“Living in a country torn apart by a revolution gives you a different perspective on the lessons you learn in history class,” says Lizzie, the main protagonist in Karen Alkofer’s first novel, The Party Line. It’s a young adult novel with an insightful twist. In addition to providing an interesting story, this book also gives the reader a different perspective than the lessons you learn in history class.
The first book in this trilogy by April Daniels, Dreadnought, brought the world a whole new kind of superhero-a teen transgender one-and it was amazing! So I was excited to sit down and read the second book, Sovereign. Normally I don't read books that are in present tense, but this series is so good I forget all about it!
This week we are interviewing Clovis, California YA author Kasie West about her writing and her new book P.S. I Like You which comes out this month. She lives in Clovis with her husband and four children. Kasie will be having her book launch on July 28 at Clovis Book Barn-details at the end of this post. There are also details on how to win a copy of the book, and a link to purchase it.
I had my first flying lesson on my fourteenth birthday. What a birthday present! Now as Chief Pilot running an aviation business specializing in aerial surveillance, I fly from California to Texas, but writing was my first love. I started writing novels in the back of my parent’s small airplane when I was small enough to fit in the baggage compartment. When I was a child, my family took trips to grandma’s house in a single-engine four-seater. Since my parents had more children than seats, they put me in the baggage compartment. There was nothing to do back there. No windows. So I wrote stories and started my first book at age nine.
The Fault In Our Stars has been my favorite book for a couple years now so I had high expectations for the movie. I knew that John Green had been telling his fans for about a year now how great the movie is, but I still did not have complete faith it would be amazing as the book.
All of John Green’s books are wonderful but this one is one of the best. It’s unique in that it is not really a love story and is more about a young boy’s journey to “seek a great perhaps” or a great life. “Looking For Alaska” is John’s first novel and has won numerous awards. Many list it as their favorite for its unique chapter styling and intelligent protagonist.
Cry, laugh, smile; that is what you will do when you read The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. John Green is my favorite author of all time. He writes the greatest young adult books I have ever read. He makes you feel like he understands you. Some adults treat teenagers or “young adults” like they are not equal and that everything they feel is silly. But John Green does not treat teenagers that way. His writing shows you that he sees all humans equally and that everyone’s feelings are valid. His writing and stories are so wonderful that adults will enjoy them as well.
A week and a half ago I went to the LA Times Festival of books with my daughter Jessica, my son-in-law Roy, and my "adopted" son Antonio. We hadn't been to one of these in years but decided to make the trek this year from the Fresno area because my daughter's favorite author, John Green, was going to be speaking there.
The Dystopian genre is very popular nowadays. A new way of running the world, a hero who fights against the new system, who wouldn’t love that? If you do love those things then Divergent is the right movie for you. It has action, romance, and a brave heroine, everything you could want in a movie.
Richard Kadrey, best known for his Sandman Slim urban fantasy series, enters the world of YA fiction with Dead Set. Not a completely unexpected thing, as YA fiction has become an incredibly popular genre, with almost every popular urban fantasy author writing a YA novel. However, Dead Set strangely does not read or feel like a YA adult novel. It doesn’t focus on a lot of the current YA tropes such teenage romance, someone finding their destiny and or trying to save the world. Kadrey avoids these trappings by making Dead Set all about dealing with grief– specifically the grief of the teenage character, Zoe, who is still mourning the loss of her father.
