Publishing Deals - Josephine Angelini & Gina Blaxill

From the press release at Booktrade, these two have been bought by Macmillan Children's Books:

STARCROSSED, by US debut author Josephine Angelini, is a steamy, pulse-racing mix of Greek mythology and high-school romance. Editor Rachel Petty says, 'Who wants a pasty vampire or a hairy werewolf when you can have a bronzed demi-god? I was starry-eyed over this unique romance from page one.' STARCROSSED, the first in a trilogy, publishes in June 2011.

Twenty-four-year-old Gina Blaxill's PRETTY TWISTED is a dark, edgy and impeccably plotted teen thriller. Editor Emma Young says, 'Gina's debut crime novel is so edge-of-your-seat compelling (and disturbing) that we had to snap it up right away. It's rare to see such an accomplished, twists-and-turns-packed manuscript from someone so new to writing.' PRETTY TWISTED will publish in May 2011.

The US deal for Josephine Angelini, announced in March, was quite significant.

Publishing Deal - Josephine Angelini

In Publishers Weekly today, news of a 7 figure deal for a YA trilogy:

Harper Teen pre-empted North American rights to a debut YA trilogy by Josephine Angelini [] --the first book is called Starcrossed-- pitched as "a Percy Jackson for teenage girls."

In Starcrossed, which brings Greek tragedy to high school, a shy Nantucket teenager named Helen Hamilton attempts to kill the most attractive boy on the island, Lucas Delos, in front of her entire class. The incident proves more than a bit inconvenient for Helen, who's already concerned that she's going insane--whenever she's sees Lucas (or any of his family members) the image of three crying women appear to her.

The murder attempt does have an upside though, as it ultimately leads to Helen's revelation that she and the local heartthrob are, in fact, playing out some version of a weighty ancient love affair. (Said female apparitions are, in fact, the Three Fates.) So Helen, like her namesake, Helen of Troy isn't going crazy, she's destined to start a Trojan War-like battle by being with Lucas. This then begs the unfortunate question: should she be with the boy she loves even if it means endangering the rest of the world?

The second book in the trilogy, Persephone's Garden, follows Helen's journey to the Underworld, and the third book, Ilium, chronicles the final battle between mortals and the gods. Harper Teen is planning to publish Starcrossed in summer 2011.

The full article is here.