Read This!: GENA/FINN by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson

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Gena/FinnGena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz

Summary: The story follows the unlikely friendship of two young women forged via fan fiction and message boards, and is told entirely in texts, chats, and blog posts. Gena (short for Genevieve) and Finn (short for Stephanie) have little in common. Book-smart Gena is preparing to leave her posh boarding school for college; down-to-earth Finn is a twenty-something struggling to make ends meet in the big city. Gena’s romantic life is a series of reluctant one-night-stands; Finn is making a go of it with long-term boyfriend Charlie. But they share a passion for Up Below, a buddy cop TV show with a cult fan following. Gena is a darling of the fangirl scene, keeping a popular blog and writing fan fiction. Finn’s online life is a secret, even from Charlie. The pair spark an unlikely online friendship that deepens quickly (so quickly it scares them both), and as their individual “real” lives begin to fall apart, they increasingly seek shelter online, and with each other.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I was heavily involved in the Harry Potter fandom back in the day. Though the subject of fandom has been addressed in several YA novels in recent years, never had I seen one that I felt accurately depicted the intensity of bonds made online with others who *get it* when it comes to your favorite book, TV show, or movie. Gena and Finn perfectly capture the dynamics of fangirls whose devotion to their favorite show, UP BELOW, lends meaning to their everyday lives in a way that might look, well, a little deranged, to those who have never experienced fandom. No wonder 22-year-old Finn is afraid to tell her live-in boyfriend just how much fanart she has drawn, or how close she has gotten to 18-year-old fanfiction writer Gena through their online chats and emails. The question of what exactly their relationship is provides an source of drama – until Gena suffers a tragedy that renders labels moot and makes it clear that Finn will be there for her no matter what.

GENA/FINN is out now.

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Read This!: THE FRIENDSHIP EXPERIMENT by Erin Teagan

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The Friendship ExperimentThe Friendship Experiment by Erin Teagan

Summary: Future scientist Madeline Little is dreading the start of middle school. Nothing has been right since her grandfather died and her best friend changed schools. Maddie would rather help her father in his research lab or write Standard Operating Procedures in her lab notebook than hang out with a bunch of kids who aren’t even her friends. Despite Maddie’s reluctance, some new friends start coming her way—until they discover what she’s written in that secret notebook. And that’s just part of the trouble. Can this future scientific genius find the formula for straightening out her life?

Madeline Little believes that every problem, from a scientific experiment to navigating friendships, can be addressed with a standard operating procedure. As a scientist, it’s how she imposes order on her world. But her expectations are upended when she has to face middle school without her best friend and without her beloved grandfather. Her family’s life has always been shaped by Von Willebrand disease, the bleeding disorder that she and her sister share, and which her father and grandfather made their life’s work. But now her sister Brooke is displaying worse and worse symptoms, and Maddie’s determination to become a world-famous microbiologist is tempered by the setbacks she faces when she tries to help out in her father’s lab. Teagan paints a painfully accurate picture of a logical, fact-loving girl thrown into the emotional whirl of middle school. I loved the way that the story gives no easy answers, and when Madeline tries to repair her relationships, not everyone comes around. With the help of her family and a few good friends, she is able to find her way back to what matters to her, but it comes with a painful lesson: there is no standard operating procedure for life.

THE FRIENDSHIP EXPERIMENT is out now.

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Scenes from the #YARoadTrip Tour!

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I was honored to participate in the YA RoadTrip tour October 6-16 with a fantastic group of authors in honor of Teen Read Week!  Thank you to the many librarians and booksellers who made the tour possible, and to everyone who came out to see us!

Missed the tour?  We left signed copies of our books behind at the following stores:

teen read week full graphic

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Kicking off Teen Read Week at the Glenwood Branch in Howard County, MD.
Kicking off Teen Read Week at the Glenwood Branch in Howard County, MD.
Author fun times in Annapolis, MD.
Author fun times in Annapolis, MD.
Visiting with the book club at Howard High School in Ellicott City, MD.
Visiting with the book club at Howard High School in Ellicott City, MD.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And scenes from the epic program arranged by Enoch Pratt Free Library for 250 visiting students and teachers:

Deborah Taylor, EPFL's Coordinator of School & Student Services, welcomes the crowd.
Deborah Taylor, EPFL’s Coordinator of School & Student Services, welcomes the crowd.
Karen Hattrup took on moderator duties.
Karen Hattrup took on moderator duties.
Dramatizing Melissa's description of ARROWS with a little help from some audience volunteers.
Dramatizing Melissa’s description of ARROWS with a little help from some audience volunteers.
Rahul Kanakia assures everyone that authors' cars are all made of solid gold.
Rahul Kanakia assures everyone that authors’ cars are all made of solid gold.
Lightning round!
Lightning round!

A New SWORD AND VERSE Extra

Extras, Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasy

It’s a grey and rainy day here in the Midatlantic, so it seems like a good day to share an extra! This one is from Mati’s point of view, and it takes place just before, during, and after the very first scene in Sword and Verse. (Warning: this story has MAJOR spoilers for Sword and Verse, so don’t read it if you haven’t read the book yet.) In this scene, we get to meet Tyasha ke Demit before her execution.

Without further ado, I give you…

Eyes Open: A Story from the World of Sword and Verse

 

Read This!: ZERO DAY by Jan Gangsei

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Zero DayZero Day by Jan Gangsei

Summary: Eight years ago Addie Webster was the victim of the most notorious kidnapping of the decade. She vanished-and her high-profile parents were forced to move on. Mark Webster is now president of the United States and fighting to keep the Oval Office after a tumultuous first term. Then the unthinkable happens: the president’s daughter resurfaces. Addie is brought back into the family fold, but who is this sixteen-year-old girl with a quiet, burning intelligence now living in the White House? There are those in the president’s political circle who find her timely return suspicious.When a national security advisor approaches Darrow Fergusson, Addie’s childhood best friend and the son of the president’s chief of staff, he doesn’t know what to think. How could the girl he’s missed for all these years be a threat to national security? Still, at the risk of having his own secrets exposed, Darrow agrees to spy on Addie and soon realizes that his old friend is much more than the traumatized victim of a sick political fringe group. Addie has come with a mission … but will she choose to complete it?

This breathless thriller grabbed me from the first chapter, and the heart-pounding pace doesn’t let up. Gangsei combines the multiple perspectives typical of the political thriller genre with an unerring focus on the two teen protagonists, Addie Webster, the First Daughter who has returned home after being abducted at age eight, and Darrow Fergusson, the best friend she left behind. Addie is at once smart and ruthless and relatable and vulnerable, and the details of both plot and setting make Gangsei’s knowledge of life inside the DC Beltway clear. Reader, prepare to be sucked in. You have been warned.

ZERO DAY is out now.

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