Starters - Lissa Price

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385742371
• ISBN-13: 978-0385742375

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HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator’s grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations’ plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

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READ HERE.

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For fans of 'The Hunger Games', 'Starters' should be the next big thing.  I actually read 'Starters' before reading 'The Hunger Games' and it's because of 'Starters' that I even read that other trilogy (yes, this book is that good,  It is sooo good that when I read that other reviewers were comparing it 'The Hunger Games' I finally caved and read the books).   I am a huge fan of YA Fiction and and I should mention that some of the best writing is being done for this genre.  Lissa Price will inevitably prove herself to be an author to watch out for if this debut novel is any indication of her talent and imagination.  Romance, intrigue, mystery...it's all in here and if there is one thing that I love more than a dystopian story it is one that is part of a series.  Look for book two 'Enders' to be released 04 December 2012.  Just in time for my birthday. Yeah!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lissa Price has studied photography and writing, but the world has turned out to be her greatest teacher. She has walked with elephants in Botswana, swum with penguins in the Galápagos, and stood on a field at sunset amid a thousand nomads in Gujarat, India. She has been surrounded by hundreds of snorting Cape buffalo in South Africa and held an almost silent chorus with a hundred wild porpoises off the coast of Oahu. She has danced in mud huts at village weddings in India and had tea with the most famous living socialite in Kyoto. When she sat down to write, she found that the most surprising journeys were still inside her mind. She lives in the foothills of southern California with her husband and the occasional deer. Visit her at LissaPrice.com

 

* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.

Erebos - Ursula Poznanski

Age 12+
Grade 7+
5.5 x 8.5
532 Pages
2012

Fiction

ISBN 13: 9781554513734

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An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.

When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.

Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game. Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur. This utterly convincing and suspenseful thriller originated in Germany, where it has become a runaway bestseller.

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 READ HERE.

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For young adult/teen fiction this was a surprisingly decent read.  Actually, I enjoy the YA genre quite a bit and there is (surprisingly) a slew of fabulous books and authors writing for this generation.  How fortunate today's youth is...Anyway, Erebos (or at least the version I read) is translated from its original German so you have to imagine that at least some of the flavor of the novel gets lost in translation.  Luckily, Erebos has been deftly translated by Judith Pattinson and she has apparently done a wonderful job.  Erebos clips along at a quick pace drawing the reader in from the beginning and not letting go until the last page.  I didn't put the book down until it was finished...in fact I felt that I couldn't-I just had to know what happened next.  There is enough going on in this book to keep even the most jaded reader happily ensconced in its pages.

Ursula Poznanski

Ursula Poznanski was born in Vienna, Austria, where she still lives today with her partner and daughter. The older of two sisters, she enjoyed reading, music, cycling, and skiing when she was a child. Her favorite books were The Flying Classroom by Erich Kaestner, Mio, My Son by Astrid Lindgren, and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Ursula started writing when she was no more than seven or eight years old. She was fortunate in that she had teachers who encouraged her a great deal, and loving relatives who would read her essays to everybody who hadn’t managed to escape in time. She found it quite embarrassing, but it did not deter her from writing.
The idea for Erebos (Spring 2012) came from her penchant for stories that include a change of worlds. These usually come in the form of fantasies, but she wanted to tell a story where this actually happens. She loved the idea of a computer game dragging the player so deeply into a virtual world that it would affect his view of reality. She also wanted to write about manipulation and how it works.

What Ursula enjoys most about the creative process are those moments when it seems as if the book is writing itself. It doesn’t happen very often, but when it does, it is pure joy.
Her advice for aspiring authors is to read a lot and write a lot. Don’t believe that success is going to come fast or easy, but carry on nevertheless. Love your story; don’t run after trends. Look for a good writing partner who tells you the truth about what he or she thinks of your work. Appreciate profound criticism.
Ursula’s interests, besides writing, include photography, music (although she doesn’t play an instrument, she has not given up hope that she may still do so one day), talking to interesting people, and traveling.

* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.

Heft - Liz Moore

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (January 23, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393081508
• ISBN-13: 978-0393081503

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 Former academic Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn’t left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career–if he can untangle himself from his family drama. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel’s mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur’s. After nearly two decades of silence, it is Charlene’s unexpected phone call to Arthur–a plea for help–that jostles them into action. Through Arthur and Kel’s own quirky and lovable voices, Heft tells the winning story of two improbable heroes whose sudden connection transforms both their lives. Like Elizabeth McCracken’s The Giant’s House, Heft is a novel about love and family found in the most unexpected places.

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Heft is a haunting portrait of isolation, alienation and hope.  Ms. Moore's deft realization of her characters was perfection....each person had a clear and distinct voice and while Moore places them in difficult circumstances she manages to abstain from melodrama and remain ever truthful-Moore truly shows immense respect for her characters. I immediately became immersed, intrigued and enthralled by this novel...I read it in a scant three days, often staying up late to read just a bit more (thank you Ms. Moore for some very sleepy days!).

Now, normally I hate a cliffhanger ending and Heft definitely leaves the reader hanging.  However, in this particular situation, I actually liked it-dare I say, prefer, this abrupt and slightly dissatisfactory ending to such a well liked novel?  Moore's decision to end this story firmly rooted with a question mark was in my opinion brilliant.  Moore's characters had all progressed personally to such a point that literally the future was wide open to them...possibilities abounded for them. It is left to the reader to imagine their futures and I found it lovely to think of all the wonderful ways their lives could end up...these will be well loved characters by all readers and I can only imagine all the beautiful things that the readers of Heft will dream up for them.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liz Moore is a writer, musician, and teacher.
She wrote most of her first novel, The Words of Every Song (Broadway Books, 2007), while in college. The book, which centers on a fictional record company in present-day New York City, draws partly on Liz’s own experiences as a musician. It was selected for Borders’ Original Voices program, received 3.5/4 stars in PEOPLE Magazine, and was given a starred review by Kirkus. Roddy Doyle wrote of it, “This is a remarkable novel, elegant, wise, and beautifully constructed. I loved the book.”
After the publication of her debut novel, Liz released an album, Backyards, and obtained her MFA in Fiction from Hunter College, where she studied with Peter Carey, Colum McCann, and Nathan Englander. After being awarded the University of Pennsylvania’s ArtsEdge residency, she moved to Philadelphia in the summer of 2009. She has taught Creative Writing at Hunter College and the University of Pennsylvania. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Writing at Holy Family University in Philadelphia, where she lives.
Her second novel, Heft, was published by W.W. Norton in January 2012.

* I received an advance copy from the publisher for purposes of review. I was in no way obligated to write a review much less a favorable one. The opinions stated herein are all my own.