The Last Day of October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As you maybe get dressed up for a party tonight, remember it's the last day of the month we've raised awareness for breast cancer. Hopefully, we've celebrated those who were blessed to recover and remembered those who have passed from the disease.

This was always my intent with the publication of Loose Threads thirteen years ago. I caught the characters in my life, particularly my grandmother, Margie Garber, and her walk with the disease.

I'm thankful that today a book can continue to reach the right readers through e-books and print-on-demand.

Here's to compassion and assistance for those in treatment right now, readergirlz. May books be used as comforts on their journeys, and may they renew those who love and support them.

Did You Read: Under Dogs by Markus Zusak

How wonderful to have three books in one collection: The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, and Getting the Girl, by Markus Zusak. Thanks much, Scholastic! (And Arthur A. Levine for bringing the set together in hardback originally!) These books were written prior to The Book Thief and stand strongly. In my mind I've sequestered Markus' beautiful, poetic language to The Book Thief, thinking it fit the tone of that lifework so well. However, reading of the Wolfe brothers, I'm reminded it is Markus' voice which blooms with metaphors across his entire body of work. For me, it creates a sympathy, an understanding, a care for Cameron, the youngest brother making his way through his Australian adolescence.

From crazy schemes, to searches for identity, to family and friend relationships, Ruben and Cameron's exploits entertain and touch the heart with resonating honesty and truth. This is one to look for rgz, if you missed it go by. You have to get to know these brothers. Raise the boyfriend bar.

Under Dogs
By Markus Zusak
Scholastic, paperback, 2013

Watch for It: Untwine, by Edwidge Danticat

According to the acknowledgments in Untwine, we have our own Lisa Sandell to thank for inquiring whether Edwidge Danticat, award-winning author for adults, might have a YA story to share. With a plot line similar to my own work Hit, I was intrigued and dove straight into the novel.

Watch for this release, readergirlz, and drop into the drama of a teen girl losing her twin sister. Walk with a family looking for answers in the midst of deepest grief. Mourn with Giselle and find hope, beautifully.

Welcome to the YA world, Edwidge!

Untwine
By Eldridge Danticat
Scholastic Press, September 2015

Watch for It: Sunny Side Up, by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm

Jennifer and Matthew Holm have teamed up again, this time to write a semi-autobiographical graphic novel, Sunny Side Up. Illustrated beautifully by cartoonist Lark Pien, the reader is shot back to August, 1976, West Palm Beach, Florida. Gramps and Sunny reunite outside the Eastern Airlines terminal and their journey begins. Sunny is introduced to Pine Palms Retirement Community; life with seniors; Buzz, the groundskeeper's son; and comics. Flashbacks fill in the backstory of what precipitated Sunny's visit down south. Substance abuse is carefully; yet, honestly handled.

The understanding of each other that the characters attain, the give-and-take, and the discovery of the new is beautiful in this treasure. I would watch for this work on the awards lists. Enjoy the book, readergirlz, and then lend it to your little sister.

Sunny Side Up
by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
illustrated by Lark Pien
Graphix, Scholastic, 2015

Watch for It: A Little in Love, Eponine's Story, by Susan E. Fletcher

Are you a fan of Les Miserables? Watch for this new novel written as Eponine's story: A Little in Love. With her first book for young adults, Susan E. Fletcher is hitting the U.S. market after winning the Whitbread First Novel Award for adults in the United Kingdom.

This is a bit softer of a retelling/imagined story than the book, play, and musical. We'd love to hear your take once you've finished, readergirlz. Did Fletcher catch Eponine's voice for you? Her motivations? Her values? Let us know when you finish, but for now, watch for it on August 25th!

A Little in Love
by Susan E Fletcher
Chicken House, Scholastic, 2015

Watch for It: The Lightning Queen

I'm rejoicing in the upcoming release of former readergirlz guest, Laura Resau. In The Lightning Queen there's magic, friendship, truth, and beauty in words calling up a former Oaxaca, Mexico. The modern day accompanying story strings the work together like Esma's own silver-coined necklace. The friendship between her, a Romani girl, and the Mixteco boy, Teo, rises up against impediments and barriers.

Favorite quotes to treasure:

"Give yourself a fortune and make it come true."

"Better to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion."

"'You know what you are?'
'What?' I called up.
Through hundreds of sunlit leaves, her coins flashed, and her voice sang out, 'The wings of a bird, my friend! A whole flock of birds! You lift everyone up!'"

Thank you, Laura, for another book of hope and beauty! Watch for it, rgz!

The Lightning Queen
by Laura Resau
Scholastic Press, October 27, 2015

Diva Delight: Artists and Their Cats

It's always fun to find a non-fic pick to recommend to you all. I saw this little treasure and am happy to share it.

Drawn to cats, artists over time have found them to be subjects for their works and companions for their late night creations. How about a collection of photographs of artists and their felines? From Andy Warhol to Georgia O'Keefe to John Lennon, it's a joy to see creators and their muses caught by the camera in Artists and Their Cats. Various backstory is included, enriching the imagery.

"Behind every great artist is a great...cat."

Consider this little gem as a gift to yourself or another cat-lover. Especially with all the Siamese included. :)

Lorie Ann Grover (me) with Yzma

Artists and Their Cats

by Alison Nastasi

Chronicle Books, 2015

For Your Younger Sibs: Grimmtastic Girls, Goddess Girls, and Heroes in Training

I have a quick recommend for all the little sibs of readergirlz! Check out Grimmtastic Girls, Goddess Girls, and Heroes in Training. These fun reads will keep your sisters and brothers busy all summer. Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams are the perfect team to spin tales for middle graders. You might even find yourself caught up in a book and smiling at the beloved characters running around in fresh story lines with charming humor.



Word is the collections have been spotted at Costco, too. Keep your eyes open for your siblings. Happy summer reading, rgz!

Goddess Girls

Grimmtastic Girls
Heroes in Training
by Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams
Scholastic

Pretty Little Liars and Hit: Echoes

Pretty Little Liars and Hit, Plot Echoes by lorieanngrover on Polyvore

As I traveled the country for the #hitwithgratitude project with author Justina Chen, I met so many teens who told me my novel Hit was similar to the TV series Pretty Little Liars. The first couple of mentions I thought were a bit unusual, but as it kept happening, I needed to investigate.

A month or so back, I sat down in front of Netflix and entered the world of Rosewood. What I discovered was an echoed plot strand, exactly as my readers described. The parallels between my Sarah and Haddings with Pretty Little Liars' Aria and Ezra were incredible. It was as if I watched the show and wrote my work. THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED! 

So this is my blog post to set the story straight. I began the novel in 2005, after the real Sarah was struck in a crosswalk in 2004. Originally a verse novel told in six viewpoints, the novel grew and changed for ten years. In 2009, I fictionalized and added Haddings. In 2014 Hit hit the stores. And now I can sit down and see the scenes play out on screen in Pretty Little Liars. Even to the brother's participation at the climax. I won't say more to avoid spoilers. :) But, are you kidding me? 

Sometimes creative ideas cross and birth at the same time. Stories are all ultimately echoes of each other. I've lost sales in the past, because another writer, at the same publishing house, with the same editor, had the same idea at the same moment. Yes, each story is told differently. Yes, each will present in a different light, theme, motive, and truth. But sometimes, wires cross, and the spark hits two people at the exact same moment. 

I thought If I Stay by Gayle Forman was Hit's echo. Pretty Little Liars rings even more loudly. One take-away is that there is a a story to tell. Look at us doing so, similarly and differently. Each can be appreciated; each will reach different people; each was developed independently. That alone is fascinating! Isn't it? 

Enjoy!

"Hit by Lorie Ann Grover is a powerful book about tragedy and recovery which shows you both sides of the story, for better or worse." Hypable

Diva Delight: Silence, by Deborah Lytton

What do you do when you are born to sing, yet, suddenly silenced? Stella finds herself in a world without sound. The challenge follows to find beauty in a silent world. It's Hayden, a teen boy who stutters, who will be her guide as she simultaneously leads him to find his true voice by looking at his past.

Deborah Lytton's YA release of Silence from Shadow Mountain is told from two incredibly honest points of view. The growth and truth discovered by the characters is inspirational. As Stella concludes:

"I know that dreams are for today, not for someday. They are for here. And now."

"Music is the silence between the notes." says Claude Debussy. We will be waiting for Lytton's next release, listening to the music resonating from Silence to her following work.

Silence
by Deborah Lytton
Shadow Mountain, 2015

Cover Stories: In the Time of Dragon Moon

Diva Janet Lee Carey's new book, In the Time of Dragon Moon, has a tagline that is irresistible: Beware the dark moon time when love and murder intertwine. Hello! Sold. She's here to tell the tale of her latest cover (my favorite part is a the glorious sunspot at the top!):

"Early on I thought the cover would show a dragon circling an eerie full moon. The trouble with that image is, it simply repeats the title and doesn’t show conflict or, more importantly the central characters. (Excellent example of why I was meant to be a writer and not a cover designer!)

"My editor, Kathy Dawson, was kind enough to ask for my ideas. Early on we both agreed we wanted a dragon on the cover, something that alluded to the powerful dragon on the cover of book 1 in the Wilde Island series..." 

Read the full Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

Diva Delight: In the Time of Dragon Moon

Be ready to soar with dragons as you fly a final time over and into the luscious world of Wilde Island and Dragon's Keep. Janet Lee Cary's word choice glimmers as beautifully as her will-o'-the-wisps, and her mystery deliciously taunts the reader through her pages. A gorgeous conclusion to the trilogy, ringing with sensitivity, compassion, and deep truth.

"You are too anxious for what you want, Uma. Begin by wanting what you have."
"Joy and sorrow are songs women have long known. For women are healers."

Brava!



In the Time of Dragon Moon
Dragonswood
Dragon's Keep
by Janet Lee Carey
Kathy Dawson Books, 2015

SERIES SECRETS: DUST TO DUST

Welcome rgz Diva Melissa Walker

 Melissa's here to tell us some Series Secrets about Dust to Dust 

 ~Dust to Dust is the mysterious, thoughtful, and poignant sequel to Melissa Walker's haunting and heartbreaking novel Ashes to Ashes.~

-Did you run up against any roadblocks as you wrote Dust to Dust? Anything you wished you set up differently in Ashes to Ashes?

No roadblocks really, but there’s a new character who appears in Dust to Dust and I really enjoyed him, so when he came along, I wished he had been part of the duology from the beginning, just because he was such fun!

 -What did you enjoy most about writing book two?

The contemporary setting of book two, as opposed to the otherworldly feel of book one, is much more my comfort zone. Having the characters in school, driving around, at home and in Charleston was easier for me than having them in the Prism, which was a world somewhere between Earth and Heaven. So I enjoyed that ease.

-What would you like readers to take away from this book?

Dust to Dust deals a lot with holding onto pain, and how important it is to be able to let go and enjoy the present moment rather than grappling with past slights or sadnesses. I always hope that readers who've grown to like the characters feel that everyone’s in the right place at the end. I never tie things up perfectly, but I do try to have everyone in a place where we’re okay saying goodbye to them by the last pages.

About the book: When Callie McPhee miraculously recovers from a tragic accident that should have taken her life, she thought her connection to the ghost world would be severed forever. And that she would never see Thatcher—the ghost she fell in love with in the hereafter—again. But when she receives unexpected signs from Thatcher, she's led down a dark road toward the angry souls who once tried to steal her soul's energy for another chance at life. Now Callie must prevent the real world and the spirit world from colliding, and that could mean saying good-bye to people she'd never imagined she'd lose.

More about Melissa Walker here

Dust to Dust, Katherine Tegen Books. out May 5th! Get the book here

Well Done, #rockthdrop 2015

A GIANT thanks to everyone for participating in #rockthedrop! We had publishers, magazines, fabulous teens, teachers, librarians, and parents dropping books in public places to be found and loved. What a celebration of Support Teen Literature Day!

High five to all the droppers. We heart YOU! And congrats to the finders. Welcome!

#rockthedrop 2015!

Today's the day, rgz! It's time for Operation Teen Book Drop, 2015, also known as #rockthedrop. April 16th is YALSA's Support Teen Literature Day. 

Quick! Print out a bookmark below, created by Little Willow. Place it in a favorite YA book, and leave the novel in a public spot to be found. Tweet or post a pic at our facebook page with the hashtag #rockthedrop. Show your love for YA lit and brighten someone's day. 

Off you go! Be sneaky. Be creative. Have fun! Oh, and if you find a book, let us know that, too! Drop a note in the comments. Alrighty. GO!

And thanks to iheartdaily for their support! 

Watch For It: In the Time of Dragon Moon

The day before we #rockthedrop, I wanted to give a shout-out to co-founder Janet Lee Carey for her new release, In the Time of Dragon Moon. Woohoo! I just zoomed it into my own Kindle. :)



Is it not gorgeous? What a special book for readergirlz, as Janet began this series with the publication of Dragon's Keep when we began our online community. Dragonswood soon followed. Here's what VOYA said about the trilogy conclusion:

"A story of courage and romance that readers will not soon forget. While Uma's struggle to help the queen and save her people is intriguing, the depth of her character reaches much further, exploring issues of race, gender, and identity....The text will be a sure favorite of fans of high fantasy."

The launch party was fabbity fantastical:


Katherine Grace Bond, Janet Lee Carey, and Justina Chen

Now, how about the summary:

An epic fantasy about dragons, dark secrets, Pendragons, and magic

On the southernmost tip of Wilde Island--far from the Dragonswood sanctuary and the Pendragon Castle--live the native Euit people. Uma, who is half Euit and half English, and not fully accepted by her tribe, wants to become a healer like her Euit father. But the mad English queen in the north, desperate for another child, kidnaps Uma and her father and demands that he cure her barrenness. After her father dies, Uma must ensure that the queen is with child by the time of the Dragon Moon, or be burned at the stake.
Terrified and alone, Uma reaches out to her only possible ally: the king's nephew Jackrun, a fiery dragonrider with dragon, fairy, and human blood. Together, they must navigate through a sea of untold secrets, unveil a dark plot spawned long ago in Dragonswood, and find a way to accept all the elements--Euit, English, dragon, and fairy--that make them who they are.

Grab this new work, rgz. And then drop a review online, everywhere. Your words matter! Read, reflect, and reach out! 

In the Time of Dragon Moon
by Janet Lee Carey
Kathy Dawson Books, 2015

rgz Newsflash: Get ready to #rockthdrop

It's under a month away! It's coming! Operation Teen Book Drop, 2015, also known as #rockthedrop. For right now keep an eye for that YA book, or several, you own and want to leave in a public place on April 16th. We'll be celebrating YALSA's Support Teen Literature Day. Happy finders will be enriched by your beloved reads.

This year instead of a book plate, we are going with a bookmark by Little Willow. Placed in the book, all will know you are leaving a FREE gift. You can print your own by right clicking one of the below and opening the image in a new tab.

So....go get ready!

Watch for It: The Game of Love and Death

readergirlz! This is our own Diva Martha Brockenbrough's next EPIC work. The stars are zooming in from the critics for this masterpiece. Rights are selling around the world. We are cheering and can't wait for you to read THE GAME OF LOVE AND DEATH!

Here's the overview for you:

Not since THE BOOK THIEF has the character of Death played such an original and affecting part in a book for young people.

Flora and Henry were born a few blocks from each other, innocent of the forces that might keep a white boy and an African American girl apart; years later they meet again and their mutual love of music sparks an even more powerful connection. But what Flora and Henry don't know is that they are pawns in a game played by the eternal adversaries Love and Death, here brilliantly reimagined as two extremely sympathetic and fascinating characters. Can their hearts and their wills overcome not only their earthly circumstances, but forces that have battled throughout history? In the rainy Seattle of the 1920's, romance blooms among the jazz clubs, the mansions of the wealthy, and the shanty towns of the poor. But what is more powerful: love? Or death?

Do you see what I mean? Squeeeeee! Shout out to Martha! 

The Game of Love and Death
by Martha Brockenbrough
Arthur A. Levine Books, April 28, 2015 

Our Books Around the World

Readergirlz diva, Justina Chen, is on the road this week.
She took this photo when she spotted her books in Dubai!

More proof readergirlz authors reach around the world.

May your stories flourish everywhere.

Readergirlz wish you happy and safe travels, Justina!