Tag Archive | non-US author

Daylight Saving, by Edward Hogan (fiction) – swimming, mystery, time loops to break

Oct17
book cover of Daylight Saving by Edward Hogan published by Candlewick

Cute girl in a swimsuit,
lovely lake in the woods.
Everyone can see the water,
but no one can see the girl struggling there…
except Daniel.

The days are growing shorter at the resort, giving him less and less time to solve the mystery of Lexi. Shouldn’t injuries heal up over time, instead of getting worse? As the teens stay near each other through his vacation, Daniel awakens to find the same injuries on himself.

If Lexi is a ghost, why can he touch her? If Lexi is a girl, why is she at the resort alone… and how can they prevent terrible things from popping into the woods during that hour everyone relives when Daylight Saving Time ends and the clocks fall back?

Published in September 2012, you should be able to find Hogan’s first YA book at your local library or independent bookstore now. Then find some uninterrupted reading time – you won’t want to put it down!
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Book info: Daylight Saving / Edward Hogan. Candlewick, 2012.  [author’s writing room] [publisher site] [book trailer]  

My Recommendation:  An “active holiday” away with Dad…couch-potato Daniel can’t imagine a worse vacation. Bicycling through Leisure World’s well-manicured woods to avoid sports activities, the English teen spots a cute girl swimming in the fake lake. And she’ll even talk to him – about his parents’ divorce, Dad’s spiraling depression, but not herself.
Daniel wonders if Lexi is playing hard-to-get or hiding a dangerous secret. He only seems to see her at the lake, never at the pizza place or the pool. She says swimming is a good way to let your mind relax while your body works, so Dan hits the pool, huffing and puffing at first. The more he swims, the more he worries about Lexi.
How can a teenager be at this fancy resort by herself? Why can’t anyone else see her?  Why is her watch running backwards? What’s causing her wounds which seem larger each night?
As the autumn evening approaches when all Great Britain’s clocks turn back one hour, Lexi and Daniel try to find a way to stop a terrible past event from happening again. Part mystery, perhaps some ghost story, all thriller – will the night of Daylight Saving be too late?  (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Another Life, by Keren David (fiction) – London gangs, family ties, choices that can’t be unmade

Oct10
book cover of Another Life by Keren David published by Frances Lincoln Childrens Books

So that’s it then,
Ty will spend some weeks in young offenders’ institution for having the knife.
What if other gang members are there, too?
The ones that he testified against?

World Wednesday takes us back to London – not the spic-and-span home of the 2012 Summer Olympics, but the hardscrabble, workingclass corners where rival crime gangs control more than we really want to know about.

And typically-teenage guy middle-class Archie thinks he can figure out how to help Ty, by going undercover into his cousin’s multicultural, rough neighborhood…

You’ll want to read all of Ty’s story, so pick up When I Was Joe  (book 1) and Almost True (book 2) at your local library or independent bookstore then jump into Another Life  to see what becomes of these unlike cousins.
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Book info: Another Life / Keren David. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2012.  [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]  

My Recommendation: Archie didn’t even know he had another cousin until recently, let alone one who’s had run-ins with London gangs and the police. Too busy trying to get tossed out of yet-another boarding school, trying to get girls interested in him. But passing messages between Ty and his girlfriend shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Just because his cousin is in witness-protection programme and all that…

Still strange to Archie that his mum and dad could cut off contact with a whole branch of their family for years. Ty is just a year older than he is, but certainly isn’t coping well with being confined. Yeah, some of the guys that Ty testified against are locked up now, but not in the same facility as him, right? Right? Hmmm…will Claire wait for Ty once she discovers the real reason he’s gone?

Maybe if Archie ventures out of his posh neighborhood and into the gritty quarter where Ty lived before the knife incident, he can figure out what makes his cousin tick. Maybe joining the boxing club there will let him see why his own dad worked so hard to get out of there. Maybe cute Shannon there in the park will take a shine to him.
Dad always said that Archie acted first and thought occasionally – and he’s dead-right this time. How long until someone in Ty’s neighborhood figures out their connection? How long until the gang bosses take action against the snooping teen? How long until Ty’s post-traumatic stress reactions get the better of him?
Told mostly in the rambling voice of Archie with sudden bursts of Ty’s frantic, worried thoughts, Another Life closes the stories started in When I Was Joe (book 1) and Almost True(book 2) – a gripping look at modern London gangs, choices gone wrong, and the quest for family connections at any cost. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Island of Thieves, by Josh Lacey (fiction) – treasure, travel, trouble in Peru!

Aug15
book cover of Island of Thieves by Josh Lacey published by Houghton Mifflin

Historic voyage journal to find!
Hidden treasure to uncover!
Trigger-happy bad guys to avoid!

Somehow, Tom doubts that his parents expected Uncle Harvey to take him to Peru, but curiosity is a Trelawney family trait… how could he pass up the chance to find John Drake’s lost journal detailing the Golden Hind‘s voyage?

The nephew of Sir Francis Drake noted the flora and fauna of the South American coastline – and the treasure that they captured from the Spaniards in 1578-79 and hid safely on an island.

Look for this fast-moving adventure tale at your local library or independent bookstore today, one of this summer’s fun reads.
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Book info: Island of Thieves / Josh Lacey. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] 

My Recommendation:

Visiting his uncle might have been boring for Tom, except for the mysterious journal and the sudden flight to Lima and the hidden treasure they’re seeking and the vicious killers after them. They just have to locate the island where the gold is buried and get it back to New York City in 5 days, before Tom’s parents get back from vacation – easy, right?
Uncle and nephew share the Trelawaney nose and family talent for unearthing interesting things, so away they fly to Peru, where Harvey had recently acquired a very old journal page that mentions gold buried on an island. As they search for more pages, they are chased by villains who think that Harvey already has the treasure in hand.
Dizzying mountain roads, scattered journal pages to sort and puzzle through. They know that the first journal page found is 500 years old – could this truly be a voyage log from Sir Francis Drake’s expedition?
Allies and enemies, double-crosses and unexpected assistance. Tom’s mom and dad will be at Harvey’s apartment to pick him up in a few days – can the adventurers really find the correct island in time?
Car chases and car crashes, boat trips through towering waves. The treasure has remained hidden for so many centuries – what other traps and tricks will nephew and uncle encounter along the way?

For adventure and intrigue, with a side order of Peru’s national dish, head for the Island of Thieves with the too-curious-for-their-own-good Trelawney guys, as the clock ticks toward their departing flight and perhaps to their own departure from the land of the living!  (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Way of the Dragon, by Chris Bradford (fiction) – old Japan, new civil war, teen samurai

Aug1
book cover of Way of the Dragon by Chris Bradford published by Disney HyperionTry to imagine being suddenly stranded half a world away from home, in a land where conformity is prized, where obedience is rewarded, where rigorous training from childhood ensures future success.

Jack’s amazing story begins with The Way of the Warrior  (book 1 reviewed) and continues in The Way of the Sword  (book 2 reviewed), your best introductions to the social structure, customs, and political unrest facing the young English teen in 17th century Japan.

Jump back into a foreign and fascinating world with the Young Samurai at your local library or independent bookstore. 

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Book info: The Way of the Dragon (Young Samurai, book 3) / Chris Bradford. Disney Hyperion, 2011.  [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation:  Like juggling knives in a storm – learning the Two Heavens technique is that difficult for Jack. But war looms over Japan in 1613, so he and his friends at samurai school must master the secret sword moves soon.
When he was tossed ashore after ninja pirates hijacked the English ship his father was piloting and wrecked it, Jack couldn’t have imagined this – being adopted by an influential warrior family, learning intricate Japanese language and customs, attending samurai school. Many still sneeringly call him ‘gaijin’ because of his foreign appearance, but those who have seen his fighting skills respect the blond-haired teen.
Now one regional daimyo is gathering troops to attack the Emperor! The daimyo who sponsors Masamoto’s samurai school is loyal to the Son of Heaven, so all his warriors must rush to defend the capital of Osaka. Suddenly “the way of the dragon” is more than daily classes, as martial arts practice becomes urgent, their sword skills are honed, and Jack’s group takes every opportunity to perfect their moves with bo stick or arrow or throwing star.
The noise and dust of the battlefield is tremendous – here, the students’ abilities to concentrate under pressure will mean the difference between life and death. They must protect the future emperor at any cost. If the fighting reaches the tower stronghold that they defend, then only their cleverness and skill will keep the empire from falling into chaos.
Jack still longs to recover his father’s encoded navigation atlas from the one-eyed ninja who stole it. That rutter would allow Jack to pilot any ship away from Japan to his English home port –and back again, defying the Emperor’s command that foreigners stay away. But the evil ninja  DragonEye is not content with stealing Jack’s map home; he wants Jack’s lifeblood as well.
Can Jack and the samurai students keep the young ruler alive? Is there a traitor in their ranks?
Will the assassin DragonEye strike during the confusion of battle?

This exciting third book in the Young Samurai series brings readers into the closed society of 17th century Japan with every swordstroke and ceremonial bow. Be sure to start Jack’s amazing story from the beginning with The Way of the Warrior (book 1) and The Way of the Sword (book 2). (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Filth Licker, by Cristy Burne (fiction) – Japanese demons attack British school camp!

Jul6
book cover of Filth Licker by Cristy Burne published by Frances Lincoln

A week at camp with school chums means bonfires,
ghost stories, silly pranks,
demon attacks?

Away from the protective pillar in her family’s home back in Japan, Miku is accosted by yokai, unearthly spirits ranging from annoying to deadly. And away from London, with just a few teacher-chaperones, Miku’s classmates will find more in the forest than normal foxes and badgers.

Cursed tofu and Shape Shifters, an amnesia attack on her best friend, sickle weasels and a yuki-onna – maybe the seventh graders should have stayed at school!

Grab the first Takeshita Demons  book (my recommendation here) at your local library or independent bookstore along with The Filth Licker  (#2). You ought to get Monster Matsuri  (#3) while you’re there – you know that the demons will keep chasing Miku and her friends!

Hmmm…and perhaps you’d consider having a toad-shaped aka-na-me in your bathroom to slurp up mold and soap scum, right?
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Book info: The Filth Licker (Takeshita Demons #2) / Cristy Burne; illustrated by Siku. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2011.  [author’s website] [publisher site] 

My Recommendation:  A week at camp should be great, but Miku senses demons lurking in the forest. Cait scoffs at her – until the ghost stories told by school friends around the bonfire start coming true!
Ever since Miku’s family moved from their ancestral Japanese home to London, evil spirits have targeted them. So the young teen brings protective charms to camp, along with all the stories and knowledge of the supernatural shared by her grandmother before they left for England.
Of course, nothing can keep Alex from calling her names or stop goofy Oscar from eating anything offered (eww, now he has a stinky black rash!). No one could predict that they’d find a red aka-na-me Filth Licker in the boys’ bathroom, or that its pet keukegen might innocently attract malicious ShapeShifters to camp.
When the campers’ round-robin ghost stories accidentally complete an ancient ritual, the woods become alive with evil spirits in animal bodies, trickster sprites rain down stinging sand from the trees, and Cait’s memory starts to blank out. And somehow, Alex stops teasing Miku and starts helping her track down the forest demons before they can get the rest of their friends.
Which animals will the demons use for their attack? Have the ShapeShifters already taken over any of the campers? Can Miku and friends turn back these evil forces before it’s too late?

Second in the Takeshita Demons’ series, The Filth Licker is followed by Monster Matsuri (#3) as Miku continues to face ancient evil Japanese spirits in a modern world.  (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Listen up! (audio) – SYNC your reading with 2 free audiobooks weekly through August

Jun27
teen girl with earbuds listening to SYNC free YA audiobooks

Audiobooks!  All summer!   FREE!

Yes, the SYNC program is back for summer 2012, providing two great audiobooks for you to download – free! – each week (Thursday-Wednesday).

One is a recent YA title, the other is a classic, both in full-audio recording by outstanding readers. Each title is downloaded separately and is available only during that week’s download window.

The SYNC audiobooks use Overdrive (free download through the Audiobooksync page here) which many US public libraries also use for audiobook check-out. Once you’ve downloaded a SYNC title, it’s yours – no due dates or expiration.

Here’s the rest of the summer’s lineup. Click on a link to read more about the book and its reading cast, and mark your calendar to download it during its scheduled week:

June 21 – June 27, 2012
Irises  by Francisco X. Stork, Read by Carrington MacDuffie (Listening Library)
Sense and Sensibility  by Jane Austen, Read by Wanda McCaddon (Tantor Media)

June 28 – July 4, 2012
The Amulet of Samarkand  by Jonathan Stroud, Read by Simon Jones (Listening Library)
Tales from the Arabian Nights  by Andrew Lang, Read by Toby Stephens (Naxos AudioBooks)

July 5 – July 11, 2012
Anna Dressed in Blood  by Kendare Blake, Read by August Ross (AudioGO)
The Woman in White  by Wilkie Collins, Read by Ian Holm (AudioGO)

July 12 – July 18, 2012
Guys Read: Funny Business  by Jon Scieszka [Ed.] et al., Read by Michael Boatman, Kate DiCamillo, John Keating, Jon Scieszka, Bronson Pinchot (Harper Audio)
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories  by Mark Twain, Read by Norman Dietz (Recorded Books)

July 19 – July 25, 2012
Cleopatra’s Moon  by Vicky Alvear Shecter, Read by Kirsten Potter (Oasis Audio)
Antony and Cleopatra  by William Shakespeare, Read by a Full Cast (AudioGO)

July 26 – August 1, 2012
Pinned  by Alfred C. Martino, Read by Mark Shanahan (Listen & Live Audio)
TBA (Brilliance Audio)

August 2 – August 8, 2012
Daughter of Smoke and Bone  by Laini Taylor, Read by Khristine Hvam (Hachette Audio)
A Tale of Two Cities  by Charles Dickens, Read by Simon Prebble (Blackstone Audio)

August 9 – August 15, 2012
Skulduggery Pleasant  by Derek Landy, Read by Rupert Degas (Harper Audio)
Dead Men Kill  by L. Ron Hubbard, Read by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast (Galaxy Press)

August 16 – August 22, 2012
The Whale Rider  by Witi Ihimaera, Read by Jay Laga’aia (Bolinda Audio)
The Call of the Wild  by Jack London, Read by William Roberts (Naxos AudioBooks)

Please note that several of this summer’s SYNC selections are available to listeners outside of the USA; check this list for details.

Thanks to these audiobook publishers, you can fill your mind with stories all summer, so mark your calendar to get the SYNC downloads you want.
Which title is tops on your personal listening list?
**kmm

Junk-Box Jewelry, by Sarah Drew (book review) – recycled bracelets, earrings, necklaces

Jun22
book cover of Junk Box Jewelry by Sarah Drew published by Zest Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

What to do with that earring who’s lost its mate?
Hmmm… you’ve saved all the beads from that broken necklace…
There’s got to be a way to showcase that stunning sea glass without drilling holes in it!

With some crafting tools, wire, and jewelry “findings” (clasps, jump rings, etc.), you can turn these assorted bits into great jewelry – elegant or funky, casual or ooh-la-la.

Sarah Drew shares techniques and ideas from her successful handmade jewelry business in England so that you can let your imagination transform parts, pieces, and pearls into wearable art.

With lots of color photos and instructions, this Zest Books paperback hits the shelves on June 26, 2012, so zip in to your favorite independent bookstore  then, and ask your local library to order it, too.

When folks start asking to buy your one-of-a-kind jewelry, be sure to grab Kenrya Rankins’ Start It Up (recommendation) so you can build a great business plan for your new enterprise.
**kmm

Book info: Junk-Box Jewelry: 25 DIY Low-Cost (or No-Cost) Jewelry Projects / Sarah Drew. Zest Books, 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk:  If you want to create new jewelry from interesting bits and pieces, then this is the book for you! Sarah Drew provides clear instructions and diagrams for basic and intermediate wire-crafting techniques, plus twenty-five innovative jewelry concepts from funky to fancy.

Once you have a few very basic tools and the right kind of wire and jewelry fittings from the local craft department, then you’re ready to start looking around your house, rummage sales, and even the beach for the colored, sparkly, smooth or shiny items that will feature in your creations.

Perhaps you’ll start mastering your wire techniques by remaking old beads into a new Retro-Bauble Bracelet or a fanciful Bling Ring. A Vintage Lace Choker has white glue as its secret ingredient, ornamented by a few well-placed reclaimed beads or faux gems.

You’ll learn how to suspend a beautiful stone as a pendant without drilling a hole in it, go green by making your own colorful tube-beads with magazine photos for a Newsstand Necklace, and turn hardware store finds into “charms” that will make your Toolbox Bracelet unique.

With a little practice, you can crochet wire into fanciful Cuff Bracelets or twist and twirl it around pearl-beads to fashion an intricate Art Deco Bracelet. For the prom or that special night out, create Elegant Earrings and a Juliet Headband to match your favorite outfit.

Once you’ve learned these basic jewelry techniques, you’re only limited by your imagination and the intriguing pieces of old brooches, sea glass, silk flowers, and thrift-store treasures that you find! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Way of the Sword, by Chris Bradford (fiction) – English teen, feudal Japan, samurai school challenges

Jun13
book cover of Way of the Sword bk 2 Young Samurai series by Chris Bradford published by Disney HyperionJapan is closed to the outside world in the 1600s.
Foreigners can see little, learn even less.
But shipwrecked Jack is adopted by a samurai warrior,
training in the samurai ways,
his blond hair drawing attention he would rather avoid,
as a mortal enemy stalks him in the shadows.

In unskilled hands, samurai swords can draw blood from allies as well as enemies, so Jack and his friends must train, train, train to master their weapons – and their emotions.

Will Jack’s growing samurai skills ever overcome the prejudice of those who think foreign ‘gaijin’ should be gone from Japan forever?

This swashbuckling Young Samurai series is available now at your local library or independent bookstore – start with book 1 – The Way of the Warrior (my no-spoiler recommendation here) to learn first-hand how blond, blue-eyed Jack found himself swept into life in feudal Japan.
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Book info: The Way of the Sword (Young Samurai, book 2) / Chris Bradford. Disney Hyperion, 2010. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation: For English teen Jack, a year in samurai school in 1620s Japan has taught him much, but not yet enough to defend himself against classmates who consider it disgraceful that a ‘gaijin’ foreigner learns the samurai ways. No matter that his adoptive father founded the school or that Masamoto is still considered the finest samurai and best swordsman of their time. Now Masamoto has announced that he will teach the fighting skills of The Two Heavens to the school’s best students.

This two-sword technique makes a samurai master almost invulnerable to attack. Those students interested must pass four mighty tests of samurai skill and courage before the New Year festival, then go into the mountains to survive the legendary challenges of the Circle of Three.

Jack realizes that he must learn The Two Heavens to defend himself against Dragon Eye, who still seeks his father’s ‘rutter,’ the precious coded mapbook which is Jack’s only remaining link to his father and his native England. The ninja tried to kill the daimyo, local ruler of the province and patron of their school, but the student samurai forced Dragon Eye’s retreat as the villain vowed further revenge.

Training beyond their normal martial arts classes, Jack and his friends Akiko, Saburo, and adoptive brother Yamato, all strive to prepare for the Circle of Three tests. But rumors of Christians killed in other provinces and the new Scorpion Gang formed by student samurai to force the gaijin out of Japan worry Jack and invade his dreams.

Can Jack learn the new skills he needs to qualify for the Circle of Three? Is there any safe place to hide his father’s rutter so that DragonEye will not find it? Will he ever get home to England, or will he live forever as the gaijin samurai in this tradition-bound land?

This great sequel to Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior  leaves readers eagerly waiting the next book in the series! Includes glossary of Japanese words.(One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Other stories, other poets (book reviews) – novels-in-verse

Jun1

Much like eclipse-viewers look indirectly at the sun, we can get a glimpse into life situations which may or may not mirror our own through novels-in-verse.

Click each title link to open my no-spoilers recommendation in a new window/tab for each of these BooksYALove favorites.
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book cover of After the Kiss by Terra Elen McVoy published by Simon PulseCamille and Becca don’t realize that they share a school, a coffeehouse, and one boy’s kiss… until an ill-timed cellphone photo makes all the connections fall into place.

Told in alternating chapters by each teen, their free verse ranges through the emotions that they must deal with as they try to reconcile what they thought was true with what reality is, After the Kiss  of Alec, the haiku-writing baseball star.

book cover of Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe published by VikingSara feels like her life at the ballet academy, far from her small New England hometown, is a never-ending Audition, as the dancers constantly compete for lead roles, for advanced classes, for the eye of handsome student assistant Remington.

Is he really interested in Sara? Can she continue to keep up with her schoolwork and her dance lessons and her hidden relationship with Remington? Only her poetry journal hears her fears and dreams.

book cover of Karma by Cathy Ostlere published by Razorbill

Religious turmoil becomes armed warfare in 1980s India, and Maya is caught in the upheaval almost as soon as she arrives with her father and the ashes of her mother, brought “home” to the family which disowned them when they married, a Sikh and a Hindu who thought that love would overcome all.

Is it Karma  that brought their only child to a place she’s only heard of, far from her birthplace on the Canadian prairies, that separates her from her Bapu, that makes her versified memories a clouded mirror?

(all review copies and cover images courtesy of their respective publishers)

Advice to Graduates & all of us (reflective) – in which Neil Gaiman is quoted, because he said it best

May26

Dear friends who are graduating (and everyone else, too),
I hope you’ve already seen this video of author Neil Gaiman addressing the University of the Arts Class of 2012 at their graduation.

I hope you’ve listened to it more than once, especially if you’re finishing school (at any level) and are about to go out into the big wide world of work and responsibility and joy and distress and the chance to make a difference.

“Make. Good. Art,” says Gaiman. Even if you don’t have an artistic bone in your body, those words are meant for you: whatever it is that you are passionate about, do it well, and keep on doing it – through good times or bad, whether it’s your vocation or avocation.

It may be your “day job” which fulfills you (like Maggie in Paper Daughter) or something after hours (like Haven in Illuminate).

It may be the first thing you try which makes the biggest impact in the lives of others (like Lex in Croak) or maybe the tenth (like Mercy).

It may be something that you’ve studied and trained for which turns out to be your best gift to those around you (like Sage in The False Prince) or perhaps not (like Ismae in Grave Mercy).

I hope you’ll listen to this talk again when you need a reminder of what you can do to make the world better – just one person, doing whatever it is that you love to do best, finding satisfaction in the doing, not just the result (like Mitch in Payback Time).

Listen well – Make good art, in whatever manner your talent for increasing the world’s happiness leads you.
Whether you’re a new graduate or older and worldly-wise, remember that every sunrise brings you a new chance to begin to make good art.
**kmm