Review: Dead is the New Black

Dead is the New Black (Dead Is, book one)
By Marlene Perez, read by Suzy Jackson
Published 2010 by Brilliance Audio

Daisy comes from a family of psychics - unfortunately, she isn't one herself. However, Daisy begins to take matters into her own hands when teen girls start disappearing in town. So, while her mother is using her psychic abilities to help the police, Daisy begins conducting an investigation of her own. But has she put herself in danger with her amateur sleuthing?

This is another of my many audiobook whims - usually I just browse the titles available for download and, if I've ever had any sort of interest in one I see, I download it and give it a shot. I thought this series sounded different so, when I spotted the first title, it was my opportunity to try it out. I really liked the narrator for this one - she had the perfect voice to embody Daisy's character. Daisy's narrative voice felt very authentic as well - I never once questioned that this was a teenager talking. Some of the plot is a bit cheesy, but I kind of expected that from the bright pink cover. It's also pretty predictable, especially the romantic aspect, but, once again, this didn't come as much of a shock. This was a very quick listen - I imagine an even quicker read, as it's less than 200 pages long. Quite a bit happens in the book, so it feels a bit crammed and rushed at times, but there are also still a few questions left to explore. This is a very obvious set-up for the sequels that have followed, and I'm curious enough to pick up the next one at some point down the road. Overall, this was a case where the cover suited the content very well - a quick, girly read with a supernatural twist. Those intimidated by longer supernatural fare should check out this title.

Event: Young Adult Literature Symposium, Day One

If I were a better prepared blogger, you would have already read about my experiences at YALSA's YA Lit Symposium, held at the beginning of November in St. Louis, Missouri. Alas, time seems to be continually slipping away from me, so you're getting my write-up with a bit of a delay. The good news is that the things I heard and saw were about lasting contributions to YA lit and programming for teens. As I did for the Texas Book Festival, I'm going to split my recap up into two parts because there is a lot to cover!

I arrived in St. Louis on Friday afternoon after a very long drive (you can see why I love audiobooks so much!). We had a couple hours to kill before the opening reception (I was not able to take advantage of the pre-conferences this time around), so we headed to the zoo. If a city I'm visiting has a zoo, it's pretty much guaranteed to be my first spot. Anyway, since this is not a review of my trip but of the conference, I won't bore you with my recap of the zoo. But it was lovely. Friday night held an opening reception for the conference. I guess I should have expected that it would just be a mixer and networking reception, but I didn't. I'm pretty socially awkward, so the forced interaction of "People Bingo" is never my cup of tea. I had expected some sort of opening remarks by the YALSA president or someone equally official. Instead, I milled around awkwardly, signing my name on squares for folks only once they approached me. I was thrilled when I met up with some friends and colleagues and basically clung to them from that point on. After a couple hours of "mingling," we left. We went to dinner at a very cool burger joint and that was it for the night.

Saturday is when the conference really kicked off. I'm pretty sure that the very first panel I attended spoiled the rest of the conference for me. I started my first YA Lit Symposium with "YA Literature and Fan-Created Work." I absolutely adored this panel. Moderated by Robin Brenner (of No Flying, No Tights), the panel was composed of Liz Burns (A Chair, A Fireplace, & a Tea Cozy), Leslee Friedman (Organization for Transformative Work), and Aja Romano (The Daily Dot). I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from this panel, but I'm so glad I attended. Panelists provided us with an introduction to fan-created work and the language that accompanies it, as well as a thoughtful and insightful production on how important fandom and creating fan work is to today's teens. Friedman also discussed the legality of fan-created work (what I took away: if the fan work is transformative, it's legal). We were able to see some examples of various types of fanart and a really wonderful video of teens discussing their fandom and their work. It's strange - when I was a teenager and we first got our computer, I remember reading fanfiction and loving it. Of course, I knew that fanfiction still existed but I never made the connection between my own enjoyment of fanfiction as a teenager and today's teens. This panel was informative and entertaining and definitely made me want to have a fanart night for the teens at the library.

After a short break, I moved on to the next panel, "The Future of Review Guidance." The panel was comprised mainly of contributors to the Adult Books 4 Teens blog and wasn't exactly as illuminating as I hoped. Actually, I think this panel and I got off on the wrong foot. The very first thing discussed was the definition of review - essentially critical analysis of a title - and its difference from reader response - mainly what I do here on the blog. Though the panelists all agreed that there was a place for both, I felt a bit like reader response was less valuable than critical review. It made me wonder if I'm not taking my blog in the right direction and if I should even continue blogging if I can't commit the time to critical review of every title I read. It's not that I don't think critically about what I read - I feel it's nearly impossible to be a librarian and not think critically about what you read. I just don't find myself with enough time to write a critical review; lately, I'm finding it hard to find time for reader response. Also, I don't feel like I have the authority to provide critical review - it sort of reminds me of writing essays on English literature, something I haven't done in years. I don't think I could express my thoughts eloquently enough to make my attempts at critical analysis worthwhile. So, from the get-go, I felt, as a blogger, that I was less than what this panel was discussing and that made it difficult for me to focus on what was actually being discussed. This is, of course, my own personal hang-up, and I'm sure other attendees got a lot out of the panel. It just made me feel a bit dejected about blogging.

There was a lengthy break for lunch at that point; conference attendees had the option of an optional author luncheon feature David Levithan and Patricia McCormick. Since I was paying out of my own pocket for attending, I had to pass on the luncheon, so I met up with my boyfriend (he accompanied me on the trip so he could see an old college friend) to grab some lunch and check out Busch Stadium (home of the Cardinals).

After our lunch break, I headed to "A Matter of Facts and Fiction: Giving Teens a Research Edge through YA Author Panels." Maybe I was in a bit of a food coma, but the majority of this presentation just did not sink in with me. According to the description, five authors were there to discuss a pilot program in which teens and authors came together to face the trials and tribulations of doing research in an increasingly digital world. I guess I sort of got that, vaguely, but to me, it seemed most of the presentation consisted of the authors discussing how they did research for their novels. That's fine, and most of what they discussed was very interesting, particularly since their novels are all markedly different. I guess I expected something more along the lines of either how to connect teens with authors, or how to get teens the nonfiction they wanted and enjoyed. So, my lack of enthusiasm for this panel is probably as much my fault as anything else.

The final session on Saturday that I attended was called "Make it Pop: How to Use Pop Culture in Your Library." This was another fun session, though I don't think it was as helpful as it was entertaining. The session started with sort of a definition of popular culture and what it means to teens. Then, the discussion moved to ways to incorporate popular culture into programming and displays for the library. The point was made that popular culture trends change much more quickly than they did in previous years and, if you can't stay current with what's popular, maybe you shouldn't run a program or put up a display based on pop culture. For example, is it still relevant to make a display or run a program based on Twilight? Well, the final movie did just come out a few weeks ago, but it's certainly not as culturally relevant as it was a couple years ago. If you run a program or put up a display based on something that's already had its moment in the spotlight but isn't there anymore, you run the risk of alienating your teen population by seeming like you don't really know what will appeal to them. There is almost nothing worse than being a teen librarian whose teen patrons think is uncool. I was pleased to see a lot of discussion about fandom again during this program - we really need to figure out ways to capitalize on this here in libraryland. One audience member did comment that one of the easiest and most successful teen programs she's done was a "Fan Art Night" - she set out art supplies and invited teens to come and create fan art. Simple and effective - what we strive all programs to be like.

The day actually ended with an author book blitz - each attendee was given five tickets, which they could turn in for a signed book from one of the authors in attendance. There isn't terribly much to say about this event - it seemed to run smoothly. A few authors ran out of books early on, but I wasn't too surprised by that. I had circled the authors I was interested in meeting and the books I thought sounded good, but there was nothing I absolutely needed to have (well, I would have really liked to get a copy of A.S. King's newest but that was pretty much the first one to go). I just moseyed around and got copies of ones I thought I'd like to try.

And that was day one of YALSA's YA Lit Symposium! Stay tuned for day two!

Picture Book Saturday (44)

Let's Go For a Drive
By Mo Willems
Published 2012 by 2012
I know that I have professed my love for Willems before, but seriously - if you are not reading these, you are definitely missing out. The Elephant & Piggie books are really for all ages - it's impossible to read them without laughing out loud, feeling moved by the beautiful friendship between the two main characters, and acting out the best parts. In their newest adventure, the friends want to hit the road, but, Gerald being Gerald, there is a bit of a delay in getting started (Gerald is just a very cautious elephant). I absolutely love everything about this book and I think this series is just getting better and better. Please keep doing what you're doing, Mo!

Think Big
By Liz Garton Scanlon, illustrated by Vanessa Newton
Published 2012 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
This is a very fun and inclusive celebration of art. Scanlon and Newton embrace all forms of art - acting, dancing, singing, painting, cooking, and more. It's really lovely to see Scanlon illuminate the meaning of art, and it will be important for kids to see that many of their favorite activities are art. The illustrations are very stylistic and complement the text wonderfully. This book is perfectly suited to toddlers and preschoolers - short text and bright colors will catch their eyes and keep them engaged.

I'm Not Sleepy

By Jane Chapman

Published 2012 by Good Books

I'm a sucker for Chapman's illustrations - they are just so adorable and I want to cuddle all the little creatures she depicts so sweetly. Even with my dislike of birds, this new book of hers is no exception. A little owlet is absolutely not sleepy, no matter what Grandma says. Mo will try everything he can think of to put off bedtime and Grandma, being a grandma, obliges. Eventually, though, she'll prove she can outwit little Mo and get him to sleep. This is a very fun bedtime story and would work well in a pajama storytime.

If I Built a House

By Chris Van Dusen

Published 2012 by Dial

Jack has a big imagination, as we learned in Van Dusen's earlier If I Built a Car. Now, he's thinking that his family's house could use some improvements - a racetrack here, a flying room there - the possibilities are endless! In rhyming text, Van Dusen shows what wonders a house could hold if the design were left to a kid. I think he hits on all the things that kids enjoy most in his house design and readers will love imagining how wonderful a house like this would be. I think Van Dusen's style is beautiful with its retro flair and vivid color palette. This is sure to be a hit.

Review: A Nest for Celeste

A Nest for Celeste: A Story about Art, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Home
By Henry Cole
Published 2010 by Katherine Tegen Books

Celeste lives a quiet life under the floorboards of her plantation. But her quiet life is about to be disturbed as her plantation plays host to the famous naturalist John James Audubon and his young assistant. The arrival of these two men will lead Celeste to discover the true meaning of friendship and the strength she carries within.

The library I work at collaborates with the Friends of the Library each year and selects a community read. They choose a main title, usually suitable for teens and adults, and two companion titles, suitable for ages 0-7 and 8-12 each. This year's main selection was Okay for Now (read my review here). With its focus on art and healing, the companion titles were chosen - My Dog Thinks I'm a Genius by Harriet Ziefert for the younger crowd, and this for the middle-grade readers. We usually try to do some programming around the titles (though I think there is room for more connection with the community read) and people often ask about the titles, so I knew I wanted to be sure to read this selection. It had actually caught my eye when it was first released - I liked the subtitle and the cover illustration indicated a sweet and hopeful story. I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again - I'm not a big fan of talking animal books. However, this story is so absolutely charming and inspiring that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I loved Celeste - I think kids will really relate to her. I really loved the plot of this book - Celeste lives in a big plantation which becomes host to John James Audubon and his young assistant. Celeste watches them painting birds and soon befriends the young assistant. She is an artist herself (she is weaving her practical and beautiful baskets on the cover). I also like that the book doesn't shy away from depicting Audubon's practices - he often killed his avian subjects and posed them as he pleased. I think kids should hear about this and it makes a great discussion point. I think this book works really well with our other selections - Celeste learns about art and inspiration and friendship. This was a wonderfully sweet story and I'm glad it was chosen for our community read.

Review: The Dead and Buried

The Dead and Buried
By Kim Harrington
Expected publication January 1, 2013 by Scholastic

Jade is thrilled to finally be living the life she's asked for: a new house in a cool town. She doesn't mind being the new girl - no one knows her here, so she can have a fresh start. But, the perfection she imagines soon begins to crack: her younger brother claims to see a girl in his room and Jade notices her stuff being moved around. It's beginning to sound a lot like her dream house is haunted - and this ghost isn't going anywhere.

I love scary stories and seem not to have had much success with ghost stories lately. I requested an e-galley of this one a couple months back, figuring I'd give it a shot. I'm always looking for a good scare and was definitely in the mood for a ghost story when I recently started reading this one. I thought Jade was a really well-defined character - I liked that she had a unique but believable interest (she collects gemstones and knows all their meanings). I also really liked that this was a story about being the new girl in school without being a story about being the new girl in school - I like mostly that's because Jade has a great attitude about starting over and giving new things a try. I liked the secondary characters as well - Alexa was a bit over-the-top but still in a realistic way. Harrington may have tried a bit too hard to make all the characters equally multi-dimensional - I'm thinking of the super-hot jock who is also brilliant and happens to be poor. The main storyline here is really Jade's attempts to solve the mystery of the ghost in her house - who killed Kayla Sloane? This book reminded me quite frequently of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (and, even it hadn't, Harrington helpfully has Jade study the book in English class) but in a way that will be more accessible to teens (I read Rebecca in high school and loathed it). The romance and love triangle felt a bit convoluted and stereotypical, but I understand its relevance in the plot. Though Harrington tries to throw some red herrings into the mix, I found the identity of the killer quite obvious very early on - a disappointment, but I still enjoyed reading. Though not as scary as expected, I think this will be a good read for teens looking for a mysterious ghost story.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via NetGalley.

Also note: the cover was changed prior to release. The top picture shows the cover that will be on the hardcover release in January. To the left here is the original cover, which I much prefer. Any thoughts?

Review: Shadowlands

Shadowlands
By Kate Brian
Expected publication January 8, 2013 by Hyperion

Rory survived when others could not: chased and confronted by a serial killer, Rory saw her chance for escape and took it. Now, with the killer still on the loose, Rory and her family must relocate, leaving their old lives behind without breathing a word of where they're going. They're supposed to be safe in their new life, but soon, Rory sees hints that her nightmare isn't over just yet...

Kate Brian is an accomplished author of young adult fiction, publishing under both this, her pseudonym, and Kieran Scott, her real name. I've never read anything under either name before - nothing under the Scott name really caught my eye, and the Brian books all seemed to be about things they didn't really interest me, namely, drama among the rich girls. I requested a digital galley of this title because it seemed to be a departure from what she'd written before and I thought it sounded like it had potential. My mom is a big fan of suspense, thriller, and horror novels, so I've got my own appreciation of them, and I enjoy seeing more in this genre written for young adults (I'm a big believer in scaring the younger generations). The good about this book: it is suspenseful. Short, quick, dialogue-heavy chapters will keep readers turning the pages at a frantic pace. Brian creates a suitably creepy atmosphere, both in the initial chase sequence and in the town to which Rory and her family relocate. It's an incredibly quick read - I finished it in one night, and it wasn't even a night where I did nothing but read. The bad about this book: the twist doesn't really come as much of a shock. Observant readers will have it figured out long before it's revealed to Rory (I'm terrible at seeing plot twists coming, but I had this one figured out pretty early on) and it definitely loses its effectiveness if you've figured it out ahead of time. The ending is also incredibly abrupt - if memory serves (and I could be mistaken), the big twist is revealed on the last page; it might even be the last sentence. It feels incredibly awkward to just end there, especially as there are still a number of questions left unanswered. Perhaps this is the start of a new series, but that doesn't seem right to me either - after all, the big twist has already been revealed; where would Brian go from here? All in all, it was a very quick and suspenseful read but it felt like an incomplete package.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via NetGalley.

Event: Texas Book Festival, Day Two

Note: Here's my recap of day one.

For day two of the Book Festival, I decided to take things a bit easier. I knew we would have a 4+ hour drive back home at the end of the day, so I wanted to finish up relatively early (we were supposed to meet some friends when we got back to town). This meant skipping out on a couple of presentations that came at the very end of the festival but, thankfully, nothing that I would be absolutely torn up about missing.

I started my day off with what I was sure would be a popular session: a conversation with Justin Cronin. Earlier this year, I read and adored Cronin's The Passage and couldn't wait for the sequel (I have it in my possession now, though reviews have been mixed). I'd never read anything of Cronin's before that, but I'd heard his name - he always seemed to receive critical acclaim. After reading The Passage, I could see where the good reviews came from. The session was essentially just an interview with Cronin in front of a live audience. He talked about his writing process, the role religion/spirituality plays in his books, advice he'd give to young authors, his opinions on genre, and more. I found him to be a very engaging and easygoing speaker - I was not surprised to discover that he is also a professor. I really enjoyed listening to his stories.

I had a short break after that before my next session: The World Turned Upside Down. This session featured a number of middle-grade fantasy authors discussing the genre: Katherine Catmull, Greg Leitich Smith, and Lisa McMann. Catherynne M. Valente was scheduled to appear as well, but couldn't make it because of Hurricane Sandy. I was disappointed, as she was the author I was most interested in seeing, but I was familiar with the other authors as well, so it didn't completely ruin it for me. I thought this panel asked a lot of interesting questions: all of the authors scheduled had created unique new worlds (well, except for Greg Leitich Smith, whose novel Chronal Engine takes place in the Cretaceous Period, which is almost like a new world) as the settings for their novels. They talked about how they came up with these worlds, what sort of notes they had to keep (in order to ensure consistency in their world building), and the pros and cons of writing about a world that doesn't exist in actuality. Of course, there was also advice for young writers (there was a lot of that throughout the festival) and various other topics touched upon. Unfortunately, this was probably my least favorite panel of the festival. The moderator, who is apparently an author herself, kept providing her answers to her own questions. I don't mind that so much, but this felt like a case of "Let me remind this captive audience that I also write books and have wise things to say so maybe they'll go buy MY books too." It felt very intrusive, to the point where she seemed to be cutting off the panelists and interrupting them to insert her own agenda. Maybe that's not exactly how it went, but that's what it felt like on my end. Kind of ruined the panel for me.

My last mission of the festival was to get a book signed by Bob Shea. As I mentioned in my last post, I had purchased some books and gotten them signed as presents for my nieces and nephews (because I am the Book Aunt). I had already purchased a Bob Shea book on day one - he was scheduled for a signing at around the same time as Adam Rex. However, he apparently finished early and I missed him. No problem; he had another signing scheduled later that day. Well, his second signing on day one came...and went, with no sign of Bob Shea then either. There seemed to be a lot of confusion regarding this signing - he was listed on the Children's Tent schedule but they sent me to the Adult Tent. He was listed there, but I waited 15 minutes (well after the other authors scheduled at the same time had all arrived) and he didn't appear. Okay then, one last chance. Mr. Shea was scheduled for one final signing, in the afternoon of day two, immediately following a presentation in the Children's Activity Tent with Jon Klassen and Loren Long. Since I had nothing better to do as I waited for his signing, I decided to watch said presentation: Animals, Animals, Animals. Mr. Shea, Mr. Klassen, and Mr. Long were allegedly teaching the children in the audience how to draw various types of animals. I say allegedly because it really just seemed like the three were goofing around with each other and cracking jokes that went over the kids' heads. I laughed the entire time I watched this little activity - the three illustrators had large sketch pads and took turns drawing animals that the kids shouted out at them. They also ended up collaborating for a flying dogtopus - a sight truly spectacular to behold. The presentation finished up and I killed the 15 minutes immediately following (all the authors were scheduled to sign 15 minutes after their sessions). Then I made my way to the tent and asked where the line for Bob Shea's signing started. "Oh, he's not signing," I was told. "But I just saw him present with those two guys who are signing now," I retorted. "Well, he decided not to do a signing." EPIC SIGH. Curse you, Bob Shea, curse you - foiled three times from getting my copy of Dinosaur vs. the Library signed. I left the festival, dejected and frustrated.

Not a very good end to my first attendance of the Texas Book Festival, but overall, it was a lot of fun. I thought the panels showcased a variety of authors, all of whom seemed to really enjoy speaking to their readers. If possible, I'll definitely try to attend again in the future.