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Ten (10) winners get physical copies of both Loved by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast and The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd, and audiobook downloads for both books as well!
Here’s what the books are all about:
THE INDIGO GIRL
The year is 1739. Eliza Lucas is sixteen years old when her father leaves her in charge of their family’s three plantations in rural South Carolina and then proceeds to bleed the estates dry in pursuit of his military ambitions. Upon hearing how much the French pay for indigo dye, Eliza believes it’s the key to their salvation. But everyone tells her it’s impossible, and no one will share the secret to making it. She is thwarted at nearly every turn, even by her own family,
So begins an incredible story of love, dangerous and hidden friendships, ambition, betrayal, and sacrifice.
and….
LOVED
It’s Zoey’s eighteenth birthmas and the Nerd Herd has been scattered across the country busily adulting for almost a year when Stark calls them back to Tulsa to surprise Z. But all is not well in T-town. Strange, dark signs are appearing—could it be possible Neferet is stirring? Not willing to chance disaster striking again, Zoey calls on her newly reunited friends to circle with her and add a layer of protection over Neferet’s grotto jail. Easy-peasy, right?
Wrong. Nothing at the House of Night is ever as it seems. With rabid red vampyres closing in, Zoey and the Nerd Herd must come together again and battle evil. But a year is a long time. Have these old friends grown too far apart?
Go here to be entered for a chance to win, or just click the image of both covers below. Good luck!
Hello Kid Lit friends!
As a mother of biracial kids, I am always on the look out for biracial representation in children’s literature. According to a report by the Pew Center, the share of newlyweds married to a spouse of a different race or ethnicity has increased more than five times — from 3 percent in 1967, to 17 percent in 2015. It is hard to believe that before the Supreme Court case Loving vs. Virginia in 1967, interracial marriage was forbidden in most states.
I was asked recently for a list of children’s books with biracial characters in them, and there are so many excellent ones!
Sponsored by Thornhill by Pam Smy
Parallel stories set in different times, one told in prose and one in pictures, converge as a girl unravels the mystery of the abandoned Thornhill Institute next door.
1982: Mary is a lonely orphan at the Thornhill Institute. When her few friends are all adopted or re-homed and she’s left to face a volatile bully alone, her revenge will have a lasting effect on the bully, on Mary, and on Thornhill itself.
2017: Ella has just moved to a new town. From her room, she has a perfect view of the dilapidated, abandoned Thornhill Institute, where she glimpses a girl in the window. Determined to befriend the girl, Ella resolves to unravel Thornhill’s shadowy past.
Picture Books
The Case for Loving by Selina Alko, illustrations by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko
This is the story of one brave family: Mildred Loving, Richard Perry Loving, and their three children. It is the story of how Mildred and Richard fell in love, and got married in Washington, D.C. But when they moved back to their hometown in Virginia, they were arrested (in dramatic fashion) for violating that state’s laws against interracial marriage. The Lovings fought the unfair law, taking their case all the way to the Supreme Court – and won!
Mixed Me! by Taye Diggs, illustrated by Shane W. Evans
Mom and Dad say I’m a blend of dark and light:
“We mixed you perfectly, and got you just right.”
Mike has awesome hair. He has LOTS of energy! And Mike is a PERFECT blend of the two of them. Still, Mike has to answer LOTS of questions about being mixed. And he does, with LOTS of energy and joy in this charming story about a day in the life of a mixed-race child.
Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match by Monica Brown, illustrated by Sara Palacios
Marisol McDonald has flaming red hair and nut-brown skin. Polka dots and stripes are her favorite combination. To Marisol McDonald, these seemingly mismatched things make perfect sense together. Other people wrinkle their nose in confusion at Marisol—can’t she just be one or the other? Try as she might, in a world where everyone tries to put this biracial, Peruvian-Scottish-American girl into a box, Marisol McDonald doesn’t match. And that’s just fine with her.
The Favorite Daughter by Allen Say
Yuriko hates her name when the children make fun of it and call her “Eureka!” Though she is half Japanese, the teasing makes her want to hide, to retreat even from the art projects she used to love. Fortunately she has a patient, kind father who finds gentle ways of drawing her out and reminding Yuriko of the traditions they share that have always brought her joy.
Dumpling Soup by Jama Kim Rattigan, illustrated by Lillian Hsu
Marisa gets to help make dumplings this year to celebrate the New Year. But she worries if anyone will eat her funny-looking dumplings. Set in the Hawaiian islands, this story celebrates the joyful mix of food, customs, and languages from many cultures.
Middle Grade
Cilla Lee-Jenkins, Future Author Extraordinaire by Susan Tan
Priscilla “Cilla” Lee-Jenkins is on a tight deadline. Her baby sister is about to be born, and Cilla needs to become a bestselling author before her family forgets all about her. So she writes about what she knows best―herself! Stories from her bestselling memoir, Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire, include:
– How she dealt with being bald until she was five
– How she overcame her struggles with reading
– How family traditions with her Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins and her Chinese grandparents, Nai Nai and Ye Ye, are so different
Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh by Uma Krishnaswami
Nine-year-old Maria Singh longs to play softball in the first-ever girls’ team forming in Yuba City, California. It’s the spring of 1945, and World War II is dragging on. Miss Newman, Maria’s teacher, is inspired by Babe Ruth and the All-American Girls’ League to start a girls’ softball team at their school. Meanwhile, Maria’s parents–Papi from India and Mama from Mexico–can no longer protect their children from prejudice and from the discriminatory laws of the land.
Ten: A Soccer Story by Shamini Flint
Maya is a passionate soccer fan eager to start playing soccer herself. This is extra challenging because soccer is considered a “boys’ game” in Malaysia in 1986. She teaches herself basic soccer skills with only her mother and a potted rosebush as training partners, then gradually persuades enough girls to join her to form a team, all the while trying to keep her unpredictable biracial family together.
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
It’s 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien. Suddenly, Mimi’s appearance is all anyone notices. And even though teachers and neighbors balk at her mixed-race family and her refusals to conform, Mimi’s dreams of becoming an astronaut never fade—no matter how many times she’s told no.
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing.
The Lotterys Plus One by Emma Donaghue
Sumac Lottery is nine years old and the self-proclaimed “good girl” of her (VERY) large, (EXTREMELY) unruly family. And what a family the Lotterys are: four parents, children both adopted and biological, and a menagerie of pets, all living and learning together in a sprawling house called Camelottery. Then one day, the news breaks that one of their grandfathers is suffering from dementia and will be coming to live with them.
Momotaro Xander and the Lost Island of Monsters by Margaret Dilloway
Xander Miyamoto would rather do almost anything than listen to his sixth grade teacher, Mr. Stedman, drone on about weather disasters happening around the globe. If Xander could do stuff he’s good at instead, like draw comics and create computer programs, and if Lovey would stop harassing him for being half Asian, he might not be counting the minutes until the dismissal bell.
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher by Dana Alison Levy
The start of the school year is not going as the Fletcher brothers hoped. Each boy finds his plans for success veering off in unexpected and sometimes diastrous directions. And at home, their miserable new neighbor complains about everything. As the year continues, the boys learn the hard and often hilarious lesson that sometimes what you least expect is what you come to care about the most.
Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It by Sundee T. Frazier
Ten-year-old Brendan Buckley is a self-declared scientist: asking questions and looking for answers, but most of all struggling against the overprotective behavior of his parents. Up until now, he has never even met his grandfather—the grandfather his mother won’t even speak of. A chance encounter brings Brendan and his grandfather together where Brendan initiates a relationship with estranged grandfather, Ed DeBose. While they share a passion for geology, they do not share the color of their skin; Brendan’s skin is brown, not pink like Ed DeBose’s.
New Releases!
So many out this Tuesday! Here are some of my favorites:
Picture Book New Releases!
How to Be An Elephant by Katherine Roy (David Macaulay Studio, 9/19)
An infant elephant has precious little time to learn the incredible array of skills that are necessary to keep up, from projecting her voice across a 10-octave range to using the 100,000 muscles in her trunk to stay hydrated. But this giant-to-be has the perfect classroom–a family herd made up of her mother, sisters, cousins, and aunts. With their help and protection, she’ll learn how to survive, how to thrive, and how to be an elephant.
Are We Pears Yet? by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Carin Berger (Roaring Brook Press, 9/19)
Written entirely in dialogue and staged as a play, Are We Pears Yet? is a clever and hilarious informational picture book that will make you look at growth cycles and fruit trees in a whole new way. Carin Berger’s artfully composed collaged stage sets will delight and amaze you.
The Lost Picnic by B.B. Cronin (Viking, 9/19)
From the award-winning author of “The Lost House.” Grandad and his grandchildren are on their way to a picnic out into the country in his jalopy. When they arrive at the picnic spot, they discover all their food has tumbled out along the way! It’s up to readers to find the missing food items.
Imagine by John Lennon (HMH, 9/21)
Join one little pigeon as she sets out on a journey to spread a message of tolerance around the world. Featuring the lyrics of John Lennon’s iconic song and illustrations by the award-winning artist Jean Jullien, this poignant and timely picture book dares to imagine a world at peace. Imagine will be published in partnership with human rights organization Amnesty International.
Chapter Book New Release!
Jada Jones: Rock Star and Jada Jones: Class Act by Kelly Starling Lyons, illustrated by Vanessa Brantley Newton
When Jada Jones’s best friend moves away, school feels like the last place she wants to be. She’d much rather wander outside looking for cool rocks to add to her collection, since finding rocks is much easier than finding friends. So when Jada’s teacher announces a class project on rocks and minerals, Jada finally feels like she’s in her element. The only problem: one of her teammates doesn’t seem to like any of Jada’s ideas.
Middle Grade New Releases!
The Way to Bea by Kat Yeh (Little, Brown, 9/19)
Everything in Bea’s world has changed. She’s starting seventh grade newly friendless and facing big changes at home, where she is about to go from only child to big sister. Feeling alone and adrift, and like her words don’t deserve to be seen, Bea takes solace in writing haiku in invisible ink and hiding them in a secret spot. But then something incredible happens–someone writes back.
Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste (Algonquin, 9/19)
Corinne LaMer defeated the wicked jumbie Severine months ago, but things haven’t exactly gone back to normal in her Caribbean island home. Everyone knows Corinne is half-jumbie, and many of her neighbors treat her with mistrust. When local children begin to go missing, snatched from the beach and vanishing into wells, suspicious eyes turn to Corinne.
Saving Marty by Paul Griffin (Penguin Random House, 9/19)
Eleven-year-old Lorenzo Ventura knows heroes are rare—like his father, who died in the war, or his friend Paloma Lee, who fearlessly pursues her dream of being a famous musician. Renzo would never describe himself as a hero, but his chance comes when he adopts Marty, a runt piglet. At first, the family farm seems like the perfect home for Marty, but as he approaches 350 pounds, it becomes harder for Renzo to convince his mom that a giant pig makes a good pet.
The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore (Random House, 9/19)
It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.
The School for Good and Evil: Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani (HarperCollins, 9/19)
The students at the School for Good and Evil thought they had found their final Ever After when they vanquished the malevolent School Master. Now, on their required fourth-year quests, the students face obstacles both dangerous and unpredictable, and the stakes are high: success brings eternal adoration, and failure means obscurity forever.
Elizabeth and Zenobia by Jessica Miller (Abrams, 9/19)
Abandoned by her mother and neglected by her scientist father, timid Elizabeth Murmur has only her fearless friend, Zenobia, for company. And Zenobia’s company can be very trying! When Elizabeth’s father takes them to live in his family home, Witheringe House, Zenobia becomes obsessed with finding a ghost in the creepy old mansion and forces Elizabeth to hold séances and wander the rooms at night.
A few last things: The National Book Awards released their long list for Young People’s Literature! These are the top ten; five will be chosen on October 4th as finalists, and the winner will be announced on November 15th.
Thank you to everyone who bid on the KidLit Cares Auction. Over $93,000 was raised and sent to the Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief fund!
If you’d like another book with biracial characters, my debut middle grade novel with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers features a large, biracial family. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street will be available on October 3rd!
I’d love to know what you are reading this week! Find me on Twitter at @KarinaYanGlaser, on Instagram at @KarinaIsReadingAndWriting, or email me at karina@bookriot.com.
Until next time,
Karina
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my pets. They agreed to pose together for a photo for you. (And yes, we live in a 750 sqft apartment.) (Yes, it’s crowded, but… cozy.)
*If this e-mail was forwarded to you, follow this link to subscribe to “The Kids Are All Right” newsletter and other fabulous Book Riot newsletters for your own customized e-mail delivery. Thank you!*
Happy September, Insiders! Today we’ve got a look at the day-in, day-out of our newest associate editor, S. Zainab Williams, a.k.a. Sharifah. Before we get to that, we’ve got an Insiders-only post celebrating a few of our most anticipated Fall releases, and we’d love to hear about yours!
And now, for this month’s store deal:
Cozy up for great reading, and get 25% off all hoodies & sweatshirts, just for Insiders. Use code ITSCOZYINSIDE!
About four months ago, I lived in a studio apartment in Van Nuys with a demon cat I call Tabitha and no idea what to do about that thing they call a career. I had enough freelance work that, most Fridays, I could take myself out for an overpriced Americano at a local cafe where the clientele loudly discussed screenplays and gigs while I scarfed biscotti and silently doled out scorn.
This, I knew, was not a sustainable lifestyle, but after so many years of work as faceless desk flesh I’d decided I was DONE, and stubbornly remained decided even when things got shaky. I could not go back to a traditional office job. Not even for the promise of post-meeting sandwich scavenging events in dimly lit conference rooms, and the comforting certainty that someone will always take the last cup of coffee without refilling the pot.
Well. One day almost a year after I made that terrifying decision and left my full-time job, like magic or a sequence of events plotted out all businesslike, I received a proposition via Skype. And a couple months later, I said goodbye to L.A. where I’d lived since I was four, and hello to Portland, a city with which I’d had three hours’ acquaintance. I’d arrived in a new town with a new job and the same mean cat.
I’ve been a Book Riot associate editor for three months plus some change, and I’m still a bit stunned. I know it isn’t luck, but it feels like it.
Now, one of the super-perks of my job is that I get to work from home. I’m not going to sit here and pretend this isn’t amazing. Also, I like to imagine what it might look like to be the sort of adult who gets out of bed at a reasonable hour, showers, makes coffee in her spotless kitchen, sits at a desk in the early morning sunlight, and gets to work. I’ve got the waking up, making coffee, and getting to work parts down.
My day usually begins at 6am. That’s about the time Tabitha gets hangry, screams in my face, and violently attacks the cables strewn across my bed… Because my bed is usually covered in power cables and laptops and books… Because my bed is the morning workspace I stumble back to once I’m grasping a cup of coffee. I secretly think of myself as the Grandpa Joe of the Book Riot staff. I will eventually fly out of bed singing, “I’ve got a golden ticket.”
I like to start my day in stealth mode before my day actually begins, if that makes sense. It doesn’t — I start my work day around 7am, but I’m not “live” for another hour. My brain is always cluttered, but it’s even more so first thing in the morning, and nobody needs that, so I like to spend my first caffeinated hour working on something that requires single-mindedness and hyperfocus. It does help.
As for the work itself, my job is a many-headed unicorn, except not grotesque. I schedule content and social media a couple days each week, film the Tuesday New Releases videos, host the SFF Yeah! and Read Harder podcasts, post Instagram Stories, and write the weekday Today in Books (previously known as This Week in Books) newsletters, among other things. And it tickles me that taking photos of books is also part of my job.
I’m still quite new, but my work is exciting and challenging in a way no job has been before. For instance, when I agreed to podcast (this was actually when I was still a contributing editor, working freelance), I was terrified because I’m a writer who has never been good with her mouth words. But there’s something about being part of Book Riot that makes a person want to try, and do something new, and shake it up a little.
So here I am.
-Sharifah
Categories
091717-Fireblood-Riot-Rundown
Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Sponsored by Elly Blake’s Fireblood, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
In this action-packed sequel to the New York Times bestselling Frostblood, Ruby must choose between her fiery homeland and the icy king who loves her.
The Voynich Manuscript Finally Solved (?)
For more than a century, The Voynich Manuscript has been an enigma. The 500-year-old manuscript is written in some unknown language and its provenance is equally cloudy. Scholars, linguists, and interested amateurs have been trying to crack if for decades, Nicholas Gibbs, a scholar of medieval medical history claims to have figured it out. In essence, he believes the inscrutable writing is a variety of Latin in an indiosyncratic shorthand and that the book itself is a bespoke book about women’s hygiene. However, some other scholars are already questioning his analysis. Where is Robert Langdon when you need him?
Roxane Gay and Ashley Ford Talk About the Black Literary Community
This isn’t news exactly, but this conversation with Roxane Gay and Ashley Ford about mentorship, publishing, and writing is terrific reading. They talk about how important early encouragement is, the difference a good mentor can make, and the necessity of getting real, first-hand information about the day-to-day experience of being a black woman in publishing.
U.S. House of Representatives Fully Funds NEH, NEA, and Federal Library Funding
Despite rhetoric from the Trump administration suggesting that the White House would almost fully eliminated federal arts and library funding, on Thursday the House voted (211-198) to pass HR 3354, which basically maintains current funding levels. The bill will still have to go through reconciliation with the Senate, but most expect that to happen without much friction. Whew.
Today in Books is sponsored by Rakuten Kobo Inc:
Calling all listeners—audiobooks are now available from Kobo. Find all your eBooks and audiobooks together in the FREE Kobo App for iOS and Android. Save with a subscription for the best deal on audiobooks—your first 30 days are FREE.
We have 10 copies of Landscape With Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson to give away to 10 Riot readers!
Here’s what it’s all about:
When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth — but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents’ jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv’s miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem “classic” Earth culture (doo-wop music, still-life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it’s hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they hate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he’s willing to go — and what he’s willing to sacrifice — to give the vuvv what they want.
Go here to enter for a chance to win, or just click the cover image below. Good luck!
The National Book Award for Fiction Longlist
Thank you! The National Book Foundation released their Fiction longlist and look who we have here: Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (there might’ve been some words if this one hadn’t made it on), The Leavers by Lisa Ko, and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, among seven other buzzy titles. What do you think about the list–any missed predictions?
Get the #BTS On Harry Potter With An Upcoming Documentary
I know I’ve been saying I’m over all things Harry Potter, but this is the thing I didn’t know I needed from the franchise. The BBC (yay!) will premiere the documentary Harry Potter: A History of Magic in honor of the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The documentary will deal with the origins of the world of Hogwarts, and feature an interview with J.K. Rowling. The doc doesn’t seem to have an air date yet, so stay tuned.
Lost Ezra Pound Poem Found In Castle–Obviously
I’m done with stories about discoveries of unpublished works written by famous authors. Hahaha jk! A lost Ezra Pound poem was published in The Paris Review. First of all, the poem was found in a castle. A CASTLE. Where does one sign up to find themselves in these situations? Secondly, on why it might never have been published the discoverer said, “It is too tender, too small.” What? Are we still talking about Pound?
Sponsored by Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel from Entangled Teen.
Where harbingers of death appear, the morgues will soon be full.
Angie Dovage can tell there’s more to Reece Fernandez than just the tall, brooding athlete who has her classmates swooning, but she can’t imagine his presence signals a tragedy that will devastate her small town. She can’t know she’ll be thrown into a battle between good and evil with Reece right in the center of it—and he’s not human.
Still, she knows something most don’t. The secrets her town holds could kill them all. But falling in love with a harbinger of death could be even more dangerous.
Hey YA Readers!
This week’s edition of “What’s Up in YA?” is sponsored by Rakuten Kobo Inc.
Calling all listeners—audiobooks are now available from Kobo. Find all your eBooks and audiobooks together in the FREE Kobo App for iOS and Android. Save with a subscription for the best deal on audiobooks—your first 30 days are FREE.
I’ve got a really exciting guest post today from Amber J. Keyser, an author and editor of YA fiction and nonfiction. Keyser recently wrapped up a book tour with fellow YA author and newly-crowned National Book Award long list author Elana K. Arnold. This is the story of what happened when they dared to talk about their books which feature fierce, honest depictions of teen girls and why those stories matter so much.
**
Elana K. Arnold and I write angry, uncomfortable, sexual books about teenage girls. We’ve been asked, “When we are going to write a real book?” which means when will we write for adult readers. We’ve been asked, “Why do you mention unsavory
things?” which means menstruation and female masturbation.
And yet Elana and I keep writing “those damn feminist books.”
Recently we toured together to promote What Girls Are Made Of, which was recently long-listed for the National Book Award, and Pointe, Claw. We connected through our shared editor, Alix Reid at Carolrhoda Lab, who describes working on these books like this:
Although entirely different in content, the themes of each book touched on one another and made me ever more aware of how important it is to speak UP and speak OUT about ways in which girls are put in boxes, are silenced, and are made to feel less than.
We asked some of the smartest women working in YA today to join us, and in every city, we engaged with audience members on the importance of feminist literature for young adults and on the way books can be a form of resistance. Stephanie Kuehn,
author of When I Am Through With You, joined us at A Great Good Place for Books in Oakland, and she said this:
One thing that I loved that came up at our discussion was this idea of how, as an adult, having had a childhood defined by feeling alienated or on the fringes of society can leave you without a sense of responsibility for activism and change. But the political atmosphere we are currently living in has made it abundantly clear that it is our responsibility to try and bring about positive change. And continuing to hold onto that outsider identity we may have felt as adolescents and using it as an excuse not to not take ownership of the world we live in, is often an expression of privilege. If we have the means, it’s
our duty to fight for human rights.
Our conversation at Secret Garden Bookshop in Seattle with Martha Brockenbrough, author of Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary, also turned to the relevance of these books in today’s political climate. She said:
This tour felt like a relief after the bizarre and punishing post-inaugural season. Intelligence, ferocity, and provocative art are what women and girls especially need.
During one of our stops in the Bay Area, a man interrupted. Elana had just finished reading a scene from What Girls Are Made Of in which the main character, Nina, is getting a pap smear. It’s explicit, detailed and clinical. Familiar territory for women, but deeply uncomfortable for this guy.
“Why,” he asked, leaning back in his chair, “would a fifty-year- old man want to read a book about a sixteen-year- old girl?”
I stiffened. There was an audible gasp from several people in the audience. Before I could respond, Elana’s arm swept toward me the way a mother driving a car will slam on the brakes and try to hold her daughter back from impact.
“I’ve got this,” Elana said. To the man in the audience, she said, “Let me ask you, why do we expect sixteen-year- old girls to read books about fifty-year- old men?”
This was the crux of our feminist book tour. No one asks why a girl should care about Holden Caulfield, Captain Ahab, or Hamlet.
The man doubled down and said, “If someone knew I was reading about a girl getting an exam, they’d call me a pedophile.”
This guy was every obstacle that we were writing about. He took the experience of a teenage girl in a doctor’s office and made it sexual. He made her, and us as the authors of these books, consumable.
After we had finished signing, he was one of the last to go. He came up to the table and held a twenty-dollar bill above our books. “I’ll buy the one if falls on,” he said, before releasing the bill, the way he might have dropped it on a stage before a
couple of erotic dancers.
The money drifted down to rest on What Girls Are Made Of.
He slid the twenty to Elana and picked up the book. “I won’t read it,” he said. “I’ll give it to a woman I know.”
And this is why Elana and I write the books we do.
We believe that stories about teenage girls matter deeply, and they should matter to all of readers, regardless of gender. The experiences of young women are rich and compelling in their own right—not simply as ingredients added to stories about men and boys. And in this time of political upheaval, we believe that young women, especially young women of color, are the ones we need leading us into the future.
**
Wow. I love this story and love how it highlights just why we keep talking about the importance of girls and their stories.
Thanks for hanging out this week, and we’ll see you again next week right here. We’ll talk YA backlist for Hispanic Heritage Month and get your TBR toppling over.
–Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars
PS: I’ll talk more about the brand new YA podcast launching this week in the next newsletter, but for now, make sure you check out Get Recommended, our other newly-launched podcast featuring interesting people recommending interesting books. Tune in here!
Hello, and happy Monday, book lovers! It’s a wonderful day to read a book or eleven. You should totally take the day off from work and read instead. Don’t worry, I’ll write you a note. Enjoy your week, and be excellent to each other. – xoxo, Liberty
Sponsored by The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo
Inspired by myth, folklore, and fairy tale, #1 New York Times-bestselling author Leigh Bardugo has crafted a deliciously atmospheric collection of short stories filled with betrayals, revenge, sacrifice, and love.
Perfect for new readers and dedicated fans, the tales in The Language of Thorns will transport you to lands both familiar and strange—to a fully realized world of dangerous magic that millions have visited through the novels of the Grishaverse.
Deals, Reals, and Squeals!
Margot Lee Shetterly has sold a picture book based on her bestseller (turned Oscar-winning film), Hidden Figures.
Modern Pride And Prejudice drama Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfeld, to be a television series on ABC.
Spike Lee and Jordan Peele are teaming up for a thriller called Black Klansman, based on the memoir by Ron Stallworth.
AMC developing series based on Black Lives Matter book They Can’t Kill Us All.
Ayize Jama-Everett will pen a horror comic, with Eisner award winner John Jennings, set to arrive in summer of 2018.
Selwyn Seyfu Hinds has been tapped to adapt Who Fears Death for HBO.
You by Caroline Kepnes to be a series on Lifetime.
Cover Reveals
Thunderhead, the sequel to Neal Shusterman’s Scythe, has a cover! (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, Jan. 9, 2018)
Not exactly the cover, but Victoria Aveyard revealed the title for her next book, the final book in the Red Queen series. (HarperTeen, May 15, 2018.)
The covers for the two new Lady Astronaut of Mars books from Mary Robinette Kowal. (Tor.com, Summer 2018)
Sneak Peeks!
The official trailer for Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace on Netflix.
First trailer for The Red Sparrow by Jennifer Lawrence, based on the novel by Jason Matthews.
Neil Gaiman shared photos of David Tennant and Michael Sheen in character and a script read through for the Good Omens miniseries.
Book Riot Recommends
At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week!
Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News by Kevin Young
Poet and critic Young examines how hoaxes have moved from sideshow acts to being in the center stage of American culture. From P.T. Barnum to Donald Trump, he discusses famous examples of forgers and fakers, and how we are living now in a post-factual world. This was just listed on the National Book Award longlist for nonfiction! (Graywolf Press, November 14)
That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston
Margaret is set to enter a genetically arranged marriage, but before that happens, she gets one summer of freedom. It’s enough time for her to make new friends, have new experiences, and decide that an arranged marriage is not what she wants. But can she change the law? Set in a near-future British Empire, Johnston has created a unique blend of adventure, science fiction, and etiquette.
And this is funny.
Danielle Steel’s desk is quite something.