#young adult books

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Anticipated Releases: April-June


Some releases coming up in the next few months that I’m pumped about, some I’ve already purchased…

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Favorite YA Books of 2021

Favorite YA Books of 2021

Yes, there are a lot of books and yes, I do have another post with even more picks. I’m a very indecisive person…

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Heartstopper (webcomic series) by Alice Oseman @spacezeros“Yes, I will listen to the rain. I wHeartstopper (webcomic series) by Alice Oseman @spacezeros“Yes, I will listen to the rain. I w

Heartstopper (webcomic series) 

by Alice Oseman @spacezeros

“Yes, I will listen to the rain. I will listen to the mountain bird. Oh, a heartstopper is the solitaire’s one note - high, sweet, lonely, magic.”

Read it for free here: @heartstoppercomic 

My review: goo.gl/sh3HE8


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On Wednesdays we read

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Jenny Han “To all the boys I`ve loved before” & “P.S. I still love” (more…)

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Return of the Mummy picks up one year after the events of Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and sees Gabe reReturn of the Mummy picks up one year after the events of Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and sees Gabe re

Return of the Mummy picks up one year after the events of Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb and sees Gabe returning to Egypt to visit his archeologist Uncle Ben and know-it-all cousin Sari. It’s got some good scares like the first book, and the setting lends itself naturally to a sense of adventure. There were some good comedic bits in there, too. I really liked the fake mummy who was there to shoot a gum commercial. The core characters had a good backstory to build off of from the first book, and no harm was done bringing them back for book two. However, so far as the other characters go… Stine has a tendency to write villains whose motivations are little more than vague notions of world domination. This makes sense to a degree when you consider the strong overlap of Goosebumps readers who religiously watched shows like Power Rangers. Complex villains weren’t exactly something that was sought out by this readership. And yes; I’m counting myself among them. Return of the Mummy felt like a missed opportunity on this front. Without getting into spoilers, the villain(s) had a great setup before stumbling into this vague and predictable cliche. Overall, Return of the Mummy was fine. It was a mild letdown after the first book and lands firmly in the middle of the Goosebumpspack.

Score: 3

For more thorough analysis on the plot motives of villains in children’s literature, I have a spoiler-filled review up on my blog:

https://www.danstalter.com/return-of-the-mummy/


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7 reviews! Woohoo! Go check them out and read the book!

 “We read to know that we are not alone.” - C.S. LewisAs a writer, I want to capture the “We read to know that we are not alone.” - C.S. LewisAs a writer, I want to capture the “We read to know that we are not alone.” - C.S. LewisAs a writer, I want to capture the

“We read to know that we are not alone.” - C.S. Lewis

As a writer, I want to capture the hearts and emotions of my characters. They bleed red like the rest of us. Their feelings–positive or negative–are sometimes too deep for words. People crave connections with others who are like them. They want to relate. They want to know they are not alone.

These two books have made a world of difference in my writing. They have allowed me to turn ideas into people with heartbeats. People who are as human as you and me.


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karriezai:

Trying to invent an ask game!

Send an ask with one or more symbols below for a snippet of my WIP that shows…

something heartwarming
sadness
fury
nausea
fear or anxiety
humor
a turning point
discovery
injury
a secret
☠️ death
a fight or explosion
fire or heat
a kiss or romance
embarrassment

…or, bonus, send an emoji for me to interpret!

Tagging a few people to maybe help get this ask game off the ground? Feel free to skip out if this isn’t your thing, I totally get it!

@space-arcanist@livvywrites@alittlewarlord@notquitenovelist@ruth-lund@jayuswrites@lonbergwrites@ownworldresident@ladytauria@cadewrites

Ask away.

Looking for a fun, exciting read this summer? Something is Moving is a kingdom adventure book for te

Looking for a fun, exciting read this summer? Something is Moving is a kingdom adventure book for teen/young adult readers. It is available in ebook and print on Amazon and also for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Summary:

People say the Arthur is haunted. That the ghosts of those who entered it and never came out still dwell within the mysterious forest.

For twelve-year-old Hari, who has grown up among peasants and thieves, the Arthur is her safe haven…her home. She and the rest of her village reside in the forest in secret, living a simple life free of the king’s tyranny and the cruelties of the outside world. Then comes the day when their peace is shattered by a stranger who is on a violent rampage, murdering innocent people and burning the villages to the ground. Forced to flee her wooded sanctuary, Hari believes no place can ever be safe again.

Bitter, hurting, and frightened of what each new day holds, she embarks on a journey to save her people and learn more about her broken past. But the darkness is spreading, and if Hari cannot learn to fight it, not even the truth about her family may save her from the darkness growing inside her. 

Reader reviews:

“This book was a great read! I finished it in one day, I couldn’t put it down! The characters are endearing, captivating, and real. The author is not afraid to run them through the wringer, but still brings hope and healing to them all. I truly loved the family these characters created and the world that was described so vividly. I honestly felt transported as I read each chapter.” - Micaela

“I did not see the many twists and turns that happened throughout the entire book. It read so well, I could picture everything happening in detail. I felt connected to the characters from the start…” - Allison

Something Is Moving had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and its twists and turns caught me by surprise. Hari is such a beautifully written character and I was able to relate to her so much. I enjoyed the suspense of it and I couldn’t stop reading.” - Amie

“The amazing character development and vivid descriptions transported me into the story. I fell in love with Hari and her adventurous spirit, love for life and desire for the truth.” - Gail


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headspace-hotel:

headspace-hotel:

I could write a hell of an essay about love interests in YA and how they are described, but it wouldn’t have a point because I honestly don’t know WHY it’s like this

okay so my brain felt very tired at the thought of digging up specific examples so this isn’t going to include them BUT

Recent YA love interests are…the first word coming to my brain is “sexless,” but this transcends the sexual. Many of them are completely featureless outside of a couple specific non-details that serve to tell us that this is supposed to be the love interest.

When a character in a YA book is supposed to be The Love Interest, you can tell because he will immediately be described using one of the following:

  • The curve of [his] muscle[s]
  • The [ripple/flex/curve] of muscle under [adjective, usually tanned] skin
  • muscle curv[ing] underneath [clothing]

I want to scream and cry. Both Cold the Night, Fast the WolvesandChildren of Blood and Bone had one of these exact phrases in the very SENTENCE where the narrator meets the Love Interest. These are far from being the only ones.

Both of those books also barely physically described the Hot Boy outside of his muscles curving, which seems to be more and more common.

What gets me is that this doesn’t read as attraction. “Muscle” and “curve” feel like code words that let me know that This Is The Hot Boy. I don’t know what people are getting out of these books. I, the reader, am doing so fucking much of the work in imagining this boy as hot that I might as well just ditch the book and make up a guy in my head.

“Muscle” being the one (1) and only trait that is attractive in male characters is so fucking weird. Every single YA author writes like they’re not actually attracted to men, they’re just imagining what it might be like based on advertisements and TV.

Hell, the way muscle is described makes it seem so abstract. Do you not know that muscle is soft when it isn’t flexed? Do you not know that everyone has muscles???

I don’t believe that the POV character is actually attracted to the guy when I read shit like this. Attraction involves noticing, being aware of the physicality of a person and the details of them. Any given “curve of muscle” description is totally interchangeable with any other, if you swap hair and eye colors here and there, and it’s so…the opposite of what being attracted to a human is like.

I think it must have been Ella Enchanted that includes the line “I loved the hairs on the nape of his neck” (the protagonist talking about the love interest) and honestly…that. That actually authentically reads as attraction, and not a low-effort attempt to “code” the character as hot

Isn’t that intentional, though?

Musclesare universal, after all.

I thought the blank-slate-ness of the typical YA love interest was specifically cultivated so the reader can more easily insert their own preferences into their mental image of the character. Sort of like how early Disney princes were basically a piece of cardboard wearing tights and a sword.

¡Qué bonita bandera! AKA what heritage(s) do you claim?

Mexican, Xicanx


When was the first time you saw yourself represented?

I read a poem by Lorna Dee Cervantez in speech class as a 10th grader. When I went to the library to look for it on the shelves, I stumbled upon Sandra Cisneros.  Lorna was from California and Sandra from Chicago, even so they are Chicanas chignonas.  As a kid growing up on the Texas border, I really connected.


How do you connect to your heritage through your books (if at all)?

I write about Xicanx kids in Chicago in Pig Park (Cinco Puntos, 2014) and also kids on the Texas border in The Smell of Old Lady Perfume (Cinco Puntos, 2008).  Not a Bean (Charlesbridge, 2019) is a culturally relevant picture book about the lifecycle of a jumping bean.

What do you hope for the future of Latinx books?

There are so many stories that still need to be told.  I meet a ton of kids who are budding writers.  I can’t wait to read their stories one day.


What is the book that inspired you to write for kids/teens?

Pat Mora’s picture books are a big inspiration.  As far as teens, I was really inspired by Benjamin Alire Saenz’ Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood. He writes about kids in the Southwest and does it beautifully.  Reading his books doesn’t just make me want to write, it makes me want to write something beautiful.


What are you writing now?

I’m working on a couple of picture books now.  My first picture book, Not a Bean, will be published by Charlesbridge in 2018.  My 2008 middle grade,The Smell of Old Lady Perfume, will be available as an ebook and Spanish translation for the first time this year.  It is very exciting to think my family abroad will be able to read.


Claudia Guadalupe Martinez grew up in sunny El Paso, Texas where she learned that letters form words from reading the subtitles of old westerns with her father. She now lives and writes in Chicago.


Website*Twitter*BuyPig Park!

Newsletter Is Ago!

To get this information out of the way: I now have a newsletter!

Follow this link to sign up: http://eepurl.com/zuIDj

Remember to confirm your subscription, and you’ll get the latest updates on The Academy and other books coming out first.

The Academy - Family vs. Friends - Book 3

While I’m trying to write Academy 5 and wrapping up on the rewrite of book 3, I wanted to share some exciting news.

First, Book 3 is a big book. Like double the size of the first book. Book two and three were originally planned to be a single book, but the story got really big, and there was no way I could fit it all in one book.

That said, and while I know I just released book two less than a month ago, I still foresee the release of book three happening no later than the end of the summer.

This will be a really big push to get this out the door, because there’s a lot that goes into formatting, cover art and some background set up for publishing. 

So if you were wondering when to expect it, you can set your calendars. For more specific updates when I figure out when the release date will be, do sign up for the newsletter. Sometimes GoodReads or Tumblr notices can get lost in the shuffle. With an email (and I promise to only email when it comes to releases and important book details) it goes right to your inbox and you’ll be sure not to miss it.

Other Book Releases

I know waiting for books in a series to release can be a pain. Some people have looked at Smoking Gun, the first title I’ve ever released.

Smoking Gun is soon to get a makeover. It is getting a new cover and a fresh edit. (I haven’t looked at it closely in a long time.)

The re-release is slated to be soon. It will also stay 99 cents, but ONLY for about a week. After that point, the price will rise to $3.99.

If you’d like to get the re-release, I’ll let you know when it is happening. I am pretty sure it’ll be within the next week.

While it isn’t The Academy, it’s still a very funny, new adult mystery romance story based in Charleston, where the Academy boys are located.

Also, coming soon after that in mid-June is…

Spice God

This is a contemporary fantasy book about Melody, who runs into an Aztec spice god, Tonac. 

Yes, there’s mystery.

Yes, there’s adventure.

Yes, there’s awkward. I tend to write a lot of awkward.

This has been whispered about, because I keep planning a release and I keep putting it off. (Blame Gabriel.) (He’s distracting.) (He also hides my hair clips.)

I am planning some major promotional things happening for this book. For your continued support, I’d like to ask that those interested: If you would like an Advanced Readers Copy, please contact me! clstone at arcatopublishing.com

Anyone can ask for this. I don’t care if you’re a regular reviewer, or if you just want something extra to read.

In exchange, I will ask that you review the title on Amazon. ARCs are being released via email around June 1st. I will provide a further link June 15th (slated to be the release date) via email on the upload. 

I’ll ask that if you’ve read the book, to please leave a review. Reviews are A BIG DEAL. It helps me and it helps other readers figure out if they want the book or not.

With that said:

The Boys Need Your Help!

If you’re reading this far, I’m going to assume you’re interested in supporting the boys and the continuance of The Academy series.

I love the boys. Right now, I’m gearing up to do heavy promotions of the series during the summer for the planned release of Academy 3.

If you’ve loved the series so far and want to show further support, there’s a couple of things that you can do.

1. Review! Click this to review on Amazon.

2. Start a discussion! Under the same Amazon web page for the series, there’s also a section where you can start talking about the book below. If you have questions, love a particular guy, want to talk about anything, please, please talk there. :)

3. Share the book! Pass it to a friend. I don’t mind. Seriously. I love the guys, and the more support we can get, it just make the series better.

And if you have Shelfari, the boys are there, too! Help me fill in the details. We can create a great page working together.

So thanks again for the ongoing support, sign up for the newsletter, review, and keep an eye out for updates.

Sincerely,
C. L. Stone

PS Luke says hi.

Once upon a time, there was a girl cold as winter, greedy as a king, lonely as an orphan.And here isOnce upon a time, there was a girl cold as winter, greedy as a king, lonely as an orphan.And here is

Once upon a time, there was a girl cold as winter, greedy as a king, lonely as an orphan.

And here is the seventh and final illustration I did for Little Thieves! (Seven is lucky, don’t you know?)

The b&w illustrations will be included in the final edition of the book, and hopefully we will be able to reveal what the color versions are for soon! In the meantime, you can always check out the process videos over on ye olde youtube.


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