What is especially refreshing about these two books is that in both cases the foster families are supportive rather than abusive.

Geek Girl introduces Jen who has been in many foster homes, some more succesful than others. This time around she is with the Clarks, a loving couple who have a daughter in college and a married son.  Jen is planning to sabotage her placement with this family rather than be rejected as she has been in the past.  She bets her Goth friends that she can seduce Geek Guy Trevor and turn him bad.  If she wins, the girls will pay for piercings that are forbidden by the Clarks.  Trevor responds to Jen's advances; however, she is in for a big surprise.  For the first time in her life, she is with somebody who sees through her makeup and chains and loves her for herself.  As their relationship progresses, Jen finds herself changing to accomodate Trevor's goodness. But when Trevor finds out about the bet, Jen fears she will lose him forever.

Calli focuses on the 15-year-old  daughter of two lesbians, who is excited when they decide to foster a teenage girl. However, Cherish, her foster sister, is not everything Calli had hoped she would be. Cherish attempts to sabotage Calli’s relationship with her boyfriend, steals her possesions, and pits her moms against her. When Calli's ipod goes missing, she decides to take action. Her plans for revenge go awry and Cherish is sent back to juvenile detention. Calli’s guilt begins to overwhelm her and she wonders how she can make amends.

In both books the foster parents want what's best for the foster daughter and are patient and kind; not only with the foster child, but also with their own children, who have trouble adjusting. The change of pace from the stories about abusive foster parents, who only take kids in for the money, was a welcome development. 

The Scorpio Races

Maggie Stiefvater, the author of the popular Wolves of Mercy Falls series, has done it again.  Her new book, The Scorpio Races, captured me from page one.  I am really looking forward to meeting her at the Colorado Teen Literature Conference next April.  The author bases her new action packed thriller on the Celtic legend of water horses that come out of the sea each fall to terrorize villagers. The story takes place on Thisby Island where men have learned to capture the predatory carnivores called capaill uisce and control them using iron and magic long enough to stage an annual festival and race. Sean Kendrick, who has won the race four times on a capaill uisce named Corr, is racing this year in hopes of buying Corr from his boss who runs Malvern Stables. Kate "Puck" Connelly enters the race in the hopes of using the winnings to buy her family's home from Malvern.  Puck and her brothers, who were orphaned when capaill uisce killed their parents, are facing foreclosure. Puck decides to ride her beloved land mare Dove, but is thwarted at every turn by the men who do not want a woman to ride in the race. Sean, who initially tells Puck to "get off the cliffs," is impressed by her tenacity and horse handling skills and begins to train with her.  While there is plenty of action, human villainy, suspense, and a breath-taking climax, it is the quietly evolving relationship between Puck and Sean that makes the book must read.
Another book with strong male and female protagonists is Ashfall by Mike Mullins. A supervolcano beneath Yellowstone Park erupts and sends the world into a tailspin of darkness, ash and violence. Alex, who is home alone when the volcano erupts, begins a 140 mile trek to find his sister and parents, who are visiting relatives. Along the way he is attacked by an escaped convict and he stumbles his way to a farm where he is nursed back to health by Darla, a spunky girl, whose knowledge about mechanics and farming are essential in this post-apocalyptic world.  When more atrocities occur, the two of them leave the farm and set out to find a safe harbor in an unkind world. This thriller has a few sexual references that may be inappropriate for younger readers.
Finally, Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Paul Richard Evans is the first book in a new series that will also appeal to both boys and girls. As the story begins we meet Michael Vey who has strange electrical powers resulting from the installation of  a faulty machine at the Pasedena hospital where he was born. Of the 47 babies born in the hospital at that time, 17 survived with a variety of electrical powers. Michael, who has Tourette's Syndrome, is the constant target of bullies, but he must hide his powers because he and his mother are on the run from a mysterious organization called Elgen which hopes to control the children.  When he succumbs to using his powers against three bullies who are attacking him, the event is witnessed by his crush Taylor Ridley, who is also one of the 17 and has the power to "reset" people's minds.  When Michael's mother and Taylor are abducted by Elgen, he must enlist the help of friends and enemies to rescue them.  This book was of great interest to teen readers at Monarch High School, when I did book talks there last week. The sequel Michael Vey: Rise of the Elgen will be released next August.

New Paranormal Novels

After recent trips to San Francisco and NYC, I got back in town in time to see the Dark Days panel of authors at Barnes and Noble last weekend.  Jocelyn Davies was there promoting A Beautiful Dark, which involves angels. Claudia Gray, the author of the Evernight vampire series, has a new book entitled Fateful about werewolves on the Titanic. Kierstan White brought Supernaturally, her sequel to Paranormalcy, and read from her draft for Endlessly, the final book in the trilogy. Finally, romance novelist Amy Garvey talked about Cold Kiss, a zombie novel, which is her first book for young adults.

Jocelyn Davies is an editor of young adult books and coincidentally edited books in Claudia Gray's Evernight series. A Beautiful Dark is the first book in a new series about angels.  Sky, an orphan who is living in Colorado with a friend of her deceased parents, has little knowledge of her parents' history.  When Asher and Devin, two boys with unearthly powers, arrive in town, they both seem to know more about her past than she does and are determined to protect her. As she approaches her seventeenth birthday, her legacy is about to be revealed.

Claudia Gray's Evernight series involves a Romeo and Juliet type romance between a vampire and a vampire hunter.  Bianca attends the Evernight Academy, whose student body includes closeted vampires. There she meets Lucas, the son of the leader of the Black Cross, a group of vampire hunters. Lucas and Bianca fall in love, just as her vampire powers are emerging. Balthazar, the fifth book in the Evernight series, will come out in the Spring.  Claudia was at Barnes and Noble to publicize Fateful, which has a unique twist on the Titanic story. Tess is a ladies' maid, who is drawn to Alec, a first class passenger with a dark secret. He is a werewolf who is trying to defy his nature, but the Brotherhood, a powerful werewolf clan, is after him.  They want to capitalize on his cachet as the heir to a steel company. In addition to the werewolf romance, Claudia includes rich historical detail about classism on the Titanic.

Paranormalcy, the first book in Kierstan White's new trilogy, introduces sixteen-year-old Evie who works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, an organization that “bags and tags” paranormal beings. She has the unique ability to see past their glamours. When she finds herself attracted to Lend, a captured shape shifter who has lived in the normal world, she begins to see the allure of a normal teenage life. Kierstan has set up a framework to include a variety of paranormal beings.  In the sequel Supernaturally, unicorns are introduced and in Endlessly, the final book in the series, she adds dragons. 

Amy Garvey, a former romance writer, introduced her new YA novel, Cold Kiss, an unconventional zombie novel.  Wren, who has magical powers, is devastated when her boyfriend Danny dies in a car accident, and she raises him from the dead.  However, the new Danny is a shadow of his former self, and she realizes it was a mistake.  To complicate matters, Gabriel, a new student with powers of his own, uncovers her secret.  As she struggles with the problems Danny is creating, she is falling for Gabriel. This novel is an unusal take on first love and letting go.

Another paranormal author, Laini Taylor, was also in Colorado recently, introducing her critically acclaimed new novel Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The first book in a series introduces Karou, a teenage girl who has been raised by Brimstone, the leader of the chimera. This wishmonger sends her through portals to collect human and animal teeth which he then uses to reanimate dead chimera. The chimera are at war with the seraphim.  When the portals suddenly disappear behind smoldering black seraphim handprints, Karou is cut off from the only family she has ever known.  Then she falls for Akiva, a seraphim warrior, and she begins to learn the back story of the thousand year old conflict, which sets up the second novel in the series.

Melissa Kantor's Candy Bar Books

Although some people think that kids should always be reading great literature, I think a healthy dose of  candy bar books,  sweet reads about issues such as boyfriend/girlfriend problems, strict parents, or cliques/popularity, keep young readers engaged and enjoying reading. One of my favorite authors in this genre is Melissa Kantor, author of a new series entitled The Darlings.
 The first book, The Darlings are Forever, introduces Jane, Natalya and Victoria, New York City teens who have been inseparable since kindergarten, until they enroll in different high schools.  They have been dubbed "The Darlings" by Jane's late grandmother who advised them to "always do what you are afraid of doing." Jane is attending a performing arts school, where she considers acting on a crush she has on her drama teacher. Natalya, a Russian girl on full scholarship at an elite private school, succumbs to the allure of the "Queen Bee" when overwhelmed by the social pressure to fit in with the wealthy students.  Victoria, whose father is running for the Senate, finds her social life now makes headlines in the tabloids. The girls continue to rely on each other for advice and friendship, even though they are no longer classmates.
In the sequel, The Darlings in Love, each of the girls struggles to navigate the treacherous waters of young love.  Jane falls for the gorgeous Simon, with whom she is paired for a project on love stories.  She is playing Medea opposite his Jason. Although he warns her that he has been attracted to a guy in the past, she plunges into a relationship with him. Natalya rekindles a friendship with Colin, her chess partner crush whom she alienated in the first book.  Victoria is head over heels in love with Jack, but begins to worry when she realizes that they don't have much in common.  The story alternates between the three girls' lives and paints a picture of a very special friendship between characters that readers really care about.  Melissa Kantor is a master at writing dialogue that seems current and realistic.  Several issues are unresolved at the end of the book, leaving readers clamoring for the next installment, which will be awhile because this book isn't due out until January of 2012.
In the meantime, other titles by Melissa Kantor that I would recommend include If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?, a retelling of the Cinderella story, set in New York City, and The Breakup Bible, another book where Grandma knows best. These books are perfect for middle and high school age readers who are Sarah Dessen fans. 

Persephone/Hades retellings

Classic Connections, one of my favorite units in my book , involves modern young adult authors retelling a classic story in a modern setting or using elements of a classic in a modern tale.  Recently, I have read three YA novels that incorporate the myth of Persephone and Hades in the story. In the Greek myth Persephone, daughter of the Greek gods Zeus and Demeter, is abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld.  Demeter is distraught and convinces Zeus to intervene.  Zeus says that Persephone may return to earth if she has not eaten anything, but Hades woos her with a six seeds of a pomegranate. A compromise is reached in which Persephone spends 6 months a year with Hades and 6 months on earth. Demeter refuses to let plant life grow during the 6 months Persephone is gone, thus explaining the seasons.  Meg Cabot's Abandon, Aimee Carter's The Goddess Test, and Emily Whitman's Radiant Darkness, all involve the myth of Persephone.


In Meg Cabot's Abandon, the first book in a proposed trilogy, Pierce and her mother have moved to Isla Huesos in South Florida after Pierce nearly drowns in a swimming pool.  Due to the pool’s frigid temperature, she is resuscitated, but not before she makes a trip to the Underworld and meets John, who doesn't want to let her go.  In Isla Huesos, which happens to be a portal to the Underworld, she reconnects with her mother's family and starts school, but John seems to be monitoring her every move.  She tells him to leave her alone and returns a necklace that he gave her while she was in the Underworld. But does she really mean it?  The sequel, entitled Underworld, will be published in summer 2012.


The Goddess Test introduces Kate Winters, whose main interest is spending time with her dying mother, who has convinced her to move to her home town of Eden, Michigan. Kate meets several teenagers at school and agrees to attend a party with Ava, to please her mother who wants Kate to make a life for herself without her.  When Ava has a fatal accident, the mysterious Henry appears and agrees to save her if Kate will spend each autumn and winter with him at Eden Manor.  Kate ultimately finds out Henry is actually the god of the Underworld, and he wants her to take the place of his ex-wife Persephone.  Kate must pass seven tests in order to become Queen of the Underworld.  Eleven girls before her have died trying and if she fails, Henry will fade from existence.  At first Kate is furious but as she begins to fall for Henry, she realizes becoming his wife will not only save him, but herself as well.


My favorite is Emily Whitman's Radiant Darkness,  which is a more faithful retelling of the original myth.  This story finds Persephone a willing accomplice in her abduction by Hades.  Persephone is the bored teenage daughter of Demeter, the earth goddess who rules an all female realm.  When Hades appears in a secluded meadow and begins to woo Persephone, she is more than willing to elope with him.  In the Underworld Persephone spends her time gardening and working on the greeting process for the newly arrived dead.  However Demeter is furious about the supposed abduction of her daughter and is causing drought and famine on earth.  When Persephone discovers the trouble she's caused, she convinces Hades and Demeter to compromise and allow her to spend six months on earth and six months in the Underworld.


Popular novels with classic connections can be paired with the originals for comparison. Exposing kids to plots that form the backbone of literature will help them appreciate the clever variations that the modern authors imagine.  Next up on my list of must reads is Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray.