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.

Flip

The question posed on the back of my galley copy of FLIP by Martyn Bedford asks "What does it mean to have a soul whose will to live knows no limits? "  This question peeked my interest, as well as the personal letter from Wendy Lamb of Wendy Lamb Books, which mentioned how hot this book was at auction and how excited she is to be publishing it.  The book did not disappoint!
As the story begins, Alex Gray wakes up to find himself in another boy's body.  Suddenly, asthmatic, clarinet playing Alex finds himself inhabiting the body of Phillip Garamond or Flip, an athletic girl magnet. Alex says, "Being Flip was like playing the lead in a film about a special agent assigned to work undercover...Except in a movie the agent would be thoroughly prepared for the operation. Provided a dossier of information, told to memorize every detail of the false ID which had been created for him...Only then would he be sent out to the field...ready to handle any tricky situations without blowing his cover."  Needless-to-say, Alex has a lot of trouble negotiating Flip's persona.  He immediately tries to contact his mother who is 200 miles away.  Her co-worker, who answers the call, thinks he's an evil prank caller, as does his best friend David, whom he tries to contact next.  He begins to suspect that Alex is dead.  When he steals money and takes a train back to his own home, he is apprehended by the police, after trying to make contact with his family.  He finds out that Alex is in a persistent vegetative state and returns to Flip's home and parents, who worry that their son is mentally ill.
Alex is heartened by the idea that he might be able to find a way back into his own body, so that Flip can once again inhabit his.  After doing some internet investigation, Alex makes contact with Rob who tells him he is a victim of psychic evacuation. At the moment near death, his soul moved into a new body.  Most psychic evacuees, who inhabit a new body, have died in their previous incarnation.  Alex is one of the few who may have a chance to reverse the process. Rob, also a psychic evacuee, takes Alex under his wing and tries to counsel him to accept his new body and move on.  Alex, however, refuses to lose hope and continues to struggle to reclaim his former life.
Although this book is being billed by some as a new Freaky Friday, it is so much deeper than that.The author explores questions such as What is a soul? What happens to it when the host body dies?  Bedford, who is the author of five novels for adults, also poses a detailed explanation as to how Alex came to inhabit Flip's body. This is his first young adult novel, but I would highly recommend this page turner for young and old alike.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

While researching information for leading a talk back for the film Tiny Furniture at the Boedecker Theater, I found that the film maker, Lena Dunham, has been hired to write and direct Dash and Lily's Book of Dares for Scott Rudin.  Coincidentally, I had just finished the book by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, who also wrote Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.  Once again the story is told in alternating chapters with Rachel writing Lily's perspective and David voicing Dash's.
The story begins when Lily leaves a red moleskin notebook with a list of literary clues in the stacks of the Strand Bookstore in New York City.  Dash, a bookish sixteen-year-old, finds it and takes the challenge to follow the clues, leaving some of his own.  Both teens are on their own for the Chrismas holidays.  Dash has duped his divorced parents each into thinking he is spending the holiday with the other parent, and Lily has been left in the care of her older brother while their parents take a second honeymoon.  Lily challenges, “Are you going to be playing for the pure thrill of unreluctant desire?" and a bored and lonely Dash responds enthusiastically, following the clues to crowded venues to pick up messages.    As the dares continue, the two teens learn more and more about each other from the pages of the notebook, and they begin to fall in love.  When they finally meet under terrible circumstances, it is not the romantic interlude the reader expects. The rest of the story is spent with the two working toward a second chance at making a first impression. Well-read teens will love the words, thoughts, and emotions that these two unique characters convey.

Sapphique

Of all the series optioned for film, Catherine Fisher's Incarceron and its sequel Sapphique seem the most cinematically challenging to me. I am really interested to see what the screenwriters, Bill Collage and Adam Cooper, will do with this steam punk story. Taylor Lautner, who plays the werewolf Jacob in the Twilight series,  will play Finn, who has been trapped in Incarceron, a sentient futuristic prison. He finds a crystal key which allows him to communicate with Claudia, the daughter of the Warden, who lives outside Incarceron.  However, Claudia is trapped in her own prison, a world designed to look like the 17th Century. Technology is outlawed and society has returned to a feudal time including arranged marriages.  When the Queen and Claudia's father tell her she has to marry the dolt who is the heir to the throne, Claudia vows to do whatever it takes to avoid her fate. She knows nothing of Incarceron except that it exists, but when she and Finn begin to communicate, she believes he is Giles, her long lost fiance. They hatch a plan for Finn to escape and claim his throne.
 The sequel Sapphique picks up where Incarceron ended with Finn on the Outside with Claudia and her tutor Jared, trying to prove that he is the rightful heir to the throne.  His oathbrother Kiero and friend Attia are still trapped inside the prison, trying to find a way out. Incarceron itself is hunting for an object known as Sapphique's glove that may help it attain a human body so it can escape from the prison. Attia and Kiero meet up with Claudia's father the Warden, and the three attempt to thwart the prison's plans. Meanwhile, on the Outside, a Pretender, hired by the evil Queen, is threatening to usurp the throne and destroy the Kingdom.  While Claudia and Finn are dealing with that intrigue, Jared is still trying to find the Portal between Incarceron and the Outside.  Although the major plot lines are resolved, the possibility of another book to explore the repercussions of what happens has not been ruled out by the author.
Even though the world Catherine Fisher imagines is very creative, I had some problems suspending my disbelief as I was reading.  I'm wondering how film makers are going to portray a living breathing prison which is the size of a watch fob. Watching the MTV movie awards last night and hearing the girls scream every time Taylor Lautner's abs were shown, I'm sure the film makers will come up with something.