Hey there yaReaders, in the absence of an In My Mailbox post this week (no new books = no IMM) I thought I’d share a few exciting releases…

First is the cover for the companion novel to Anna & the French Kiss, which is Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.

“In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think.

For budding costume designer Lola Nolan, the more outrageous the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.

When the family returns and Cricket—a gifted inventor and engineer—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.”

Check out Stephanie’s blog post here, which includes a hint as to how Lola is connected to Anna.

Release date: September 29th 2011 (can’t wait!)

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Next is the sequel to last year’s hugely popular release, Matched which is Crossed by Ally Condie.

“In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky — taken by the Society to his certain death — only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia’s quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander — who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia’s heart — change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever”

Release Date: November 1st 2011

So excited for this one too!

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Lastly, the first of three book trailers in the lead up to the release of Cassandra Clare’s City of Fallen Angels was unveiled this week. The first one is a recap of the series so far, check it out below, I would love to hear your thoughts.

When Hollywood is looking for the next big thing, they often turn to the world of literature for inspiration.

With so many of our favorite YA book titles leaving their prized places on our bookshelves for a stint on the silver screen, it can be hard to keep track of them all.

Here’s the latest news from Hollywood, from the big screen, to your screen.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Release Date: March 23, 2012

Director: Gary Ross
Producer: Nina Jacobsen
Casting Director: Debra Zane
Studio: Lionsgate

Casting and other rumors: If there’s one thing I’ve learnt from keeping an eye on book to movie news is that IMDB.com is full of lies. It’s a bit like wikipedia, anyone with a pro account can edit the information about casting details etc. As of yet none of the characters have been cast yet.

Names such as Hailee Steinfield, Chloe Moretz, Alyson Stoner (ugh please no), Alex Pettyfer (double ugh no) and Elle Fanning have been thrown around but so far all of those are just rumors.

There was also a story going around that the movie would be filmed in North Carolina, which according to Lionsgate is also untrue.

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

Release Date: 2012

Director: Scott Charles Stewart

Casting and other rumors: The same deal with people sabotaging IMDB applies to The Mortal Instruments movie. As of yet only Lily Collins is an official cast member, who will be playing the lead character Clary Fray.

The most talked about casting rumor is of course Alex Pettyfer as Jace, which as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of the idea (for reasons such as too old, too many franchises already etc). At the moment it’s still a rumor, though he has mentioned that he’s read the books, the script and has spoken with director Scott Charles Stewart. We’ll see.

Other (probably false) rumors include Gaspard Ulliel as Alec and Darren Criss as Magnus.

I Am Number Four

Release Date: 18 February 2011 (out now)

Director: D.J. Caruso (Disturbia)
Producer: Michael Bay (Transformers)

Starring: Alex Pettyfer (I know, I know, I’m mentioning him again, but he’s actually in this one!), Dianna Agron (Glee) and Teresa Palmer

I wasn’t a fan of this book but thought the movie had promise. From the few reviews I’ve read it’s not getting a great response. A few cheesy lines, key information lost in the translation of book to screen and too many explosions (well, come on, Michael Bay is involved, there were bound to be explosions). But, I know some people did enjoy it, I’m hoping to check it out soon for myself and find out.

Bits and pieces -

The adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi novel The Host is making slow progress by announcing earlier this month that Susanna White has signed up as the director.

Looks like Selena Gomez has been cast to play Hannah in the adaptation of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher which has been an unpopular choice with fans.

Emma Watson has confirmed she will be starring in The Perks of Being a Wallflower which will start filming in the summer

The movie rights to Veronica Roth’s Divergent have been picked up by billionaires Meg Ellisson. It’s not clear yet which studio will be working on the project buy Summit and Columbia Pictures are possibilities

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and directed by Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet) is set to be filmed in Sydney, Australia and in 3D, which not everyone is thrilled about. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy and Tobey Maguire as the narrator.

I’m sure plenty of our lovely readers in the U.S. and U.K. are already familiar with Rachel Caine’s Morganville vampire series, which we’re happy to announce is now available in Australia!

Blurb from the first book in the series, Glass Houses -

Welcome to Morganville. Just don`t stay out after dark.

Morganville is a small town filled with unusual characters – when the sun goes down, the bad come out. In Morganville, there is an evil that lurks in the darkest shadows – one that will spill out into the bright light of day.

For Claire Danvers, high school was hell, but college may be murder. It was bad enough that she got on the wrong side of Monica, the meanest of the school’s mean girls, but now she’s got three new roomates, who all have secrets of their own. And the biggest secret of all isn’t really a secret, except from Claire: Moranville is run by vampires and they are hungry for fresh blood . . .

We’re also excited to announce that to coincide with the release of Bite Club, the 10th book in the series (which will be released here at the same time as the U.S. and U.K.), Rachel will be visiting for a book tour in May!

More information about the signings will be available closer to the date. In the meantime, happy reading!