Waiting on Wednesday - I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend

I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend by Cora Harrison will be published in the UK in March 2010 from Macmillan Children's Books.

When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip and romance that Jane inhabits. But Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship, and when Jenny falls utterly in love with the dashing Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this most eligible of men?


(Find out more in the press release which came out before I started this blog.)




Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Publishing Deal - Tricia Rayburn

In The Bookseller, yesterday, news of a publishing deal for Tricia Rayburn with Faber:

The series currently comprises three titles, the first of which is called Siren. The book follows the story of Vanessa, whose elder sister has just died. She investigates a string of water-related-fatalities where the victims are all found eerily grinning from ear to ear. The UK publication date for Siren is yet to be confirmed.

Review: The Mediator (3): Mean Spirits by Meg Cabot

The Mediator (3): Mean Spirits by Meg Cabot and narrated by Johanna Parker (April 2008, Whole Story Audio Books, ISBN: 9781407480190)

First Line:
"Now this," Gina said, "is the life".

Notes: Mean Spirits is the third in the six-book Mediator series and was first published in 2001 as The Mediator: Reunion by Jenny Carroll.

Review: Mean Spirits is set a few weeks after High Stakes and Suze is joined in her Carmel home by her school friend from New York, Gina, who is on her spring break. Gina's not been there long before Suze has another ghostly problem to deal with. This time a group of four teenagers from the exclusive Robert Louis Stevenson school have been killed in a car crash on the dangerous coastal road. The driver of the other car, Michael Meducci, escaped unhurt. The RLS Angels as they are dubbed in the press want revenge on Michael and it's Suze's job to protect him and send the Angels on their way to their unearthly destination. Reluctantly Suze has to go out with Michael to try and keep him safe and is ribbed mercilessly by Gina and Suze is appalled to find that Gina has attracted the attentions of both Suze's older step-brothers, Jake and Brad.

All is not what it first seems though and soon Suze's life is in danger, both from the dead and the living.

Mean Spirits is an enjoyable third entry in the series. Suze still uses her fists to try and get her way but it is proving a less successful technique in California than in New York and she has to rely on help from fellow Mediator Father Dom and her ghostly room-mate Jesse. Suze also gets some support from Gina who gets to know more about her friend's Mediator role. Suze is falling for Jesse, but a psychic has predicted that she will only have one true love and that it will last an eternity. What does that mean? How can she and Jesse ever be together? This problem is part of what keeps me glued to the series. I also like the characters, the setting is brought to life and the plots are intriguing.

As before, Johanna Parker's narration is enjoyable to listen to and her voices are consistent with those she used in the earlier books.

Cover: The cover's quite appropriate this time as there's quite a lot of beach activity.

TSS: The week in summary (18)

This week I've finished Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber and the audio book of Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King's Daughter by Simon Brett (euro crime) (reviews of both to follow on the respective blogs) plus Tony Curtis's Some Like it Hot: Me, Marilyn and the Movie. Ongoing are Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audio book) and for Euro Crime I'm reading Close Quarters by Eugenio Fuentes.

Activity on the blog in the last week:

Monday - review of Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough.

Wednesday - UK publishing deal for Cassandra Clare plus 'Waiting on Wednesday' post for the UK edition of Exposed by Susan Vaught.

Thursday - trailer for Green by Laura Peyton Roberts; plus news about Hunger Games 3.

Friday - the shortlist for the 2010 William C Morris YA Debut Award.

Saturday - my newly acquired library loot and electronic review copies.

Library Loot (25) & E-review copies

I picked up a couple of audio-books this week and one book:



Library

Auslander by Paul Dowswell (audio book)
When Peter's parents are killed, he is sent to an orphanage in Warsaw. Then German soldiers take him away to be measured and assessed. They decide that Peter is racially valuable. He is Volksdeutscher: of German blood. With his blond hair, blue eyes, and acceptably proportioned head, he looks just like the boy on the Hitler-Jugend poster. Someone important will want to adopt Peter. They do. Professor Kaltenbach is very pleased to welcome such a fine Aryan specimen to his household. People will be envious. But Peter is not quite the specimen they think. He is forming his own ideas about what he is seeing, what he is told. Peter doesn't want to be a Nazi, and so he is going to take a very dangerous risk. The most dangerous risk he could possibly choose to take in Berlin in 1942.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audio book)
When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him - after all, he is the last remaining member of the family. A stunningly original novel deftly constructed over eight chapters, featuring every second year of Bod's life, from babyhood to adolescence. Will Bod survive to be a man?

Bad Faith by Gillian Philip
MURDEROUSLY SINISTER DYSTOPIAN SATIRE. Life's easy for Cassandra. The privileged daughter of a cleric, she's been protected from the extremist gangs who enfore the One Church's will. Her boyfriend Ming is a bad influence, fo course, with infadel parents who are constantly in trouble with the religious authorities. But Cass has no intention of letting their different backgrounds drive them apart. Then they stumble across a corpse. Who killed him? How did his body end up in their secret childhood haunt? And is this man's death connected to other, older murders? As the political atmosphere grows feverish, Cass realises she and Ming face extreme danger.

Review

I've also requested several e-books to review from NetGalley:


Freefall by Ariela Anhalt (Jan. 2010)
Luke was not eager to accompany his best friend, Hayden, and the cocky new kid, Russell, up to the cliff that night. The plan was to watch Russell jump off the cliff into the lake--his initiation to the Briar Academy fencing team. But instead, after an angry confrontation with Hayden, Russell falls to his death.


Now Hayden is in jail and the pressure is on Luke to report what he saw. But what did he see? An accident--or a murder? Luke has always followed Hayden's lead, but this is one decision he'll be forced to make on his own. And to do it, he must face the truth about his friendship with Hayden and his own painful past.


This suspenseful and scandalous tale of rivalry, peer pressure, and finding the courage to take responsibility will have an impact on readers long after the last page.

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Oct. 09)
After five months of sheer absolute craziness I was going back to being plain old background D.J. In photographs of course I'm always in the background . . .

But it turns out other folks have big plans for D.J. Like her coach. College scouts. All the town hoops fans. A certain Red Bend High School junior who's keen for romance and karaoke. Not to mention Brian Nelson, who she should not be thinking about! Who she is done with, thank you very much. But who keeps showing up anyway . . .


Tagged by Mara Purnhagen (Mar. 2010)
Kate Morgan is just as confused as the rest of her classmates when she arrives at Cleary High to find six life-size gorillas spray painted on the side of a building. Could the culprit be one of her friends or classmates? And is the kind-of-amazing creation really vandalism, or a work of art? She's tempted to stay out of it, mostly because, as the police chief’s daughter, she's always accused of being a snitch. But when gorillas start appearing throughout the state, her investigative instincts kick in.


Now Eli, Kate’s favorite co-worker at the local coffee shop, is MIA. With her best friend, Lan, preoccupied with her own boy troubles, Kate needs to figure out some things on her own. Like why she can’t stop thinking about Eli. And what she will do when all clues about the graffiti point to someone she knows...

The William C Morris YA Debut Award 2010 - Shortlist

The shortlist for the 2010 William C Morris YA Debut Award has been announced recently. This is the second year the award has been running and it "honors a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens and celebrating impressive new voices in young adult literature".

The shortlist is:

Ash - Malinda Lo
Beautiful Creatures- Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
The Everafter - Amy Huntley
Flash Burnout - L K Madigan
hold still - Nina LaCour

Read more about each title and the award itself here.

News: Hunger Games III

Tweets have been flying about the sequel to Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire. Publishers Weekly has the low-down:

Hunger Games fans have just eight more months to wait: the as yet untitled third and final book in Suzanne Collins’s dystopian fantasy trilogy will be released in English worldwide on August 24, 2010. An audio version from Scholastic Audio will be released simultaneously.

The title for book three will be announced early next year.

Read the whole article, here

Trailer Thursday - Green

Green by Laura Peyton Roberts will be out in the US on 12 January 2010.

Turning thirteen starts off with a bang for Lily. Literally. A birthday present explodes on her porch . . . and soon after a trio of leprechauns (yes, leprechauns) appears in her bedroom. They whisk her away to a land of clover, piskies, a new friend, a cute boy, and lots of glimmering, glittering gold. A world of Green.


It turns out that Lily, like her grandmother before her, is next in line to be keeper for the Clan of Green, and in charge of all their gold. That is, if she passes three tests. And she has to pass them. Because if she doesn’t she may never get to go home again. She’ll be stuck with the Greens.


Forever.

Watch the trailer below:

Waiting on Wednesday - Exposed

Exposed by Susan Vaught was published in the US in 2008 but the UK edition will be out in March 2010 from Bloomsbury.

Chan Shealy is an all American girl, a baton-twirler, straight-A student. But when she looks for a boyfriend online, sure that she's following the rules and staying safe, she finds herself the victim of a paedophile whose interests are worse than she ever imagines... it is almost too late when she realizes what she must do to stop him.










Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Publishing Deal - Cassandra Clare

From Book2Book:

Gill Evans, Fiction Publisher and Editorial Director at Walker Books, has acquired City of Fallen Angels, the fourth book in Cassandra Clare's bestselling urban fantasy series, The Mortal Instruments.

The story follows Simon, a character from the first three Mortal Instruments novels, City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass, as he adjusts to life as a vampire. The English language edition of City of Fallen Angels will publish globally in spring 2011.

"Simon has always been one of my favourite characters to write about, and I'm excited to get the chance to tell his story while revisiting some of the other characters that I love from the Mortal Instruments series," said Cassandra Clare.

Evans has also acquired a prequel trilogy to The Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices. The first title, The Infernal Devices: The Clockwork Angel, will publish globally in the English language in September 2010, and will have particular appeal to UK fans, as it will be the first of Clare's books to be set in London.

Review: Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (September 2009, Clarion Books, ISBN: 0547223994)

Notes: Received as an e-book via NetGalley.

First Lines:

Prologue

I was born on the night of Samhain when the barrier between the worlds is whisper thin and when magic, old magic, sings its heady and sweet song to anyone who cares to hears it.

Review: When Tamsin Greene was born her grandmother said that she would be one of the most powerful witches in the family. Seventeen years later her special gift, her 'Talent' has not materialised. She thinks she's a disappointment and longs to get away from her huge and multi-Talented family.

During the summer holidays she is working in her grandmother's book shop when a handsome stranger appears, asking if she can find something for him. Those in the know, know that Tamsin's family are good at that sort of thing. Tamsin, wanting to prove herself though she has no Talent, accepts the assignment and arranges to meet the stranger, a professor, when they are both back in New York City, she to learn, he to teach.

The engagement party for her perfect sister, Rowena, brings Gabriel back into Tamsin's life. He has been away for many years and they had lost touch, however their childhood friendship is soon rekindled and could be easily developed into something more.

Tamsin's task, to find a certain clock is made easier as Gabriel can find anything. Their search takes them back in time and their action unleashes a power that could upset and possibly destroy their family's future.

I very much enjoyed Once a Witch. Tamsin is a likeable and sympathetic character who feels very real; her actions are understandable and consistent with her character. I found this a quick read but it does take a while for the action to begin. I didn't find this a problem as I was enjoying spending time with Tamsin's family and friends but my slight disappointment with the book is this: the story implies that there will be a big conflict and that Tamsin will have to make a huge sacrifice - but none of that happens in this book. There're some fireworks, but it seems that the big struggle is only just starting. I kept looking at the page numbers going down and wondering if I'd only got half the file. I've subsequently found out that there is to be a sequel: Always a Witch which I look forward to and hope will resolve the plot threads.

Cover: I love the cover. It represents Tamsin as both a student and as a witch (if you look closely at the book).

TSS: The week in summary (17)

This week I've finished Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (ebook) and the audio book of Mean Spirits by Meg Cabot (reviews of both to follow). Ongoing are Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink and Death by Bikini by Linda Gerber and for Euro Crime I'm reading Close Quarters by Eugenio Fuentes and Blotto, Twinks and the Ex-King's Daughter by Simon Brett (audio).

Activity on the blog in the last week:

Monday - review of Beautiful Dead (2): Arizona by Eden Maguire.

Tuesday - some teenage titles being published in January; plus the Costa Children's Award Shortlist.

Wednesday - 'Waiting on Wednesday' post for Beautiful Dead (3): Summer by Eden Maguire.

Thursday - trailer for Sources of Light by Margaret McMullen; plus publishing deal news for Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.

Friday - publishing deal news for Melissa de la Cruz.

Saturday - my newly acquired library loot.

Library Loot (24)

Only a couple of library books this week, no purchases or review copies. I confess I haven't yet seen New Moon, but I shall soon.


Library

Mark Cotta Vaz - New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Academy Award-nominated director Chris Weitz and his creative team have brought the second book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire romance saga to the big screen. Inside this deluxe visual companion, get an intimate look at the creation of the film. With lavish, never-before-seen full-colour photographs, exclusive interviews with the cast and crew, and answers to questions about costume and set design, bestselling author Mark Cotta Vaz gives a special behind-the-scenes tour of the film millions have devoured. Inside you'll get a glimpse into the director's aesthetic inspiration, learn the secrets behind some of the film's most intense stunts, and learn just how a person can become a werewolf.

Stella Lennon - Invisible I
Amanda Valentino is the most mysterious, the most magnetic girl you'll never meet. But if you join THE AMANDA PROJECT you just might find out what happened to her! Who is Amanda? And why did she vanish? When Amanda Valentino started at Endeavor High on Halloween, she changed everything. A fabulous mix of the weird and the wonderful, Amanda was the most extraordinary student ever. Amanda herself was drawn to only three other students: Callie, Hal and Nia -- the popular girl, the loner and the intellectual misfit. Without Amanda they would never had been friends, but now Amanda has disappeared and it's up to them to find out what happened. Reluctantly, and with only the most cryptic of clues and the fragments of her life that Amanda let slip, this unlikely trio must find out where she's gone, and why...The mystery begins in THE AMANDA PROJECT, Invisible i and continues online at www.theamandaproject.com

Publishing Deal - Melissa de la Cruz

From this week's Publishers Lunch Weekly:

NYT and USA Today bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz's WITCHES OF EAST END, following the lives of the Beauchamp girls, as they struggle to stop an arch nemesis and restore the delicate balance between good and evil, for publication in spring 2011, and a second adult fantasy novel;

plus two books in the new WOLF PACT series for publication beginning in winter 2010;

and three more Blue Bloods books, BLUE BLOODS: KEYS TO THE REPOSITORY, BLUE BLOODS: BLOODY VALENTINE, a romantic novella;

and BLUE BLOODS: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL.

Publishing Deal - Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell

From today's Bookseller:

Random House Children’s Books will publish a new series by bestselling duo Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell whose Edge Chronicles ended earlier this year.

The Wyrmeweald trilogy, launching in May 2010, is set in a Wild West world where dragon-like beasts roam supreme and pioneering fortune-hunters clash with brutal bandits. The series is also expected to attract adult fantasy readers.

Trailer Thursday - Sources of Light

This week's trailer has a hint of the Waiting on Wednesday post about it as it's not out until next April, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The book in question is Sources of Light by Margaret McMullen:

It's 1962, a year after the death of Sam's father--he was a war hero--and Sam and her mother must move, along with their very liberal views, to Jackson, Mississippi, her father's conservative hometown. Needless to say, they don't quite fit in.

People like the McLemores fear that Sam, her mother, and her mother's artist friend, Perry, are in the South to "agitate" and to shake up the dividing lines between black and white and blur it all to grey. As racial injustices ensue--sit-ins and run-ins with secret white supremacists--Sam learns to focus with her camera lens to bring forth the social injustice out of the darkness and into the light.

Watch the trailer below:

Waiting on Wednesday - Beautiful Dead: Summer

Having just finished Eden Maguire's Beautiful Dead: Arizona, I now have to wait until May for the next instalment, Summer:

Six months have passed sine the last Ellerton teenager died, but Darina is still traumatized by the stabbing of her own beloved Phoenix. But there's work to be done as Darina must now turn her attention to the shooting of Summer Madison -- the beautiful and gifted, singer-song-writer with a heart of gold. It's been nearly a year since the random shooting in a shopping mall caused Summer's meaningless death. Summer left behind recordings of her wonderful songs and a deep sadness amongst high school friends. Now Darina must act as Summer's agent to track down the psychotic killer in a clear search for justice. With the sound of Summer's music constantly playing inside Darina's head, recalling the wonderful months when she was alive and performing her first gigs, Darina, Phoenix and the Beautiful Dead are determined to catch the crazed killer. And all the while Darina's love for Phoenix continues to beat ...


Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Breaking the Spine.

Costa Children's Award - shortlist

The shortlist for the Costa Children's Award's was announced earlier today. The contenders are:

Solace of the Road - by Siobhan Dowd
Troubadour - Mary Hoffman
The Ask and the Answer - Patrick Ness
Guantanamo Boy - Anna Perera

More information on each book can be found on the Costa Book Awards website.

Books coming out in January

I have secured a recent edition of the Bookseller which has a children's preview for January. Teenage titles coming out in January (in the UK) include:

Laurie Halse Anderson - Chains
Anne Cassidy - Guilt Trip
Paul Dowswell - Auslander (paperback edition)
Anna Godbersen - Luxe: Splendour
Michael Grant - Hunger
Michelle Harrison - The 13 Curses
Alyxandra Harvey - My Love Lies Bleeding
Ben Horton - Monster Republic
Suzanne LaFleur - Love, Aubrey (paperback edition)
Gabrielle Lloyd - Conspiracy 365: January
Saci Lloyd - The Carbon Diaries 2017
Sophie McKenzie - The Medusa Project: The Hostage
L J Smith - The Secret Circle: Initiation & the Captive

Links are to my Waiting On Wednesday posts.

Review: Beautiful Dead: Book 2 - Arizona by Eden Maguire

Beautiful Dead (2) - Arizona by Eden Maguire (October 2009, Hodder Children's Books, ISBN: 0340988622)

First Line:

Prologue

Phoenix Rohr changed me.

Review: Arizona is the second part in a four-book series which began earlier this year with Jonas. Four teenagers have died in mysterious circumstances: Jonas, Arizona, Summer and Phoenix and they have become the Beautiful Dead. They have been sent back to the 'far side' ie the land of the living to resolve what happened to them so that they can successfully pass to the other side. They have a year from the day of their death, to resolve their issues but must remain in hiding. When the year's coming to an end and they are getting nowhere, they call in Darina, Phoenix's girlfriend who'll do anything to spend time with her (dead) boyfriend.

It's Arizona's turn this time. She drowned in a lake but cannot believe she committed suicide and she cannot remember why she would have been at the lake at all, especially in the winter. Arizona appears to be the typical stuck-up fashion plate with few close friends but she is hiding some big secrets. Darina is called in to investigate and her nosing around Arizona's family and boyfriend gets her into plenty of trouble and not a little danger. Meanwhile keeping secrets from her own family and friends makes her life more difficult and stressful.

I enjoyed Jonas very much and was eager for Arizona and I wasn't disappointed. It's a very smooth read which holds the interest completely; the who or what is behind Arizona's death keeps changing as more information is revealed. The author gives more of a reason for the strong bond between Phoenix and Darina, even though they had only been together for a short while before his death. Darina's current situation puts a great strain on her which is reflected in the off-hand way she treats those around her, with the exception of Phoenix. Her relationship with him, though completely understandable, is not in her best interests really - I do wonder how it will be resolved. The setting is well evoked and I can really visualise the town and especially the open country where much of the action takes place.

Arizona follows a similar format to Jonas and if you enjoyed Jonas then you'll enjoy Arizona. This series has a pleasing combination of crime, romance and the supernatural.

Cover: The cover is a very accurate depiction of a scene in the book and I love the look this series has. Very spooky.

My review of Jonas is here.

Win a copy of Arizona, here (ends 30 November 2009, UK only)