The Glass Demon, by Helen Grant (409 pages) – Lin Fox finds a corpse, and nearby there is broken glass. There are more deaths, and more broken glass. A sinister thriller, set in Germany, and sort of based on a true story.
First line: ‘If anyone were to ask me, ‘What is the root of all evil?’ I would say not ‘Money’ but ‘Food’.’
Gimme a Call, by Sarah Mlynowski (327 pages) – Devi Banks can use her cellular to talk to herself – from the future! Future Devi tries to stop Present Devi from falling in love with some guy who breaks her heart. Which is reasonable (I would have a LIST of things to tell my younger self), but changing the past mightn’t be so easy.
First line: ‘I should just return Bryan’s watch to Nordstrom and go home.‘
Gentlemen, by Michael Northrop (234 pages) – Three boys suspect their English teacher has something to do with their friend’s disappearance, and to find him they must ‘navigate a maze of assorted clues, fraying friendships, violence, and Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment before learning the truth.’
The River, by Mary Jane Beaufrand (215 pages) – Another chiller/mystery (with an awesome first line). Veronica moves from the city to the country with her parents, and befriends a younger girl whose body is found on the banks of the river that runs through Veronica’s backyard. She become obsessed with solving the girl’s death and its connection to the river.
First line: ‘I suppose there are worse things than being soggy and dateless and shoveling bunny carcasses into a garbage bin on Valentine’s Day, but if there are, I can’t think of any.‘
Wanted : A Pretty Little Liars Novel, by Sara Shepard (259 pages) – This is volume eight in the series about some popular girls who were befriended and tormented by uber-popular-but-missing Alison. It is also the conclusion of the series! Will it end happily?
First lines: ‘They say a picture’s worth a thousand words.‘
Lucy Zeezou’s Glamour Game, by Liz Deep-Jones (319 pages) – This is the follow-up to Lucy Zeezou’s Goal. Lucy ‘Zeezou’ Zoffi is mad for football, but her father – a former Italian soccer star – is against girls playing professional sports. Also, she is a model. This time her parents might be splitting up, and she has to go to Milan.
First line: ‘A barrage of lights flashed in our faces, blinding us, while relentless clicking and snapping sounds polluted the air.‘
She’s So Dead to Us, by Kieran Scott* (278 pages) – Ally Ryan grew up rich, but her father lost all his money and almost bankrupted many others. Now Ally’s back in the swanky Orchard Hill, two years after the event, and all her ex-friends hate her so much and are determined to ruin her chances with dreamy and rich Jake.
*Kieran Scott is Kate Brian’s real name
First lines: ‘“So? What do you think?” Hmm. What did I think? I had to take a moment to sort out an answer to that one. Here’s what I came up with.‘
The Poison Eaters And Other Stories, by Holly Black (212 pages) – A collection of stories, all ‘gritty, grim, and fabulous’, by the author of the Modern Faerie Tales (some of the stories in this collection are in the same setting) and the Spiderwick Chronicles. To sweeten the deal! there are illustrations.
The Emerald Casket : The Billionaire Trilogy Book II, by Richard Newsome (378 pages) - This continues this detective/mystery series about a billionaire (lucky!) who recovers stolen jewels, solves murders, and has some pretty sweet adventures. (The author, Richard Newsom, was born in New Zealand. We shall claim him as our own.)
First lines: ‘A meaty hand slapped down on top of the alarm clock. Of all the sounds that Constable Lethbridge of the London Metropolitan Police might want to hear on a Sunday, a buzzer at six o’clock in the morning was not high on the list.‘
Infinity : Chronicles of Nick, by Sherrilin Kenyon (464 pages) – This is the first in a series, I guess? About Nick Gautier, who is sarcastic and wise to the ways of the streets. He is accidently drawn into the world of the Dark-Hunters*, and there are vampires, werewolves, and zombies, everywhere.
*These are a related series for adults. This is her first YA book
First lines: ‘Free will. Some have called it the greatest gift bestowed on humanity.‘
The Boneshaker, by Kate Milford (372 pages) – Natalie’s love of machinery means only she is able to save her small Missouri town from the threat posed by Doctor Jake Limberleg’s Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show. Historical fantasy (it is 1913!) meets steampunk and magic. This book has great illustrations and – this might just be me! – a wicked cool typeface*
*11-point Letterpress
First line: ‘Strange things can happen at a crossroads.’
Epitaph Road, by David Patneaude (266 pages) – It is 2097, and a virus has wiped out 97% of all men. Now women rule the world and there is no war, crime, hunger, and poverty. Fourteen-year-old Kellen tries to find his outcast father (the surviving males lead a restricted life) and ‘uncovers a secret so frightening that his life and the future of the world will never be the same again.’
First line: ‘Charlie frowned as muted sunlight leaked through the ragged umbella of evergreen boughs overhead.‘
The Exile of Gigi Lane, by Adrienne Maria Vrettos (340 pages) – The catalogue says, ‘Heathers meets Bring It On in this story of a high school queen bee’s fall from glory,’ which is, if you’ve never seen Heathers, a pretty favourable comparison. Gigi – the high school queen bee – does fall from grace, but she won’t stand for it.
First line: ‘I’m Gigi Lane and you wish you were me. Oh my God, that has to be the most powerful affirmation in the history of the world.‘
Empire of the Undead : Chronicles of Blood, by Gary Cross (298 pages) – This is the second book in a series. As the title might suggest! the series is about vampires. LOADS of them in fact. It is also 1666. (Gary Cross is a NZ writer, so if there’s still an NCEA requirement that you read a NZ author, here’s a good one.)
First line: ‘Fifteen-year-old Mary Shire hated being undead.‘
Here are some non-fiction books! The titles tell you all you need to know, I’m thinking.
Max Your Marks : Tip From Top Students on How to Conquer Year 13, by Rowena Austin, Annie Hastwell, & Dorothy Vinicombe (273 pages)
Living With a Willy : The Inside Story, by Nick Fisher (151 pages)
The Twilight Saga : Eclipse – The Official Illustrated Movie Companion, by Mark Cotta Vaz (140 pages)
A whole bunch of new music has come in. Good news, huh?
Radiohead’s masterpiece, OK Computer was originally released in 1997, but has since been given the deluxe re-issue treatment that is so trendy right now. So now in addition to the full album you get an extra disc with all the b-sides from the singles, live tracks and remixes. If that isn’t enough, we have the same deal, but with 2001’s Amnesiac. Hours of Radiohead!
Whilst on the subject of influential British bands getting re-issued, there’s a couple of Beatles albums new to the shelves that’ve been given a loving remastering. 1967’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and 1968’s The Beatles (or the White Album as it’s most commonly known). These two records find the Fab Four at the peak of their studio wizardry and experimentation. Essential.
Band Of Horses aren’t actually a band of horses, rather a band of bearded gentlemen who play alt-country. It’s a good thing when you really think about it, because after the novelty of musical equines wore off it would become all too apparent they couldn’t really play instruments with their hooves and everything. Anyway Infinite Arms is perfect for the indie kid who digs folk rock.
In between jumping motorbikes over things, the Crusty Demons do more than a bit of compiling shouty metal onto CDs. Latest shouty metal compilation, Crusty demons : beyond the Apocalypse continues the trend. Featuring tracks from Slipknot, Fear Factory, 30 Seconds To Mars, Audioslave and a whole lot more spread over two discs.
More deluxe re-issuing, this time for the late, great Jimi Hendrix. His 1967 classic, Axis : Bold As Love now comes with a swell DVD showing the man at work and enhanced CD material that I haven’t checked out, so it could be anything. Anything! If you’ve yet to get into Jimi, please do yourself a favour and pick this up.
Mid-nineties alt-rockers Stone Temple Pilots recently reformed to record a new album showing that time (and the lure of money) can heal all wounds. The self-titled effort is a return to the grungey, 70’s stadium sound that made them stars in the first place, so fans can look forward to more of what they do best.
Miley Cyrus has gotten all tough and grown up on her new one, Can’t Be Tamed. Shedding the Hannah Montana image by sporting a black leather jacket and darkened hair on the cover, she matches it with a more mature, synth based sound. Whilst it’s a little bit edgier than what we’re used to from Miley, her fans will still be right at home.
There aren’t many new books this week. No doubt there will be LOADS next week. Most of this week’s books’ covers have similar colouring! Weird, eh.
Withering Tights : The Misadventures of Tallulah Casey, by Louise Rennison (351 pages) – Louise Rennison is the author of the always-popular Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. This is the first in a new series about Tallulah Casey, who has just enrolled in a Performing Arts College in Yorkshire (hence the title, if you know your classics). The back blurb made me laugh! “Alex had everything a dream boy should have. Back, front, sides. A head.”
First lines: ‘Wow. This is it. This is me growing up. On my own, going to Performing Arts College.‘
Swapped by a Kiss, by Luisa Plaja (344 pages) – Rachel sees her boyfriend, David, kissing their friend Jo, who is the nicest girl at the school. Rachel, enraged, wishes she was Jo and suddenly she finds herself in Jo’s body. Being Jo isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Shouldn’t you just be yourself? Yes.
First line: ‘I am in the doorway of a dance tent and my boyfriend is inside, kissing a girl who is not me.‘
To Catch a Pirate, by Jade Parker (228 pages) – Annalisa Townsend is discovered hiding in the hold of a ship by James Sterling, pirate and charmer. Determined to find her father’s treasure she sets out a year later to try to find Sterling. Will she get the treasure? Or will he also capture her heart with his suave seadog stylings?
First line: ‘Annalisa Townsend didn’t know which terrified her more: the razor-sharp edge of the dagger pressed against her throat or the ruthless glare of the pirate who’d shoved her against the wall with the harsh words, “Hold your tongue or I’ll remove it.”‘
Rebel Girl : Secrets at St Jude’s, by Carmen Reid (289 pages) – Four girls at St Jude’s School for Girls face different problems of various magnitude (Niffy wants to be gorgeous! Min is studying too much and missing out on fun! Amy’s rich dad goes broke! Gina’s got a wandering eye!). So they get in touch with their inner rebel.
First line: ‘Long after midnight, Gina lay wide awake in her narrow dorm bed.‘
Boyology : A Teen Girl’s Crash Course in All Things Boy, by Sarah O’Leary Burningham (167 pages) – This is non-fiction! And it intended to assist teens who want to understand the male psyche. Chapter headings include, ‘The Firsts of First Dates: And the Rest of the Dating Game‘, ‘You Wear the Pants: Setting Your Boundaries‘, and ‘Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.‘
Sam Stern’s Eat Vegetarian, by Sam Stern and Susan Stern (187 pages) – This is the Sterns’ fifth book, and is packed with some very nice-looking recipes. Meat-free, so are probably cheaper to make if you’re on a budget! Which is good.
Sam Stern has a website worth looking at if you want some of his recipes. Or get out one of his other books maybe.
Chocolate Cake With Hitler, by Emma Craigie (204 pages) – Helga Goebbels, daughter of the Nazi’s head of propaganda, spent the last ten days of her life (she was twelve) stuck in Hitler’s bunker. Her parents and the other adults become more and more tense and Helga soon begins to realise that her childhood wasn’t the fairytale it seemed.
First lines: ‘I’m sitting with Papa on a bench beside the sea. I must be about three years old.‘
Have you read and loved Fallen, Hush Hush or Beautiful Creatures? If yes, then you’ll be interested to know that you can now reserve their sequels! Be first(ish) in the queue and reserve them now(ish).
On the subject of book covers that look alike: both Torment and Crescendo look, well, tormented and stormy. Maybe dark grey is the new black as far as supernatural romances are concerned?
Torment, Lauren Kate – October. The sequel to the horrendously popular Fallen. Fallen reminded me of Beautiful Creatures (see below), and Evernight (by Claudia Gray). Luce is in hiding at Shoreline, a school for “unusually gifted” kids; Daniel is hunting outcasts who want to hurt her (Luce), and he’s hiding things (because that’s what mysterious supernatural types do).
Crescendo, Becca Fitzpatrick – October. The follow up to Hush Hush. Now Nora is coming to terms with being a Nephilim, and having a guardian angel (the most dodgy guardian angel in the world, in Patch), and the fact that she’s in constant danger.Also availabe for reserving: Linger, by Maggie Stiefvater (sequel to Shiver).
Compromised, by Heidi Ayarbe (452 pages) – After Maya’s con-man father goes to prison, and she finds no joy in foster homes, she decides to try to find a long-lost aunt. It’s a long, dangerous journey (400 miles!) and the aunt mightn’t even exist.
First line: ‘First they take our flat screen.’
My Boyfriend’s Dogs : The Tales of Adam and Eve and Shirley, by Dandi Daley Mackall (265 pages) – High-school senior Bailey Daley turns up at a diner soaking wet and leading three wet dogs. The diner’s owner invites her in and listens to her story of searching for the perfect boyfriend (and obtaining three dogs).
First line: ‘“My mother says that falling in love and getting dumped is good for you because it prepares you for the real thing, like it gets you ready for true love and all, but I’m thinking it’s more like climbing up the St. Louis Arch and falling off twice.“
Paper Daughter, by Jeanette Ingold (215 pages) – Maggie Chen’s journalist dad is killed in a hit-and-run accident, and her research (for she is a journalist also) soon uncovers illegal activity that may be connected to him. She is determined to uncover the truth, and discovers more about her family’s past than she expected.
First line: ‘“Your, Maggie.” Mom pushed an envelope from the Herald down the counter where I was putting out bread for sandwiches.‘
Sweet 15, by Emily Adler and Alex Echevarria (240 pages) – Destiny Lozada is turning 15, and so a traditional quinceañera (a religious ceremony with party, tiaras and ballgowns) is planned by her parents. Her older sister thinks it’s an outdated and misogynistic ritual. So! Destiny doesn’t want to take sides and, in fact! would rather be skateboarding and watching TV.
First line: ‘Here’s how it went down, the beginning of The End. Breakfast: out of the blue, my mom, in a red bathrobe, with her makeup already on, making coffee in our big yellow kitchen, hit me over the head with “Destiny is having a quinceañera!”‘
Home Beyond the Mountains : A Novel, by Celia Barker Lottridge (224 pages) – It is 1918, and the Turkish army is eradicating the Assyrian and Armenian peoples in the eastern parts of the Ottoman empire. Nine-year-old Samira and her surviving family members are forced from camp to camp for many years before the opportunity to return home presents itself. Based on a true story.
First line: ‘A sound, a very quite sound, woke Samira.‘
Little Miss Red, by Robin Palmer (254 pages) – A summary prepared earlier: ‘Sixteen-year-old Sophie’s dream of meeting her soul mate during spring break in Florida seems to have come true, but she must determine if Jack is really the romantic hero he seems to be, or if ex-boyfriend Michael could be.’
First line: ‘I’m very big on signs. So when the captain announced that our flight to Florida would be delayed because of some last-minute passengers, I took that as yet another sign that this trip was going to be a disaster.‘
For Keeps, by Natasha Friend (267 pages) – Josie lives with her mum, and her father has never been part of the family. Until suddenly he turns up! And Josie also may have found her first, real boyfriend. ‘A fresh, funny, smart story.’
First line: ‘It’s the last Friday night in August, and instead of dancing on a table at Melanie Jaffin’s party with the rest of the soon-to-be junior class, I am crouched behind a tower of Meow Mix in the pet-food aisle of Shop-Co, watching my mother hyperventilate.‘
The Hunchback Assignments, by Arthur Slade (278 pages) – Modo is rescued from a freakshow by the mysterious Mr Socrates as a wee baby. He is subsequently trained as a first-class secret agent for the Permanent Association, who are pitted against the evil Clockwork Guild. Steampunk in a Victorian setting! Based on a true story (just kidding).
First line: ‘Six hunting hounds had perished in previous experiments.‘
Only the Good Spy Young, by Ally Carter (265 pages) – This is the fourth Gallagher Girls book. Gallagher Girls are spies-in-training! Cammie ‘The Chameleon’ is being hunted by an ancient terrorist organisation, and might not be able to trust even her classmates! Ever the way, I suppose.
First line: ‘“Target’s acquired, ten o’clock.” My best friend’s voice was as cool as the wind as it blew off the Thames.‘
The Demon’s Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan (442 pages) – This is the sequel to The Demon’s Lexicon, about a world of magicians and demons (obvs).
First line: ‘“Any minute now,” Rachel said, “something terrible is going to happen to us.”‘
Happy as Larry, by Scot Gardner (291 pages) – ‘An extraordinary tale of an ordinary family’, says the cover. ‘Laurence Augustine Rainbow is born into an ordinary family, and seems set for an ordinary life. But as the world around him changes, so does the happiness of his own family,’ says the catalogue, which points out that it is also ’unique, dark and ultimately uplifting.’ We can trust the catalogue, I feel.
First line: ‘Laurence Augustine Rainbow was born in July 1990.‘
The Mission, Jason Myers (361 pages) – When Kaden’s older brother is killed in Iraq, he follows his late brother’s advice and heads to San Francisco to visit his cousin. His previously sheltered life hasn’t prepared him for what he encounters there, and family secrets further rock his world.
First line: ‘The car creeps to the end of the driveway and turns onto the gravel road, the tires kicking up a small cloud of dust that whips into a spiral in the dead air before disappearing just as quickly as it came.’
Sugar Sugar, by Carole Wilkinson (337 pages) – Jackie leaves Australia and heads to Paris, dreaming of becoming a world-famous fashion designer. Somehow she ends up in Afghanistan! With New Zealanders!
First line: ‘I was dreaming of the sea when the moonlight woke me.‘
The Resurrection Fields : Book Three of The Promises of Dr. Sigmundus, by Brian Kearney (158 pages) – The final installment of this ‘concoction of science fiction, horror, and fantasy’ – ‘Although beset by otherworldly perils, Dante and his best friend Bea continue to be dedicated to the overthrow of Sigmundus and the dark powers that have latched on to his methods of authoritarian mind-control.’ Not based on a true story, but it would be cool if it was.
First line: ‘The storm that had raged over the south of Gehenna had finally blown itself out.‘
The Iron King, by Julie Kagawa (363 pages) – Meghan Chase, the back cover says, has a secret destiny. She is about to learn why she’s never really fit in, and why there’s a stranger watching her… and find love in the process.
First sentence: Ten years ago, on my sixth birthday, my father disappeared.
The Keening, A LaFaye (163 pages) – Set in 1918 which, Twilight fans might know, is when an influenza pandemic roared across the United States. Lyza feels like she’s the talentless member of an artistic family, but when her mother dies and she (Lyza) must help her father find his feet, uncovering her own gifts in the process.
First sentence: As a child who waded in the head-high grass of our cliffside home, I’d harbored a peculiar fondness for funeral marches – the sight of all those people in one long line, each face holding a memory.
The Complete History of Why I Hate Her, Jennifer Richard Jacobson (181 pages) – “Wanting a break from being known only for her sister’s cancer, seventeen-year-old Nola leaves Boston for a waitressing job at a summer resort in Maine, but soon feels as if her new best friend is taking over her life,” says the catalogue.
First sentence: Song is hanging on my arm, afraid I’m going to slip onto the bus and out of her life as quickly as I made the decision to go.
Toads and Diamonds, Heather Tomlinson (276 pages) – a fairytale set in India (in fact a retelling “of the Perrault fairy tale set in pre-colonial India” to be precise (the catalogue comes to the rescue yet again!)). Diribani and Tana both receive something from a goddess, one a blessing and the other a curse, at least this is how it first appears, but “blessings and curses are never so clear as they might seem” (book cover).
First sentence: Diribani ran toward the stepwell.
Also:
Alice in Wonderland: A Visual Companion, Mark Salisbury – to the movie, that is. Full of interesting photos and other graphics, and info about how this visual symphony was made.
My So-Called Death, by Stacey Jay (229 pages) – Karen snuffs it in a cheerleading accident. But she is re-animated somehow! And now, as a zombie, enrols in a boarding school for the undead. There she must a. solve a mystery and b. fall for gorgeous walking cadaver, Gavin.
First line: ‘My very short-lived career at Peachtree High ended the day I fell from the top of the stunt pyramid and died.‘
Escape Under the Forever Sky, by Eve Yohalem (220 pages) – Lucy is the daughter of the US ambassador to Ethiopa. She’s not allowed to leave the embassy compound. But then she’s kidnapped! Left to fend for herself in the Ethiopian wild, she survives by being smart, clever, and couragous. Based on a true story too.
First lines: ‘Dust is everywhere. Red-brown, soft as silt. It coats the windshield, the dashboard, our clothes, our skin.‘
The Great Wild Sea, by M. H. Herlong (283 pages) – Another story of survival. Three brothers are left on a rickety old boat after their dad disappears. They’re in the middle of nowhere! Together they face a massive storm and forty-foot waves, and then they’re left on a deserted island.
First line: ‘We drove all night to get to the boat.‘
A New Dawn : Your Favourite Authors on Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series, edited by Ellen Hopkins (174 pages) – Some authors write about the Twilight series. Like the title says! Subject headings include ‘My Boyfriend Sparkles,’ ‘Dancing With Wolves,’ and ‘To Bite, or Not to Bite; That Is the Question.’
Wyrmeweald : Returner’s Wealth, by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell (409 pages) – I am excited by this book! The authors usually write books for children, and I have been hopeful they’d write a book for older people. And here it is! This is the first in a fantasy trilogy, replete with Riddell’s lush drawings.
First lines: ‘The most ancient of the great whitewyrmes turned his mighty head towards the horizon. His nostrils flared.‘
Three Rivers Rising : A Novel of the Johnstown Flood, by Jame Richards (293 pages) - In May, 1889, a massive flood submerged Johnstown, Pennsylvania, killing 2,200 people and decimating the place. Look at these photos! This book tells its story in poem form.
First line:
‘Father says he comes for the fishing,
but in truth he comes to keep an eye
on other businessmen.‘
Identity, by Sandra Glover (233 pages) – Louise, Jessica and Cate are three girls who don’t know each other, and, in fact, live hundreds of miles apart. But their lives are somehow connected! Could it have something to do with cloning? Perhaps!
First line: ‘She jogged along the path, listening to her music, keeping her pace steady.‘
Birthmarked, by Caragh M. O’Brien (362 pages) – In the future the world is a dry, hot wasteland. The world is split into those who live inside the wall – the Enclave – and those who live outside the wall. The people inside the wall need babies from outside! It’s complex.
First line: ‘In the dim hovel, the mother clenched her body into one final, straining push, and the baby slithered out into Gaia’s ready hands.‘
Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials, by Rosalind Wiseman (282 pages) – Charlie moves to a new school and wants to shed her mean girl image. But it’s difficult to do for various reasons. ‘A fresh, funny, and juicy read about friendship, betrayal, and how far some kids will go to be accepted.’
First lines: ‘Here’s the deal. My name is Charlie – and, yes, I’m a girl.‘
Shadows : A Dark Touch Novel, by Amy Meredith (280 pages) – The first in a planned series. Sort of a supernatural romance, but with demons.
First line: ‘The ghost slipped between the two pine trees, moving silently, not even leaving footprints in the pine needles in the ground.‘
The Snowball Effect, by Holly Nicole Hoxter (356 pages) – ‘Having lost her stepfather, grandmother, and mother in the span of a year, seventeen-year-old Lainey unexpectedly reconnects with long-lost relatives, copes with her five-year-old brother’s behavioral problems, and endangers her long-term romance when drawn to a young man with an unexpected connection to her mother.’ Thanks, catalogue synopsis!
First line: ‘I wouldn’t say I’d been worried about Mom, but I’d known for a while that things were bad.‘
Your Skirt’s Too Short : Sex, Power, Choice, by Emily Maguire (247 pages) – This non-fiction book ‘discusses sex, power and choice in the context of young women’s lives, providing readers with the courage and knowledge to tackle these issues head on.’ This looks to be a fantastic intro to feminism.
Does My Bum Look Big in This? Body Image and the Media, by Lisa Cox (76 pages) – Another non-fiction book which offer ‘a behind the scenes look at the media industry: showing you how to critically and independently evaluate what you see, hear or read in popular culture.’ This is a great skill to have, frankly!
Rap veterans De La Soul took a look back upon their careers in 2003 and realised they had accumulated enough “hits” to seperate out the “greatest” ones onto a CD and make a nice sounding compilation out of it. Timeless was the aptly named result. Includes the fantastic; Me, Myself and I, Ring Ring Ring (Hey Hey Hey) and the fantastically named; Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa.
Progression Vol. 2 promises on the cover to be “A journey through the big room club sounds of 2009″. A quick google search sheds no light on what exactly big room clubs sound like, but as it’s a Ministry Of Sound compilation, big trance records are a good guess. Features remixes of tracks by Oliver Twizt, Juan Kidd, Cunnie Williams, MDX and other artists.
After looking through the liner notes of Bi-On-Ic, Christina Aguilera’s new album, I can inform you that she’s taken a leaf out of the Lady Gaga book of fashion. Has she been similarly influenced music-wise? Probably. The cover is pretty exciting, it’s a hologram that when tilted at the correct angle, makes her look like a robot. +1 for robots.
Local dubsters, Fat Freddy’s Drop have been to the UK recently. They played some shows and whatnot and now we have live documentation, Live at Roundhouse London. It only has six songs on it, but they are all well over 10 minutes long. So don’t be fooled looking at the tracklisting and thinking you’re getting “shortchanged” somehow.
Hey, remember Pluto? Their rhythm section formed a side project called Nightchoir, which has now turned into a middle project (that’s the opposite of side project, right?). Anyway, 24 Hours Of Night is what they’ve come up with and early reviews call it “staggeringly beautiful” a “focused vision” and “alt-country”. Pretty much sums it up for me.
Not too many this week. Sorry, bibliophiles!
Monsters of Men : Chaos Walking Book 3, by Patrick Ness (602 pages! Massive) – This is the third and final volume in the Chaos Walking trilogy, which are all always out and have a hefty reserve queue. It’s won awards! This is a ‘heart-stopping novel about power, survival, and the devastating realities of war.’ Awesome.
First line: ‘“War,” says Mayor Prentiss, his eyes glinting. “At last.”‘
When Courage Came to Call, by L. M. Fuge (326 pages) – This was started by the author when she was 10, and finished when she was 14. It’s set in the fictional city of Zamascus, just as it is invaded by the nasty Inigo, and Imm and his brother must do whatever they can to survive.
First line: ‘I was in the teaching house when the first bomb hit.‘
Slice : Juicy Moments from my Impossible Life, by Steven Herrick (222 pages) – ‘Darcy can cope with parents, parties, punch-ups, his infatuation with the beautiful Audrey, even the misadventures of kayaking on a school excursion. If only he’d learn to keep his mouth closed.’ (Pulled from the back blurb.)
First lines: ‘My name is Darcy Franz Pele Walker. Ignore the middle names. I do.‘
Possessing Jessie, by Nancy Springer (88 pages) – Jessie’s popular brother died a week ago, and when she starts imitating the way he cut his hair, wearing his clothes, and even copying the way he walked, her mother seems to brighten and she (Jessie, not the mother!) becomes the centre of attention at school. But soon this ‘weird obsession’ take over! A remarkably complex story for a book of only 88 pages.
First line: ‘Jessie put on her brother’s True Athlete T-shirt.‘
Jack Flint and the Dark Ways, by Joe Donnelly (276 pages) – This is the third Jack Flint book. Sorcerers, gargoyles, nightshades, giant spiders, and all kinds of evil badness get in Jack’s path as he continues his search for his old man.
First line: ‘Jack Flint had never felt so completely alone in his life.‘
Darke Academy : Blood Ties, by Gabriella Poole (288 pages) – This, the second Darke Academy book, has vampires, fairies, and (obviously!) supernatural content, according to the subject headings in the catalogue.
First lines: ‘“Hey kiddo. Are we keeping you up?” The voice sounded familiar, but somehow muffled and distant.‘
Montacute House, by Lucy Jago (278 pages) – A boy is found dead, and Cess’s friend disappears; are they connected? Cess thinks so, and attempts to solve the mystery, becoming involved in a ‘terrible intrigue’. Set in 1596, and there may be witches.
First lines: ‘“Ugh, droppings between my toes.’ Cess kicked off her clogs anyway, because they were rubbing.‘
Checkered Flag Cheater, by Will Weaver (198 pages) – Trace Bonham (not Tracy Bonham! Let’s be clear) is the teen driver for a professional Super Stock racing team. He always wins on the track and off the track, but does he deserve it? Let the title offer a clue.
First line: ‘Trace Bonham poked the Seek button.‘
Breathless, by Jessica Warman (311 pages) – Katie Kitrell is a swimming prodigy, and at her new school she tries to become popular as well as a swimming star, all the while she’s trying to cope with the recent death of her older, institutionalised brother.
First line: ‘There’s a man feeding the koi in our fishpond because my parents don’t want to do it themselves.‘
The new book:
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella, Stephenie Meyer (178 pages) – I have been told that Stephenie Meyer says you should probably read this book before seeing the Eclipse movie. No pressure: you’ve got a week. Bree Tanner, as you know, had the misfortune to live in the area when Victoria was creating her vampire army – this tells you all about Bree’s vampire life, from go to woah.
The clip:
As people have been discussing what’s the new vampire (although, what with The Vampire Diaries finally being on TV and Eclipse and all you’d be forgiven for thinking that vampires are the new vampire), we thought we’d add this clip below to the mix. Maggie Stiefvater, author of Shiver (a book about werewolves) and Ballad (a book about fairies) has her own theory:
We quite like this idea. We think it has legs. (Also: Linger, the sequel to Shiver, will be out soon.)
The Rolling Stones’ Exile On Main St. has been given a deluxe reissue, presumably for its 38th anniversary. On disc number one is the original classic (really, classic) album from 1972, considered by many as the definitive Rolling Stones work and on disc number two are ten bonus tracks originally left on the cutting room floor, but recently given a re-working. Kind of a borrow one free, get another one free deal there.
Glee : the music. Volume 3, Showstoppers deluxe is the latest from the Glee stable of cover versions. Included on this volume are Glee-a-fied tracks by The Beatles, Lady Gaga, Christina Aguilera, Lionel Richie, Parliament and a whole lot more. It also features a guest spot from Olivia Newton-John. So far five Glee soundtracks have been released – that’s a lot.
This month polite soft-rocker Jack Johnson released his latest, To The Sea. Mellow acoustic strumming and sleepy grooves with introspective lyrics sit side by side on this one. Jack Johnson fact: he was a professional surfer at the age of 17, but injured himself in his first competition and decided music was the better route. Then his first five albums went platinum and it seemed to be a wise choice.
This is a short paragraph about an album by The Black Keys. The name of this album is Brothers. This album is their sixth and it seems to be their big commercial breakthrough, reaching number three on the Billboard charts on debut – deservedly so, because it is great. Once I saw them play live and the drummer was playing so hard he broke one of his sticks, but then he picked up another one out of his kit and kept playing without missing a beat. Good stuff.
Australian drum and bassers Pendulum have a new one called Immersion on our shelves. It includes an appearance from Prodigy’s Liam Howlett. Pendulum have received a lot of praise from the drum and bass community since their beginnings in 2002 and it has continued with this release. Make your house sound like a commercial for a snowboard shop.
Local hip-hopper David Dallas used to be known as Con Psy and was one half of Frontline. He dropped the moniker for his solo career because he never introduced himself to people using his alias and felt more comfortable using his birth name. Anyway, his second, Something Awesome is now available.
A contender for Teen Blog album of 2010 is This Is Happening by James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem. Murphy has stated in interviews that this will be his last album as LCD Soundsystem and if so, boy oh boy has he gone out on a high note. More excellent dance music for the rock kids, especially the David Bowie sampling All I Want.
Harmonic Feedback, by Tara Kelly (280 pages) – Drea has ‘a touch of Asperger’s’, and is obsessed with music. When she moves to a new town AGAIN she – at long last! – makes some friends, and even finds love maybe.
First lines: ‘One in thirty-eight. Bet on a single number in roulette, and those are the odds of winning.‘
Boys That Bite : A Blood Coven Vampire Novel, by Mari Mancusi (262 pages) – Looks like we’ve got a new (and ‘refreshingly different’) vampire series. Sunny is dragged to something called Club Fang by her sister, Rayne, and finds out that the members are not just playing dress-up – she gets bitten and has a week to undo it.
First line: ‘You know, being bitten by a vampire one week before prom really sucks.‘
90 Packets of Instant Noodle, by Deb Fitzpatrick (307 pages) – Joel and his chum Craggs drink, steal, and generally cause havoc together. SO Joel’s dad, with the police, send them off to a remote bush shack for 90 days. Where, presumably! all they have to eat are noodles.
First line: ‘It was Dad who finally snapped over what had been going on.‘
Thirteen Days to Midnight, by Patrick Carman (296 pages) – Jacob Fielding is given the rather enviable power of indestructability, and begins to use his new power for good. BUT there’s a curse to the ability, and he has thirteen days to sort it out.
First line: ‘Jacob Fielding stood in a small room and stared at a body.‘
The Prince of Mist, by Carlos Ruis Zafon (202 pages) – A ‘haunting story of magic, mystery and adventure’, about a boy who moves to a house overlooking the sea and the mysterious (and terrifying!) Prince of the Mist. And a weird, staring cat.
First line: ‘Max would never forget that faraway summer when, almost by chance, he discovered magic.‘
Every Little Thing in the World, by Nina de Gramont (282 pages) – Sydney is sixteen, and going off the rails. So her parents send her to one of those ‘hard-love’ wilderness camps in the Canadian wilds for four weeks of Bear Grylls-lite survivalism. But! She is pregnant. Whatever will she do?
First line: ‘Natalia and I stole her mother’s new blue Cadillac and drove out to Overpeck to find Tommy.‘
The Cardturner : A Novel about a King, a Queen, and a Joker, by Louis Sachar (336 pages) – Alton’s rich, old and blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him. Which is a good plan when there’s an inheritance to think about! Alton soon learns a lot about his family history and himself as one mystery after another are discovered.
First line: ‘Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had it drilled into me that my uncle Lester was my favourite uncle.‘
With a Sword in My Hand, by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs (266 pages) – An ‘enthralling medieval adventure’ about Marguerite, who refuses to conform to type, and learns how to use a sword, ride horses, and outwit the boys. The Court of Flanders has other ideas! This has won loads of awards, and is based on the real Marguerite van Male.
First line: ‘The knights of Flanders and Brabant will swear allegiance to the infant in its cradle.‘
The Beastly Bride : Tales of the Animal People, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (500 pages) – This is a large collection of original stories and poems about shapechangers – werewolves, vampires, and so on – with illustrations by Charles Vess.
I Love You Zelda Bloo, by Gretel Killeen (183 pages) – Zelda Blookwell is the daughter of famous parents. She gets kidnapped when she goes with her mother to interview child soldiers, and while trying to survive she meets – and falls in love with! - Saro.
First line: ‘Help me. Can you help me? Please!‘
Palace Beautiful, by Sarah DeFord Williams (232 pages) – Sadie and best friend Bella find a secret room in the attic of their house, and there they discover a diary written one Helen during the 1918 ‘flu epidemic (which killed 50 million people worldwide!). As the girls try to find out what happened to Helen, Sadie’s ‘worries about her own family come closer to reality.’
First line: ‘My sister Zuzu says no one can remember the day they born, but I do.‘
Dancing in the Dark, by Robyn Bavati (290 pages) – Ditty’s very religious parents forbid her to take ballet lessons. So she starts ballet in secret! Of course the will come a point when the two world clash.
First line: ‘I’m lying on my bed, staring at the peeling paper on the wall in my room.‘
Henrietta Hornbuckle’s Circus of Life, by Michael de Guzman (152 pages) – Twelve-year-old Henrietta is a clown, as are her parents. In fact! Everyone she knows is a clown, because she is with a small travelling circus. She (and the other clowns) are on their way to New York City for a ‘climactic performance’, but first life throws a pie right in her kisser.
First line: ‘She stood at the stern of the ferry as it pulled away from the Connecticut shore.‘
The Alpha Bet, by Stephanie Hale (233 pages) – The admirably-named Grace Kelly Cook is only sixteen when she graduates from high school, and decides to join the Alpha Sorority at college. She lies a little bit on her application! So now she’s fearful of being discovered. And also she has to do something called the ‘Alpha Bet’, a super-secret series of tasks.
First line: ‘“It’s a dorm, Mom, not the Playboy Mansion,” I whisper in her ear, hoping she’ll stop throwing her evil eye looks around at all the kids in my new dorm.‘
Beautiful Monster, by Kate McCaffrey (231 pages) – All this typing! I will just C&P this book’s synopsis. “Tessa’s brother is dead, and her Mum is so deeply enmeshed in grief she might as well be too. Tessa is left with no-one to turn to but Ned. He’s been her staunchest ally, privy to her deepest secrets. But even Ned has a dark side. He knows all her weak spots and will exploit every one to keep her by his side.”
First lines: ‘The school bus hisses to a stop. Tessa Edwards looks up from her maths book as Camilla lifts her bag onto her shoulder.‘
Choppy Socky Blues, by Ed Briant (259 pages) – Jason’s father is a movie stuntman and a karate blackbelt. He’s also a liar who left his family, according to Jason, who vows to never do karate as a consequence. But then Jason meets Tinga, who is gorgeous and is going for her blue belt – Jason (rashly!) says he is too, and the only one who can help him is his dad.
First line: ‘My name is Jason Smallfield, I’m fourteen, and my father is an Imperial storm trooper.‘
Raven Speak, by Diane Lee Wilson (254 pages) – Asa and her horse Rune make a run for it when her clan’s wise man – who is hungry for power (and horsemeat) while Asa’s Viking chief father is away – demands Rune be sacrificed. Asa finds shelter with an old, one-eyed woman with a pair of ravens. The old woman also demands a sacrifice …
First line: ‘In the pale light of a wintry morning seven men saddled their ship across bucking white waves.‘
Split, by Swati Avasthi (282 pages) – Sixteen-year-old Jace is thrown out of his home by his abusive father, and goes to live with his older brother, who long ago left to escape the abuse.
First line: ‘Now I have to start lying. While I stare through the windshield at the building my brother lives in, I try to think up a good lie.‘
A Wizard of Mars, by Diane Duane (549 pages) – This here book is number nine in the Young Wizards series, in which Kit and Nina ‘manage to wangle their way onto an elite team sent to investigate the mysterious, long-sought “message in a bottle” that holds the first clues to the secrets of the ancient Martian race‘
First lines: ‘The problem, Kit thought, scowling at the paper, isn’t the basic shape, so much. It’s what to do with the legs …‘
My Private Pectus, by Shane Thamm (278 pages) – ‘A story about footy, cars and a young man who discovers that revealing his greatest secret is the only way to hold on to the people he loves.‘ (I just copied that from the back cover.)
First line: ‘Dad just landed the job as assistant rugby league coach at St Philip’s College.‘
There are only a handful of new books this week. There’s a stack of DVDs though! Quite exciting for anime fans!
Here are the books.
Here’s How I See It: Here’s How It Is, by Heather Henson (270 pages) – The remarkably named Junebug wants to be an actress, but at the age of thirteen she’s still a stagehand at her parents’ playhouse. She feels like she’s becoming the perfect stagehand – this isn’t necessarily good, as it means she feels invisible!
First line: ‘Here’s how I see it: everything is going to be okay, just like Dad said.‘
Ship Breaker : A Novel, by Paolo Bacigalupi (326 pages) – In the grim, grim future (teens like dystopian novels!) Nailer, a teenaged boy, strips beached oil tankers for their copper. He stumbles across an ‘exquisite’ clipper ship beached in a hurrican and must decide between stripping it for parts or helping out the sole survivor (she is rich and beautiful!)
First line: ‘Nailer clambered through a service duct, tugging at copper wire and yanking it free.‘
Wolves, Boys, & Other Things That Might Kill Me : A Novel, by Kristen Chandler (371 pages) – KJ lives in Montana, near Yellowstone park, where introduced wolves are splitting the community. Is she for them or against them? Do I mean the wolves, or the community? Yes to both!
First lines: ‘Wolves don’t actually howl at the moon. Mostly they howl at each other. I’m a girl, so I get that.‘
The Carrie Diaries, by Candace Bushnell (389 pages) – Carrie Bradshaw is the main character in the Sex And The City TV series and films. This book is her ‘diary’ from when she was a teen in Connecticut in the early ’80s, and before she went to New York.
First lines: ‘They say a lot can happen in a summer. Or not.‘
My Worst Best Friend, by Dyan Sheldon (303 pages) – Grace and Savanna are besties! Even soul sisters. But sometimes friendships can turn sour.
First line: ‘The way I saw it when I was in high school, even though there were still millioins of different life forms left on the planet, there were basically only two kinds of girls: Those Girls and everyone else.‘
Out of Shadows, by Jason Wallace (277 pages) – This is set in Zimbabwe, in the early ’80s, just after independence. Robert is new to the country, and finds that some of his classmates are keen for the country to return to the old, white-led past, at any cost.
First line: ‘Go ahead, shoot, I thought, because I was thirteen and deperate and anything, absolutely anything, was better than the fate to which my parents were leading me.‘
Here are the new DVDs! We have added the newest Bleach DVDs (volumes 16 to 20), and we’ve also got the first Bleach film, Bleach : Memories of Nobody. (There’s talk of a live-action Bleach film, btw.) We have added a couple of Ghost In The Shell : Stand Alone Complex DVDs to the YA collection, and the entire first series of Tsubasa in one, six-disc boxed set. Boxed sets of shounen-ai classic Gravitation and FLCL (pronounced ‘fooly-cooly’) are also in. As well as! Death Note : Relight 2 (highly recommended), the first three Bakugan DVDs, a couple more Dragonball Z movies, the 2001 OVA of Spirit of Wonder, and the complete series of the French-Japanese animation, The Mysterious Cities of Gold (which came out in 1982, when Carrie Bradshaw was in high school).
Jack White’s second side project gets a second album. Number two for Dead Weather is Sea Of Cowards. They’re fast workers, it’s been less than a year since the band debuted and they’ve gotten through their fair share of touring too. Luckily a busy schedule fits Dead Weather’s jam band style and with the amount of playing together it just means they sound tighter and more assured.
B.o.B is, as far as I know at least, the only rapper ever to have guest spots from Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo and Eminem on the same album. If that sounds like a baffling mix, it’s because it is. Listen to The adventures of Bobby Ray, though and you’ll come to the realisation that it’s a fair reflection on B.o.B.’s eclectic, energetic style.
A pair of Hot Chip albums; The Warning, from 2006, and Made In The Dark, from 2008. Quirky indie-electro from the UK, it’s dance music for headphones and pop for the fringes. Made In The Dark is the introspective one and The Warning is the awkward dance party. Recommended.
Pakistan born, English raised, Bat For Lashes released her second album, Two Suns last year to rave reviews. Cute indie-pop with a pleasing depth to it - there’s a lot going on underneath the catchy surface to reward repeated listenings. If the Cat Powers and the PJ Harveys get heavy rotation on your stereo, this should too.
Nights Out by Metronomy is yet more party focussed electro for our shelves. Slick, exciting and modern, it’s an hour-long soundtrack for a, well, night out. They toured here a few months ago and Teen Blog sources reported a fun, sweaty experience.
Parisian electro duo Justice picked up the torch where Daft Punk left off with their debut, Cross. Released in 2007 it reinvigorated the dance genre with it’s anything goes approach and devil may care attitude. Due to the sample heavy nature it sounds like dance music for the rock kids and rock music for the dance kids. Recommended.
Spells, by Aprilynne Pike (425 pages) – Laurel is a faerie, placed among the humans when she was a baby. A baby faerie! She still lives in the human world (a boyfriend you see) but the faerie realm is threatened, so she’s got to do something about it.
First line: ‘Laurel stood in front of the cabin, scanning the tree line, her throat constricting in a rush of nerves.’
f2m – The Boy Within, by Hazel Edwards and Ryan Kennedy (330 pages) – Skye is in an all-girl punk band, and her world is turned upside-down when she decides to transition to male. Skye becomes Finn, and his family and friends will need to come to terms with this.
First line: ‘Tick the box. M or F.‘
Where I Belong, by Gillian Cross (340 pages) – Human smuggling, Somalia, and supermodels!
First line: ‘Spin the globe, boy,’ my father used to say.‘
Jaguar Warrior, by Sandy Fussell (212 pages) – Atl is an Aztec boy who runs from captivity (and human sacrifice I think?) towards freedom. Who can blame him!
First line: ‘“Why isn’t that boy dead yet?” When the captain shouts, even the temple walls shiver.‘
Shadow of the Dragon: Book 2 – Elspeth, by Kate O’Hearn (374 pages) – The king’s ‘First Law’ is an incredibly restrictive bunch of rules preventing girls from going anywhere near dragons (torture then execution you see) but Elspeth and her sister Kira aren’t having any of it.
First line: ‘The heavy rain that fell from the stormy skies around them did little to dampen the celebrations of the dragon riders cutting through the thick dark clouds.‘
Witchfinder : Dawn of the Demontide, by William Hussey (337 pages) – The Demontide is coming, and Jake Harker is ‘the only one who can stop it.’ Sounds pretty grim! This is the first book in a planned trilogy. There is an official website here.
First line: ‘“HELP! Someone – anyone – please, help me!”‘
Thief Eyes, by Janni Lee Simner (259 pages) – Sixteen-year-old Haley goes to Iceland with her father to try to find her mother, who disappeared there some time ago. She touches a magic coin Hallgerd (Haley’s ancestor – and a sorceress!) that curses her. Haley now needs to break the spell, and sets off with the gorgeous but dangerous Ari.
First line: ‘ Icy rain blew into my hood and dripped down my neck as I knelt on the mossy stones.‘
Bead, Boys, and Bangles, by Sophia Bennett (304 pages) – This is the second book in the Threads series, which is about four girls and ‘their amazing adventure with fashion.’ In this installment Crow’s designs may be manufactured by children in India!
First line: ‘I’ve never seen Crow look so scared. And this time she’s got a point.‘
Greener Grass, by Caroline Pignat (276 pages) – Ireland 1847. The Great Famine! Kit’s family is to be evicted – is there anything she can do to help her family? She will do anything.
First line: ‘They say home is where the heart is. I believed that, once.‘
Borderline, by Allan Stratton (298 pages) – Sami is the only Muslim at his private school. When is father is implicated in a terrorist plot, Sami’s ‘must fight to keep his world from unraveling.’ A thriller!
First line: ‘I’m next door in Andy’s driveway, shooting hoops with him and Marty.‘
Alchemy and Meggy Swann, by Karen Cushman (167 pages) – Meggy is sent from her country village to Elizabethan-era London. From a dire beginning she works her way to improve her lot in the same way that her father, an achemist, attempts to turn base metal into gold.
First line: ‘“Ye toads and vipers,” the girl said, as her granny often had, “ye toads and vipers,” and she snuffled a great snuffle that echoed in the empty room.‘
Burned : A House of Night Novel, by P. C. and Kristin Cast (323 pages) – Book seven in the series, and one of the Most Wanted books this month. Having not read this I do not know what is going on. High Priestesses! Neferet! Bringing back Zoey!
First line: ‘Kalona lifted his hands. He didn’t hesitate.‘
Sources of Light, by Margaret McMullan (233 pages) – Mississippi, 1962, and fourteen-year-old Sam ‘learns to use her camera to look for the shades of gray’ in a black and white world.
First line: ‘The year after my father died, my mother took a job teaching at a small college in Jackson, Mississippi.‘
Spirit Bound : A Vampire Academy Novel, by Richelle Mead (489 pages) – This is the fifth novel in the series. And what happens? ‘Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s and to her best friend, Lissa. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he’s out there, somewhere. He has tasted her blood, and now he is hunting her. Only this time, he won’t rest until Rose joins him–forever.’ So says the catalogue.
First line: ‘There’s a big difference between death threats and love letters – even if the person writing the death threats still claims to actually love you.‘
Hex Hall, by Rachel Hawkins (323 pages) – Sixteen-year-old Sophie discovers she’s a witch, but after screwing up a love spell she’s sent to Hecate ‘Hex’ Hall, a reform school for witches, shapeshifters, and faeries. Also ghosts and a vampire. There’s a mystery predator also.
First line: ‘Felicia Miller was crying in the bathroom. Again.‘
The Reckoning : The Darkest Power, by Kelley Armstrong (391 pages) – Book three! Chloe is fifteen and is a genetically engineered necromancer, and has feelings for a sorcerer and his brother, a werewolf, all the while on the run from the corporation that created her (and the others).
First line: ‘After four nights on the run, I was finally safe, tucked into bed and enjoying the deep, dreamless sleep of the dead … until the dead decided they’d really rather have me awake.‘
Koh Tabu, by Ann Kelley (260 pages) – A group of girls are stranded on an island after their boat is blown off course. It’s all an adventure to begin with but quickly becomes an all-girl Lord of the Flies + Man Vs Wild mashup.
First line: ‘It all began with my mother changing her mind.‘
Rich and Mad, by William Nicholson (341 pages)
The Island, by Sarah Singleton (294 pages)
Ondine : The Summer of Shambles, by Ebony McKenna (291 pages)
Because I Am Furniture, by Thalia Chaltas (352 pages)
Friday’s offering:
The Unwritten Rule, Elizabeth Scott (210 pages) – The unwritten rule is of course don’t fancy your best friend’s boyfriend (a theme from the last batch of new books). This time, Sarah’s doing a pretty good job of avoiding Ryan (being Brianna’s boyfriend), until they’re “thrown together” one night. The first sentence sums it up.
First sentence: I liked him first, but it doesn’t matter.
After Tupac & D Foster, Jacqueline Woodson (151 pages) – Neeka and her best friend form a bond with D Foster, and the three girls explore life, and the music of Tupac Shakur, learning tough lessons in the process. (A Newbery Honor Book)
First sentence: The summer before D Foster’s real mama came and took her away, Tupac wasn’t dead yet.
Stuck on Earth, David Klass (227 pages) – Ketchvar III comes to Earth in order to answer the following question: “Should the Sandovinians release the Gagnerian Death Ray and erase the human species for good?” In order to do this (answer the question, not erase the species) he inhabits the brain of Tom Filber, the geekiest geek, ironically almost an alien himself, so geeky is he. Needless to say, Ketchvar becomes quite involved in Tom’s life, which may well be a good thing for Earth.
First sentence: We are skimming over the New Jersey countryside in full search mode, hunting a fourteen-year-old.
Split, Swati Avasthi (280 pages) – Jace Witherspoon has escaped his abusive home and gone to live with his brother. “A riveting portrait of what happens after,” the cover says.
First sentence: Now I have to start lying.
It’s Not Summer Without You, Jenny Han (275 pages) – the sequel to The Summer I Turned Pretty. “Teenaged Isobel ‘Belly’ Conklin, whose life revolves around spending the summer at her mother’s best friend’s beach house, reflects on the tragic events of the past year that changed her life forever.” (Catalogue)
First sentence: It was a hot summer day in Cousins.
Shooting Star, Frederick McKissack Jr (273 pages) – Jomo Rodgers is a very good (American) football player, on the varsity team at school etc. He feels the pressure to be more than very good, cranks up the training and finds himself dealing with the question, to use steroids or not?
First sentence: Breathing is a natural process, yet Jomo Rodgers found himself flat on his back trying to remember how to do it.
Broken Memory, Elisabeth Combres (132 pages) – Emma’s mother is murdered by the Tutsis, and Emma (a Tutsi) is taken in by an old Hutu woman and brought up in her home, gradually coming to terms with her terrible past. A story inspired by the genocide in Rwanda.
First sentence: They are there.
Headgames, Casey Lever (282 pages) – Steven Byrd learns the hard way that girls who think you’re a waste of space and who then invite you to be a part of their secret game are probably up to no good. “Everyone has secrets. But who will be the first to crack?” asks the cover.
First line(s): Bell. Ancient History. Ms Landers was away on Year 9 camp, so the class had been off-loaded onto the Resource Centre.
Lockdown, Alexander Gordon Smith (273 pages) – The first in the Escape from Furnace series. Furnace is a maximum security prison, a mile under the earth’s surface. When Alex Sawyer is convicted of a murder he didn’t commit he is sent there, and realises quickly he must escape or face a life worse than death.
First sentence: If I stopped running I was dead.
No and Me, Delphine de Vigan (246 pages) – Lou lives in a quietly disfunctional family, where her father is barely holding up and her mother hasn’t left their appartment for years. She meets No, a homeless girl, and invites her to live with them. A novel about ” the true nature of home and homelessness”.
First sentence: “Miss Bertignac, I don’t see your name on the list of presentations.”
Daywards, Anthony Eaton (3341 pages) – Book three in the Darklands trilogy. Dara, Jaran, Eyna and their family must leave their home when the ghosts of a dead civilisation return to haunt them.
First sentence: The day Da Janil died, Dara had expected to be let off hunting duty.
The Summer I Got a Life, Mark Fink (195 pages) – Andy and Brad are brothers who don’t exactly get along. When their Hawaii holiday turns into time on their uncle and aunt’s farm in Wisconsin things might seem to be distinctly average, but then Andy meets Laura, who is amazing, and all things considered the summer might end up being not so terrible.
First sentence: I was totally pumped!
Also:
Anonymity Jones, James Roy (196 pages)
Finders Keepers, Marilyn Kaye (216 pages, Gifted series)
Where There’s Smoke, John Heffernan (205 pages)
Here’s a fun fact about Dionne Bromfield; Amy Winehouse is her godmother. Other facts include her being only just old enough to have a YA card when she signed her first record deal (13), her album, Introducing Dionne Bromfield reached number 43 in the UK charts and is now in our collection. Get it if you like the neo-soul.
John Mayer continues to ride on the adult-alternative train with studio album number five, Battle Studies. Just based on the title and track names such as Heartbreak Warfare, Assassin and War Of My Life, I’d say it’s a Love Is A Battlefield themed concept album. I guess those high profile break-ups combined with Pat Benatar are good for the creativity.
Daft Punk’s Musique Vol. 1: 1993-2005 is a collection of the robotic duo’s singles and most bangerific moments. As the French pair are responsible for some of the highest high points electro has ever reached, it’s a fantastic album. Do yourself a favour and youtube some of their videos, unless of course you don’t enjoy anime, dancing mummies and robots shredding on guitars.
James Murphy’s LCD Soundsystem are another band responsible for some great electro. Their 2007 release Sound Of Silver was (rightly) trumpeted by critics as one of the best of the year and pitchfork.com named All My Friends number two song of the decade. More importantly (?) it gets the Synthesiser Patel seal of approval.
A less spooky batch.
Runaway, Meg Cabot (an Airhead novel, 310 pages) – in which Em is on the run, discovers Nikki’s secret and turns to Will Christopher for help (even if this means Stark Enterprises might try to kill him as well as her).
First sentence: So according to the tabloids, I’m on a secret love getaway (not so secret anymore now, though, is it? Thank you, Us Weekly) with Brandon Stark, the only son and… [it's a long one.]
An Off Year, Claire Zulkey (213 pages) – Instead of starting her first year at college, Cecily decides to take a gap year to find out what she wants to do with her life. A tall order!
First sentence: I raised the key and hesitated.
Scarlett Fever, Maureen Johnson (332 pages) – Scarlett’s family has money strife, so she’s working as an assistant to a Broadway star while still at school, wishing her ex boyfriend would contact her, being a bit disturbed by her lab partner Max (wonder where that’s going), and being stressed out by various members of her family.
First sentence: It was four thirty in the morning, and Scarlett wanted answers.
Dirty Little Secrets, C. J. Omololu (210 pages) – “When her unstable mother dies unexpectedly, sixteen-year-old Lucy must take control and find a way to keep the long-held secret of her mother’s compulsive hoarding from being revealed to friends, neighbours, and especially the media.” (catalogue entry)
First sentence: Everyone has secrets.
Something Like Fate, Susane Colasanti (267 pages) – It’s a love triangle! Lani and Erin are best friends. Erin starts dating Jason, trouble is, there’s distinct chemistry between Lani and Jason. Then, to make matters more trying, Erin goes away for the summer…
First sentence: I never meant for it to happen like this.
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood, Eileen Cook (261 pages) – Just before high school Lauren completely humiliated Helen, so badly that Helen had to move to another town. Lauren’s been gliding through high school as Ms Popular since then, but one suspects – based on the title – that she is going to get her comeuppance.
First sentence: Last night I dreamed I dissected Lauren Wood in Earth Sciences class.
Forget-Her-Nots, Amy Brecount White (365 pages) – Laurel can do things using flowers. Her mother meant to tell her what this means before she died, and she seems to have left her clues as to what her power means, but can Laurel learn about it, what it means, and how to control it, before things go off the rails (quite possibly at prom)?
First sentence: Lily reread the letter to her daughter and signed her name at the bottom.
Drawing With Light, Julia Green (247 pages) – Emily’s family is in flux, which causes her to start thinking about her birth mother, who left when she was a baby. “A compelling and powerfully told story about love, growing up and finding out who you really are.” (cover)
First line: “Where are you? Kat? Emily?”
Life Swap, Abby McDonald (303 pages) – Tasha, from Santa Barbara, and Emily, from Oxford University, swap places for a semester. Sounds great, but their new lives mean they must message each other regularly for advice.
First sentence: This is so not a good idea.
Here are the latest CDs to arrive in the YA collection. There have been a lot lately, but there’s even more on the way if you can believe it.
First up is Glee : the music : the power of Madonna. This features Glee cast members singing Madonna songs, as if you couldn’t guess from the very informative title. It’s the soundtrack to the fifteenth episode of Glee, which hasn’t aired in New Zealand yet, which means it’s kind of a sneak preview. Listen to the future! Sort of.
Twilight : music from the original motion picture soundtrack has been deluxe-ified with the addition of a DVD and some bonus tracks. Alongside the original hits from Paramore, Muse, Iron and Wine and the rest are remixes, live versions, acoustic re-workings, interviews, videos and all that sort of jazz. One of the interviews is with Hayley Williams from Paramore, making it a must have for Paramore fans and Twi-hards alike.
British electro-pop starlet Ellie Goulding released debut, Lights, last year to positive reviews after becoming a hit in the blogosphere. Imagine the middle ground between Florence and the Machine and something more poppy, like say, Atomic Kitten and you’ll be right about on the money. If that sounds like a cup of tea you’d enjoy a sip of, you know what to do, issue it obvs.
Taylor Swift’s Fearless has also be given a deluxe-ing and the result is Fearless : platinum edition. Now it includes previously unissued tracks + DVD with music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, photo gallery and awards footage. No word on whether the awards footage includes a bonus interrupting Kanye West. Though it would be an absolute travesty if it didn’t. There’s quite a few extras anyway, so probably worth a look-see if you enjoyed it the first time around.
The Phoenix Foundation’s latest, Buffalo, is here. It’s a continuation of the freak folk/alt-country/pop stylings they’ve been crafting for over a decade now. They’re from Wellington and it’s still New Zealand Music Month for a week or so, which means you should support them by issuing their albums, they’re good.
Former Guns ‘n’ Roses (back when they were awesome) guitarist, Slash, has an album out called Slash. It’s not quite a solo album because every song features at least one of a cast of extremely varied guest vocalists. Which hopefully means there is something for everyone, examples: Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, Chris Cornell, Adam Levine, Dave Grohl, Kid Rock and Iggy Pop. Quite a mix, huh?
Also, some new DVDs. Totally spies! : the movie, Doctor Who. The masque of Mandragora, Whip it, Doctor Who. Peladon tales, and Naruto. Collection 2, Episodes 14-25
Hang on to your hats, there’s a lot of suspense and horror in here, including a fair amount of creepy New Zealand novels.
Radiant Shadows, Melissa Marr (340 pages) – the second to last instalment in the Wicked Lovely series focuses on Devlin - the High Court’s assassin – Ani – Gabriel’s halfling daughter – and Rea – an incorporeal human who can animate bodies and manipulate dreams. Much shocking stuff happens, several past characters are back (Seth, Irial, Niall), several past characters are absent (Ash, Keenan, Donia), and it all looks like it’s heading for a big showdown.
First sentence: Devlin stood immobile as the spectral girl approached.
Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Stephenie Meyer, art and adaptation by Young Kim. The much talked about graphic novel of the much more talked about novel. Good or bad? Read it and tell us what you think.
First sentence: I’d never given much thought to how I would die – though I’d had reason enough in the last few months.
The Sight, Judy Blundell (writing as Jude Watson, 202 pages) – The Sight is two novels in one, Premonitions and Disappearance. Gracie has premonitions and when her friend Emily disappears she is forced to use them to try and uncover what has happened.
First sentence: I think I was a nice person before my mom died.
White Cat, Holly Black (310 pages) – Cassel is the ungifted member of a family of “curseworkers”, but then he starts dreaming of a white cat who wants to communicate with him, and other strange, disturbing things happen. The cover says it’s “a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic”.
First sentence: I wake up barefoot, standing on cold slate tiles.
Guardian of the Dead, Karen Healey (335 pages) – a New Zealand fantasy in which the ordinary (or so she thinks) Ellie becomes aware of “something ancient and deadly” waiting in the woods near her school. Libba Bray read it and said, “Creepy, funny, sexy, smart and sometimes just downright, pull-the-covers-up-to-your-neck-and-pray-for-morning frightening.”
First sentence: I opened my eyes.
The Limping Man, Maurice Gee (176 pages) – the final book in the series that began with the award winning Salt. “What is the source of the Limping Man’s monstrous power?” This is the question Hana and Ben must find the answer to in order to defeat the Limping Man before his power become all consuming.
First sentence: Hana ran through the broken streets of Blood Burrow.
Beautiful Malice, Rebecca James (294 pages) – Katherine is determined to make a new start in Sydney, but develops a friendship with Alice, who has a bright side but also a dark side, which will lead both girls to “an explosive and devastating finale.”
First sentence: I didn’t go to Alice’s funeral.
Everwild, Neal Shusterman (242 pages) – the second book in the Skinjacker trilogy. “Nick, known as the dreaded “chocolate ogre,” is trying to find all the children in Everlost and release them from the limbo they are in, while Mikey and Allie have joined a band of skinjackers and are putting themselves in danger by visiting the world of the living.” (catalogue entry)
First sentence: There were rumours.
The Taniwha’s Tear, David Hair (357 pages) – the sequel to The Bone Tiki. Puarata’s warlocks are fighting a war in mythical Aotearoa that is threatening to spill into the real world. Matiu has promised to help the taniwha who, it is hoped, is the key to stopping this happening, but can anyone be trusted?
First sentence: Christmas on the beach had been a Douglas family tradition since before Matiu was born.
Darke Academy: Blood Ties, Gabriella Poole (288 pages) – the Darke Academy is in New York and Cassie is coming to terms with her powers, then “an old enemy returns”… Perhaps the person on the cover with the glowing red eyes and the manly, furrowed brow?
First sentence: “Hey kiddo are we keeping you up?”
Ebony Hill, Anna McKenzie (223 pages) – the sequel to The Sea-wreck Stranger. Ness and Ronan are on opposite sides of a battle of survival between two communities, Vidya and Ebony Hill.
First sentence: From above the gardens that stride in wide stairs up the hillside, I look out over the wreckage of a world I’ll never know.
Monster Republic, Ben Horton (279 pages) – “An explosion in a nuclear power plant. Kids patched up with scavenged body parts and bionic implants. A growing army of superhuman soldiers programmed for destruction. Cameron Riley is about to discover that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger…” (Back cover). Looks good for people who aren’t big fans of reading.
First sentence: Even though it was well past midnight when the phone call came, Dr Lazarus Fry answered it before the second ring.
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