books, twenty-eleven

I've been looking at lists of upcoming 2011 book releases and there are SO MANY to be excited for. I thought I would share some of the titles I'm most looking forward to, in order to spread the anticipation!

Bigger Than a Breadbox by Laurel Snyder
The author and I have practically identical taste when it comes to children books, and her forthcoming novel sounds perfect for me and my life in a way I can't even put into words. I am holding my breath for it.
The book is a book for children, about seagulls and the midatlantic and divorce and magic and poetry, and a breadbox, and Bruce Springsteen songs. (source)

Return To Me by Justina Chen
A new novel from one of my favorite authors of one of my favorite YA books, who also happens to be one of my biggest inspirations.
Tells of a teenage girl (the first girl born in her father’s family in 132 years) who must overcome the pain of her parents’ divorce and her father’s disapproval, and learn how to embrace her own gift of sixth sense. (source)

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (October)
I recently read Lips Touch: Three Times and was blown away by it. The writing was stunning. I SO enjoyed it, and I await her next YA fantasy eagerly.
The book is about a pair of star-crossed lovers kept apart by the fact that one's an angel and the other's a demon; also woven into the tale is the story of the devil's adopted daughter, a blue-haired art student in Prague. (source)

Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
This is a companion to the author's previous novels, Graceling and Fire, the latter of which is one of my favorite books I read last year, and one of my favorite fantasy novels I've ever read, period.

Family by Micol Ostow (May)
I don't need to know anything more than the fascinating premise:
A verse novel loosely based on the Manson murders of 1969.

Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala (October)
Holly is a friend and inspiration to me, and on top of that she's a wonderful writer. Her first novel, Tell Me a Secret, was a terrific debut, and I can't wait to read her next work.
The story of a girl who runs away from her suburban home for secret reasons to join a band of homeless teens on the streets of Seattle—there's grit, there's romance…and an amazing boy. It’s about what it means to love. (source)

Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker (July)
Things I like: Melissa, her books, and coming of age stories that involve questions and ideas about faith.
The story of Lacey Anne Byers, a small town girl who is excited to star in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, until a childhood friend reappears and makes her question her faith. (source)

The Lost Crown: A Novel of Romanov Russia by Sarah Miller (July)
I adored Sarah Miller's first book Miss Spitfire a ton. When she commits to a project, she commits—whether that mean teaching herself Braille or immersing herself in Russian literature. I'm certain this will be another beautiful and impressive historical fiction offering from her.
Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia. Like the fingers on a hand--first headstrong Olga; thenTatiana, the tallest; Maria the most hopeful for a ring; and Anastasia, the smallest. These are the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, grand dutchesses living a life steeped in tradition abd priviledge. They are each on the brink of starting their own lives, at the mercy of royal matchmakers. The summer of 1914 is that precious last wink of time when they can still be sisters together--sisters that link arms and laugh, sisters that share their dreams and worries, and flirt with the officers of their imperial yacht. But in a gunshot the future changes — for these sisters and for Russia. As World War I ignites across Europe, political unrest sweeps Russia. First dissent, then disorder, mutiny — and revolution. For Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, the end of their girlhood together is colliding with the end of more than they ever imagined. (read the rest of the description)

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen (May)
Sarah Dessen's books can be a bit hit-and-miss for me, but the premise of this sounds like something I will love.
About a high school senior who, after her parents’ divorce, has taken up the practice of assuming a new identity in each of the four towns she’s lived in. (source)

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (May)
If you've had the pleasure of meeting Libba Bray and/or hearing her speak, you will know that she is, in a word, hilarious. Her next book sounds funny, wacky, a little dark, and generally awesome, not unlike herself.
The story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island. Teen beauty queens. A Lost-like island. Mysteries and dangers. No access to email. And the spirit of fierce, feral competition that lives underground in girls, a savage brutality that can only be revealed by a journey into the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Oh, the horror, the horror! Only funnier. With evening gowns. And a body count. (source)

Under the Light by Laura Whitcomb
A sequel to A Certain Slant of Light, about Jenny and Billy. I had mixed feelings about Slant—loved the writing, strongly disliked the ending—but the pros outweigh the cons in regards to wanting to read a sequel.

The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
A sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, a novel whose premise I often wish would happen to me.

Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter
A sequel to Heist Society. I am a sucker for books to do with spies/con-artists/thieves/etc., especially if the criminals happen to be teenagers.

The Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusack
It's Markus Zusack. Enough said.
It's about a boy.
His name is Clay.
He's building a bridge.
And he wants that bridge to be something truly great and miraculous. (source)

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson (October)
London + boarding school + Jack the Ripper = ahhhhh.
A modern-day thriller about Rory, an American high-school student who enrolls at a London boarding school for her junior year. Soon after her arrival, a series of murders begins to take place across the city—on the exact dates and in the exact style of Jack the Ripper. Rory’s ties to the killer bring her in contact with a secret paranormal branch of the British police, as they attempt to stop the mysterious killer. (source)

The first book in a new trilogy by Jaclyn Moriarty
One of my favorite authors. A new book from her is one of the best things.
I am working on a trilogy for young adults set partly in our world and partly in the Kingdom of Cello. (source)

{Looking ahead yet another year}

The Diviners by Libba Bray (2012)
The first in a supernatural fantasy series set in Manhattan during the 1920s that follows a teen heroine reminiscent of two of the era's most famous literary women—Zelda Fitzgerald and Dorothy Parker. The story will be a wild new ride full of dames and dapper dons, jazz babies and Prohibition-defying parties, conspiracy and prophecy—and all manner of things that go bump in the neon-drenched night. (source)

Lemony Snicket's new series (2012)
I will read anything this man writes.
A new series for older children that is about more experiences from my own life; it takes place at a time before the Baudelaire children were born. (source)

So. much. goodness.

What books are you looking forward to?

What YA Bloggers Want

Holly Cupala was kind enough to ask me to be a part of the current series she's hosting on her blog, What YA Bloggers Want. The guest post I contributed is up on her blog today, and if you comment you have a chance to win books!

roads go ever ever on

less than a year since I moved from forests to desert, and I'm roaming once more, this time from desert to ocean. . . .

although 'roaming' doesn't seem to fit quite, as it implies wandering without objective or focus. but the ring of it is in my ears, even so.
a trade: my favorite sky for my favorite waters and a place I've always dreamed of being. this seems a more than fair exchange to me—!


It was a beautiful day, sun beat down.
I had the radio on, I was drivin'
Trees went by, Me and Del were singing
little Runaway, I was flyin'

I felt so good, like anything was possible.
Hit the cruise control, rubbed my eyes.
The last three days the rain was unstoppable.
I was always cold, no sunshine.

As I rolled on, the sky grew dark.
I put the pedal down, to make some time.
There's somethin' good, waiting down this road.
I'm pickin' up whatever's mine.

-tom petty.

the lights went out. (I remember this night more than I'd wish to.)

rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit

{source}

it's like when I say I believe in ghosts and everybody peers at me strangely. the look in their eyes is an uneven mix of doubt, curiosity, wonderment, and separation.

someone gave me a bottle of pink perfume for my birthday, swaddled in thick white tissue paper. I put it in a drawer and forgot about it until the day my pet rabbit died, and when we buried him in a hole in the ground I made a moat around the fragile wooden box and poured every drop of that scented liquid into the dirt. there will be more bunnies, there are more bunnies, but not another like he.

an actress said she was most fond of playing "sluts, nuts, and lost girls." so she likes playing human beings, i thought. remembering past break-throughs—the night I spent whispering words out my window, or the truth I heard a man say, that everything is about love—getting it or giving it or wanting it.

all hallow's eve, she dressed as herself and didn't look out of place. i was born in black and white—

listen & listen & read & read.