Tag Archive | fathers

Changers Book 1: Drew, by T Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper (book review) – new school, new year, new body?

Mar14

book cover of Changers: Drew by T Cooper and Allison Glock-Cooper published by Akashic BooksNo one can know you are a Changer or see your secret mark.
No relationships with other Changers (or Abiders – shudder!)
No warning that everything in life is about to change… except your true self.

In a new body for first day of high school, Ethan can’t even skateboard right! Why didn’t his parents warn him that he could wake up a girl? At least he’ll get to try 4 identities in 4 years before deciding which body to keep forever as he finds his personal mission to change the world (yes, really).

Black Sheep is one of Akashic Books’ newer imprints, so you may have to ask your favorite local local library or independent bookstore to order this first Changers book, but it’s worth the wait!

To feel a little of Ethan/Drew’s experience, visit the WeAreChangers website and post your ‘unselfies’ where your camera captures your feelings without looking at you.

Poet e. e. cummings wrote “it takes courage to grow up and become who you really are” – how much courage do you and Ethan have?
**kmm

Book info: Changers-Book 1: Drew / T Cooper & Allison Glock-Cooper. Black Sheep, 2014.  [interview with authors]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Ethan wanted to reinvent himself to start high school, not wake up in a girl’s body!

Dad and Mom are so proud that he is a Changer – getting a new body each year of high school (like Dad did – who knew?) to discover his/her true inner being. Changers are destined to make the world better, in secret, despite the Abiders who want to wipe them out.

Most girls have years to get used to their bodies; Ethan/Drew has an hour. Her first day at school brings a Changer mentor, catty girls, overwhelming emotions, and a possible friend.

Cheer tryouts, drumming in a band instead of the basement, all the Changer rules, discovering an Abider at Central High, and dealing with having girl parts – this freshman year is too intense!

Can Drew trust anyone at school?
Has she let any clues slip to alert the Abider there?
Who on earth will s/he be for sophomore year?

This first book in the Changers series explores Ethan/Drew’s first steps along the perilous journey to become his/her true self and discover how he’s meant to change the world. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Vengeance, by Megan Miranda (book review) – cursed lake, who dies next?

Mar11

book cover of Vengeance by Megan Miranda published by BloomsburyA curse?
An evil too big for their small town?
A life for a life…

Ever since she spent 11 minutes under the ice, ever since she was stolen from Falcon Lake’s chill depths, Delaney’s hands shake when she senses death coming for someone.

Why won’t she let her boyfriend see her hands when she’s at his house now?

This gripping sequel to Fracture follows Delaney, Decker, and their friends through a hot summer when no one dares swim in the deep lake which took more lives after it was denied Delaney’s death – the curse or something more evil?

Check out my no-spoilers recommendation of Fracture  here (even read its first chapters free via the publisher here), then find this psychological thriller today at your local library or independent bookstore.

Can curses be real?
**kmm

Book info: Fracture / Megan Miranda. Walker Children’s Books, 2014. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The curse that followed Delaney out of Falcon Lake must be real – which friend will it touch by death next?

Decker loves Delaney too much to believe in the curse, even if she can sense death coming after escaping the lake’s icy waters. But can he keep loving her when she keeps silent instead of keeping death away?

The new girl Maya has to cope with her ill mother alone, Janna misses her dead twin Carson, and Delaney now must face the superstitious without Decker’s strength beside her.

Water accidents at home and away,
Masquerade mix-ups gone deadly,
Will any of their senior class escape the Falcon Lake curse?

This sequel to Fracture spends a hot, tense summer with Delaney and friends as the cold, deep lake broods over their small Maine town.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Spies and Prejudice, by Talia Vance (book review) – girl undercover or under the radar?

Mar7

book cover of Spies and Prejudice by Talia Vance published by EgmontGuys aren’t only lying when their mouths are moving –
Berry’s surveillance photos for divorce cases prove it.
So she’ll never fall in love with anyone – too risky.

Listening devices and hidden videocameras are the tools of her trade, but Berry certainly never expected to overhear the cute new guy label her “nothing special” while she was on a stakeout!

Over 200 years after its publication, Pride and Prejudice  still inspires retellings of its story of misdirected love and misguided snobbery. Surely Jane Austen would admire Berry’s forthrightness, as well as exploding jeweled bracelets and micro-camera eyeglasses as vital articles of fashionable apparel!

Have you read any other inspired-by-the-classics or mash-up contemporary YA books lately?
**kmm

Book info: Spies and Prejudice / Talia Vance. Egmont, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Secrets and betrayal are nothing new to Berry, but the teen isn’t used to cute guys interfering with her undercover work.

Maybe it began when Tanner and his brother Ryan came to McHenry High, or when senior Drew started talking to Berry in the library, or when the woman who witnessed the accident which killed Berry’s mother eight years ago now says it wasn’t an accident…

Her high-tech genius best friend is falling for Ryan, Tanner tells Berry that she can’t trust Drew, and Drew says that Tanner and Ryan aren’t who they claim to be. Add in her first Homecoming dance and a mysterious letter from her mom addressed to someone who denies it – no wonder Berry is distracted during routine stakeouts for her dad’s private investigation firm.

Hidden identities and mixed messages are funny until they become deadly serious in this tale of espionage, romance, and the family business (with a nod to the Jane Austen classic).  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Winner’s Curse, by Marie Rutkoski (book review) – a body is bought, the heart plots revolution

Mar4

book cover of Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski published by Farrar Straus GirouxShe loves music more than war – not the Valorian way.
He seeks bloodshed and revenge – not tastefully Herrani.
Master and slave, locked in a struggle that may destroy everything.

Somehow it’s no accident that a noted singer is being sold just as Kestrel and her best friend Jess arrive at the slave market in the newly-conquered Herrani city – or that being a slave in the Valorian General’s home is worth more to Arin than his own freedom. But love has a way of changing the best-plotted plans…

When the price is too low, the cost of keeping your purchase may be too high – that’s “the winner’s curse” and Kestrel will never have a chance to forget it.

This “Bridge of Snow” short story prequel at Tor.com will whet your appetite for Kestrel and Arin’s brutal, brilliant world, then chill your heart when you realize what’s about to unfold.

It’s publication day for The Winner’s Curse, so ask for it at your local library or independent bookstore now.

In this land so much like ancient Greece, can love conquer all?
**kmm

Book info: The Winner’s Curse (Winner’s Trilogy, book 1)  / Marie Rutkoski. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2014.   [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Soldier or wife – the only options open to Valorian young women. But the General’s daughter Kestrel lives for her music, a waste of time in their war-hardened society.

Death or slavery – all that remains for the Herrani people after the General’s successful invasion. Arin vows to give the occupiers a taste of their own barbaric ways.

Buy or sell – Kestrel didn’t plan to purchase a slave who could sing, to keep him when he refused.

Honor – the Valorians admire it above everything else.
Revenge – the Herrani want it totally, completely.

Win or lose – Kestrel can sense the right cards and the wrong play in Bite and Sting, but no gamble is the right one when she realizes how she feels about Arin, how he feels about her.

Masters, slaves, romance, rebellion – perhaps the gods of this ancient land have raised the stakes and are betting against either side winning…. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

How Not to Be a Dick, by Meghan Doherty (book review) – etiquette for everyone

Feb25

book cover of How Not to Be a Dick by Meghan Doherty published by Zest BooksEating your last cupcake without asking!
Texting while walking on a busy sidewalk!
Cutting in line! What revolting behavior!

Honestly, we don’t need any more dicks in this world, so heed the advice in Doherty’s book while enjoying the off-the-wall life lessons shared by her retro characters (you’ll never think of cheese logs again without smiling).

pages from How Not to Be a Dick by Meghan Doherty published by Zest BooksThis humorous and helpful book is decidedly worth asking for at your local library or independent bookstore (a great graduation gift idea, too).

And, please, don’t sing on public transportation…

**kmm

Book info: How Not to Be a Dick: An Everyday Etiquette Guide / Meghan Doherty. Zest Books, 2013.   [author’s tumblr]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy, sample page images, and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Thoughtless, selfish people make life miserable for everyone – avoid becoming a dick like them by following the advice in this cartoon-laced etiquette guide for young adults (and older folk who should already know better)!

Meghan Doherty discusses how not to be a dick in relationships and at home, as well as at school, work, and play. Internet and travel etiquette are also covered (shoes-off = okay while online, not while on the bus), and her signature retro-sketched characters hold decent and dickish conversations throughout the book.

Whether it’s how to state your opinion without alienating your friends or how to divide chores fairly with your roommates, keeping her ten big guidelines in mind will smooth your way in life – without making you a doormat.

Please do pledge “to use the tools and techniques provided in this book to help make the world a less dickish place” – we’re all in this together!

Team Human, by Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan (book review) – love your local vampire?

Feb14

Team HumanHazmat suit? Check.
Fountain pen and journal? Check.
Vampire enrolling in high school, 200 years late? Check.
Craunston High may not be ready for Francis, but Cathy sure is – and Mel wants to stop that relationship ASAP!

Read an excerpt here for that first schoolday as Cathy swoons over coolly distant Francis, whom Mel judges as “a crazy astronaut suit full of trouble” – and that’s before she meets the human teenage boy who lives in the same vampire house!

You should easily be able to find Team Human  in your favorite local library or independent bookstore after its 2013 paperback release (also available as eBook).

Would you give up sunshine, chocolate, and your best friend for love?
**kmm

Book info: Team Human / Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan. Harper Teen, 2012 (paperback 2013).  [Justine’s site]   [Sarah’s site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy from personal collection; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When her best friend falls in love with a vampire and wants to change over, Mel just cannot let it happen!

It’s all so civilized in this New England town founded by vampires, with sunproof windows in every building and the Zombie Disposal Unit on call (unfortunate side effect for 20% of vampire changes) and volunteer blood banks.

Recently, the principal’s husband ran away with a vampire, leaving her and Mel’s classmate Anna alone. Then debonair Francis enrolls in their high school, and ultimate undead fan Cathy falls for him.  Why is this well-educated 200 year old vampire suddenly risking daytime travel to school? Mel is sure he’s up to no good.

No, Cathy’s not a modern soul, but what if Francis stops loving her after she risks the change?
Yes, Kit is hot, but the human teen living with Francis’s vampire family is planning to change, too!

Maybe Mel is a bit sensitive about vampires, but she won’t stop investigating Francis’s real reasons for coming to school if it will keep her best (her only) friend on Team Human!   (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Winter of the Robots, by Kurtis Scaletta (book review) – robots good, bad, on the loose!

Jan20

book cover of Winter of the Robots by Kurtis Scaletta published by Alfred A KnopfResearching urban otters instead of making fake robots,
Working with cute Rocky for the science fair,
Solving a mystery in snow-bound Minneapolis –
all great until something or someone attacks them!

The ‘keep out’ signs at the abandoned site are there for a reason, Jim, but staying out won’t keep the mysterious whatevers inside the fence!

Scaletta wrote about the deadly snake that Linus encountered at Mamba Point – is this new snow-cloaked peril even more dangerous?

**kmm

Book info: The Winter of the Robots / Kurtis Scaletta.  Alfred Knopf, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Metal skritching, big clawprints in the snow – the abandoned tech site hides something scarier than Jim and his friends can imagine…and it’s ready to escape!

Maybe it awoke when Jim decided not to be genius Oliver’s sidekick for the 7th grade science fair. Or when their new partners’ ideas got Dmitri kidnapped and Rochelle stuck in the junkyard fence looking for otters. Or when the security cameras they borrowed from Jim’s dad spotted something moving way too fast in the Minneapolis snow to be an otter.

After the creatures chase them out of the old Half Street research site, Jim and Rocky decide to send in robots with cameras to figure out what’s going on, even if Oliver won’t help.

Robot competitions, school closed for snow days, pocket burgers – here’s Jim’s chance to impress Rocky, to uncover whatever is haunting Half Street, and to show Oliver that he can build robots, too…if the things don’t attack the science fair partners first!  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Coda, by Emma Trevayne (book review) – music=death, must play anyway

Jan17

book cover of Coda by Emma Trevayne published by Running PressIn the future, personal music is illegal.
Mainline the Corp’s music now and die later of mindrot.
Skip the Corp’s music-drug today and be mind-wiped tomorrow.

Chrome skin implants to gleam under the lights at the music club where the lower levels get their music fix every night, the credits for it earned by letting the Corporation siphon off brainwaves… this future’s so bleak that self-named Anthem’s craving to make his own music is like a torch – and the Corp is all-too-ready to stamp out any individual spark.

This first book in the Coda series is available now in paperback – grab it today at your local library or independent bookstore!

How far would you go to express yourself?
**kmm

Book info: Coda / Emma Trevayne. Running Press Teens, 2013.  [author’s Tumblr]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Only the Corporation may create music, deeply encoded and addictive, but a few citizens like 18-year-old Anthem sneak away to play their own punk-rock songs at the risk of being mind-wiped if caught.

In this not-so-distant future, video cameras everywhere record all your actions and implanted chips tell the Corporation if you’re not listening to enough life-shortening music tracks daily. Anthem’s younger sister and brother are his main reason for living; making his music is the only reason he feels alive. But a few stolen hours of playing his made-from-scraps guitar aren’t enough anymore…

Can Anthem and his friends find a way to perform in public?
Will they live long enough to keep his little brother and sister safe?
Why did the Corp turn music into a drug and a weapon?

Deciding who to trust, daring to love an Upper Level, the chance for revolution – this Coda may signal a change in the music of their lives or a crashing final chord.   (One of 7,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Relic, by Heather Terrell (book review) – frozen secrets, fiery ambition

Jan15

book cover of Relic by Heather Terrell published by Soho TeenHumanity’s remnants dwell on a single Arctic island,
shunning the technology which led to Earth’s near-destruction by flood,
purposely bound by medieval rules more rigid than the ice Ringwall protecting New North.

Eva isn’t a meek Maiden, content to embroider and to make an advantageous marriage. She can’t leave her family’s honor Quest unfulfilled following her brother’s mysterious death – she must venture into the frozen wasteland outside the Aerie as the first female Testor in generations. To prevent her from succeeding, someone is willing to do anything…

Read a selection from the prequel novella Chronicle here, then rush to get Relic at your local library or favorite independent bookstore now – you won’t want to miss a chilling moment of Eva’s quest for answers.

Is technology still our tool, or has it become our master, as the Triad claims?
**kmm

Book info: Relic (Books of Eva,  book 1) / Heather Terrell. Soho Teen, 2013. [author site]  [publisher site]  [author interview video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When her twin brother suddenly dies, Eva feels compelled to fulfill his Quest, despite all odds…and sabotage.

Eamon and the other Testors had long trained for the Boundary Land’s frozen challenges – discover a Relic, write its cautionary tale, earn respect in the Aerie where the words of Lex rule everything.

So Eva searches the Lex and finds a precedent which allows her to participate,
even though true Maidens know their place – at home,
even though the Triad elders grudgingly allow her to go – hoping that she fails,
even though Eva’s discovery in the ice may shatter her society’s foundation.

Their ring-walled city survived when technology’s evils doomed the world to die by flood, but can it survive the truth which Eva uncovers?  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Solstice, by PJ Hoover (book review) – hotter’n Hades in new Texas?

Nov4

book cover of Solstice by PJ Hoover published by Tor TeenFatal heat waves,
acceptable losses,
is there any solution?

Her mother’s overprotectiveness, her father’s abandonment, the eternal summer that’s killing everything on Earth – and somehow just-turned-18 Piper can fix everything??

As PJ noted at a recent author talk, she actually did have some input on the cover art (most authors don’t) and made sure that the city skyline was truly Austin!

Especially for fans of

  • dystopias (with a twist)
  • Greek mythology
  • growing up stories and finding your own path
  • climate change as a character
  • ancient tales set in modern times
  • love triangles with real tension

Grab this debut novel from a Texas Sweetheart writer today and discover the depth of the choices which Piper must make.

How far would you go to save your family? to save the world?
**kmm

Book info: Solstice / P.J. Hoover. Tor Teen, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [publisher book trailer] [author’s book trailer]  Personal copy; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk:
Piper endures her overprotective mom and the heat waves sweeping the earth, little realizing that she alone holds the key to solving the global climate crisis and averting the death of humanity!

Mom’s greenhouses protect rare medicinal plants from the heat bubbles that push Austin over the 120 degree mark so often now. But they’re like a prison to Piper, who just wants to graduate and go somewhere, anywhere away from the dark visions which began on her 18th birthday.

At school, handsome Shayne understands her better than her best friend does and new guy Reese promises answers about Piper’s ever-absent father. Her mom’s sudden out-of-town trip gives Piper the chance to go on her first dates – and discover that she’s not just a teen girl from Texas!

Questions about the strange birthday gifts delivered by messenger and her mother’s habit of moving them so frequently have peculiar answers, involving the Underworld and Hades’ motivation, plus Mars plotting to rid the world of humankind forever…

Who is Piper (really)?
How could she stop the Global Heating Crisis?
Which stunning guy should she choose – when her mother hates them both?

Greek mythology meets near-future dystopia in this debut novel where only the relationship stresses are hotter than the everlasting summer.
(One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)