Info

YABooksPodcast's podcast

I interview Young Adult, YA, authors about their books. YA novels may be Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Adventure, Action, Horror, or General Fiction. We talk about the author's lives, locations, work, careers, training, education, inspiration, writing methods and routines.
RSS Feed
2020
September
August


2018
January


2017
December
November
October
September
August
July
June
May
April
March


2016
September
August
July
June
May
April
March
February
January


2015
December
November
October
September


Categories

All Episodes
Archives
Categories
Now displaying: July, 2017

.

Jul 27, 2017

Ready Player One has 4.6 Stars on 12,589
Published by Broadway books in August of 2011
#55 in the paid Kindle store
1, 1, and 2 in three science fiction indices.
It's Coming out as a movie in March of 2018 directed by Steven Spielburg
Blurb
At once wildly original and stuffed with irresistible nostalgia, READY PLAYER ONE is a spectacularly genre-busting, ambitious, and charming debut—part quest novel, part love story, and part virtual space opera set in a universe where spell-slinging mages battle giant Japanese robots, entire planets are inspired by Blade Runner, and flying DeLoreans achieve light speed.

It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.

Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.

And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.

For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.

And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.

Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.

A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?


Am I going to read further?
Of course I am. As a science fiction nerd, an online RPG player, and a YA fan, this one is right up my alley. This sounds like an exciting story with a lot of potential, and enough people, including my daughter, reccomending it that it should be a pretty safe bet I will like it.

Jul 20, 2017

Hannah has a pretty amazing story -- she started writing her book when she was just 12 years-old. Fast forward, 8 years later (today), Hannah not only had her book published, but it recently won a gold award in the prestigious 2017 Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Franklin Awards™. She is still pinching herself! The first-time author won in the Children’s/YA-New Voices category.

Kirkus Reviews called Ascension: “an exciting and fast-paced YA paranormal romance with an intriguing plot, well-drawn settings, and solid character development.” Ascension also won first place in 2016 for Young Adult Fiction in the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards.

Now a 20 year-old college student in Tennessee, Hannah is already in the editing stages of the next book in the trilogy (Due out Jan 18).

When she’s not thinking about hybrid human-vampires and the witches they love, or writing a "Geisha-inspired" Bardugo cocktail list, Hannah leads a creative writing group at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, volunteers for various nonprofits, and transcribes “snake handler sermons” for the college’s special collections department.

Here is a recent interview with Hannah from BEA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYHjWpAdPrQ&app=desktop

 

 

Life is supposed to be perfect after Cheyenne Lane's Ascension ceremony, but it turns out awakening her vampire half only complicates things more. Burdened with a patronizing family and constant surveillance by the Vampire Council, Cheyenne welcomes a summer vacation to the magical city of New Orleans. But Cheyenne quickly realizes that she can't escape her problems, no matter where she goes. After seventeen years of fearing exposing her secret to humans, Cheyenne's world is rocked when she starts to fall for a witch named Eli. When he shows Cheyenne how complex the world really is, she must accept that everything she thought she knew about being a Deuxsang is a lie. As if all this isn't problem enough, Cheyenne finds herself the pawn of a conspiracy hatched by those who should be protecting her. Her whole life Cheyenne is told what to believe and who to trust. Now, she's forced to choose for herself who and what is right. No matter which choice she makes, it will cost her everything.

Jul 13, 2017

Caravel by Stephanie Garber
This book was chosen by the Goodreads "YA Book Club" Book of the Month for July.
I thought it might be nice to try a book recommended by such an auspicious group.
4.3 on 461 reviews
Flatiron Books (January 31, 2017)
#6,586 Paid in Kindle Store
3,3,8 in three Teen indices.

https://www.amazon.com/Caraval-Stephanie-Garber-ebook/dp/B01EROYPQE/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=S1GC6N12TQ66WTSMD8J3

Instant New York Times bestseller!
#1 IndieNext Pick!
Entertainment Weekly Must List (Grade: A-)!

Whatever you've heard about Caraval, it doesn't compare to the reality. It's more than just a game or a performance. It's the closest you'll ever find to magic in this world . . .

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. But she nevertheless becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic with the other players in the game. And whether Caraval is real or not, she must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over, a dangerous domino effect of consequences is set off, and her sister disappears forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.

“The Hunger Games meets The Night Circus. Grade: A-.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Impressive, original, wondrous.” —USA Today
“Spellbinding.” —US Weekly
“Magnificent.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“I lost myself in this world.” —Sabaa Tahir, author of An Ember in the Ashes
“Beautifully written.” —Renée Ahdieh, author of The Wrath and the Dawn
“Shimmers with magic.” —Marie Rutkoski, author of The Winner’s Curse
“Darkly enchanting.” —Kiersten White, author of And I Darken
“Decadent.” —Roshani Chokshi, author of The Star-Touched Queen
“Like stepping into a living dream.” —Stacey Lee, author of Outrun the Moon
“Destined to capture imaginations.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Ideal for fans of The Night Circus, Stardust, and The Hunger Games.” —School Library Journal


The first 2 chapters and a pinch of the third are in the Amazon preview and I'm going to read you chapters one and two.


What I liked about these two chapters.
I thought the first chapter was unique and gave us a lot of background and character development without burdening us with a preview. The story obviously begins at the second chapter, but we understand so much from reading Scarlett's letters from the Conquered Isle or Trisde to to Master Legend.

Jul 6, 2017

Hidden Wings by Cameo Renae appears to be the first in a series of five books. The author has a number of other books as well.
4.3 650 review
7842 in the kindle store
2,5, and 5 in three teen fantasy/religeon/spirituality
Published in Dec 2013 (Staying power)

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Wings-Book-One-ebook/dp/B00B27GAC2/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XFCS1J74QK5W0S7ZH86X

Blurb

****Descent, a Hidden Wings Novella, is included in this version of Hidden Wings****

What happens when Darkness and Light collide?

Seventeen is a life changing age for Emma Wise.
As her family's sole survivor in a car crash, she is left with a broken arm, and a few scrapes and bruises. But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered.

Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she’s never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now…she doesn't even know who or what she is.

A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously, captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.

Bonus Material: Hidden Wings Inspired Poem by Amber McCallister.


Amazon Preview has the first three chapters. I am going to read you the first two.
(Read)

My questions from the first two chapters:
Why is she healing so fast?
Will her two good friends play a continueing role in the rest of the novel? I like that she has two nerdy friends who have a lot of personality on their own. Emma is moving far away, from Southern California all the way to Alaska. Though, from the cover blurb, I don't have a lot of hope for that.
I also wonder about the aunt. Having absolutely no knowledge about the aunt, and then having her contact the state so quickly after the accident stretches my suspension of disbelief to an uncomfortable length. I'll read on, but I'll be looking for some explanation about their relationship.

1