Recap: Austin Teen Book Festival 2012

I headed down to Austin this weekend for the Austin Teen Book Festival, an amazing line up of 31 authors. It was a stellar event, with so many awesome moments, and plenty of laughs and memories. From a blogger/writer meet up dinner on Friday to the actual event on Saturday, trust me when I say Texas so does it right.

Saturday kicked off with Libba Bray's keynote speech, which definitely played pinball with my emotions. From laughs to tearing up, she sort of hits it all, but does it so well. Not to mention, with an opening filled with fog and a lightsaber fight, and closing it out with a group sing along of Total Eclipse of the Heart, this was a speech to remember.

From there, I hit up the Real Life Happens panel, moderating by the hilarious John Corey Waley, and featuring Jesse Andrews, Guadalupe McCall Garcia, EM Kokie, and Jessica Lee Anderson. This was a fabulous group of authors, who were hysterical, and played off each other so well. With some great pieces of advice and some great stories, this was my favorite panel of the day.

Next up for me was the Creature Comforts panel, moderated by Sophie Jordan (do you guys know how much I love that woman?) and featuring Scott Speer, Anna Banks, Gina Damico, Tara Hudson, and Martha Brockenbrough. This panel, too, had me cracking up, and totally piqued my interest in the books of theirs I haven't yet read. So, naturally, I bought them while I was there...

Next was the We're Not in Kansas Anymore panel, moderated by Sarah Rees Brennan (do you guys have any idea how funny she is?), and featuring Libba Bray, Leigh Bardugo, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, and Rae Carson. With questions being answered like what is the most embarrassing or enviable thing have you done for research, this panel was a ton of fun, and so interesting.

The last panel I attended was What Would You Do for Love, moderated by Tracy Deebs, and featuring Allie Condie, Kresley Cole, Jessica Shirvington, Tamara Ireland Stone, and Jessica Khoury. Naturally, this panel had much talk of hot boys, and I loved hearing the answers to each author having to describe their hero and heroine in 5 words!

After that final panel, it was time to meet the authors and get books signed! I had a ton of fun getting to meet authors of some of my favorite books, talk to them about their books, writing, etc, and also just hang out with other readers. There really is something so awesome about being in a big room with hundreds of readers, of all ages. The event was a blast, and the panels were all fabulous. There were 6 panels total, but only enough time for 4, but the 4 I did attend were so worth it.

Now for a bunch of pictures of me with the various authors I met and chatted with. I didn't take pictures with everyone because I'm silly, and forgetful....

 Scott Speer (Immortal City)

 Tamara Ireland Stone (Time Between Us)

 Jesse Andrews (Me, Earl and the Dying Girl)

Rae Carson (Girl of Fire and Thorns, Crown of Embers)

 Eliot Schrefer (The School for Dangerous Girls, Endangered)

 Martha Brockenbrough (Devine Intervention)

Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls series, Heist Society)

Jessica Shirvington (Embrace, Entice)

(Also, I love this woman's accent)

 Dan Krokos (False Memory)

EM Kokie (Personal Effects)

And now, I can't wait for next year's event!

Character Interview + Contest: Keefe from Keeper of the Lost Cities

I am so incredibly excited to have Keefe dropping in today! Keefe is just one of many awesome characters from Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities, hitting shelves on Tuesday! This book utterly amazed me in the best of ways, and is definitely high on my Kari Recommends to Everyone List, so make sure you check it out! And if that's not enough to entice you, then meet Keefe, my favorite character from the book!




Tell us about yourself, in 5 words.

Shockingly good-looking and incredibly awesome.
(It's not bragging when it's true)
(and hyphenated words totally count as one)

So... what do you think of Sophie?

Hey, what gives? I thought this was my interview. Doesn't Foster get enough attention with all her, "oh look, I caused another huge, world-changing thing to happen"?

*sighs dramatically*

But she's pretty cool, I guess. Not as cool as me, of course. But pretty cool. And don't believe her when she claims she's not mysterious. Trust me, that girl is one giant mystery.

How'd you and Fitz become friends?

He saw how awesome I was and followed me around school BEGGING me to be his friend. At first I was like, I dunno, this kid's a bit too "I am Captain Perfect" for my taste. But then I decided, eh, why not? I'll make the kid's life and maybe get him to chill a bit. (And don't believe his lies if he tells you anything different. That's exactly how it went down!)

What's the craziest thing you've ever done? And the worst thing you've ever gotten detention for?

I'm going to have to go with "no comment" to that first question, because no one knows that was me yet.

*smirks*

As for the worst thing I've gotten detention for... that would probably be the time I turned the lab table in my alchemy session to silver. I may have overestimated how potent that formula was, and didn't realize that it would turn everything touching the table to silver too. But Elwin was totally able to fix the skin on Lady Galvin's hand, and come on, she told me to impress her! What else was I supposed to do?

So I hear there's been a Great Gulon Incident.... tell us what happened.

Well, since I had nothing to do with this so-called "incident" *coughs* I can't really say what did or didn't happen. Except that of course whoever planned something that awesome was clearly a genius.

There's a Team Keefe forming (of which I am a proud member). How do you feel about that?

Finally, the world is starting to make sense! Now all I need is a day in my honor. Don't you think "Keefe Sencen Day" would be the perfect holiday? Everyone would ditch school to play pranks on each other and then shower me with presents and candy. Can you make that happen? You are a member of Team Keefe, after all, so isn't that kind of your job?


Thank you, Keefe, for stopping in, and I'll see what I can do about Keefe Sencen Day.

Want more of Shannon, Keefe and Keeper of the Lost Cities? Check out the full tour details and hit up Shannon's blog.

While you can get your hands on Keeper of the Lost Cities on Tuesday (maybe even now if you're lucky and your local bookstore has it out already!), you have to wait for Shannon's YA debut coming out next March, Let the Sky Fall (also utterly amazing and stunning and emotional and awesome)... or you can fill out the Rafflecopter form below, and be entered to win 1 of 10 ARCs! Trust me. You want to.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Live Through This by Mindi Scott

SUMMARY: From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.

But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.

In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect.


OPINION:

Live Through This is raw and painful, but also has plenty of fun and sweetness mixed in. This one is truly the perfect blend of something huge, something horrible, mixed with just trying to live your life. Coley very much ignores what’s happening to her, and does a remarkable job putting on an easy and brave front that she has her stuff together. Scott so beautifully weaves this into the book, but also lets Coley grow out of control in a very honest, realistic way.

I love Coley. She is a stunningly done character, a girl who just wants to get together with the boy she’s crushing on, become captain of her dance team, and hang out with her friends. She has a great sense of humor, is so loyal to her family, and is a great friend despite some problems with her best friend. Yeah, something bad is happening to her too, but there is such a strong drive in her not just to hide it, but to not let it ruin her life. While this certainly has its own impact on her, it also speaks so much for who she is, and this not only helps build her character and develop her, but makes her relatable and sympathetic.

Then there’s Reece, the love interest who is charming in the most dorky and sweet ways. He’s not the typical kind of guy, a scrawny guy who’s in band, but he’s open and honest and just so, so caring. Reece wormed his way into my heart, and totally had me rooting for him. I loved the romance in this one, from the Christmas gifts these two exchange to the way they finally tell each other they do, in fact, want to date. It’s so open, so real, and so awkward. Scott nails not only that unsure stage of liking someone and being pretty sure they like you back but also not totally knowing how to handle it, but also what it’s like to let someone into your life when you’ve got your own bits of darkness.

Even more notable about Live Through This, besides the fabulously done characterizations, is how, to me, this book stands apart from others with similar subject matter. In a way, Scott dances in a gray area of abuse, reminding readers abuse doesn’t always look like abuse, even if is still leaves its mark. What Coley goes through, and her reactions to it, are capture so honestly, I couldn’t help but feel punched in the gut. If you ever wonder why someone going through this doesn't just tell, Live Through This absolutely captures the confusion, the feelings, and even hints of loyalty that can come with something like this. Testing the layers of trust, and drawing out some hard truths, this one has a raw potency to it that even the cutest of moments doesn't override. Even if instinct says good things can't keep happening to someone going through what Coley is, or she shouldn't be distracted by the more trivial things in life, Scott proves that wrong without forcing it down the reader's throat. There is something softly fluid about Live Through This that jumps back and forth between the dark and the light, blending them as things progress without losing the reader's interest.

Details:

Source: ARC received from author/publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reading Level: 14 and up  

Paperback: 304 pages 

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: October 2, 2012

Book Review: Veleveteen by Daniel Marks

SUMMARY: Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days.

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her.


OPINION:

Dark, funny, and twisted, Velveteen is an enticing tale with some great twists. Velvet is a fascinating character, headstrong and determined, yet also harboring her own bits of weakness, making for a great character arc amidst the bigger going-ons. With a bold, fluid writing style, and a stellar cast, this one had me completely hooked.

I love Velvet. She cracked me up, and especially her interactions and flirty romance with Nick had me in stitches plenty of times. Holding on tight to her anger at the man who killed her, but also scared in her own way of the memories of her last days/hours, Velvet is a beautifully developed, multi-faceted character. Getting to really know her was one of the best parts of the book, from her worst moments to her great ones. She is loyal to others, but also to herself, even if she muddies the lines between the two at times.

Nick is an equally stunning character, a guy who brought so much life and humor to things, even in the dreary place they live. With an interesting view on things, and a knack for getting right to the heart of something, Nick made for a great pairing for Velvet, without letting the book focus or be side railed by the romance. Some hit and steamy kisses along the way play into not only who each character is but how they can be together, and Nick’s character adds a lot of development to the other characters as well. He makes Velvet stronger, letting her lean on him when needed without expecting her to completely stand behind him. The back and forth, and play offs, between the two was easily one of my favorite aspects of this book.

The world Marks has created is vivid, easy to imagine yet shocking in it’s scope. There are so many little things thrown in, capturing the full magnitude of Purgatory, and yet Marks also leaves some things to the reader’s imagination to fill in. The plot, too, has plenty of twists and turns, some parts which can be predicted and others that will kick you in the gut. Small things mean something later, and red herrings are rampant. Velveteen is beautifully scripted and boldly executed to make for a book that holds great elements of story, world and characters. Add in the writing that sucked me, and the dark humor throughout, and Velveteen is a memorable and engaging book.

Details: 

Source: ARC received from author in exchange for an honest review 

Reading level: Ages 12 and up 

Hardcover: 464 pages 

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Reades

Publication Date: October 9, 2012

Author Interview: Butter by Erin Jade Lange

Stopping in today is Erin Jade Lange, author of the amazing and compelling book Butter. This book utterly enamored me, and is one that is almost impossible for me to accurately say why it got to me so much. I loved this one, and am so excited to be able to interview Erin!


Describe yourself in three words.

Obsessive Compulsive List-maker

Which aspect of creating Butter's character was the most challenging for you?

At times I found Butter unlikeable, and that was difficult, because I wanted everyone to love him. But I had to stay true to the character, and the truth is he is often his own worst enemy.

What was the revising/editing process like for BUTTER?

My editor has a wonderful way of showing me what’s missing or not working… but leaving it up to my imagination to fix it. It helps make revising a creative process for me instead of a tedious chore. I am hyper-organized, so my revision process generally involves a LOT of Post-Its and a pile of notebooks with pages and pages of notes.

Of the entire journey, getting to publication, what moment has stood out the most to you or meant the most?

Oh wow. What a wild ride this has been! There are so many moments that stand out, but I think the biggest one was when I first learned a publisher was interested in the book. I had just stepped off a plane for a visit to my home town, and I turned on my phone to find a string of missed messages from my agent. She let me know that an offer was probably on the way, and I remember just standing in the middle of the airport parking lot frantically texting while my parents were trying to hug me hello. Fortunately, when I finally looked up to tell them what was happening, they were just as excited as I was!

The menu for Butter's final meal is a relatively big part of the book, leading up to his internet show. Was creating the menu easy for you, or difficult?

The menu was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. It definitely went through a few revisions! I had to consider how he would store the food, whether it needed to be prepared ahead of time, and what items he would take off the list when he started to define the parameters of his last meal.

If you could pair Butter with any character from any book, who would you pick?

How about Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series? I think Butter would love her eccentricities, and she would be able to see past his outer appearance.

What kind of cupcake would you describe yourself as?


I can tell you the kind of cupcake I’d like to eat! Chocolate cake filled with peanut butter, iced with fudge and topped with fresh banana slices. Mmmm. Now I’m hungry…


Thank you, Erin, for dropping in, and congrats on the release!

Butter is out not, and trust me when I say it is one you do not want to miss! 

Mini Reviews: Defiance, Rage Inside and What's Left of Me

Defiance by CJ Redwine: I admit it. CJ Redwine is a plotting genius. Defiance has an incredibly intricate plot, and a world that is built so tightly, and so magnificently, it lured me in. Though I had a hard time with the romance in this one, and Logan's voice didn't feel all that authentic to me, the plot kept my interest and had me so invested. This isn't just a girl trying to push back against a society where women really only look pretty, nor is it only about a girl standing on her own two feet. There is a great depth to Rachel that had me hooked. My issues with this one mostly were with Logan, who's character arc didn't feel as strong to me, nor did he stay memorable in the way Rachel did. Despite this, he too had his moments that drew me in.

Rage Inside by Jeyn Roberts: I love this series, from how utterly creepy it is to the depths it holds to the characters. This one takes some really unexpected and gutting turns, and though one particular reveal was predictable, Roberts plays up to it and executes it in a way that will still kick you in the gut. With little things thrown in here or there that truly enhance just how psychologically freaky this book is, and characters who are flawed, who are scared, but who are also fiercely determined to survive, Rage Inside continues to build where Rage Within left off, and builds it so amazingly. The world these books portray are way too easy to imagine becoming reality, and yet Roberts so often keeps the focus on the characters themselves, managing her four focused characters in a seemingly easy manner. While there was one twist right at the end that didn't sit right with me, Rage Inside is still a completely satisfying follow up and has me eager for more.

What's Left of Me by Kat Zhang: This book is so original in a lot of ways, but what made it stand out even more for me was how well executed and how well written it was. There is a lot of beauty and depth to this one, subtle meaning behind so much of the more basic and seemingly straightforward aspects. Addie and Eva have their own sorts of struggles, from how strong they are to what they want and everything in between, and there is something stunning about how Zhang has interplayed this. I loved the plot of this one, even if at times it felt a little slow, but even more so, I loved how focused on Addie and Eva the book remained, even with the outside stuff being thrown at them.