Foundling by D.M. Cornish

As a foundling, Rossamünd Bookchild has lived a rather boring and sheltered life, his only excitement coming from the wild tales in the pamphlets he loves to read or his dormitory master Fransitart. Rossamünd yearns for a life of adventure, perhaps as a soldier or vinegaroon, his wild imagination only encouraged by the fantastical stories he reads and hears about, but when he is contracted to work as a lamplighter in the service of the Emperor, all that changes. Rossamünd is thrown out into the world when his seemingly simple journey to begin his training goes wrong, and he finds himself amongst all kinds of characters, from teratologists to sedorners, smugglers of the dark trades to lahzars, even monsters! But even if Rossamünd is living out his dreams, he’s about to realize that the world he never truly knew is much more dangerous than he could ever have imagined.

Read the rest of my review at Reader Views Kids.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from Reader Views Kids

Shelter Me by Alex McAulay

Maggie Leigh is trying to live a normal life in the midst of World War II. But nothing comes easy now, especially with meager war rations and German bombs frequently falling on her hometown of London. Life has become dreary and boring with no friends, no chocolate, and no fun.

By chance, Maggie and her aunt Joan are caught in a bombing, leaving Joan comatose and Margie largely uninjured, but at the mercy of her overtly religious mother. Maggie’s mom sees the German bombs as divine punishment for Britain’s collective sins, including Maggie’s, and tricks Maggie into attending a secluded boarding school in Wales. Maggie is plunged into a world of lies and deceit in a delusional institution that encourages dementia and class warfare. Then a horrific incident forces Maggie and three other girls to flee the school. Wartime Britain, as they are about to learn, is a harsh and unforgiving world, and absolutely everything is at stake.

Read the rest of my review at Young Adult Enchanting Reviews.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from publisher MTV Books through YA Enchanting Reviews

Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler

True love is hard to find and even harder to hold onto. Ivy knows this, that’s why when her boyfriend Tristan dies, she is so devastated. Her life just seems too empty with her mother’s remarriage, her eerily spacious new home, and most of all, Tristan’s absence. But what she doesn’t know since she lost her faith in angels is that Tristan is still with her—in the form of a guardian angel. They must find a way to work together, especially when sinister occurrences keep happening closer and closer to Ivy. Everyone near her is in danger as it soon becomes apparent that Tristan’s death was murder and that his killer plans to strike again. Kissed by an Angel, an exciting trilogy of romance and mystery, tells the story of a love so powerful it spans the boundary even between life and death.

Without a doubt, Kissed by an Angel has one of the most romantic tales and best structured mysteries that I’ve ever read. Ivy and Tristan’s love for each other is so strong and sweet that it made me cry after Tristan’s death because they couldn’t be together as they once were. I did find it a little strange how fast and hard they fell for each other, but it did make the story more romantic. The plotline is very complicated due to varying love interest and other secret character connections, yet it is still pretty easy to follow and understand at most times. I definitely appreciated the unpredictability of most of the plot as well. Some of the characters I felt could’ve been better developed except for the most important to the story, Ivy, Tristan, and Gregory, who were all characterized well. I really liked Chandler’s explanation for angels and their abilities because it added a creative and supernatural flair to the story. Readers will have a difficult time setting Kissed by an Angel down because of the suspense and its powerful message of love outweighing all.

Fans of romance novels and mysteries involving life after death will love Kissed by an Angel, especially those who enjoyed Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn, Far From You by Lisa Schroeder, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, and Jo-Jo and the Fiendish Lot by Andrew Auseon.

Rating: 4.25

Review copy from Amazon Vine

Faketastic by Alexa Young

On-and-off-again friends Halley Brandon and Avalon Greene are back together as Team Halvalon, despite previous setbacks. They’re stronger and more devious than ever. So when Halley stresses over how her new bestie Sofee will react to Halley’s tentative relationship with Sofee’s ex, Wade, and Avalon starts to crave leadership in the new and improved cheer squad, these fashionistas put their heads together to craft a rather genius plan. But what happens when they plan goes wrong? Will these fashion forward friends have to break up again—for real?

Amusingly immature yet surprisingly meaningful, Faketastic is an improvements over its prequel Frenemies. There still are the petty arguments and name dropping so frequent it becomes annoying, but even if the plot is a bit childish and silly, main characters Halley and Avalon are more mature than they were in this series’ previous installment. They seem less shallow because they could overcome most of their fight in Frenemies and work together to help each other accomplish what each desired most, which thankfully wasn’t limited to being most fashionable in school. This made their new fight seem more legitimate and made Avalon and Halley easier to relate to. Young even did a great job of reeling in the reader and making them want to know what happens after Faketastic ends.

Exploring the bonds of friendship and the middle school social scene, Faketastic appeals to fans of Lucky by Rachel Vail, The Clique series by Lisi Harrison, and other fashion related novels. The Frenemies series will probably best enjoyed by middle grade readers, though those older may still like the Style Snarks. I look forward to the catching the continuation of this series in intriguingly named Glamnesia.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from author Alexa Young

The Abhorsen Chronicles by Garth Nix

In the ancient and mystical world of the Old Kingdom, evil constantly breeds despite valiant attempts to destroy it forever. But evil in the Old Kingdom is no ordinary evil; it is often the work of Free Magic creatures or necromancers raising the Dead to wreak havoc. Fortunately, there is some protection against the Dead such as sunlight, running water, and the Abhorsen, whose duty is to make sure the Dead stay dead. But the struggle between life and death seems to be an everlasting one with a bleak outcome, especially when chaos reigns. “The Abhorsen Chronicles,” composed of the three novels “Sabriel,” “Lirael,” and “Abhorsen” as well as the short story “Nicolas Sayre and the Creature in the Case,” tells the awesomely fantastical tale of this heart-stopping and dangerous battle spanning all time. In this world, virtually no one can be trusted and evil will stop at nothing to succeed.

Read the rest of my review at Reader Views Kids.

Rating: 5.0

Review copy from Reader Views Kids

Getting in Tune by Roger L. Trott

Twenty-year-old Daniel Travers lives and breathes music. And so far, music has been good to him and his band The Killjoys; they always get local gigs and are by far the best band in their hometown of Creedly. But this is both a blessing and a curse because Daniel has dreams of following in the footsteps of his rock and roll idol Pete Townshend from The Who and escaping from his pathetic excuse for a home. Music is all Daniel’s got because the rest of him is beyond screwed and falling apart, and not only because of his pill popping and those voices in his head. So when he’s offered a gig at someplace called the Mai Tai Hotel, he jumps the chance to finally make it—out of Creedly and into the punk scene, so he hopes. But Daniel can’t hide from his problems forever, especially because they originate from himself.

Getting in Tune is a musical coming-of-age novel dealing with the fuzzy line between real and fake. Even through the drug and alcohol distorted world Daniel lives in, there is something so genuine about his character. He’s at odds with himself and stuck between being true to his music and finding the Real Him and doing anything to get out of Creedly and launch the Killjoys to success. I wouldn’t say the Daniel’s very likable, especially due to his frequent drinking and drug usage, but he is very easy to understand, especially when he spells out the root of all his problems. I enjoyed the deeper, almost philosophical, meaning behind the novel more than the actual plot, which was a slightly repetitive blend of drinking, smoking, playing music, and figuring out how to get from Point A to Point B. the story means more than just that, and Daniel exemplifies this search of sorts for the truth through his internal struggles. I didn’t like how the portrayal of life in a rock band is stereotyped, though many of its aspects are probably true.

Getting in Tune appeals first and foremost to all rock music lovers, particularly fans of Stephanie Kuehnert’s I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, even if Getting in Tune isn’t as unforgettable as Stephanie Kuehnert’s musical novel.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from author Roger L. Trott

Invisible Touch by Kelly Parra

Kara Martinez is not and will never be normal, not since her father’s death when she was eleven. Instead, Kara hides, letting everyone else think she’s the good girl. She dresses in pink to please her mother and never acts out lest her mom should scrutinize her more than usual and send her back to a therapist. Even Kara’s best friend Danielle is unaware of how the accident when Kara was eleven changed her from normal into a Sign Seer.

As a Sign Seer, Kara has visions pertaining to people’s fates, bits of clues forming a puzzle only Kara can solve, because she’s the only person who knows it’s there. And so Kara has been able to secretly help people avoid disasters. But when Kara sees a gun on a fellow classmate, the stakes are much higher because it’s so much more personal. The two sides of Kara, her secret life and the one her mother wants her to live, start to collide when Kara’s mother’s hold on her becomes increasingly suffocating and Kara’s investigation leads her to an alluringly mysterious guy. But venting on her anonymous blog won’t stop the clock from ticking down the seconds Kara has left to act to piece together this deadly puzzle and her own life.

Read the rest of my review at Young Adult Enchanting Reviews.

Rating: 4.25

Review copy from publisher MTV Books through YA Enchanting Reviews

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

Alice’s life is a mess, even years after the death of her beloved mother due to cancer. She is continually searching for a way to be close to her mom, her angel, because she can’t deal with her father’s remarriage. All Alice has left is her best friend Claire, her boyfriend Blaze, her faith, and her music. She seems to be just an afterthought to everyone else.

Thanksgiving break comes, and Alice is forced to spend that time with her stepmom’s family. She can’t even count on Claire anymore since they had a fight, her father is as distant as ever, and miles separate her from Blaze. Alice is as sullen as ever. But when she, her stepmother, and her newborn baby sister are trapped in a ferocious snowstorm, Alice has to confront all her pent up anger and frustration. It’s a fight for life and for love that will change Alice’s world forever.

Read the rest of my review at Young Adult Enchanting Reviews.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from publisher Simon & Schuster through YA Enchanting Reviews

Shift by Charlotte Agell

Adrian Havoc used to think he had the best of both worlds, but that was before his father never came back from the moon and his mother started stressing over work. His parents are people of science and math, employed, strangely, but the religious government called Homestate. Homestate controls everything in Adrian’s home of Atro City, from simple things like admission to the zoo to mandatory religious education under the state religion. Now that Shift is approaching, the end of the world or so the government says, everything is about to change, and Adrian knows he can’t be a part of it anymore. So he leaves, traveling north to search for a place of peace, but instead, he’ll find the truth.

Shift is a peek into a hypothetical future world, and a scary one at that. Though terrifying to me, a government with absolute power over even personal matters such as religion, as in this novel, is not too farfetched, and Agell refines this to make it disturbingly real. As in most novels with dystopias, the plot is fast moving, suspenseful, and very original. The characters, on the other hand, were sometimes uninteresting and one-dimensional, although I enjoyed some of the quirkier characters such as Shriek and the penguin Mr. Baby Guy. Everything about this dysfunctional future is plausible; Agell even has it down to a science. The only issue with this is that most readers will not be able to understand the short or incomplete scientific explanations for various phenomena and may be confused, as I was at times. Nevertheless, Shift makes a profound statement about the relationship between religion, government, and the individual that will get the reader thinking.

Readers who enjoy futuristic or utopian novels, particularly Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series, The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn, and The Giver by Lois Lowry, will enjoy this thought provoking novel. I hope there will be a sequel or companion novel to Shift so I can get the rest of the incredible story I’m sure is there.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from author Charlotte Agell

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xiaolu Guo

Twenty-one-year-old Fenfang Wang is a little lost. She might know the general direction of where she’s headed, Beijing, but after that, nothing is certain. But she can’t go back to her little isolated village in the Chinese countryside; she’s had enough of that monotonous life of digging up sweet potatoes. And so, young Fenfang navigates her way through dusty Beijing, struggling to find a place she belongs in and some satisfaction to her life. But along the way as she barely gets by, she encounters many obstacles of the newly modern Chinese era, from restriction of the Communist regime and dreary jobs as a film extra to bad men and hopeless dreams. In this uniquely written coming-of-age tale, a young Chinese woman strives to forge her own identity amidst the hardships in the city and her own life.

Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth was an interesting tale and glimpse into the life of a contemporary Chinese city. I enjoyed Fenfang’s frank voice; Fenfang can be relied on to tell it like it is, from the most depressing parts to the very best. However, I felt this honesty failed to really animate any of the characters besides Fenfang, and even Fenfang’s character was sometimes a little weak. The plot never gets too exciting; this novel focuses more on the mental and emotional maturation of Fenfang. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but the plot’s boringness did make Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth a little more difficult to get through. The story read more like a memoir than a novel, and I wasn’t left with a sense of accomplishment that is generally standard in coming-of-age novels. Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it leaves the readers a little confused unless they really take the time to think about Fenfang’s story.

I don’t recommend Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth because while it had its great moments, nothing about it really drew me in. readers who enjoy short stories about identity especially in combination with foreign landscapes and cultures may also like this novel.

Rating: 3.0

Review copy from publisher Random House

Poison Ivy by Amy Goldman Koss

Ivy has always been taunted and cruelly treated by others, especially The Evil Three, better known as the popular girls Ann, Benita, and Sophie. But for how aloof Ivy acts, no one can really tell how much this bullying affects her, if it does at all. Enter in Ms. Gold, teacher of third hour American Government class, desperate for some conflict so she can hold an in-class trial. It seems that justice will finally be served when Ivy’s problem is chosen, because everyone is aware of how Ann and her friends ridicule Ivy at every chance they get, but is anyone actually brave enough to tell the truth and risk Ann’s social wrath? Daria, Ivy’s lawyer may mean well but is much too deathly shy to make a difference; Wayne, practically the only student who cares about the legal process, is just one jury member; and honest Marco is only another. The odds are stacked up. Who will be brave enough to tell the truth?

Poison Ivy provides an interesting peek into the workings of high school students through a very unique government lesson. I enjoyed Koss’s presentation of the story, through a series of interviews because it gave perspectives from all the key players in the pseudo-trial, and a few more. However, I thought only two characters, Marco and Wayne provided the most important content; Marco told the truth, and Wayne gave the moral of the story. The rest was all entertainment, not completely necessary but amusing all the same. It was disappointing how stereotypical characters like Daria and Ann were, and the not confrontational nature of much of the class foreshadowed the ending, eliminating most suspense value this novel could’ve had. Though I liked experiencing the mock trial with the class, I can’t say that Poison Ivy was outstanding in any way.

Social science buffs and lawyer-to-bes will enjoy the content of this novel. Readers looking for the blunt if harsh reality of some aspects of high school will also want to read Poison Ivy.

Rating: 3.25

Review copy from author Amy Goldman Koss

Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

Ever since the death of her mother years earlier, Riley Rose has been on the fast track to self destruction, choosing to muddle her way through life with the aid of drugs, alcohol, and sex. Against her will, Riley’s father and his girlfriend Norma force her to go to Spirit Ranch, a religious prison in the middle of nowhere, as Riley sees it. Riley prepares herself to loathe the experience, the annoyingly religious campers, everything that just doesn’t fit with Riley’s personality. But Riley never expects to find the possibility of a kindred spirit, especially in Dylan Luck, a dark and sullen boy confined to a wheelchair. And then Riley realizes that she just might have faith after all, even if it’s where she least expected it.

Everything Beautiful is a beautifully written story that draws readers in with its complex and unique characters. Riley seems to play the stereotypical fat girl, drowning her woes in this substance or that, but in reality, she is so much more. Weight barely plays a role because Riley’s sarcastic yet cautious personality is larger than life, no pun intended. Readers can’t help but like Riley and hope she finds whatever she’s looking for because she’s so lovable even with some of her mean qualities. Dylan’s character is also compelling to read about, and I loved how he played the hero in the end. A big disappointment was when Spirit Ranch ended, because it is left up to the reader’s imagination if Riley and Dylan ever meet again. With quirky characters, Everything Beautiful is a sweet romance that spreads a message of faith, if not in a religious way.

Fans of Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan and All About Vee by C. Leign Purtill will fall in love with Everything Beautiful’s unforgettable main character. I hope I get a chance to read Howell’s Notes from the Teenage Underground so I can sample more of her realistic writing and well drawn characters.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from publisher Bloomsbury USA

Sovay by Celia Rees

Young Sovay Middleton’s privileged life has been disappointingly lacking of adventure of late, so she does what any bold girl would to—she dons a man’s attire and poses as a highwayman. But what starts as a clever test of love soon turns deadly, especially after Sovay steals the wallet of one of the most powerful and dangerous men in all of England. But the information she also uncovers may be worth risking the law and her personal safety for—her father has been accused to treason. And now, with her family missing, it’s up to Sovay to set things right, but the odds are stacked up against her everywhere she goes. She is but a powerless woman in a male-dominated society, unsude of who she can trust because with the revolutionary fever catching from nearby France, London’s spy network reaches farther than ever. In this suspenseful and romantic historical novel comes an unforgettable tale of danger and love.

Obviously well researched and well referenced, historical drama Sovay takes readers back to the romantic era of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. The novel starts energetically and continues to pick up pace as mere adventure morphs into the real threat of death, keeping readers on the edge of their seat. I was so excited to be taken back to the turbulent times during the French Revolution, having enjoyed studying that period and reading one of the few classics I loved, A Tale of Two Cities; there was just so much mischief to be made during that time as Rees accurately portrayed. There is something so satisfying about reading a story in which all the pieces fit together so perfectly, as I felt happened in Sovay. Sovay’s character is so bold and independent in a Robin Hood-esque kind of way that readers are drawn to her spunky attitude and determination. There were some conflicting times when Sovay let her fear show through, but otherwise, I felt the character development to be sufficient, even if I wished some of the characters played larger roles than they did. Sovay’s tale of romance and suspense with a historical edge was a thrill to read.

Readers who enjoy the historical fiction and action genres will want to check out Sovay. Fans of A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray and most especially, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens will also fall in love with this exciting tale.

Rating: 4.75

Review copy from publisher Bloomsbury USA

Interview with A.S. King & Emer Morrisey

Now, I am just incredibly thrilled to have been able to interview the wonderfully fantastically incredibly talented author A.S. King, who has written the fabulously unforgettable The Dust of 100 Dogs. As you can tell, I am a huge fan, of both King and her novel.

And I am beyond excited to present to you this interview with not only an amazing author, but also one of her characters, Emer Morrisey, heroine from The Dust of 100 Dogs. Enjoy!

AMY & EMER: Thanks for having us, Book Muncher!

THE BOOK MUNCHER: How do pirates + dogs + reincarnation = The Dust of 100 Dogs? In other words, where did the idea originate from?

AMY: I’m pretty sure the idea came from my first explorations of Irish history. I used to walk my dogs down my small road [in Ireland] and think of the people who had walked that road before me.

TBM: Why dogs? Why not cats, for example?

AMY: I have nothing against cats. Cats are awesome. I mean – in case anyone wonders. But, the dogs must have come from the fact that these ideas were percolating as I walked along the road with my dogs. Also, since the dog facts in the book are set out as a sort of dog training guide, well, cats just wouldn’t go there. Try to train a cat. I dare you.

TBM: What other works, if any (books, movies, etc.) did you draw inspiration from for The Dust of 100 Dogs? What was the research like?

AMY: I think to understand my research process you have to understand that I am [happily] removed from popular culture. I don’t really watch TV and I don’t know what movies are playing, or what songs are hits. I know zero about the entertainment world and only discovered who Paris Hilton was about a year ago. But in relation to D100D, which was written in 2001/2002, I was ten times more removed. I barely had the internet at that point, and the only local place to rent a movie was the size of a bedroom, had a very basic selection and smelled like old vegetables. So, keeping that in mind, most of my research revolved around local history – to get a feel of what life was like right where I lived in the 17^th century. I read a lot about Cromwell (his letters, especially) and a ton of weird non-fiction pirate and US history books. The only fiction I read was Treasure Island, during my revision process. (That particular copy of Treasure Island was given to me by my parents when I was about 11 or 12. I didn’t read it until I was 31. Just goes to show giving a book is never a waste…even if a person doesn’t read it at first.)

TBM: Which of your characters can you relate to the most?

AMY: I guess I relate in ways to Saffron. Though my life was totally different to hers and my parents are complete winners, it often seemed like everyone else in my world was concerned with stuff I didn’t care about.

EMER: You don’t relate to me?

AMY: Are you kidding? I’m a total pacifist and I’ve lived a lucky life, with no major slavery or piracy incidents. Maybe I can relate to the simple farm tasks you preformed as a child before Cromwell came, but after that, no way.

EMER: What about true love and soul mates?

AMY: (nodding) Yes. True love and soul mates. I can relate to that, too.

EMER: I reckoned.

TBM: Much of the pirating world has been romanticized. Why did you choose to include much of the physical danger as well as pirate romance?

AMY: Pirates did nasty things. They could also be loyal friends and witty storytellers. I think like all humans, pirates had circumstances that put them in that spot of being a pirate. So, they are just people, too. But they are people who do nasty things. Anyone who overlooks that for the romance is probably just trying to have fun. I’ve come by people who want all Disney-induced romancing of piracy to stop – as if this is immoral –to make pirates likable. I’m not like that at all. I’m already used to Disney stuffing all girls and women into waist-tight, busty dresses and high heeled slippers, so I’m long past holding Disney accountable for their misconceptions of reality. That’s their job! It’s Disney! Of course piracy is awful. But that doesn’t mean all pirates – then and now – don’t have the capacity to be good people. They might. I can’t judge.

EMER: Disney burns my hide.

TBM: What is the transition from being a human in the "olden days" to

being a dog one hundred times back to being a present day human like?

EMER: Drudgery. Better to ask Saffron that one, though. She’d know more about the whole 300-year-long experience. Technically, I died in 1664.

TBM: What's the most exciting aspect about the pirating life?

EMER: I think freedom is the most exciting feeling in the world, and nothing is quite as free as being a pirate captain, in your own ship, on your own sea, fearless. In day to day life, I suppose the battles are most exciting. When you approach a ship, you never know how they’re going to react. Some fight a little, to see how determined you are. Some fight to the death, which is always exciting. I think the least exciting are ships who surrender.

TBM: What advice would you recommend to someone encountering a pirate?

EMER: The same advice I’d give to people encountering any crime. Give whatever you have to give to stay alive. In the moment, your forty dollars and credit cards may seem like something you’re willing to fight for, but once you’re dead, they won’t matter anymore anyway. Material possessions are worth nothing. And I should know.

TBM: What advice would you offer to someone who is a reincarnation of a pirate?

AMY: I’m not sure I have any. I think Emer’s situation was brought about more by voodoo and a curse than plain old reincarnation.

EMER: (mumbles)

TBM: Hypothetically, if Emer's true love, Seanie, turned into a dog, and Emer dog found him, could they recognize that the other was the one they loved?

AMY: There is no right answer to this question. I believe anything unproven is possible. Discuss.

EMER: Hypothetically, do you think I care?

AMY: Don’t be rude, Emer.

EMER: I’m speaking my mind. You modern people think about the craziest things.

AMY: Ignore her, Book Muncher. She’s got issues.

TBM: I know that Emer was cursed with the dust of 100 dogs, forced to live that many canine lifetimes, but the magic powder also landed on Seanie. Did he also endure so many dog lives?

AMY: There is also no right answer to this question. I urge readers to make up their own minds.

EMER: (Mumbling) True love spans time.

TBM: Emer is a bit of a reckless and free spirit, yet at the same time, she's a pretty simple girl—she just wants to be with her true love Seanie. However, along the way, she commits some pretty horrid atrocities. Does she still deserve to be happy, and were her actions justified?

AMY: I am not a judger of people. I cannot say who deserves what. But I feel all human beings deserve to be happy. I think as a people, if we spent more time trying to teach people how to be happy, rather teaching them to covet material things, we’d be better off. But no one listens to me.

EMER: No one listens to you because you’re talking too quiet, woman. OF COURSE she deserves to be happy! Who is anyone to say what another person deserves? But Emer never got to be happy did she?

(realizes she’s talking about herself in the third person, and snaps out of it.)

And were my actions justified? Yes. They were. For me, then. Once you live my life, then you can come back and judge me. Before then, you just keep your shiny white 21st century teeth cocked in a smile, and I’ll let you live.

AMY: Emer, threatening the interviewer is not recommended.

EMER: Arrrr. I’ll do what I please.

TBM: Is there anything about The Dust of 100 Dogs that you'd like to change, or something else you wish you'd included?

AMY: (still glaring at Emer) No.

TBM: I'm sure most of those who have already read The Dust of 100 Dogs are dying to know the story after the ending. Do you plan on writing a sequel or companion novel? Why or why not?

AMY: At the moment I have no plans for a sequel or a companion novel. I’ve been too busy writing other novels since I wrote D100D. (Remember, this novel was ‘put away’ in late 2003, due to no agent wanting to represent it, so I’ve written three or four others since then.)

EMER: Agents said no to this book?

AMY: Uh – yeah. Like 100 of them on two continents.

EMER: Lily-livered fools!

AMY: I know, right?

TBM: Lastly, what in the world are you working on next? Hints and clues are very welcome!

AMY: I’ve just finished another YA novel, IGNORE VERA DIETZ. Now, I am about to jump back into a really cool novel I started last summer that I am in love with. I can’t tell you about the plot so much, but I can tell you that like D100D, it has a bit of history and a bit of contemporary and a bit of magic realism. I am also working on the beginnings of the next YA after that, because the opening came to me last month, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Romance Lovers contest

CONTEST CLOSED

I must say, I am a lover of a good romance novel (the ones for teens because they are generally PG), and to celebrate February, the month or romance that also coincides with my birth month, I’m giving away a huge prize pack or, well, you guessed it, teen romance novels.

The prizes are as follows:

Picture Perfect by Catherine Clark
Labor of Love by Rachel Hawthorne
Nailed by Jennifer Laurens
Party Games by Whitney Lyles
To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker
The Secret Life of a Teenage Siren by Wendy Toliver
First Kiss (Then Tell) by various (it’s an anthology)

All (7) novels will go to one lucky winner. Why seven, I have no idea. Winner must reside in the US or have a US address, sorry!

Entries:

+1: MANDATORY! Write a short poem (20 lines or shorter) in celebration of the month of February and post it in a comment with your name and working email address. Structure, meter, rhyme doesn’t matter, but your topic must pertain to something to do with the month of February (e.g. Valentine’s Day, love, amethysts, etc.). Keep the language PG please, and don’t forget to put both your name and email address, or I will unceremoniously delete your comment.

+2: Promote. Post a link on your blog/website or post a bulletin on MySpace or other social networking site (and don’t forget to tell me). Remember to leave a working link in your comment so I can see it, or I won’t give you the entries you so deserve.

+1: Give me a romance book suggestion, in the YA group preferably. One suggestion per entrant (I don’t want my wishlist to grow exponentially!), with maybe a sentence or two about why you liked that book. Make sure I have not read it (check my “Books Munched” lists in the right sidebar), or I won’t credit you one entry.

+1: Trivia. Excluding the authors in the anthology, tell me which two authors of the prize books are one and the same. Leave your answer with the two names in your comment. Two hints: the answer is not “none,” and it can be found somewhere on The Book Muncher.

As I said above, US entrants only. Contest runs all month, ending 2/28/09, 9 p.m. PST. The contest is a random drawing, since it wouldn’t be fair to judge on poetic ability, but I might repost my favorite submissions when I announce the winners (so fair warning!). Winner will be announced sometime in the beginning of March.