Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Congratulations to the 2013 Graduates!



Congratulations to the current and/or upcoming graduating class of 2013!  Look back at the journey you have completed and give yourselves a pat on the back, but make sure to also keep looking forward... there's so much more to come!

Enjoy an inspiring commencement speech via YA literature author, John Green.  (He certainly has a way with words.)

If you want to watch the video, here's the link: (just be aware his speech doesn't start until 1:01:08)






Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy

The 2012 Nebula Award Winners have been announced by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America. According to their site:

The Nebula Awards® are voted on and presented by the active members of SFWA for outstanding science fiction and fantasy published in 2012. The awards were announced at the Nebula Awards® Banquet held at in San Jose, CA, May 16-20.


The Winner of the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy is:

Fair Coin, E.C. Myers
When evil versions of himself and best friend Nate appear one day, teenaged Ephraim embarks on a dangerous odyssey through parallel worlds to make things right.


Here is the list of the nominees:


Iron Hearted Violet, Kelly Barnhill
"Princess Violet is plain, reckless, and quite possibly too clever for her own good, particularly when it comes to telling stories. One day she and her best friend, Demetrius, stumble upon a hidden room and find a peculiar book. A forbidden book. It tells a story of an evil being -- called the Nybbas -- imprisoned in their world. The story cannot be true -- not really. But then the whispers start. Violet and Demetrius, along with an ancient, scarred dragon, may hold the key to the Nybbas's triumph . . . or its demise"

Black Heart, Holly Black
Cassel Sharpe, a powerful transformation worker, is torn between his decision to work for the federal government and his love for Lila, who has joined her father's criminal organization.

Above, Leah Bobet
When insane exile Corner and his army of mindless, whispering shadows invade Safe, a secret underground community of freaks and disabled outcasts, Matthew, traumatized shapeshifter Ariel, and other misfits go to the dangerous place known as Above, where Matthew makes a shocking discovery about the histories entrusted to him.

The Diviners, Libba Bray
Seventeen-year-old Evie O'Neill is thrilled when she is exiled from small-town Ohio to New York City in 1926, even when a rash of occult-based murders thrusts Evie and her uncle, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult, into the thick of the investigation.

Vessel, Sarah Beth Durst
When the goddess Bayla fails to take over Liyana's body, Liyana's people abandon her in the desert to find a more worthy vessel, but she soon meets Korbyn, who says the souls of seven deities have been stolen and he needs Liyana's help to find them.

Seraphina, Rachel Hartman
In a world where dragons and humans coexist in an uneasy truce and dragons can assume human form, Seraphina, whose mother died giving birth to her, grapples with her own identity amid magical secrets and royal scandals, while she struggles to accept and develop her extraordinary musical talents.

Enchanted, Alethea Kontis
When Sunday Woodcutter, the youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week, kisses an enchanted frog, he transforms back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland--a man Sunday's family despises.

Every Day, David Levithan
Every morning A wakes in a different person's body, in a different person's life, learning over the years to never get too attached, until he wakes up in the body of Justin and falls in love with Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon.

Summer of the Mariposas, Guadalupe Garcia McCall
In an adventure reminiscent of Homer's Odyssey, fifteen-year-old Odilia and her four younger sisters embark on a journey to return a dead man to his family in Mexico, aided by La Llorona, but impeded by a witch, a warlock, chupacabras, and more.

Railsea, China MiƩville
Traveling aboard the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap finds something amidst the wreckage of another train, a treasure map showing a mythical place untouched by iron rails, which leads him on a journey of danger and excitement.


Above World, Jenn Reese
In a future of high technology and genetic modification the Coral Kampii, like legendary mermaids, live isolated from the Above World, but when the devices that allows them to breathe underwater start to fail, thirteen-year-old Aluna and her friend Hoku go to that forbidden place to find help.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Winner of the 2013 Teen Choice Book Award

 
Exciting book news:  John Green's The Fault in Our Stars has won the coveted Teen Choice Book Award!  This hugely popular title was chosen as the winner by kids and teens across the country.  Check out the Teenreads site to see the announcement!  

Winner:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.









Additional Nominees:


Cinder by Marissa Meyer
As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.












 Rapture: A Fallen Novel by Lauren Kate
While searching for the place where the angels fell to earth to stop Lucifer from erasing the past, Luce and Daniel make a startling discovery about their love.












Insurgent by Veronica Roth
One choice can transform you -- or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves -- and herself -- while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction ; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horror.










 City of Lost Souls: The Mortal Instruments Book 5 by Cassandra Clare
When Jace vanishes with Sebastian, Clary and the Shadowhunters struggle to piece together their shattered world and Clary infiltrates the group planning the world's destruction.

Enter your email address to receive updates about new blog posts:

Delivered by FeedBurner