Book Lists: YA Artists

 

Yesterday, I talked about a few instructional drawing books. 

Which got me to thinking about YA books with Artist Characters.

I myself dabble in a few crafts, so I always love reading about other artists. 

Book List:

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Art Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noel

A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell

Belles by Jen Calonita

All American Girl by Meg Cabot

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonia Sones

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

Not Pictured:

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

Graffiti Girl by Kelly Parra

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley 

Your Destination is on the Left by Lauren Spieller 

Are there other artist books you would recommend?

Graphic Novel Review: Speak

I really enjoyed this adaptation of Speak. I felt that it captured the feelings I had when I first read the novel. I felt the horror, the helplessness, the anger, and the emptiness all over again. Most importantly I felt her braveness. I loved seeing the art that Melinda created with the trees.

I loved the art work. I love how it was black and white. I wish at the end, there had been a tiny bit of color to show her growth and healing and also to match the cover.

I hope this version of the book reaches a new generation of teens and touches their lives. And spurs conversations about consent, rape, and friendship. 

Review: The Summer My Life Began

Elizabeth Margaret has her life planned out - a summer internship at her father's law office, then she'll be attending Harvard for the next several years until she returns to her father's office with a law degree. But then life throws her a curve ball.

A letter arrives in the mail inviting her to North Carolina for the summer, from her Aunt Matilda. Em didn't know she had an aunt. After a compromise with her family, she's headed to the Outer Banks for a month.

From the moment she arrives when the airline looses her luggage and she's forced to wait two hours for her ride, life begins to change. Em begins to loosen up. Tilly, her aunt, smothers her with love and the opportunity to relax. She's not pressuring her like Em's parents and grandmother.

Em lets herself be. She  loves cooking, but she always had to cook in secret due to her parents' disapproval. Now, she's free to help out in the kitchen of Tilly's B&B. She tours the island with her new friends from the B&B including her cousin. She goes on a date with a college boy, but realizes she can't stop thinking about a more unsuitable boy. Since she has only a month of freedom, she decides to take a chance on a boy and most importantly herself.

My Thoughts: I loved Shannon Greenland's Specialist series and was so happy to hear about her new book.  I loved the setting for this book. It made me want to desperately go to the beach. I could feel myself there with the wind whipping through my hair and the sun beating down on me. A fabulous read to jump start summer!


I loved Em. She was brave stepping out of her comfort zone, dealing with family issues, and looking at her future. I adored the moments between her and her sister. I loved how Gwenny's influence helped her to relax.  They had a perfect sisterly relationship.


The family as a whole has a dark secret that Em tries to uncover. Why hasn't she heard of Tilly and her cousin Frederick before? I really liked how Em felt instantly at home in North Carolina. She had a connection with both her aunt and with Frederick - not to mention the chef.  I admire Tilly for her sense of self, for her past, and for her easy going ways. I enjoyed the moments between Em and the chef, Domino. 


I adored the moments between Cade and Em. He was so mysterious. I enjoyed watching Em figure him out, layer after layer. I loved their date; it was magical. Plus the heat between them was intense! 


Cover Thoughts: Love the carefree look in front of the ocean.


Source: Net Galley for a blog tour through JKSCommunications


Check back tomorrow for an interview with Shannon Greenland.

Chatting with Anne Osterlund

Welcome Anne! Thanks for chatting with us. I've adored all three of your novels and can't wait to devour more of your writing!


What made you choose to write YA?
I love to read YA: Tamora Pierce, S.E. Hinton, Ann Rinaldi, Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, John Marsden, Suzanne Collins, and on and on and on.

I also love YA because the characters, like most teenagers, have minds of their own. They make their own decisions and their own mistakes. They don’t have to be happy.Or funny. They’re free to express an entire range of emotions.They get in trouble and change their minds and have the ability to grow.They don’t know everything. And they don’t know they don’t know everything. There is always hope.

I LOVE that answer!

Where do you write best?
On the back of a half-wild stallion sprinting across the Tyralian frontier. Or in an interplanetary plane flipped upside down and scaling the side of a frozen waterfall. No, honestly I write on a couch, surrounded by papers, pencils, a thesaurus, and a dictionary. It doesn’t matter where you are when you write. It’s about where your imagination is.

How do you get your ideas?
My characters introduce themselves. I first met Aurelia (the heroine in Aurelia and Exile), on a yellow notepad, when she was complaining about being stuck at a party with an itching ankle. Aerin (the main character in Academy 7) was gazing in a mirror, removing her headband, and contemplating the vast question of whether she could scrub away the person she had been in order to become someone different.

All my characters have their own voices. My job is to listen.

How do you come up with your titles?
The titles come very naturally. Generally I don’t think a lot about them when I first write them down, but somehow they come to represent the largest, most unifying concept within the book. The center of the story.

Can you tell us a little bit about Exile?
Exile is the sequel to Aurelia. It’s the second book in a series about a princess who should not be a princess.

Here’s my personal pitch: Exiled. From the weight of others’ expectations, the responsibilities of being crown princess, and the pressure to marry, AURELIA is finally free to travel the kingdom and meet the people of Tyralt. If only ROBERT, her expedition guide, would stop pestering her about her safety and just kiss her. But then their journey erupts in a fiery conflagration, and with both of their lives and the fate of the kingdom at stake, she and Robert must determine whether they have the strength, and the will, to complete their mission. And face the darker side of exile.

Robert, Aurelia, and I hope you will all join us on their expedition which begins in stores April 28

I LOVED Exile! If you missed yesterday's post, read my review here.

What was the last book you’ve read that you’ve been recommending to everyone?
The Hunger Games. I read it last summer, and I’ve literally recommended it to everyone I talk books with: family members, librarians, brand new acquaintances, my best friend, perfect strangers at the park. LOL. Really just amazing storytelling. I’m reading The Iron King now, and it will probably be my next Goodreads recommendation.

Anne also has a page of recommended reads on her website

Do you have a favorite library experience?
One of my favorite books is Witch of the Glens by Sally Watson. I found it in a local library when I was in grade school, and I have read it over a dozen times. I always wanted to buy it, but the book was out of print and cost between $400 and $800. Then just a few years ago, it came back into print, and I received one for Christmas. I was SO excited! I reviewed it online last summer, and the author e-mailed me directly. She even read and reviewed my second book, Academy 7, for me. How amazing is that!

Great story - I love it!

Are there any authors you’d love to meet?
I met my favorite author, Tamora Pierce, at the Sirens: Women in Fantasy Literature conference in Vail, CO two years ago. She has cats!

Of course, I’d love to meet other authors: Ann Rinaldi, S.E. Hinton, and Sally Watson, to name a few. Which is not to say that I would be brave enough to talk to any of them if we did meet.

Do you have a favorite literary quote?
“Second to the right. And straight on till morning.” That, Peter had told Wendy, was the way to Neverland;but even birds, carrying maps and consulting them at windy corners, could not have sighted it with these instructions. Peter, you see, just said anything that came into his head.

Listing of Favorites:
Candy: Butterfinger, Junior Mints, and Baby Ruth
Pizza topping: Pepperoni, sausage & olives
Genre of books: Fantasy
Singer: Sugarland
Restaurant: Italian and Mexican
TV show: All time favorite: Little House on the Prairie.
More recent favorites: Jericho, Smallville, Prison Break, The Mentalist
Movie: All time favorites: Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music
More recent favorites: Penelope, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, Pride and Prejudice with Keira Knightly
Color: Red & blue
Shoe: comfortable
Video Game: Nope. Don’t have one. They make my brain spin the way your mind does after spending all day in the waves of the ocean

Review: Exile

***Spoilers exist from the previous novel***

With her new-found freedom after being removed from her role of Princess, Aurelia has decided to tour her country. She longs to see her people in their every day roles.

Robert and guards accompany her on her journey. At first, Aurelia travels as a Princess. However, she doesn't want to the people to see her as above their station. She wants to become one of them. She gets her wish when an unexpected attempt on her life causes her to flee with Robert. Soon Robert becomes the only person she trusts. He's not crazy about the way she puts herself in danger.

The two of them travel in disguise and off the main roads. While traveling, they run into a group of bandits. The leader, with his own army, protects Aurelia's mother.

As Aurelia spends time with her mother, she unravels the truth from her past. She sees herself split between two futures. She could remain her and forget about the outside world, or she can continue her journey.

Her life's filled with difficult choices and emotional turmoil. The knowledge that her step-sister wants to take the crown motivates her. The horrors she sees on her journey motivate her. The danger of someone following her footsteps lurking in the shadows waiting to kill her motivates her. How far will she go to protect herself, Robert, and her people?

My Thoughts: A great continuation of Aurelia's story. It's full of tension - danger lurking everywhere with double-crossings, and betrayals. Romantic tension fills the book. It's both frustrating (in a good way) and adorable. I love the bittersweet moments between Aurelia and her mother. I like how Aurelia's mind works through all that she sees. I love her sense of right and wrong colors her world. I love her determination. She's a character one can't help but root for her success. I simply can't wait until the final installment comes out!

Cover Thoughts: LOVE the cover

Source: from the author

GoodReads

Publication Date: April 28th

Stayed tuned tomorrow for an interview with the author: Anne Osterlund!!!!

spotted: Exile cover

Isn't it beautiful?
It's the companion novel to AURELIA and Anne Osterlund has a brand new blog
It comes out April of next year - which is SUCH a long time to wait...

Laurie Halse Anderson - Speak Poem