Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Read Unwind online at Pulseit (1 wk only)

Neal Shusterman's Unwind is this week's online read at Pulseit. You have to register and the book can be read in full until 20 October.

Blurb:
In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them

Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs. Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance, and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away.

In Unwind, Boston Globe/Horn Book Award winner Neal Shusterman challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins, and where it ends, but what it truly means to be alive.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Publishing Deal - Teri Terry

Announced today on Book Trade, two new books for Orchard from Teri Terry, the first, Game of the Few (which sounds fantastic) is out in Autumn 2014.
Orchard Books announce a further two books from multi-award winning author, Teri Terry.

Game of the Few is a futuristic thriller scheduled for publication in Autumn 2014; the second book is untitled.

About Game of the Few: A futuristic thriller about a power-hungry organisation who manage the Game, a virtual world that the majority of people now live half their lives in.

Luna has always been able to exist in the virtual and real worlds at the same time, feeling what is happening in the real world while plugged into the Game. It is a secret she is warned to keep, so she hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can't hide any longer. The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing...

Monday, October 7, 2013

Read When You Were Mine online at Pulseit (1 wk only)

Rebecca Serle's When You Were Mine is this week's online read at Pulseit. You have to register and the book can be read in full until 14 October.

Blurb:
An intensely romantic, modern recounting of the greatest love story ever told—narrated by the girl Romeo was supposed to love.

Rosaline knows that she and Rob are destined to be together. Rose has been waiting for years for Rob to kiss her—and when he finally does, it’s perfect. But then Juliet moves back to town. Juliet, who used to be Rose’s best friend. Juliet, who now inexplicably hates her. Juliet, who is gorgeous, vindictive, and a little bit crazy...and who has set her sights on Rob. He doesn’t stand a chance.

Rose is devastated over losing Rob to Juliet. And when rumors start swirling about Juliet’s instability, her neediness, and her threats of suicide, Rose starts to fear not only for Rob’s heart, but also for his life. Because Shakespeare may have gotten the story wrong, but we all still know how it ends.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Blog Tour: Lucy Christopher's Favourite Crime Novels

I'm very pleased to welcome Lucy Christopher to Teenage Fiction for All Ages and as part of the blog tour to celebrate the release of The Killing Woods, Lucy will be sharing her five favourite crime novels.

Here's a bit about The Killing Woods:

Emily's dad is accused of murdering a teenage girl in the woods behind her house, the place she played in as a child. She's sure he's innocent, but what did happen? Determined to find out - and afraid of what she might discover - Emily seeks out the boyfriend of the murdered girl. He also knows these woods. Maybe they could help each other. But Damon Hillary has his own secrets about the dangerous games that are being played in the dark.







Lucy Christopher's Five Favourite Crime Novels


The Famous Five Series, Enid Blyton

Perhaps these novels aren’t strictly a crime series, but I grew up with the Famous Five and it’s hard not to imagine that my early reading of these stories of young people tackling crime and dark deeds hasn’t influenced me at least a little bit. Blyton’s trademark series was published between 1942 and 1961 so they are a little dated now, but at the heart of each one is a crime to be solved. Reading these novels, I grew up with dreams of going camping and foiling smugglers and the like. They aren’t dark or too serious or grizzly, but they’re full of heart and adventure.




Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn

There’s not much to say about this book that someone else hasn’t already said. It’s a sensation. As a Creative Writing lecturer as well as a writer, sometimes I find it hard to appreciate a new book on both the story and craft level, but I felt no such difficulty with this one. It’s interestingly plotted and intricately written. It also had the true marker of a good crime novel – it kept me up reading until the small hours of the morning.




You Against Me, Jenny Downham

Like The Killing Woods, You Against Me also contains a dual narration between a boy and a girl. Both of these characters are trying to uncover the truth of the most serious event of their lives up to now – the sexual abuse of a girl they both know. Part of the reason I like this book so much, aside from the fact that it’s so well written, is that Downham’s approach to the subject matter is bold and fresh and utterly convincing. This is emotional, skilful writing. UK YA at its best.






I Am the Cheese, Robert Cormier

Entering the YA library somewhere in between The Famous Five and Gone Girl, Cormier’s 1977 novel has been a favourite of mine since I first read it. This book is not afraid to break rules – you only have to look at its deeply layered, twist-filled plot to see this. The first person narration never wavers as Adam gradually begins to uncover the mystery of who he really is and what happened to his parents.




The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Is a detective story the same as a crime story? You can’t have a detective without a crime, and you can’t think of detectives for too long without coming back to the prototype for the modern detective. Holmes is an interesting and strong protagonist, focused to the point of obsession, often alienating those around him: an early anti-hero. The Hound of the Baskervilles is the quintessential Sherlock Holmes’ story - full of mystery, suspense and a brilliantly moody setting.





Many thanks to Lucy Christopher for stopping by and thanks to Riot Communications and Chicken House for arranging it.

Catch-up with the rest of the Tour here.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian (February 2013, Simon & Schuster Childrens Books, ISBN: 1471116883)

Burn for Burn is the first book in a new trilogy from Jenny Han co-writing with Siobhan Vivian set on Jar Island. The chapters alternate between three girls: Lillia, rich who is BFF to Rennie; Kat, not so rich and ostracised by lies told by Rennie and Mary who returns to the island after a few years absence. All three girls have been hurt, Lillia by a boy, Kat by Rennie and Mary by the star quarterback. When they are accidentally thrown together an idea sparks and Kat decides to act on it. Lilia and Mary don't need much persuading and they meet in secret to plan the ultimate revenge on their three enemies...

trilogy (by Jenny Han) I absolutely flew through Burn for Burn. I could appreciate that the girls wanted revenge but they do get more than they bargained for resulting in an ending which leaves the reader desperate to get Fire for Fire. I hoped that one assumption they'd made would turn out to be false and, really, how far should the girls go to right a wrong? Initially I found the chapters from Mary's point of view the least interesting of the three (and her experiences the most painful to read) but it looks like she's more than she seems...

The sequel Fire for Fire has recently been released in the UK.

NB. As the characters are around eighteen, there is some adult content.

[Burn for Burn can be read online at Pulseit until 6 October 2013.]