Pubsicle #18
Flavor of the week: Frozen Peach Penguin Swirl
Pubsicle is a weekly meme that combines our two favorite things – ice cream and books. We hand the reigns over to some of our awesome publishers as they highlight what upcoming releases they’re excited about.
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 1, 2011
Ally Condie is a former high school English teacher who lives with her husband and three sons outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, running, eating, and listening to her husband play guitar.
Website: www.allysoncondie.com
Brotherband Chronicles: The Outcast by John Flanagan
They are outcasts. Hal, Stig, and the others – they are the boys the others want no part of. Skandians, as any reader of Ranger’s Apprentice could tell you, are known for their size and strength. Not these boys. Yet that doesn’t mean they don’t have skills. And courage – which they will need every ounce of to do battle at sea against the other bands, the Wolves and the Sharks, in the ultimate race. The icy waters make for a treacherous playing field . . . especially when not everyone thinks of it as playing.
John Flanagan, author of the international phenomenon Ranger’s Apprentice, creates a new cast of characters to populate his world of Skandians and Araluens, a world millions of young readers around the world have come to know and admire. Full of seafaring adventures and epic battles, Book 1 of The Brotherband Chronicles is sure to thrill readers of Ranger’s Apprentice while enticing a whole new generation just now discovering the books.
Release Date: November 1, 2011
John Flanagan grew up in Sydney, Australia, hoping to be a writer. It wasn’t until he wrote a highly uncomplimentary poem about a senior executive at the agency where he worked, however, that his talent was revealed. It turned out one of the company directors agreed with John’s assessment of the executive, and happily agreed to train John in copywriting.
John began writing Ranger’s Apprentice for his son, Michael, ten years ago, and is still hard at work on the series. He currently lives in a suburb of Manly, Australia, with his wife. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons
Website: www.rangersapprentice.com
Playground by 50 Cent
Thirteen-year-old Butterball doesn’t have much going for him. He’s teased mercilessly about his weight. He hates the Long Island suburb his mom moved them to and wishes he still lived with his dad in the city. And now he’s stuck talking to a totally out-of-touch therapist named Liz.
Liz tries to uncover what happened that day on the playground—a day that landed one kid in the hospital and Butterball in detention. Butterball refuses to let her in on the truth, and while he evades her questions, he takes readers on a journey through the moments that made him into the playground bully he is today.
Release Date: November 1, 2011
50 Cent is a hip-hop artist who founded the G-Unit Books imprint.
The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
It’s 1996, and less than half of all American high school students have ever used the Internet. Emma just got her first computer and an America Online CD-ROM. Josh is her best friend. They power up and log on–and discover themselves on Facebook, fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what their Destiny will be. Josh and Emma are about to find out.
Release Date: November 21, 2011
Jay Asher was born in Arcadia, California on September 30, 1975. He grew up in a family that encouraged all of his interests, from playing the guitar to his writing. He attended Cuesta College right after graduating from high school. It was here where he wrote his first two children’s books for a class called Children’s Literature Appreciation.
Carolyn graduated from Vassar College. When her book The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things was named as one of ALAs Top Ten Banned Books of 2006, Carolyn became an advocate against banning books. She lives with her husband and son in New York City.
Website: jayasher.blogspot.com
Website: www.carolynmackler.com
Legend by Marie Lu
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.
From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths – until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
Release Date: November 29, 2011
Marie Lu writes young adult novels, and has a special love for dystopian books. Ironically, she was born in 1984. Before becoming a full-time writer, she was an Art Director at a video game company where she enjoyed discussing Facebook game apps with her co-workers, hearing amusing insider stories about World of Warcraft bugs, and delighting in cute 3D renditions of buildings–all via Skype.
Website: www.marielu.org
Penguin USA can be found online at penguingroup.com.
Pubsicle #17
Flavor of the week : Orange Penguin Delight
Pubsicle is a weekly meme that combines our two favorite things – ice cream and books. We hand the reigns over to some of our awesome publishers as they highlight what upcoming releases they’re excited about.
It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?
It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.
But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started–at Cousins Beach.
Release Date: April 27th, 2010
Jenny Han was born in Richmond, Virginia, and later studied at the University of North Carolina. She now lives in New York where she works part-time as a children’s librarian, in between writing her new series for teens.
Website:
Reviews:
Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn
The sirens are back, but Vanessa may be the biggest threat of all. . . .
Nothing has been normal since Vanessa Sands learned that her sister was murdered by sirens—femme fatales of the watery depths—and that everything she believed about her family was a lie.
Her boyfriend Simon’s been the only person Vanessa feels she can really trust. But now there are some secrets she can’t tell even him. And when Vanessa finds herself in the sights of Parker, Hawthorne Prep’s resident charmer, she needs someone to confide in more than ever. Doubting her relationship with Simon, unsure of Parker’s intentions—and of her own—and terrified by what she’s learned about herself, Vanessa has never felt so alone.
But personal problems must be put aside, because the Winter Harbor sirens are back for revenge. Now, Vanessa must face her past and accept that she is just like her enemies—every bit as alluring, every bit as dangerous.
The eagerly anticipated second novel of the Siren trilogy, Undercurrent is a seductive paranormal romance that will leave you breathless.
Release date: July 12th, 2011
Tricia Rayburn is the author of the Maggie Bean Series, Ruby’s Slippers, both published by Simon & Schuster’s US tween imprint, ‘In The Mix’. Siren is her first project for a young-adult audience.
Website: triciarayburn.blogspot.com
Reviews:
Alaska by Sue Saliba
mia’s heart made a sound that no one heard except for mia
late one night when she woke from dreams into darkness.
ethan was asleep beside her, and em was a forest away.
outside it was night and dark and alaska.the sky was upside down.
When Mia follows her sister halfway across the world to Alaska, she discovers that love can be found in the most unexpected and beautiful of places. But can Mia find the courage to follow her heart in Alaska? And what if the one you love is not all that you wish them to be?
A lyrical new novel from the winner of the 2009 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction with something in the world called love.
Release date: June 6th, 2011
Sue Saliba lives on Phillip Island in Victoria with her husband Bruno, her two cats Minou and Charbon, and her dog Sally. She has previously published the young adult novel Watching Seagulls, and the children’s book The Skin of a Star, as well as short stories and poetry. Her second novel something in the world called love won the Victorian Premier’s Award for young adult fiction and the APA Design Awards Best Children’s Cover. Alaska is her third novel.
Website: www.suesaliba.com
Reviews:
Visit Penguin Australia’s online space for Teens at Between the Lines.
Pubsicle #16
Flavor of the week : Frozen Lolli Smart Pop
Pubsicle is a weekly meme that combines our two favorite things – ice cream and books. We hand the reigns over to some of our awesome publishers as they highlight what upcoming releases they’re excited about.
Nyx in the House of Night: Mythology, Folklore and Religion in the PC and Kristin Cast
With more than 10 million copies sold internationally, and 7 million copies in print in North America alone, P.C. and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series, featuring fledgling teenage vampyre Zoey Redbird and her friends at the Oklahoma House of Night vampyre boarding school, is more than just another vampire series.
A big part of the reason is its strong mythological underpinnings. From Nyx, the goddess worshipped by the series vampyres, to the Cherokee legend that drives the plot, the House of Night series is infused with elements from multiple mythos and religious traditions to create a new, modern mythology all its own.
Edited by P.C. Cast, Nyx in the House of Night—a 2-color illustrated guide to the House of Night series—brings these rich mythological influences to life, providing the real-world stories behind the series and insight into the way those stories are used to create the captivating story of Zoey and the House of Night.
Chapters includes:
• Wiccan ritual
• The original story of Erebus and Nyx
• Cherokee mythology
• The historical significance of tattoos
• And more
The book also includes an original introduction and chapter on Scottish folklore by P.C. Cast herself.
Release Date: June 7th, 2011
P.C. Cast is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author, as well as an experienced speaker and teacher. In addition to her New York Times bestselling paranormal YA series for St. Martin’s, The House of Night, she writes the popular Goddess Summoning Books for Berkley, and epic fantasy novels set in the world of Partholon for LUNA. Her novels have been awarded the prestigious: Prism, Holt Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, Booksellers’ Best, and Laurel Wreath.
Currently she lives and teaches in Oklahoma with her talented daughter who is attending college, her spoiled cat (who has refused higher education), and her Scottie dogs – better known as The Scottinators. Ms. Cast loves to hear from her fans and can be reached through her website, pccast.net.
Contributors to Nyx in the House of Night include: Kristin Cast, Jordan Dane, Karen Mahoney, Jana Oliver, Christine Zika, Amy H. Sturgis, Jeri Smith-Ready, Ellen Steiber, Bryan Lankford, John Edgar Browning, Trinity Faegen, and Yasmine Galenorn
Website:
The Girl Who Was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games Trilogy
Katniss Everdeen’s adventures may have come to an end, but her story continues to blaze in the hearts of millions worldwide.
In The Girl Who Was on Fire, thirteen YA authors take you back to Panem with moving, dark, and funny pieces on Katniss, the Games, Gale and Peeta, reality TV, survival, and more.
· How does the way the Games affect the brain explain Haymitch’s drinking, Annie’s distraction, and Wiress’ speech problems?
· What does the rebellion have in common with the War on Terror?
· Why isn’t the answer to “Peeta or Gale?” as interesting as the question itself?
· What should Panem have learned from the fates of other hedonistic societies throughout history—and what can we?
Release date: April 5, 2011
Leah Wilson graduated from Duke University with a degree in Culture and Modern Fiction and is currently Editor-in-Chief, Smart Pop, at BenBella Books. She lives in Cambridge, Mass.
Contributors: Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Mary Borsellino, Sarah Rees Brennan, Terri Clark, Bree Despain, Adrienne Kress, Sarah Darer Littman, Cara Lockwood, Elizabeth M. Rees, Carrie Ryan, Ned Vizzini, Lili Wilkinson, Blythe Woolston
The Psychology of Twilight
It doesn’t take a trained psychologist to see that the Twilight Saga has tapped into its readers’ psyches . . . but psychology has plenty to offer when it comes to understanding what makes Twilight so dearly loved.
Led by husband-and-wife team E. David Klonksy, PhD, and Alexis Black, the psychologists contributing to The Psychology of Twilight look at love, family, vampires, werewolves, and our Twilight obsession, and offer more than a dozen fascination new angles on the series—just in time for the November 2011 release of Breaking Dawn, part one.
• Why Edward captivates Bella (it’s not the perfect face or chiseled abs—it’s as chemical as Edward’s attraction to the smell of Bella’s blood)
• Vampirism as eating disorder (and what we can learn from how the Cullens cope)
• Twilight’s rejection of strict dualities like good/evil and human/monster and what that has to do with the way our minds process experience and information
• The psychological benefits of Twilight fandom
. . . and more fresh insights into the series that’s enthralled millions.
Release date: October 4, 2011
E. David Klonsky, PhD, received his BA in Psychology and English Literature from Washington University in St. Louis, and his MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Virginia. Currently, Dr. Klonsky is assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia.
Alexis Black received her BA in Anthropology and Slavic Studies, and her MA in Slavic Languages and Literature from the University of Virginia. She is currently working on her PhD in Linguistics at the University of British Columbia.
Contributors to The Psychology of Twilight include David A. Frederick, Erica Berg, Susan Carnell, Melissa Burkley, Amanda M. Vicary, Jennifer L. Rosner, Mikhail Lyubansky, Robin S. Rosenberg, Jeremy Clyman, Catherine Glenn, Lisa Dinella, Gary Lewandowski, Tamara Greenberg, Peter Stromberg, and Pamela Rutledge.
You can enter Smart Pop’s giveaway here.
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