Edgar Award nominees for Best Juvenile and Best YA

In case you missed it, last week Mystery Writers of America announced their Edgar Award nominees. As always, I'm going to make an attempt to read the Juvenile and YA category books.


In case you feel like joining in, here is the list:

BEST JUVENILE

Strike Three, You're Dead by Josh Berk (Random House Children's Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking by Erin Dionne (Penguin Young Readers Group – Dial)

P.K. Pinkerton and the Petrified Man by Caroline Lawrence

 (Penguin Young Readers Group – Putnam Juvenile)

Lockwood & Co.: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

(Disney Publishing Worldwide – Disney-Hyperion)

One Came Home by Amy Timberlake (Random House Children's Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)

BEST YA

 

 All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
(Penguin Young Readers Group – Viking Juvenile)
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (Random House Children's Books – Alfred A. Knopf BFYR)
Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy (Simon & Schuster – Simon Pulse)
How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
(Penguin Young Readers Group – Razorbill)
Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher (Hachette Book Group – Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Confession time: I had not heard of most of these... Since I read a lot of MG and YA mysteries, I did see the (very long) list of submissions, so I guess it's not surprising that these titles are unfamiliar to me. There are just so many books being published--which is a good thing.

I do have to say that I was surprised how many strong YA and MG mysteries from the submissions did not make the list this year, including ones by fairly well-known mystery authors... I guess awards are always a bit of a mystery, huh?

I'll be sure to review the nominees as I read them! This'll be fun...

 

Cliches in middle-grade books for reluctant readers, and why they need to go

I spent the past few years very focused on reading as much middle-grade as possible--especially middle-grade aimed at reluctant readers. You know, the not-so-fat books, books with more illustrations in them (like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, only not), books with bigger type, you get the idea. If you're going to write for a certain age group, you should read lots in that department too, I think.

So you'll routinely see me checking out stacks of middle-grade books at the library. It's nice reading, even if you're not eight-to-twelve years old. But as I read more, I also started noticing some cliches/trends.

Trend 1: Lots of smarty-mouth books featuring boys. Now, I can't say anything about the mouth business, because Linc has his share of attitude. But some of the attitude I see in these books is kind of... Disrespectful toward adults, or fellow kids that are portly/foreign/homely-looking. Maybe it's the parent in me, but I frowned at this trend. You can be a smart-mouth without being disrespectful, I think (hope).

Trend 2: In these same books, we're FOREVER AT SCHOOL. Wimpy Kid makes it work, but there's more to life than school, even if you're a kid who gets around on a bike or via parental transportation.

Trend 3: No plot. A smart mouth and middle-school detention does not a story make.

What's frustrating to me about these books is that I visit classrooms full of the intended readers all the time. We plot a novel together (loads of fun), and what strikes me every time is how smart, creative, imaginative, and positive middle-schoolers are. They deserve better books. Especially if they're reluctant readers, because how do we expect them to keep reading if all they get is books on boogers, farts, and snarky comments about odd kids?

The good news? There are a lot more books being published for middle-graders, and really GOOD books at that. Sure, many are still in the fantasy department, but contemporary fiction is represented too. Let's hope that we'll see fewer Wimpy Kid knock-offs (why try anyway? Jeff Kinney does such a great job), and more stories taking kids on adventures outside the classroom... More mysteries too, I hope.

What do you think? Are there any cliches you're sick of seeing?

Blog post: My plans for 2014 and January, plus a cat picture

Happy 2014! Hopefully, you're off to a good start, despite the frosty temperatures. Me, I've been fighting a wicked jetlag from our trip to the homeland (that's the Netherlands for me), and Paris, with a quick stop in Germany. I'll be sure to share some pics soon.

But I'm finally ready to join the new year, and have some new goals. First I'll be posting on Thursdays from now on--or at least, that's the plan. With writing, book business, and life in general, it seems like a good target. I hope you'll continue to stick around. What to expect? I'm glad you asked (maybe you didn't, but I'll share anyway. You can always skip to the cat picture).

1. More about books, and about reluctant readers.
I've been hosting a workshop at library and book conventions on reaching the reluctant reader, and the feedback and book recommendations from librarians, teachers and kids have been the best part for me. I'll share bits and pieces of info here in 2014.

2. More reviews.
My goal is to read all the books that were recommended to me during my workshop--so YA and MG for reluctant readers straight from the source. I'm excited to check out these titles.

3. More reviews--part 2.
I hope to read the Edgar nominees for both Juvenile and YA. It's a lofty goal, but I'm hoping to make it...

4. More reports from the road.
Because those are fun. I'm busy planning events for the first half of 2014; I'll have more to share on this next month...

In January, I'll be writing (YA this time, top-secret work-in-progress), and at the end of the month I'll be driving up to Jackson, MS to sign books at Lemuria along with fellow MG author J.E. Thompson. I'm really looking forward to this event.

How is your 2014 kicking off? Any good plans?

Oh, and here's the cat picture, as promised:

I put this basket out to hold our plethora of computer/electronics cables, but Xena instantly claimed it and gave me the stink-eye. It's obvious who rules the house...

Have a great holiday week!

I hope you spend this week with a great book, good food, and the people you love...

Happy holidays, and I'll see you in 2014!


 

The Wardrobe (my 2013 Advent Ghosts story contribution)

A short introduction to this post: my friend Loren Eaton runs an annual micro-flash challenge called Advent Ghosts on his blog, where he invites writers to post a spooky story of exactly 100 words. Fun, right?

Here's my (sort of) kid-friendly play on the theme--a bit of a creepy nod to a children's classic. Hope you enjoy!


The Wardrobe

The previous homeowners had left the wardrobe behind. Mom wasn’t happy.

“That monstrosity takes up half Emma’s room!”

But Emma loved the wardrobe. The floral carvings in the wood. The metal key in the lock even worked. Emma opened the door. Crawled inside.

Smiled as she closed the wardrobe.

Giggled when she saw the secret door in the back.

Held her breath when she turned the knob. Behind the door was no magical world. Only blackness darker than nightmares. Then a big hand pulled her wrist.

Hard.

Until Emma was the darkness. And the secret door blew shut. 

****

You can find more Advent Ghosts story links at Loren's blog.

Marvelous MG Monday book review: Fallout by Todd Strasser

From the publisher:

In the summer of 1962, the possibility of nuclear war is all anyone talks about. But Scott’s dad is the only one in the neighborhood who actually prepares for the worst. As the neighbors scoff, he builds a bomb shelter to hold his family and stocks it with just enough supplies to keep the four of them alive for two critical weeks. In the middle of the night in late October, when the unthinkable happens, those same neighbors force their way into the shelter before Scott’s dad can shut the door. With not enough room, not enough food, and not enough air, life inside the shelter is filthy, physically draining, and emotionally fraught. But even worse is the question of what will -- and won’t -- remain when the door is opened again. Internationally best-selling author Todd Strasser has written his most impressive and personal novel to date, ruthlessly yet sensitively exploring the terrifying what-ifs of one of the most explosive moments in human history.

My thoughts:

Fallout is very different from Strasser's Thrillogy novels, which is what I'd read before from this author. I was impressed by how he was able to bring the 1960s time period to life in a way that made me forget this happened more than fifty years ago. The writing has that same thriller feel as his other work, and the characters ring very true. 

I recommend Fallout as a classroom read to jump start conversation about the Cuban Missile Crisis, and what might have been. 

How I found out about this book:

I can't even remember where (Publishers Weekly maybe?), but I read an online interview with the author that had me intrigued. I'm a fan of Todd Strasser's other YA novels, so this quickly made its way onto my book list.

Note:

Fallout is designated by the publisher for ages ten-and-up, so this is definitely an older MG read. I would argue it would fit best in the younger YA category.

For more MMGM reviews, visit Shannon Messenger's blog!

The power of the paperback: reports from the road (plus, a #giveaway)

I've been a bit quiet around here lately--apologies for that. After the release of Double Vision: Code Name 711, I spent a lot of time doing school visits, book signings, and telling everyone who would listen about the book, and how cool George Washington is.

It's been fun. I'm happy to say that the world has a few more Linc readers. And I learned lots of new things while on the road, like that should always bring extra books, a sweater (that airconditioning can be crankin', y'all), and a lot of bookmarks.

One surprise was how fast the paperback of the first book sold! And it makes sense: you want to start a series at the beginning, plus paperbacks are easy on the wallet. I had a lot of people buy Double Vision as a stockingstuffer (how cool, huh?).

Which made me think it might be fun to do one last giveaway for the year. I like to play Santa...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

U.S. only, please, because of postage.

Happy reading, all!