Favorites of 2009!

G'bye, 2009! You were a good year. Here are the books I read in 2009 that made the greatest impact on me:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Willow by Julia Hoban
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins*
The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard*
The Body Finder by Kimberly Durting*
Green by Hayley Anne Perkins**

*These have 2010 release dates.
**Technically doesn't have a pub date, but it's fantastic. See?

And here are the Top Five books I'm most looking forward to reading in 2010...

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
The Line by Teri Hall
Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

...aaaaand about 239572 others. I'm ready for yah, 2010! Happy New Year's Eve, guys!

What were your favorites?

Author Review - Gale vs. Peeta

Heidi R Kling, Sea, is here to tackle a much-heated debate : Team Gale or Team Peeta? (*cough* I think you know which one I'm on. But, really, if you can make more of an impact in a couple pages than Peeta does in two books, you've got somethin' goin' on!) So, without any more disturbances from me, here is Heidi:

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I just finished the book Hunger Games. I know. It's almost 2010 and I'm about the last avid YA reader to complete that task. I've been afraid to read it because of the content. Kids killing other kids on National TV in the not-so-distant future? Makes my stomach churn just thinking about it. But I'm so glad I took the plunge. Suzanne Collins has crafted about as perfect a novel as you can get. And when a bestseller is also well-written and complex AND thoughtful? It has my vote. But I digress. The topic here is Peeta VS. Gale. Which one do I prefer and/or which boy is better for Katniss--our complicated hero of the Games. My fellow Twitterers seem to be VERY opinionated about this topic. Visions of a certain sparkly vampire and hairy nemesis bounce in my head--but this contest seems different.

More emotional some how.

Bella doesn't love Edward because they've partnered up in a ridiculous and violent battle together, it's more like a school-girl crush. (Sorry, Twilighters, in the beginning it is!) Katniss grows to love Peeta because they are partners in a vicious game. Because they have to trust each other. Because the 'other' is all they have.

Peeta is brave, incredibly loyal, sweet and smart. Katniss, in my opinion, is so hard on him because she believes he hasn't suffered back home the way she has. The way Gale may have. But he proves himself to her time and time again and I believe the feelings she has for him are as real as their experience in the arena. And just as scary--because she has spent years trying to cut herself off emotionally from anyone other than her little sister because of the pain involved in feeling. In loving. In trusting since her father died and her mother drifted off into her own world. Which is why, I believe, she never advanced her relationship with Gale past friendship. Hanging on to Gale as her 'ideal' of because he is safe. Because, like Katniss, he isn't able to express his feelings. Whereas Peeta knows exactly who he is. And owns it.

I think you are getting my message loud and clear. At the end of Hunger Games, this girl is 100% Team Peeta.

And the scene with the berries was beautiful and heartbreaking and I LOVED it.

Now, if Suzanne Collins would have had Gale pick Katniss up at the train station? If he had been leaning against the wall let's say. With a bow slung from his hip and a teary-proud grin on his face? And pulled her into a sexy, cowboy-hunter hug? And kissed her? And Peeta looked on longingly and did nothing? Then this blog post may have had a slightly altered ending. But that's not what the author chose. And that's not a choice I would have made either. Collins chose Peeta, as did Katniss, as do I.

Verdict: TEAM PEETA.
Now, onto Catching Fire! Do you think I will be swayed? No spoilers. :)

See below for other author/blogger opinions on the subject!
Thanks for reading.

----by Heidi R. Kling
http://heidirkling.com

Rachel Simon:
I usually fall for the bad boys. Jace from Cassandra Clare's book series, Macon from one of Sarah Dessen's novels, give me those boys over the nice ones ANY DAY. But for some reason, Peeta Mellark won my heart.

I think it was because it was soon after I had broken a boy's heart. And this boy easily could've been Peeta minus that his father was a writer, not a baker. But this boy was kind and tall and awkward-handsome looking--someone I tried fighting my feelings for. He liked the same books I did and played piano and was smart, all qualities I liked (especially the piano thing- I'm not musical at all!). He, in my eyes, was Peeta.

Because I had said no to this boy, I hoped Katniss wouldn't make the same mistake. Peeta was kind and perhaps not rugged handsome like Gale. Perhaps, he wasn't good at hunting like Gale. But everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Peeta is the boy that is quiet, but always listening -- listening, listening, listening to the plans and ideas of others. He was patient with Katniss. He accepted that Katniss might not love him outside of their acting, and he knew that although that was heartbreaking, he could and possibly would get over it.

To me, Peeta is appealing because he is a quiet pillar of strength. Yes, he may not be Gale. But in all honesty, how much do we know about Gale? How much do we know about Peeta? Well, I'd say because Peeta's had more page time, we know a bit more about him. But I do not discount Gale. With Collins' series, you never know what will happen next and that does not just include the Games...

Adele Walsh:
I have been Team Gale from the moment we meet him in The Hunger Games and that seems pretty fitting. He's such a definite character, very black and white, very exact. He needed to be as his appearances in the novels have been very brief so he needed to make a solid impression. There was no doubt that he would look after his family when his father died, no doubt that he would look after Katniss' family in her absence, no doubt that there was any other girl for him but her. I love conviction in a guy and Gale has it in spades. He's also brave, cunning, loyal, roguish and a protector. He's also tall, dark and handsome. Despite all his strengths, he accepts and loves Katniss for who she is. He's all in. There's a passion within Gale that's fiery and all encompassing that's very enthralling. Yet for all that he's the unknown compared to the page heavy Peeta. And yet this works for him too. He's mysterious, he's unpredictable and Katniss can't shake him. They have four years of history with one another day to day compared to Peeta time in the games. In conclusion, I will quote Sandra Bullock's character in the movie Speed - "...relationships that start under intense circumstances, they never last." Preaching to the choir, sister!

Martha Flynn:
Okay, I'm team Peeta.

Yeah, yeah, I know he's a "pansy assed baker" (my friend's words) but he stepped up to the plate. Gale had his shot. He brooded around for god knows how long with his bow and arrow, the two of them like moody peas in the pod whining about how they can't have a life together because life's too short (thank you opposite-logic day) and it's only after he gets the jealousies that he can step up and make a move? I say BOO TO YOU GALE! (And mama loves you, you're just not for Katniss.)

RJ Anderson:
Peeta is a baker. Gale is a hunter. Peeta makes fancy cupcakes with flowers on them. Gale brings home meat for his starving family. Gale was gaming the system long before Peeta and Katniss got dragged into the Hunger Games -- not because he was forced to to save his own life but in order to provide for the needs of others. What was Peeta doing? Baking bread. For sale.

Peeta is a charming sweet guy who is crazy about Katniss, and I have nothing against him at all, I like him very much. But he's also, by and large, a pushover. Whereas Gale is a man, who has a long history of being friends and partners with Katniss in an equal way, not afraid to challenge her when she's wrong. She respects him.

Peeta is a boy. Gale is a man. And men trump boys every time.

Also I have a thing about long-time friends who realize they love each other. I think friendship of that sort is a very good strong foundation for a lasting romance. Whereas Peeta and Katniss were thrown together by adversity and it's very hard to know if the feelings that they have for each other in that desperate situation are going to endure when things change.

I want to see good things happen to Peeta, because he's a lovely boy. But I don't think Katniss is necessarily a good thing for him, however much he may want her. Nor do I see him having the attributes that would make her a good life partner, however much she may like him and not want to hurt him.

And "gormless" is a British term I've heard many times before, but to call Gale gormless would be a flat out contradiction of everything we've been told about him in the book. He may have any number of other flaws, but wimpy? I don't think so!
(This is in response to someone on twitter referring to Gale as "gormless"

Alyson Beecher:
Part of me feels that it the games had never happened she would have been with Gale and that when she returned I think she would have gotten back with him. In some ways I think they are a good match. I do think Peeta and her compliment each other and cuz of their experiences they share something. But I think more of the feeling is coming from Peeta and she feels more a sense of obligation. Not good to build a relationship on. So basically I am still cheering on Gale and maybe the third book will change my mind. Sometimes I think there won't be any Happy ending and shouldn't be and that she will lose them both.

YA Bliss:
Oh come on! Who would be Team Gale we don’t even know the guy! He wasn’t smart enough to make a move before the games. He just said goodbye and I’ll take care of you family and that’s it!

So when she comes back with someone else its painful for him!? WHATEVER!

Peeta gave her bread and got his butt kicked because of it when they were kids. He didn’t even know her well enough yet and he was already making sacrifices on her behalf. Don’t get me wrong I do think he’s obviously TOO GOOD sometimes and I’m more of a bad-boy fan. But who can resist such love? Plus, Katniss has only gotten “that feeling” with Peeta! Must suck being Team Gale knowing he obviously wont get picked!

Carla "loves sam":
Okay, so Team Gale is the only way to be. For one "Peeta" is just spelt all funny, and two, theres nothing worse than unrequited love, if Katniss didnt like him straightaway then just no. He may be blond baker, but that jut doesn't kick it for me.

Whereas Gale has been there from the beginning, he luvvvs Katniss already as she does him. Theres no point denying that they wont end up together, and if they dont I will seriously go ninja on Suzanne's editor for letting it be any other way. Peeta is just a giant snoozefest, come on!

The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg

Lend me an ear and I'll review you a book and I'll try not to Beatles-ref you to death. ♫ *

If you know me at all, you know I love The Beatles. So when I got my copy of The Lonely Hearts Club in the mail, I was ecstatic. I sat down, opened it up, and fell in love.


♫ I give this book all my love.
That's all I do.
And if you read this book
You'd love it too.*

First off, the main character is named Penny Lane. I mean, really, how much awesome is that? Rhetorical question, obviously, because the only answer is: A LOT. Which basically describes this entire book: A LOT of awesome.

Penny Lane is sick of boys, so she vows to swear them off until high school is over. To keep her vow, she jokingly makes herself a one-person club called The Lonely Hearts Club. But that one-person club quickly grows in members, until its more like an, erm, 30-person club? Obviously, the boys at her school are none too happy. And Penny doesn't suspect her members will be, either, since she may end up breaking the one sole rule of her own club.

This entire book was cute and happy and angsty and perfect. I may be biased because of my Beatles-love, but even if you hate them (!?) you could still enjoy this book for the anti-romance. I'm a big fan of complicated relationships, and The Lonely Hearts Club definitely represents that fanship. I really, really enjoyed it.

And I have to mention the Abbey-Road-esque cover before I publish this. Nicely done, Scholastic/Point.

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*I drastically fail at limiting Beatles references.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

I love spies, man. I love Veronica Mars (although she's technically a detective, but close enough), and Alias. I'd think of more spy references, but it's 1AM, so you'll have to suffice. Basically, spies rock. There's just something about the sly secretiveness, mystery, and cleverness that intrigues me (/everyone). And Ally Carter definitely doesn't lack any of it in the first Gallagher Girls book.

I'd heard about how good this series was over and over (and over and over and over) again. A book about a girl going to a spy school? I'm in. But I hadn't actually read it until this month. You know when you keep a book on the back-burner for so long, it's almost a chore to read it? Sure, I was excited to start it; but I'd been excited for so long that my bubblyness had fizzled out, as it's want to do when new, shiny books keep popping up. (I blame you, Tenners). And then you know how you read a book way later than everyone else and finally get why the buzz is so big? (*cough* I'm talking to you, future Hunger Games fans) And then you get mad that you waited so long?

Yep. That's what happened with this book.

It was just so...YA. I mean, it was everything I look for in a good teen book. A strong MC, some subtle romance, and spies - the basic YA food groups. Really, though, it struck me as a perfect model for a YA book, and I think Ally Carter has teen characterization down perfectly. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. And Heist Society. And every single other book this chick puts out.

Bottom-line: (/second-bottom-line:) More spy books, writer-types! (Have any of you guys read any others you can recommend me?)

And thanks to Google, I just read about this book being made into a movie (which I have to state is wickedly awesome.) Whoever's making all these YA books into movies has my vote. I approve, film-types.

Twelve Days of Christmas

On the 12th day of Christmas, The Page Flipper gave to me:

Vampire Diaries, Books 1-4, in two bound books.

To enter, fill out the form below. This is part of the Twelve Days of Christmas giveaways, which you can find more about here. I've been having the worst technical issues lately (including a nasty virus McAfee just saved me from), so I'm a bit late. But my festiveness is still in tact! :) Happy Holidays, guys. I love this series and show to death, so I'm happy to spread the love.

*This will end on the last day of December and I will contact the winner on the first of January. The winner must reply within 2 weeks or a new one will be selected. You must have a US address to enter.

Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman

Savannah's asthma acts up whenever things get too emotional, like after her dad up and left. Her momma says he's the reason why she started having breathing problems, but whatever the reason, it drains her faster than the Georgia heat. She has to make regular trips to the hospital, leaving her mom hopping from job to job like a stubborn frog. Things are fine enough until Jackson comes to town, making Savannah lose her breath before she even has a chance to say hello. Literally. Queue relationship.

That summary was my best attempt at a Southern dialect. Obviously, Cheryl Renee Herbsman does it a heck of a lot better. She puts so much twang in her writing, it practically sings. After I closed the book, I literally thought in a Southern accent, which is mildly disturbing. It totally pulled me into the South, and I absolutely love when a book can do that. If you make any kind of impact after the book is shut, you'll be on my Good list forever.

But there was a negative. At times, Savannah annoyed me; she was so emotionally hooked on Jackson that she failed to acknowledge everything else, such as her old friends. In truth, she became one of Those Girls. The ones who use "we" instead of "I", referring to their boyfriend and themselves as one entity - such as "Oh, yeah, we loved that movie" or "We don't feel like going." Those Girls drive me crazy. But, truthfully, it's realistic. It was Savannah's first actual relationship and I've seen sensible girls turn insensible the instant a guy is involved. So, even though she sometimes drove me insane, I understood.

Otherwise, I liked Breathing. It caught me up in Savannah's life and it was incredibly unique. The relationship was realistic, not based on some supernatural attraction (which is refreshing, not that I don't love paranormal). And the asthma aspect was just so different. It was a detail I've never come across once in YA, despite how many people actually have it. Pair that with the Southern feel, and you've got a very original book in your hands.

Week of Awesomeness

This week, I was in San Francisco (I still am, actually, since my flight got canceled. Three day delay. That's my luck.)

Over the weekend, I had fellow bloggers and book-lovers Lauren (as well as her sister, Kari), Alicia, and Erica over at my house. Lauren and Alicia both review over at Shooting Stars Mag and Erica is at The Book Cellar. I actually met Lauren once before at the Lisa McMann and Cassandra Clare author event in Cincinnati, but it'd been a while.

We had a pizza party and watched The Labyrinth and raided my bookshelves (that latter one was mostly Erica and Alicia, while I watched and swatted hands) on Friday, and then on Saturday we met up with some authors. Rhonda Stapleton, Linda Gerber, and JT Dutton all came for cupcakes as we chatted about books and codpieces.

I caught a plane and headed back to San Francisco with Alicia on Monday and we went to a David Levithan signing that night. I'd already read Love is the Higher Law and liked it, but it was infinitely better hearing him reading from it. He was hilarious. And I learned a lot about a couple of his new books, like his inspiration for Will Grayson, Will Grayson (which was his friend's name being David Levithal), and his debut Adult book.

Daisy Whitney, who's book The Mockingbirds is coming out in 2010, and Sarah Quigley, TMI, were also there. Zoe from Zoe's Book Reviews came, and I was very (very!) tempted to steal her copy of Will Grayson.

Alicia loves Kristen Tracey's books (Lost It, Crimes of the Sarahs) and recognized her at the event from her website (creepy stalker) so I went over to her and "introduced" them. She gave a copy of her new book to David Levithan while we were waiting in line and I had to warn him to hide it before Alicia got her chance to snatch it. (He hid it behind his back, smart man.)

Obviously, I've had a very busy (but very fun) author-filled week, which is why my blogging has been sporadic lately. What have you guys been up to?

Candor by Pam Bachorz

Oscar lives in Candor, a town where everyone is controlled to behave. Every resident of Candor is given subliminal messages to eat right, think right, and live right. And "right", of course, is controlled by the mayor of the town, who also happens to be Oscar's father.

I've recently, in the past year or so, gotten into dystopian books. I love reading about different societies, where the character's world is different from your own. I absolutely loved Life as We Knew It, which was the main book that got me interested in dystopian. It made me honestly feel like the world was ending, and I worshiped water for hours after I closed the book. When a society can envelop you like that, it's hard not to love it.

So, obviously, I had high expectations of Candor. I ended up liking it, but at times I felt that the plot was stagnant. The idea of Candor kept me intrigued enough to keep reading, but I wanted more of an organized plotline. Instead, it seemed like the middle held some sections that were just filler, up until the last few chapters. Those last few, however, were pretty interesting. It's not like the "filler" parts were bad, they just weren't up to par with what I expected from the beginning. Candor gripped me, then proceeded to loosen that grip before throttling me with a massive cliffhanger.

I can understand why some people would be frustrated with the ending, but I thought it was redeeming of some of the lacking plot. It wasn't fully wrapped up, but it punched me in the stomach hard enough to make me gasp. I think any kind of major reaction a book can pull from you is better merrits a thumbs-up.

Author Review - Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum

This is the first post in my new Author Review feature, where I turn the table and have YA authors review books they've read. If you're an author interested in participating, please email me! Today, C Leigh Purtill is talking about Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum. Purtill is the author of YA books Love, Meg and All About Vee. Here's her (excellent) review:

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Have You Found Her by Janice Erlbaum (Villard 2008)

Review, C. Leigh Purtill

Memoirs are very hot these days, whether they’re real like Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking,” fake like James Frey’s “A Million Little Pieces,” or somewhere in between, such as Augusten Burroughs’ “Running With Scissors.” (I’ve read all of those and highly recommend Didion and Burroughs, Frey not so much.) The best of them give you some insight into a person’s life that might have resonance with your own. The worst are boring. And honestly, the most offensive thing a writer can do is to foist boring material onto a reader.

Janice Erlbaum’s memoir, “Have You Found Her,” was a page turner I could not put down, the sort of book I couldn’t wait to get back to. You know those amazing books, the ones that make you wish for a long line at the grocery store so you can pull it out and soak in a chapter or two? Writers dream of composing stories that suck you in like that. We study these tomes in the hopes of being able to recreate the magic with our own books.

The story is a simple one: Janice Erlbaum, who once ran away from home as a teen and spent a few months in a shelter in New York, is ready to give back. She volunteers her time at the same shelter, completely oblivious to the fact that the girls she wants to help are really out of her league and dealing with issues she knows nothing about. She is tremendously idealistic. She is also in major denial about herself: she has a daily pot habit that should eliminate her as a volunteer with these teens but she doesn’t disclose it.

Once Janice gets a group going at the shelter (she brings in beads for some jewelry making which draws the girls like a magnet), she continually breaks the rules, particularly the “No Favorites” rule; she wants so badly to mentor a troubled young woman. And each time, she gets disappointed. She’s like a girl desperate for her first boyfriend: will this be the guy? Will this one? Or this one? And then she meets Sam, an intelligent, street smart teen whom she falls for in a New York minute. Sam’s story is a tough one: she’s been on the streets for 7 years, dealt drugs to stay alive, and is looking for rehab to get clean. But she also tosses around words like “meticulous” and can quote from the Tao Te Ching. Janice is smitten.

Unlike a lot of memoirs in which the significant other is unsupportive of the protagonist’s efforts, Janice’s boyfriend Bill loves her unconditionally and wants her to do whatever her heart desires. He is unbelievably patient with her when she gets wrapped up in Sam’s life to the near-exclusion of his. To Janice’s great credit, she doesn’t go completely off the deep end to the point where she loses Bill. She maintains her relationship with him and recognizes how lucky she is to have him. She even proposes to him!

But with Sam, it’s a different story. We see Janice fall under this girl’s spell while insisting that she won’t. Janice tells herself and us that she’s too smart for that, she’s cynical and sarcastic too and she won’t be taken in. And yet, that’s exactly what happens. I won’t spoil the ending for you – it’s a doozy of a twist and one that makes you flip back through the chapters to see if we were ignoring the hints Erlbaum gave us just as she did with Sam.

There are so many similarities between good fiction and good nonfiction: intriguing characters, well-paced story arcs, prose that pulls you from one chapter to the next. Writers of fiction who read and enjoy memoir also get a look inside real people they might never encounter in their own lives. We get glimpses of streets and towns and issues that we wouldn’t get up close and personal with and it can spark inspiration in us. As has often been said, truth can be stranger than fiction.

Tu Publishing

Megan from Po(sey) Sessions brought to my knowledge a new independent publisher called Tu Publishing. Their focus is mainly Science Fiction and fantasy for children and Young Adults, which already makes this company one I'm interested in. I'll let their website describe it to you, since they can do a much better job:

"The word “tu” means “you” in many languages, and in Ainu (the language of Japan’s native people), it means “many.” Tu Publishing is dedicated to publishing fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and historical fiction for children and young adults inspired by many cultures from around the world, to reach the "you" in each reader."

They also state this:

"To be able to achieve that goal, we need to raise enough money to fund the acquisition, production, marketing, and distribution of our first two books, for which we hope--with your help--to begin acquiring in January 2010. With your help, we can make this happen."

They have a donation page up if you want to pledge, and depending on the amount you donate, prizes. This is an opportunity to become a part of the publishing process and support it. If you pledge just $30 you get an ARC and an extra $15 gets you doodles from Stacy Whitney inside, the editorial director. Donating any amount gets you the satisfaction of helping this publishing company succeed. It's a really great set-up with a great purpose and I hope Tu Publishing the best of luck.

Stacy Whitney, the founder of Tu Publishing, was an editor at Mirrorstone for three years. While there, she worked on (edited) a series I personally love - Hallowmere by Tiffany Trent, as well as several others like The Red Dragon Codex and the NYT Bestselling picture book A Practical Guide to Monsters. Obviously, she knows her stuff. I hope she has a chance to show it with Tu Publishing.

"This project will only be funded if at least $10,000 is pledged by Dec 14, 1:00am EST. " Help make it happen! They're almost halfway there as of this post.

E Lockhart Blog Tour!

I'm lucky enough to host E Lockhart on her blog tour today, as well as reveal to you the new cover for The Treasure Map of Boys, featured to the left. I love it and totally want her shirt. You can find out how to see the rest of the covers, as well as read more E Lockhart interviews, by checking out the tour stops listed below, after E Lockhart speaks her word(s):

Being a fly has its benefits. If you could turn into a fly for the day, where (out of anywhere in the world) would you want to get your spy on?

The men's locker room, of course. That's what Fly on the Wall is all about! But of course not a high school locker room. Those dudes are way too young for me. I'm a respectable, if dirty-minded, grown-up lady.

I'd also like to watch rehearsals for a Broadway musical.

Ruby, in The Boyfriend List, has a steady list of guys she’s had even a remote relationship with. If you could make your own fictional boyfriend list, who would you want to be on it? (Jensen Ackles and Taylor Kitsch for me!) Book characters are encouraged!

Hard question! I think most of my books are anti-romances, with the exception of Fly on the Wall: because my first thought is, if there's more than one person on the boyfriend list, that means the rest of them are ex-boyfriends. Right?

Like, I'd have sad, awkward encounters at parties with Hugh Grant? And when I bumped into Johnny Depp we'd spit angry little mean sentences at one another? And Taye Diggs would send me weird Christmas cards that were kind of like, "Oh, I'm so happy now without you"?

That sounds tragic!

I am always the person to think about the breakup at the end of the romance.

I really love the names of your characters, and I’m always interested in how authors come up with them. Did Ruby Oliver just fit for you, or was it a process? Did she ever have any other names before the final draft?

Lead characters usually remain the same as when I started writing them, but I change the names of minor characters quite a lot, often for how their rhythms work in the scenes in which they appear -- and trying to find names that connote certain social classes and situations. The names of girls at Ruby's Seattle prep school, for example, include Cricket, Dempsey, Heidi and Ariel -- all, to my ear, west-coast preppy things to name your kid. Whereas the girl's at Frankie's Massachusetts boarding school are named more patrician names, generally -- more old fashioned, more likely to come from a dad's name or a grandmother: Claudia, Elizabeth and Trish (from Patricia).

For Ruby I looked at a list of popular names for girls -- I think the top 100 names for the year I estimated she'd be born. Ruby was the one I liked best and it wasn't too ubiquitous: #97, if I remember right.

In Fly on the Wall, Gretchen Kaufman Yee's name is meant to show her split heritage (Jewish caucasian and Chinese American), which connects thematically to her split as a human and an insect. Frankie Landau-Banks's name does a similar job: the Landau is a name from the Jewish side of her family that her fellow students don't recognize as Jewish. It is one of the many ways her friends do not see her accurately. And Banks -- well, it connotes money and establishment ideas. Frankie's father's name.

Aside from being full of fun, The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks has, in my opinion, a really strong feminist message. Are you a fan of girl-power books, and if so, who are some of your favorite kick-butt female heroines?

Girl-power is always good, but I'm more interested in thinking through issues than in just seeing girl characters act heroic or strong. So John Green's Paper Towns, for example, with its idealized, romanticized dream girl, is a fascinating meditation on what that idealization means for the boy who is doing it -- and for the girl who is idealized. But she's hardly a kick-butt heroine. Likewise, Jaclyn Moriarty's The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie, shows a smart, analytical, irritating, insufferable, lonely girl. She hardly kicks butt, but her story is the story of a fully-realized female character who breaks stereotypes.

What was the coolest, or strangest, thing that’s ever happened to you at a book event? Any awesome fan moments or weird gifts?

I toured with Sarah Mlynowski and Lauren Myracle. Copperfield's bookstore in California built us a Waffle House -- because the girls in our co-authored book, How to Be Bad, all work at Waffle House. They had decor, they had teenagers making waffles, they had hats for everyone, they had whipped cream. It was incredible.

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Thanks, E Lockhart! Remind me to become a cool, famous author one of these days, guys. I'll put lots of cupcakes in my books and hope for the best. (Seriously, how cool is that Waffle House thing?)

Here are the other stops in E Lockhart's tour.
December 7th: Bildungsroman (where you can also see the new Boyfriend List cover)
December 8th: The Story Siren (featuring The Boy Book cover)
December 9th: The Page Flipper
December 10th: Cheryl Rainfield (featuring the Real Live Boyfriends cover)
December 11th: Sharon Loves Books and Cats
December 12th: Park Avenue Princess and Royal Reviews

Prize Pack & Contest Winners

If you've read my blog for a while, you know I go back and forth between weekly contests and monthly contests. That's because I go back and forth between having money and not having money. So, I'm sad to say, weekly contests will be put on hold and I'll be offering (roughly) 5-book YA prize packs monthly now, to save on shipping. "Bubble Comedy" might make a comeback at some point, but for now I'm saving up for my traveling costs. (San Francisco next month, and LA and NYC next year.) Unfortunately, also due to shipping costs, my contests are still reserved for those with a U.S. address I can send to.

IMPORTANT: If you already have one or two books in the pack, or if you are only interested in a couple, enter anyway. If you win, you can opt out of any of the books and I will try and find a replacement prize.

I've shipped out all past winners' contest books, so if you're waiting on a prize and don't receive it within the next week or two, please email me.

And, by the way, the winner of Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon is Briana, The Book Pixie. I'll be emailing you shortly for your address.

Anyway, I'm sure you want to know what I'm giving away this month:

1 ARC of Fallen by Lauren Kate

1 ARC of Breathing by Cheryl Renee Herbsman
1 ARC of Duplikate by Cherry Cheva
1 Paperback copy of The New Kid by Temple Matthews
1 Hardcover copy of The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

To enter, fill out the form below. (If you have trouble entering or the form doesn't load, please let me know in the comments.) You may only enter ONCE. This contest will end on the last day of December, and a new prize pack will be up in January! Note that, while following gives you an extra entry, it is not required to enter.

Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin

I've never read a weirder book in my entire life. I've also never had one keep my interest as steadily as this one did. It was confusing, strange, and very, very dreamlike, but I still kind of...liked it. Drea from Book Blather and I decided "The Matrix on Acid" would be a perfect description/tagline. Attempting to summarize this book would be very difficult and painstaking, so I'm just going to leave you with that.

What I liked about it, though, was the voice. The main character, Sophie, was sarcastic and bitter and funny. She had a very blatantly out-there personality. The first few chapters, I thought I was going to be completely in love with this book. But it got progressively weirder every single page. One of the chapter headings was "Bite Me, for I Am Full of Creamy Nougat". That says a lot about her personality.

It was unique, but tangent. Very, very tangent. One second Sophie would be doodling at her high school and the next she'd be fighting zombies. I'm still not sure if the story was supposed to be viewed as actual events, like a weird sci-fi, or if Sophie was supposed to be insane.

It was just...so strange.

I'd really love to hear any opinions from readers. I think part of the pull was the strangeness, but it also kept me distanced.

So if you've read Fade to Blue, please comment. Sean Beaudoin is also the writer of Going Nowhere Faster, which I've been wanting to read. I want to read it even more now, just to see if it's as strange as FtB or if it has more of a contemporary feel.

Very WTF.

Hunger Games: Tres

August 24th, 2010.

That's when we get the third Hunger Games novel.

Roughly nine months. 9? N-I-N-E!

I'm really wishing these months would pull a New Moon and just fly on by. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Head straight to August, where we'll all stake out B&Ns or Borders to find out what happens in the Districts.

DecemberJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugust.

But we have milestones in-between. Christmas, New Years, BEA, Eclipse.

We'll get there, guys. Deep breaths.

Here's the Publisher's Weekly article announcing the release date.