Posts Tagged "Young Adult Fiction"

“Five hundred years into the future, the world is a different place. The Melt has sunk most of the coastal cities and Newperth is divided into the haves, the “Centrals”; the have-nots, the “Bankers”; and the fringe dwellers, the “Ferals”.

Rosie Black is a Banker. When Rosie finds an unusual box, she has no idea of the grave consequences of her discovery. A mysterious organisation wants it – and will kill to get it.

Forced to rely on two strangers, Rosie is on the run. But who can she trust? Pip, the too attractive Feral, or the secretive man he calls boss?

From Earth to Mars, Rosie must learn the secrets of the box – before it’s too late.”

Life’s not easy in Rosie Black’s world.

The Melt has devastated the earth and sunken all the coastal cities and forced society into a crippling caste system of the haves, “The Centrals” and the have-nots, “The Bankers”. As a Banker, Rosie and her dad struggle to survive after the shattering loss of Rosie’s mother to the MalX disease.
The world as Rosie Black knows it is very different from the one we know today, and the contents of a seemingly harmless little box are about to turn that world upside down.

The box contains a secret, one so incriminating that the powerful Helios corporation will stop at nothing to get back in their possession. But they’re not the only ones who want to get their hands on it. As it becomes clear that Rosie and her family’s safety is in jeopardy she finds herself on the run without knowing who exactly she’s running from or to where. As she falls into the web of the schemes and plots of others, Rosie must put her trust in Pip, a shady and much too attractive Feral (the outcasts of society) and his boss Riley, a man who keeps his cards, and true identity, close to his chest.

Rosie soon realizes that the situation is bigger than all of them as they race to Mars to put a stop to actions that could have devastating consequences.

Genesis is the very impressive first book in the Rosie Black Chronicles, Lara Morgan’s first foray into young adult fiction. Morgan’s dystopia paints a bleak picture of a society where the people are on the one hand, living in gleaming skyscrapers, making progress in medicine, technology and the colonization of Mars, yet at the same time the other half are struggling in poverty and desperation.

The story is gripping and complex as we uncover the layers of conspiracy and hidden agendas within Helios and to what extent each character has played a part in these schemes.  Genesis at times had a very Hunger Games feel, not just with a strong female like Rosie but also with the author’s no holds barred approach to certain characters.

Like all good villains the one in Genesis is not only not apparent at first, but also has motives that sound logical but are obviously misguided. Our villain is also cold and ruthless, but needed a bit more explanation into what made him so, which will hopefully be seen in the next book.

To balance out the breathless action, we see Rosie as well as Pip battle with their emotions as they come to terms with their pasts and the current circumstance they find themselves in. The relationships between characters felt very organic and believable, and not just in the romantic sense. But, behind Pip’s demeanor and endless, obnoxious flirting could there be real feelings?

Genesis is fabulous novel that takes on the dystopia/sci fi concept and does it well. We have a strong female lead in Rosie and plenty of unresolved issues (and feelings) to take us through to the next book.

Pages: 454
Publication Date: October 2010
Rating: :

Teaser Quote:   “Grunts know how to hit, don’t they?”
The heat in her skin seemed to spread suddenly all over and her heart rate spiked making the machine beep faster. “Get off.”
“You sure?” He glanced at the machine.
“Get. Off.”

You should never judge a book by it’s cover.

Sure….but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Entangled by Cat Clarke
Release Date: January 2011

Some people don’t like having faces on book covers but I think if done well, it can look really good, such as on the cover of Entangled. I love the colors, the red is so vivid and stands out against the white without being too harsh. Does the cover have anything to do with the book? Not sure, from the cover alone you can’t really tell much, other than a girl is probably the main character. Simple but beautiful.

Do you agree? Share your thoughts, leave a comment!

“For more than 500 years Lenah has been a vampire – a life of seduction, blood and destruction. But she is sickened by her dark powers and longs to be a human again. To feel the sun on her skin; the grass under her feet; the warm breath of a human kiss. But that requires a great sacrifice, for the soul of a vampire is not easily shed…”

When sixteen year old Lenah Beaudonte walked out into her father’s orchard in the 15^th century, the last person she thought she’d encounter was Rhode Lewin. In a matter of seconds Rhode’s teeth have sunken deep into her neck and she too becomes a vampire.

Five hundred years on Lenah has risen to become one of the most ruthless and lethal vampires of her kind – and queen to her coven. However life as a vampire has driven her to madness and not even feeding on the innocent stops the feeling of pain and sorrow that comes with a vampire’s existence.

After begging Rhode to find a way to bring her human existence back she hibernates for a hundred years and wakes up to find he is successful – she is human. Her life is restored at the price of Rhode losing his own. Lenah must now blend into the crowd at Wickham – the exclusive boarding school Rhode enrolled her in and keep her new life a secret from her coven who will stop at nothing to bring their queen back.

The concept of Infinite Days is definitely unique in the flood of vampire stories already written.  I loved the insight we got into a vampire’s daily torment – being cut off from your soul, not being able to feel anything other than anger and despair – even a love bond isn’t enough to stop the pain of your existence. It makes you appreciate your own senses and humanity. At any given moment you can smell, touch, taste, hear your heartbeat, cry freely and love without restraint.

I loved flashbacks into Lenah’s life as a vampire and head of her coven and the flashes we got of her coven trying to find her in the present time. I also loved the idea of a badass vampire queen trying to adjust to the 21^st century, but Lenah manages to do it with ease (maybe a bit too easily).

Most books lately have featured love triangles, but in Infinite Days, we’ve got a love pentagon, with not just one, but 4 guys vying for Lenah’s affection. Though her vampire loves, Rhode and Vicken (who I loved), made sense and were believable, her human loves, Justin and Tony, were not.

Tony is Lenah’s first friend at Wickham after her transformation, and he takes her under his wing and guides her around. A cute friendship is formed between them though Tony clearly feels more for Lenah than just friendship. Poor Tony seems to become just an afterthought in Lenah’s life once Justin becomes settled. As Justin starts actively pursuing Lenah, Tony is practically forced to come along to whatever Lenah’s invited to (“But only if Tony goes”) then is mostly ignored on said outings.

What killed this book for me was Lenah and Justin’s relationship, and since it featured so prominently it tainted the whole experience. Why? Because their love is based on nothing. All it took was a look on a sunny day – him being the gorgeous jock and her being the new, pale girl with an accent, and BAM, true luv for like, ever! Justin’s pursuit of Lenah (oh, while he still had a girlfriend) was almost at a stalker level, with him appearing around every corner, ready with a deep, searching gaze and an inexplicable want, no, need to make Lenah happy after seeing her sad in the rain. Geez.

Considering her previous relationships were with Rhode, her maker and Vicken, a member of her coven, who are smart, strong willed and passionate, Justin has the personality of a biscuit in comparison.

If you can look past Lenah and Justin’s relationship you will probably love this book, since I couldn’t, part one of this book was disappointing. Part two, the flashbacks and the ending were much better and made up for a lot of part one’s flaws. It’s got a great concept, well written and leads us into an exciting sequel.

Pages: 395
Publication Date: August 2010
Rating: :

Teaser Quote: “The instant the sun rises, it also begins to set. The moment we are born, we begin to die. All of life is a cycle, Tony.”

Infinite Days was our Bookclub pick of the month, head on over to the forum to join in the discussions

You should never judge a book by it’s cover.

Sure….but they never said we couldn’t admire them. Cover of the Week pays homage to the beautiful and eye catching graphics that grace the covers of our young adult titles.

This week’s cover of the week goes to Across The Universe by Beth Revis
Release Date: January 2011

It’s not every day you get to chat with one of the biggest names in young adult fiction, but we did just that when we spoke to Cassandra Clare.

Her new novel, Clockwork Angel, is the first in the Infernal Devices series and prequel to The Mortal Instruments.

Set in Victorian England, the story follows sixteen-year-old orphan Tessa Gray, whose quiet life is thrown into turmoil when she discovers the secret world of the Shadowhunters as well as her own new shapeshifting abilities. As she draws deeper into their world, she finds herself fascinated and torn between two best friends – Will and Jem, and quickly realizes that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

Since the success of The Mortal Instruments how has your life changed? Do you get recognized out on the street?

That had never happened! Most people haven’t the faintest idea what writers look like. Only once, when I was in Ireland, did a stranger recognize me. I was on TV there talking about literacy and gothic literature for children. When I got to the airport in Dublin to fly home the woman who patted me down said “I know who you are, you were on TV! You are a writer!”

You’ve taken to twitter like a fish to water, which as fans, we really love and appreciate – what is it about it that you like?

Ironically I swore up and down forever that I would NEVER go on Twitter, that it would just suck all my time and I’d never get anything done. Then I found out someone was impersonating me on Twitter — pretending to be me and answering reader questions and the like. I was furious — they’d even replied to messages from my boyfriend as if they were me — so I had to create a “No, THIS is me” Twitter account. And of course I immediately got addicted. It’s such a quick way to get news out, and a great way to network and meet new people without the effort of writing a whole blog post.

Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?

Smooth.

The Mortal Instruments series was set in New York why did you opt to set the Infernal Devices in London?

Because London is one of my favorite cities — and why work so hard creating a demon-fighting force that spans the globe if you’re not going to visit new locations? Also, the first inkling of the book came to me in London — I was crossing Blackfriars Bridge and I had this sudden strong image in my head of a girl and a boy, in the period costume of the mid-Victorian era, standing on the bridge at night — and from one end of the bridge, unseen by them, was an army of clockwork creatures approaching. It was very creepy and I knew immediately it was historical, and that it would be set in my favorite London period, the mid-Victorian era.

What research did you do for the Victorian setting?

For six months I read only books written during, or written about, the Victorian period. I did a lot of reading of first-hand sources: journals kept at the time period, the travel accounts of tourists visiting England from America (since Tessa is American, in London for the first time) and newspapers of the period. I also employed a research assistant — Lisa Gold — to track down hard to find photographs of locations in the time period, and went to London several times myself to map out routes and select locations.

There’s a lot of dialogue about the Accords – they seem to take on more significance in this series than in Mortal Instruments?

That’s because in the Mortal Instruments the Accords have been around for a hundred years, while in the ID books they’re new. The Accords are a fact of life for the Shadowhunters in MI, but in ID they’ve changed everything — the new generation is embracing them, but the older generation of Shadowhunters hates them. In fact, the older generation of Downworlders doesn’t like them all that much. You can draw a parallel with any sort of progressive civil rights movement — it usually takes people a while to catch up and do the right thing.

*** Spoilers Ahead ***

Due to their line of work, Shdowhunters tend to live shorter lives while most Downworlders, such as warlocks and vampires, can live for a very long time. It seems that Tessa is set for some lonely years ahead?

You mean because both of her love interests are mortal? Well, there has to be a downside to immortality, doesn’t there? And besides, who knows what’s going to happen in the next two books . . .

When shape shifted into a vampire Tessa’s heart stopped beating and her skin felt cold. If she were to shift into a Shadowhunter would she gain some of their abilities too? Could she draw a rune?

Not without reading the Gray Book. She’d be a Shadowhunter, but she wouldn’t have their knowledge, just like when she becomes Camille, she doesn’t immediately know everything about vampires.

It looks like certain personality traits are inherited, how would a meeting between Will and Jace go down? Battle of wits?

Yes, they would probably both instantly hate each other and try to out-sarcasm the other one.

In some earlier blurbs Tessa’s last name is Fell but now it’s Gray, did it have anything to do with Ragnor Fell?

Oh, character names change all the time. Remember those earlier blurbs date from a time when City of Glass wasn’t finished, so Ragnor Fell wasn’t Ragnor Fell. He had some other last name. When I settled on Fell for him, I changed Tessa’s last name so no one would think there was a connection. Also there’s a reason her last name is so close to Clary’s false last name, Fray.

If you could spend the day with one of your characters (TMI or ID) which would it be?

Magnus— he seems like he’d be fun to shop with.

Though I’m sure for the most part your lips are sealed, what can you tell us about the next book Clockwork Prince?

I can tell you that the secret to Will’s bizarre behavior will be revealed; that we will meet Gabriel Lightwood’s older brother (the one who’s reportedly even grouchier than he is) and that by the end of the book at least one character we know has gotten engaged.

Character Q’s  – We get a little cameo appearance from some of the amazing new characters from Clockwork Angel.

Tessa, we spot you at the end of City of Glass, what was it like seeing the descendants of people you were very close to?

Tessa: I’ll just say that seeing Jace was a bit like seeing a ghost.

Jem, you’re rocking the silver hair which is unusual for someone of your age, do you think you’ll bring it back in fashion?

Jem: I wouldn’t mind if my hair color was a bit less unusual, as I dislike being a curiosity, but I’d hate to have people repeat the experience that made my hair look like it does.

Will, you’re quite a mysterious person and in a way, I’m not sure what to ask, I’m kind of speechless. Do you find you have that affect on people often?

Will: It’s quite natural to have the urge to fall down and worship me as a sort of god. Feel free to go about it. I won’t even notice.

How’s everyone feel about Church moving in?

Jem: He’s a fine little cat.

Tessa: He does tend to come up upon one at unnerving times. He’s made me jump into the air several times.

Will: That’s nothing, I found him staring at me in the bath the other day. Of course, given the chance, who wouldn’t?

Jessamine: We have a cat?

Charlotte: He certainly is an unusual cat. I’d like the Silent Brothers to look at him.

Henry: I could dissect him.

Everyone else: NO.

Ah Will, always a flirt. A big thank you to Cassandra Clare!
Make sure you gets your hands on a copy today, Clockwork Angel is available in store and online now at all good book stores.