1) Which of your characters do you most identify with and why? I feel I identify the most with my main character Naila. In Written in the Stars you see that her parents do love her a great deal and she loves them too, but that they are stricter than the traditional American parents are. She can’t date, she can’t go to prom, she can’t even go to events where boys might be. This was very similar to my own upbringing. While the rest of the story departs from my own personal jour

The very first author in my Asian American Children’s Author series this year is I.W. Gregorio. Dr. Gregorio is a surgeon, a writer, and a founding member of the phenomenal We Need Diverse Books team, and I am super excited to have her on my blog this week. Her debut YA novel, None of the Above comes out next week(!), so be sure to pre-order your copy from Amazon or your local independent bookstore. Here are her responses to my questions: 1) Which of your characters do you mo

Material Girls by Elaine Dimopoulos Hi all! This week I wanted to plug a book by one of my very good friends, Elaine Dimopoulos. Elaine and I are writing buddies, which means once a week, every week we sit at a cafe together and write (except for, you know, if one of us has a baby or something). We’ve both had our shares of ups and downs in our writing lives and our personal lives, so we take some time to talk about it and encourage each other, but mostly we sit together and

This has been a great year for kid’s books and as usual I was completely conflicted about which books to choose! I’m at the point in my writing career where I’ve met some very spectacular published authors, soon-to-be authors, as well as aspiring authors. Knowing so many great people makes it tough to maintain a professional distance in writing my reactions to the book, so I’ve decided to include a few more categories. Now all of these books are books I either read this year

Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley Set in 1959 Virginia, this unforgettable novel tells the story of Sarah Dunbar, a member of the first group of African American students to integrate her town’s public high school. Extremely bright and ambitious, Sarah faces numerous threats, verbal abuse, and physical violence so she can further her education in one of the best schools in town. Complicating matters is the unexplainable attraction she feels for Linda Hairston, the daught

This week’s Asian American children’s author is David Yoo. His most recent book for kids is the middle grade novel, The Detention Club. 1) Which of your characters do you most identify with and why? David Yoo: A lot of my fiction has an autobiographical base, at least emotionally. By that I mean while most of the things that happen to my characters didn’t happen to me in “real life,” I always write about things that I fully relate to/identify with, emotionally. So Nick Park i

Our next author is Fonda Lee, author of the upcoming book, Zeroboxer. I am so intrigued by that title! (Adding it to my to-read list right now.) 1) Which of your characters do you most identify with and why? Fonda Lee: My novel, ZEROBOXER, takes place in a future in which Mars has been settled with the aid of genetic engineering, and tensions between Earth and its more prosperous colony are running high. My main character is a young prizefighter named Carr, who competes in th

Author Livia Blackburne’s brand new book, Midnight Thief just came out last month. If you haven’t read it already, OMG go out and by a copy now!!! (And, oh yeah, Livia happens to be a writing group buddy, so I might be just a little biased…) Livia’s responses to my 3 questions: Livia Blackburne: Probably Kyra [the main character of her new novel Midnight Thief], and to be honest, much of that is because I didn’t know enough about character development to separate her personal

blog series is Nandini Bajpai, author of the recently published Red Turban White Horse and Starcursed. 1) Which of your characters do you most identify with and why? Nandini Bajpai: I identify with all my main characters. Even though they are very different—Rishi is a 6th grader who loves baseball, Leela is a young scholar in 12th century India, and Mini loves fashion and art—they still all have some version of me in them. Leela is probably my favorite because her situation i

Our next author in this series is doctor-writer Sayantani DasGupta. I am a huge fan of Sayantani’s writing and am an avid follower of hers on twitter. (No, seriously, follow her!) 1) Which of your characters do you most identify with and why? Sayantani DasGupta: Great question! I guess authors identify with a bit of any character they write. But I The Demon Slayers and Other Stories: Bengali Folktales (Interlink Books), is my take on the “immigrant daughter story.” As opposed

Love Edy by Shewanda Pugh When the author emailed me asking if I’d review this book, I was excited to see an African American girl on the cover, but was more than a little worried about the genre–I don’t typically enjoy contemporary YA romance. However, I’m glad I gave it a chance. Shewanda Pugh is a seriously talented writer, and I was sucked in by her beautiful language from the very first page. Love Edy centers on a girl named Edy Phelps (short for Edith) who hails from an

Our very first author in this blog series is the award-winning and versatile author, Padma Venkatraman. Her latest book is A Time to Dance. (Side note: I absolutely love this cover and have already purchased my copy of the book!) Padma kindly answered 3 questions for me about her writing. Padma Venkatraman: I identify with all my protagonists: Vidya of CLIMBING THE STAIRS because I had to fight just as she had while growing up, because of my gender; Uido in ISLAND’S END becau

As soon as I started reading this book, I was drawn into the story. The premise is reminiscent of Terra Nova (cancelled TV show from a few years back). Basically, people from a failed future decide to go back in time to a better time on earth. However, in this book instead of going back to the time of the dinosaurs, the future people in this book decide that 2014 is the golden age that they want to return to, a time when global climate change is only just starting, and the mo

We have a guest post at Monkey Poop today. Writer Elizabeth Eckhart compares two book to film YA dystopias, The Hunger Games and Divergent. Take it away, Elizabeth. Comparing Divergent to The Hunger Games by Elizabeth Eckhart Since the release of Twilight in 2008, movie studios have been scrambling to replicate the franchise’s worldwide success with a series of adaptations of popular Young Adult book series. However, most of these attempts to make lightning strike twice have

Don’t Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski A fun, quick, compelling read by Sarah Mlynowski, author of Bras & Broomsticks. This book is about a homeroom class of high schoolers who end up developing telepathic powers from a bad batch of the flu shot. What happens when your boyfriend or the guy you have a crush on can read your mind? What if you could hear what your parents and teachers are really thinking? Well, what happens in this book is that tons of secrets and lies are

Moon at Nine is a poignant and powerful story about a bookish, strong-willed fifteen year old girl named Farrin who falls in love with Sadira, a new girl at school who understands Farrin better than her distant peers at school or her self-involved parents. Unfortunately, they are living in 1988 Iran where being gay is against the law and punishable by death. Farrin and Sadira’s budding romance is sweet and lovely, and their situation absolutely heart-rending, made even more s

Read it slowly, and savor every last drop. Yes, it’s as good as everyone else says. No, they aren’t overselling it. (Fantasy/romance inspired by Ancient Greco-Roman history, so if none of those things intrigue you, perhaps this isn’t for you, but wow was it good. And I loved the cover!) #bookreview #MarieRutkoski #thewinnerscurse #YA #fantasy

Cinder by Marissa Meyer Cyborg Cinderella. What’s not to love? It takes two of my favorite genres, fairy tale retellings and sci fi, and mashes them together. Wish I hadn’t taken so long to get around to reading it! I loved the world building (just enough detail, but not too much), loved her multicultural(?) characters (particularly the robot friend!), loved how she incorporated the cinderella story. I am in awe of how much she accomplished in only 87,000 words (according to

A solid addition to the Raven Boys series. This book focuses more on Ronan and less on Blue/Adam/Gansey, which will disappoint some readers and enthrall others (I was in the latter camp). Compelling, well-written, and thought-provoking read, though violent at times. Can’t wait to read the next book! Disclaimer: I received a free ARC through NetGalley #youngadult #bookreview #ravenboys #maggiestiefvater #ARC #YA #netgalley #paranormal #dreamthieves

An engaging main character combined with detailed research and an incredible premise make this book by seasoned author Kathryn Lasky a stirring read. The book is about a teenaged girl named Lilo, whose family is taken prisoner by the Nazis along with other Sinti people in her neighborhood. Lilo is immediately separated from her beloved father, but she and her mother are chosen to be extras in a film by one of Hitler’s favorite filmmakers, Leni Riefenstahl. While on set, they