My Most Anticipated March New Releases

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A Necklace of Souls by R.L. Stedman (NZ)

In the Kingdom of the Rose only the power of the Guardian’s necklace can keep the people safe from the forces threatening to destroy it. In a hidden kingdom a mysterious Guardian protects her people with the help of a magical necklace. But evil forces are also seeking the power of the necklace, and as the Guardian grows weaker these forces threaten to destroy the kingdom. With the help of her best friend, Will, and the enigmatic N’tombe, Dana, the rightful heir, must claim the power of the necklace and save her people. But the necklace takes a terrible toll on whoever wears it – a toll that Dana may not be prepared to face. A NECKLACE OF SOULS was the winner of the Storylines Tessa Duder Award for unpublished young adult fiction in 2012.

Seven Wonders: The Colossus Rises

The day after twelve-year-old Jack McKinley is told he has six months to live, he awakens on a mysterious island, where a secret organization promises to save his life – but with one condition. With his three friends, Jack must lead a mission to retrieve seven lost magical orbs, which, only when combined together, can save their lives. The challenge: the orbs have been missing for a thousand years, lost among the ruins and relics of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. With no one else to turn to and no escape in sight, the four friends have no choice but to undertake the quest. First stop: The Colossus of Rhodes … where they realise that there’s way more at stake than just their lives.

The Book of Doom by Barry Hutchison

Heaven has lost the most important object in existence and getting it back is gonna be Hell … The second hilarious book in Barry’s AFTERWORLDS sequence – comic fantasy perfect for fans of Pratchett and Douglas Adams. There’s panic up in Heaven. They have mislaid the BOOK OF DOOM – the most important object in existence. Oopsy. They think Satan might have stolen it, the sneaky little devil, so to save the world – plus, you know, quite a lot of embarrassment, fifteen year old Adam and his angelic guide Angelo are sent to retrieve it. Sadly directions aren’t Angelo’s strong point and they soon find themselves just as lost as the book, wandering through Afterworlds such as Valhalla and Hades and encountering some colourful characters along the way… Can the hapless pair make it to Hell and back?

Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made by Stephan Pastis

Take eleven-year-old Timmy Failure – the clueless, comically self-confident CEO of the best detective agency in town, perhaps even the nation. Add his impressively lazy business partner, a very large
polar bear named Total. Throw in the Failuremobile – Timmy’s mom’s Segway – and what you have is Total Failure, Inc., a global enterprise destined to make Timmy so rich his mother won’t have to stress out about the bills anymore.

Fearless by Cornelia Funke

After saving his brother, Jacob Reckless faces death from the fairy’s curse burning in his heart. In search of a cure he returns to the Mirrorworld, where he is reunited with Fox, a beautiful shape-shifting girl. He has one more chance: a golden crossbow, with the power to both save and destroy life, buried in a dead king’s tomb beneath an invisible palace. Jacob must cross continents, face monsters and men – including a dangerous rival – and learn what it means to stay alive.

A Winter’s Day in 1939 by Melinda Szymanik (NZ)

Taken from their home, forced to leave their country, put to work in labour camps, frozen and starved, Adam and his family doubt that they will ever make it out alive. Even if they were to get away, they might freeze to death, or starve, or the bears might get them. For the Polish refugees, the whole of the USSR becomes a prison from which there is seemingly no escape.

Zom-B City by Darren Shan

How many survived the zombie apocalypse?
Where do the living hide in a city of the dead?
Who controls the streets of London?
B Smith is setting out to explore…

Seven Wonders: The Colossus Rises Book Trailer

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The day after twelve-year-old Jack McKinley is told he has six months to live, he awakens on a mysterious island, where a secret organization promises to save his life – but with one condition. With his three friends, Jack must lead a mission to retrieve seven lost magical orbs, which, only when combined together, can save their lives. The challenge: the orbs have been missing for a thousand years, lost among the ruins and relics of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. With no one else to turn to and no escape in sight, the four friends have no choice but to undertake the quest. First stop: The Colossus of Rhodes … where they realise that there’s way more at stake than just their lives.

 

The Colossus Rises is the first book in Peter Lerangis’ action-packed new series called Seven Wonders. It has been described as ‘Percy Jackson meets Eragon’ and it sounds really exciting.  You might recognise Peter Lerangis as one of the authors of The 39 Clues series.

The Colossus Rises is due out in March from HarperCollins New Zealand, and watch out for your chance to win a copy of the  book here on the blog.

When We Wake by Karen Healey

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What do you think the world would be like if you fell asleep right now and woke up in 100 years time?  Would the world be incredibly technologically advanced or would it be ravaged by an apocalyptic event?  Would people be more tolerant of differences in race, ethnicity and sexuality? Karen Healey shows us her version of a future in earth in her latest book, When We Wake, about the first person to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived.

Sixteen-year-old Tegan is just like every other girl living in 2027 – she’s happiest when playing the guitar, she’s falling in love for the first time, and she’s joining her friends to protest the wrongs of the world: environmental collapse, social discrimination, and political injustice. But on what should have been the best day of Tegan’s life, she dies – and wakes up a hundred years in the future, locked in a government facility with no idea what happened.

Tegan is the first person to be cryonically frozen and successfully revived, which makes her an instant celebrity – though all she wants is to rebuild some semblance of a normal life … including spending as much time as possible with musically gifted Abdi, even if he does seem to hate the sight of her. But the future isn’t all she hoped it would be, and when appalling secrets come to light, Tegan must make a choice: Does she keep her head down and survive, or fight for a better future?

When We Wake has everything a great science fiction story should have – mystery, action, actual science, a future world, cool technology, and a main character who you route for right from the start.  Karen keeps you guessing and her writing is fast-paced so you want to keep reading so you can find out how it ends.

It’s a sign of a great character when you connect with them as soon as they start talking.  Karen hooked me in from the first paragraph and I wanted to know everything about Teegan and the insane situation that she finds herself in.  You empathise with her because you know how strange and difficult it would be to adapt to a different world. The more you find out about her and the sort of person she is, the more I liked her.  She’s the sort of person who won’t be pushed around and told what to do.  Even though she’s told by the army and various religious groups that her life doesn’t belong to her she does everything to prove them wrong.  She’s not concerned about making a spectacle, even when she’s being broadcast to millions of people around the world.  Other people try to force their morals and ethics on to Teegan, but she has her own strong opinions and no one is going to change those.

One of the things that really stood out for me in When We Wake was the way that Karen brought the future society’s moral and ethical views into the story.  Many science fiction stories (especially for teens) don’t delve into these aspects of future worlds so it made Karen’s feel fresh and different.  Through Teegan you see how the future society’s views of religion, ethnicity, and sexuality have changed, and how, even with massive climate change, people still aren’t looking after the planet.  Like today’s society, many of the people in charge of this future earth have questionable morals and ethics, and it’s these that shape the story.

5 out of 5 stars

2012 Cybils Winners and My Favourite Finalists

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It was an exciting week last week, with both International Book Giving Day and the announcement of the winners of the 2012 Cybils Awards on Thursday 14th February.  It’s always exciting to find out which books judges pick as the winners, and it was even more exciting for me as I got to help choose the winner of the Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy category.  You can find out about all the winners of each category on the Cybils website.

I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the Round 2 judges for the 2012 Cybils Awards.  My group of judges had the tough task of choosing our favourite YA science fiction and fantasy book from the 7 shortlisted titles (you can see them all here).  It was a really interesting and enjoyable experience, even though it was tough at times.  For someone like myself, who won’t finish a book if I’m not enjoying it, I had to push through a couple of the finalists and force myself to finish them.

We chose Seraphina by Rachel Hartman as our winner of the Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy category.  Seraphina was one of my top 3 books in the category, along with Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi and Every Day by David Levithan. I think these are three books that all high school libraries should have in their collection, and you can find out what I loved about these books below.

 

Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

Seraphina works as the music assistant to the royal court composer in Lavondaville. Her world is populated by humans and by dragons able to take human form, and for now there is an uneasy peace between them. In fact, the fortieth anniversary of the treaty between human and dragonkind is rapidly approaching. But then a member of the royal family is murdered, and the crime appears to have been committed by a dragon. The peace and treaty between both worlds is threatened.Seraphina is caught desperately in the middle of the tension. Her father is human, and her mother was a dragon in human form.She is unique, and completely illegal – and if she is found out, her life is in serious danger . . .

  • The world building was amazing and I really felt immersed in Seraphina’s world.  The history of the relationship between dragons and humans was explained well, without getting into lots of detail.
  • I connected with Seraphina right from the start and I found her voice interesting.  She’s a character that teen readers would relate well to and they would be routing for her.
  • The mystery and intrigue really hooked me in.  Sure, at times there wasn’t a lot of action, but trying to figure out different people and their motives kept me interested in the story.
  • It was an original dragon story.  I didn’t feel like Rachel had borrowed ideas from other fantasy stories.  Her dragons were captivating and I loved the way that they hoarded knowledge rather than gold.  I think that aspect kind of connected me to the dragon characters.  I also loved that the dragons could shape shift into human form and walk among us.

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Bacigalupi

Two refugee children, Mahlia and Mouse, are known as ‘war maggots’: survivors who have barely managed to escape the unspeakable violence plaguing the war-torn lands of the Drowned Cities. But their fragile safety is threatened when they discover a wounded half-man -a bioengineered war beast named Tool, who is hunted by a vengeful band of soldiers. When tragedy strikes, Mahlia is faced with an impossible decision: risk everything to save the boy who once saved her, or flee to her own safety.

  • Paolo’s real strength in this story is his world building.  He feeds you little details about why the Drowned Cities are the way they are and who the different factions are that are fighting for supremacy. The setting is definitely a character in itself and he describes the Drowned Cities in great detail.  Through his descriptions you know what it looks, feels, sounds and smells like and you wonder how people can survive here.
  • I loved the the characters of Tool, Mahlia and Mouse/Ghost.  If Paolo can make you feel for a killing machine that’s some powerful writing.  The way that Paolo chose to tell the story, switching between the three main characters, really helped to keep the story moving along and I was always wondering what was happening to the other characters.
  • The story is quite dark, but this is why I enjoyed it so much.  You’re delving into this world full of despair and routing for the characters to make it out into a world full of hope.  A lot of the characters are sinister and have been shaped by the world they live in, and you keep reading in the hope that they will get their comeuppance.

Every Day by David Levithan

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

And then A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

  • It’s completely different from anything I’ve ever read, because usually the narrator stays in one body throughout the story and they interact with the same characters.  In Every Day, A is in a different body each day, so it has to get used to being a different person (on the outside) and acting like that person.  One of the most interesting things about this book is the way that you look at the character of A.  Even though A doesn’t know if it is male or female, I imagined A as a male right from the start.  However, I think each reader will picture A differently.
  • Sometimes it can take you a while to put yourself in the main character’s shoes, but I immediately empathized with A and what it was going through.  You try to understand what it would be like to wake up each day as a different person, but you can’t really grasp how difficult it would be.
  • I loved the interactions between A (in its different bodies) and Rhiannon and you are hoping with all your heart that they can be together.
  • David Levithan’s ending to the story is absolutely perfect, and has to be my favourite ever ending of a book.

Win a John Green book pack

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John Green is one of my favourite authors and I’ve loved everything he has written.  His latest book, The Fault in Our Stars, was one of my favourite books of 2012 and was named the best book of the year in Time Magazine.  As well as an author, he’s one half of the awesome VlogBrothers on YouTube.  

John is a fairly under-appreciated author here in New Zealand (bookshops have only just started stocking his books and he has written 4 books since 2005) and I really think everyone should read at least one of his books.  If you read one you’ll be hooked on his funny, moving stories and memorable characters.

I have a copy of two of John’s earlier books, An Abundance of Katherines and Paper Towns, to give away.  To get in the draw all you have to do is enter your name and email address in the form below and tell me the name of John’s first book.  Competition closes Monday 25 February (New Zealand and Australia only).

Thanks to everyone who entered.  This competition is now closed.  The winner was Kirsten.

When We Wake book trailer

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When We Wake is the fantastic new YA futuristic thriller from New Zealand author, Karen Healey. Cryogenics, questionable morals and ethics, government secrets, and a kick-ass character are only some of the things that make When We Wake stand out.

When We Wake by Karen Healey is available now at libraries and bookshops from Allen and Unwin.

My International Book Giving Day

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I’ve been looking forward to International Book Giving Day for weeks and it’s finally here! I knew as soon as I heard about it that I wanted to be a part of it.  A special day that aims to get books into the hands of children who needed them most is right up my alley.

As soon as I heard about International Book Giving Day I set out to get local authors, publishers, librarians, bloggers, and book lovers involved.  Some of our best authors pledged their support and the always wonderful HarperCollins New Zealand and Random House New Zealand sent a box of lovely new books to donate to children.  Both Duffy Books in Homes and KidsCan were very keen to be involved and agreed to be the recipients of the donated books.  The people of Christchurch also got on board and I received piles and piles of pre-loved books to send to Duffy and KidsCan.  They will both received 3 or 4 large boxes of new and second-hand books next week that will then be given to children around the country who need them the most.

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Along with my colleagues in my library, I bought some new picture books and board books to donate to the doctor and dental surgery in our community.  I know that they’ll be well loved and I’m going to try and refresh the books regularly.

I hope your International Book Giving Day was as awesome as mine.  Don’t forget to share your photos and your experience via Instagram or Twitter by adding the tag #giveabook. You can also email photos to amy dot broadmoore at gmail dot com, and they’ll be shared at International Book Giving Day’s website.

Picture Book Nook: That’s Mine! by Michel Van Zeveren

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In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the little frog finds an egg.

“That’s mine!” he says.

But the snake wants his egg, and so does the eagle, and so does the lizard…But what does the angry elephant want?

 

 

 

That’s Mine! by Michel Van Zeveren is a gem of a picture book that’s simple, yet surprising.  You start off thinking you know where the story is going, but it veers off in a completely different direction (these are the best sorts of stories).  The illustrations are bold and I love the expressions on the animals faces, especially right at the end.

 

The thing I like most about this book though is the text and the design.  As each of the animals appears the sound they make turns into a word, like the eagle who flies in saying “Ack…ack…ack..actually it’s mine.”  Children can follow the direction that each animal appears from by following the direction of the words (the hsss of the snake drops down from the top to the bottom of the page).  I love the way that the text changes size depending on how loud the animal is talking and in relation to their size.  On a page featuring all the animals, the text is largest for the elephant and smallest for the frog, so it’s clear that each of the animals has a different voice.

That’s Mine! is the perfect picture book for reading aloud.  You can do different voices for all the animals and make it really silly.  It could even be acted out in the classroom, with each child being a different animal.

4 out of 5 stars

Give books not flowers this February 14th

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February 14th is only a couple of days away, which means that International Book Giving Day is nearly here.  Instead of giving flowers and chocolates to show your love, why not show your love of books and give books to a child who needs them the most.  Here are some ways you could get involved in International Book Giving Day:

1. Give a Book to a Friend or Relative.

Celebrate International Book Giving Day by giving a child a new, used or borrowed book.

2. Leave a Book in a Waiting Room or Lobby.

Choose a waiting room where kids are stuck waiting and there are few to no good books available. Purchase a good book, and deposit your book covertly or overtly in your waiting room of choice. The goal here is to spread the love of reading to kids, so choose a fun book, nothing controversial.

3. Donate a Book.

Wrap up a box of children’s books that your kids have outgrown and get them in the hands of children who could really use a book or two.  See my posts about donating to New Zealand charities KidsCan or Duffy Books in Homes.

I’ve cleaned out my bookcases of books I no longer need and bought a heap of new books to send to these charities on they day.  Along with my library colleagues I’ll also be donating some nice new picture books to the doctor and dental surgeries in our community.

If you’re a school you could hold a special mufti day to raise money or gather books to send to Beckenham School in Christchurch, who recently lost their school library in a fire.  A Free Post address is being set up for schools who would like to send books for Beckenham School free of charge.

Whatever you’re planning on doing for International Book Giving Day it would be great to hear all about it.  You can join the International Book Giving Day Blog Hop to share your plans.

Let’s get books into the hands of the children in New Zealand who need them the most.

Win The Bird King: An Artist’s Notebook by Shaun Tan

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A new book of sketches, artwork, and personal reflection from the brilliant mind of award-winning, bestselling author and illustrator Shaun Tan.

“I’m often wary of using the word ‘inspiration’ to introduce my work — it sounds too much like a sun shower from the heavens, absorbed by a passive individual enjoying an especially receptive moment. While that may be the case on rare occasions, the reality is usually far more prosaic. Staring at a blank piece of paper, I can’t think of anything original. I feel utterly uninspired and unreceptive. It’s the familiar malaise of ‘artist’s block’ and in such circumstances there is only one thing to do: just start drawing.” — Shaun Tan.

And when Shaun Tan starts drawing, the results are stunning. In THE BIRD KING: AN ARTIST’S NOTEBOOK, we find a window into the creative process: the stops and starts, the ideas that never took off, and the ones that grew into something much bigger. Fans of THE ARRIVAL will recognize the quirky, surreal sensibility that is so distinctly Shaun Tan in this stunning collection, and gain insight into how his many gorgeous books were made.

Due to my own mistake (I thought this was a new book, but it just has a slightly different title and cover from the one I got a while ago) I have a copy of this wonderful book to give away.  All you have to do to get in the draw is leave a comment telling me which Shaun Tan book is your favourite (mine is Tales from Outer Suburbia).  Competition closes Thursday 14 February (NZ only).