Ever since hearing the author of Tender Morsels, Margo Lanagan, speak while I was in Chicago, I have waited for time to read this book. I had heard mixed reviews, especially that the beginning of the story is controversial and hard to get through. I am on page 114, I think I got through the beginning since at 436 pages I am almost a third of the way through the book, but I am feeling that this is one of the very few books I have ever started that I will be unable to finish. The beginning was rough- it took me awhile to figure out what they were talking about- a 14 year old girl is being abused by her father and is forced to miscarry before she even realizes what is happening to her- but her circumstances change and the story just gets confusing. Part of me thinks I should battle through another 50 pages of so to see if things improve because this book was a runner up for the 2009 Printz Award (the best of YA literature), won an Honor and is on the Best Books for YA 2009 list.

I often have a hard time seeing what the committees see in some of the award-winning books. I did LOVE a few of the ones that won prizes recently: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (the Newbery winner)and Graceling by Kristen Cashore. But I had trouble with Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (the Printz winner), Ocatavian Nothing by MT Anderson, Nation by Terry Pratchett and Madapple by Christina Meldrum- these stories are very convoluted, intense and confusing- maybe its me and these just aren't my kind of stories. I'll keep trying!

These are three of the most anticipated sequels being published this fall.

Fire (Oct. 09) by Kristen Cashore, is the sequel/prequel to Graceling which was runner-up for the Wm. Morris Award for best new YA author in 2009. If you haven't read Graceling, its a MUST READ! Fire can be read as an independent book- I was able to get an ARC (advanced reader copy) and thoroughly enjoyed it (by the way if anyone local wants to borrow it let me know).

Barry Lyga's Goth Girl Rising (Oct. 09) is the sequel to The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl which was hugely popular when it came out a few years ago. Lyga has been busy writing other YA novels- Boy Toy and Hero-Type- but we're glad he's back with this sequel! I have just received the ARC for Goth Girl Rising and will make it available, too, as soon as I've finished it!

And finally- but most important is Catching Fire (Sept. 09), the sequel to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This is going to be THE BOOK OF THE YEAR! I tried really hard to get an ARC, but was unable to. I have heard from those who did that the book is fantastic- even better than The Hunger Games (which if you haven't read YOU MUST)- if that's possible! I cannot wait to read this one.

I was recently in Chicago for the American Library Association's Annual Conference and while there, I sat in on a meeting of the Best Books for Young Adults Committee. As the committee voted on possible titles to put on the 2010 BBYA list, I made notes of the books I was unfamiliar with. When I returned to my library I found we owned most of them so I checked several out and have started reading them.

The first one- sure to make the list as everyone on the committee voted for it- is If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Mia is 17 when she is forced to make a very difficult decision- and she thought having to decide to leave her boyfriend, Adam, to sty the cello at Julliard was going to be hard- when her family is killed in a terrible car accident. Mia must chose between following her family, or "what if I stay?"

A few of the other titles I checked out which are bound for the BBYA list are:

Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine

The Comet's Curse by Dom Testa

Marcelo in the Real World by Fransisco Stork

Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson

Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial America by Sally Walker (nonfiction)

If you read any of these please share your thoughts with me.

I've decided that I really enjoy reading graphic novels.

It took me a while to get comfortable with the genre- which bubbles to read when, looking at the pictures to fill-in-the-blanks in the text- and I find that I can appreciate the critical thinking involved in reading a graphic novel. I have a whole new appreciation for how these can be used as educational tools (a BIG topic of dicussion at a recent conference I attended).

Besides all that, however, the stories and characters are very engaging! Brian Vaughan has authored both Runaways (a YA series) and Y: The Last Man (an adult series- be advised there is adult content). I purchased 8 & 9 of Runaways in Chicago recently and I have asked our adult fiction book buyer to purchase 7-10 of Y: The Last Man which it seems no library in Colorado owns.

Runaways is the story of a group of kids who suspect their parents membership in the evil Pride. Are their parents really evil or were they just protecting their young?

Y: The Last Man is a futuristic story of a time when a plague of some sort has wiped out every Y chromosome on earth except for one man and one male monkey- interesting premise- I have yet to read vol. 7-10 but am looking forward to getting my hands on them!

Check out this link to Simon & Schuster's Mortal Instruments series website. Cassandra Clare is offering links to her first 3 books until August 10th @ http://promo.simonandschuster.com/mortalinstruments/

I was recently handed a new YA title from a local author famous for her children’s books, the Adventures of Fraser the Yellow Dog series. The Blue Bottle is Jill Sheeley’s first foray into the world of young adults, although she has one at home. Her daughter Courtney is one of the main characters in this new story. Local readers will recognize the mountains of Colorado while also traveling on an adventure in the Caribbean . The story is told in the voices of two 15 year-old girls’ journaling. The girls’ handwriting fonts differ, making the back and forth chapters easy to follow as their stories parallel. Throughout their stories, Courtney and Natalie grow and discover, not only the world around them, but themselves and their place with their families. Some travel, a few pirates, new found love and a sailboat help to move the stories along to their inevitable juncture. http://www.jillsheeleybooks.com/