memoirs of a teenage amnesiac (Farrar, Stauss and Girioux, 2007) by Gabrielle Zevin is very, very good. It’s an interesting concept, and very believable.
16-year-old Naomi fell and hit her head. She can’t remember anything from the last 4 years: her boyfriend; her parent’s divorce; her half sister; her best friend, Will Landsman, who calls her Chief; why she loves working on the Yearbook; French; how to drive a car. She doesn’t know why she was with Ace; she’s interested in James, the new guy, who rescued her when she fell. She decides she doesn’t like who she was. THEN, she remembers . . . everything!
Go to author Gabrielle Zevin’s website to read about all the awards this book has garnered. There’s also a book trailer, and news that it’s being made into a movie!
Gabrielle also wrote Elsewhere (review here) and a number of books for adults.
Category: YA Novels
young adult novels (for 13+ yo)
Invisible i – The Amanda Project
Invisible i – The Amanda Project (HarperTeen, 2009) by Melissa Kantor is an intriguing book with a plus–it has a website, www.theamandaproject.com, where fans can interact. And, I’m happy to say, the book has a sequel in the works.
Here’s a brief introduction to the story:
9th grader Callie has problems at home and keeps thinking about how Amanda knows what those problems are. When she gets called into the office, she expects to see her dad. Instead the principal has two other students, Nia Rivera and Hal Bennett, and he accuses the three of them of helping Amanda vandalize his car. They barely know each other. But they all know Amanda and now she is missing.
Check out the author’s fun website at www.melissakantor.com. There you can read the first chapter of this book, sign up for Melissa’s newsletter, read about her other books, friend her on facebook and more.
GOING ABROAD
The Amanda Project has been sold to 9 countries! Is that cool, or what?! Read about it here!
The Timekeeper’s Moon
I got to read the ARC of Joni Sensel‘s The Timekeeper’s Moon which came out this month from Bloomsbury. It continues the story of Ariel the first Farwalker in countless generations. Is she going crazy or is the moon really talking to her? Should she follow the itch in the soles of her feet? Or is death coming for all no matter what she does?
This novel is the sequel to The Farwalker’s Quest (see my blog entry here)
Check out Joni’s FAQ on her website where she says she gets her ideas “from her sock drawer!”
Shiver
Shiver (Scholastic, 2009) by Maggie Stiefvater
Grace was attacked by the wolves when she was small, but “her” wolf saved her from the others.
When it gets cold Sam is a wolf. He’s been staying a wolf longer and longer and this may be the last time he’s a human.
The story is told from both Grace’s and Sam’s viewpoints.
You don’t want to miss this story of love, betrayal, and reconciliation. Neither do you want to miss the book trailer on Maggie’s site.
And wait! A sequel, Linger, is coming this summer! A third book, Forever, is also planned.
Good Books from Harper Teen – The Heart is Not a Size & The Life of Glass
The Heart is Not a Size (2010) by Beth Kephart
Georgia talks her friend Riley into going on a humanitarian trip to Juarez, Mexico to the squatter village of Anapra where they work on building a home. How is Georgia going to deal with her anxiety attacks in another country and culture?
This book was so good – really had the feel of what it is like visiting a 3rd world country.
Read about the author here at her publisher’s site and check out her blog where she recently talked about having to “kill her darlings.”
The Life of Glass (2010) by Jillian Cantor deals with grief, growing up changes, and changes and adjustments within a family.
Melissa’s father has died, her best friend Ryan is falling for the new girl, she’s jealous of her older sister’s beauty and boyfriend, and now Mom is beginning to date. Will looking at her father’s journal be enough to keep him “there” for her?
Read about Jillian on her website and listen to a reading of her book on the February 28th entry on her blog.