In which the middle books of the Curse Workers and Shade trilogies are epically awesome.

Raise your hand if you've ever read the first book in a trilogy and FREAKED OUT OVER ITS AWESOMESAUCE and then read the second book, and it was all kinds of ... MEH.

Ok, I can't exactly see your hand raised, but I know it is!

Here's the most excellent news: I've read two sequels in the past couple weeks that have just blown me away with their greatness and have left me drooling for book three. And I really hope you read them!

Also, for writers, these are two examples of how to make a second book much, much more than a bridge to book three! Yay!

Without further ado...

1. The Curse Workers trilogy by Holly Black

WHITE CAT introduced a world of illegal curse working, mobsters, and cons -- and Cassel Sharpe was in the middle of it all, the only non-worker in a con-happy worker family. Without being spoilery of the first book, RED GLOVE gives Cassel a whole new bout of problems to handle while expanding on the elements laid out in WHITE CAT. Cassel is a complex and flawed main character, but he's good at heart, and I'm totally rooting for him!

Further reinforcement: Kiersten White thinks RED GLOVE is the "perfect middle book."

2. The Shade trilogy by Jeri Smith-Ready

I already wrote a post gushing about the first book, SHADE. And then I read the sequel, SHIFT. Holy cannoli, Batman. We delve even deeper into the mystery of the Shift -- the mysterious event that enabled all people born after it to see ghosts -- and into the significance of Aura, who was the first post-Shifter. And let's not forget the sexy. Jeri Smith-Ready excels at including the perfect amount of sexy! (Pause for a moment of swoon over Zachary, the Scottish love interest, and Logan, the hottest ghost around.)

Further reinforcement: Booklist says, "This sequel to SHADE will not disappoint fans of paranormal romance with its blend of action, starcrossed lovers, and entanglements, both dangerous and sexy."

SIDE NOTE: On what the series have in common that makes them so refreshing to delve into.

Both series are driven by a paranormal/urban fantasy element, but they have a strong contemporary novel feel. Why?

Instead of being about a small handful of people discovering a secret about something strange/otherworldly, they're both alternate versions of the real world, in which the entire population knows what's going on.

In Shade, everyone born after the Shift can see ghosts, and in Curse Workers, some people possess the ability to change your memories, your emotions, your luck, your dreams, etc. with the touch of their hands.

In both books, these things affect everyday life for all people -- from controversial government regulations to clothing choices (red to deter ghosts, gloves to prevent people from being worked).

And the authors are both so skilled at worldbuilding, you totally believe it. Brilliant!

Your turn! What are some of your favorite trilogy book twos? I've previously given props to Janice Hardy's The Healing Wars trilogy and James Dashner's The Maze Runner trilogy, which had excellent second books!

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I'm back! And so are my hopes of a movie version of THE GIVER!

Hello, friends! I'm all married and honeymooned and back to the real world!

I have a delightful post all set to go tomorrow, but first I wanted to share a link I found via GalleyCat about a Variety article on a potential film version of THE GIVER.

I kinda, sorta LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE that book. And would be anxious-but-sublimely-excited about a movie.

How about you guys???

Oh, and I promise we'll do an official wedding photo recap post, but until then...

THE LADIES!!!

Blogger Interview with Mollie from Mollie's Radical Reading Reviews!

Look, I'm starting another blog post talking about BEA! But seriously, it was a goldmine, for about hearing about awesome books, getting awesome books, and meeting awesome people. When I got back I had a stack of blogger business cards almost as tall as my stack of books!

One blogger was kind enough to email me the other day: Mollie from Mollie's Radical Reading Reviews. Mollie is a 13 year old blogger, which is pretty unique and I think pretty awesome. For most YA book bloggers, we love YA and read it all the time, but we don't get a chance to hear from ACTUAL teens that often. So when we started emailing back and forth, I knew I had to jump on this chance to interview her! Below, Mollie talks about her experience of being a young blogger, what got her started, and some of her favorite YA books!


1) What made you decide to start a blog?
I started blogging about 2 years ago when I first went to BEA. Because I told all of the authors and publishers I loved to read, they asked if I would review books for them. Of course I said yes. Why not, I love to read and write and I would be able to read books in advance, and get new books before all of my friends.

2) What has been your experience being a 13 year old blogger, when most book bloggers are older teens/adults?
As a 13 year old blogger I have had a great experience. Everyone treats me in a serious way- they are very interested and happy that a young child (adult) is serious about reading and reviewing. I have also gotten great advice and ideas from more experienced bloggers such that I can get ideas how to make my blog better. I have had an amazing experience so far.

3) What are you some of your current favorite books?
Right now I enjoy reading fantasy and YA books. I also like Greek mythology and magic, but I will read just about anything. Some of my favorite series are Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. If you give me a book and ask me to read it (pretty much any kind except non-fiction, I don’t enjoy it so much) I would read it.

4) What is your favorite thing about blogging?
I love blogging because I can express what I think about a book as my own opinion, I don’t have to say I like it or I don’t just because someone else says it. Blogging gives me my own voice. I also like the fact that it gives me the chance to read more and improve my writing skills.


Thanks Mollie, for stopping by! And everyone should go check out Mollie's blog--Mollie's Radical Reading Reviews!


(Sidnote: If this looks totally wonky or the links don't work, I'm posting for the very first time from my iPad app so really, anything could happen!)

I OMGSQUEE! for Lola & the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins

We went to BEA a few weeks ago.  And we scored a LOT of books.  (You've seen our book fort, right?)  So I've been reading and reading, but today I had to take a break from the books to let you know about what may possibly be my favoritest BEA book score.

Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins, author of the totally squee-worthy Anna and the French Kiss.

It was not an easy path for us to score a copy of this book--it involved me possibly hallucinating and a lot of stalking of the Penguin booth.  But oh, it was all so worth it.

You may remember our quad-review of Anna, in which we deemed Etienne St.Clair the hottest little hobbit that ever went to high school.  Well, this time I just couldn't wait until everyone in the FNC had read this book to gush about how much I loved it.  So here you go, in no particular orders:

Reasons Why J'Adore Lola and the Boy Next Door!! (spoiler-free, of course!)

I promise Cricket Bell is even cuter than this Disney-fied cricket.

1) Cricket Bell!  Okay, right now, right here, I'm patenting the OMGSQUEE.  I'm going to make it happen.  Because that's exactly what Cricket made me do ALL throughout the book.  Obviously I can't give away a lot of details without ruining something in this book, but let me say this about Cricket: A of all, his name is Cricket.  B of all, he's really tall.  C of all, he's a little emo.  D of all, his name is Cricket.  Did I mention that part?  Seriously though, Cricket is not Etienne St. Clair in the best of ways.  That is to say, he's his own, unique character with his own special OMGSQUEE reasons to love him.  Now, I heart St. Clair, but I must admit Cricket was a little more up my fangirl alley--tall, a little awkward, a little emo...mmm, the perfect recipe.

2) Lola's dads!  That's right, I said dadS.  As in two.  Lola has two dads.  But it's not a thing--she just has them.  And they're totally normal, recognizable real life/YA parents.  They're not a plotline or a way to make Lola "alternative and spunky" (she does that fine on her own!) or an underlying message.  They're just a set of parents in a YA book.  Growing up with two moms, and in the time before the YA boom, gay parents in the books I read were few and far between.  And if they did exist, it was always an issue, or somehow made the MC's life tumultuous/difficult in some way.  I don't actually think I realized how much I wanted to see gay parents as just a regular part of a teenager's life in a book until I read Lola, and loved her dads so much.  Plus, like all of Stephanie Perkins' characters, her dads--Andy and Nathan--are hilarious, and heartfelt, and REAL.  And adorable.  Bonus points?  Lola actually likes, and appreciates (as much as a teenage can appreciate) her parents--something else I found ultra-refreshing to read!

3) Lola!  Obvi Lola has to be a big part of why I loved this book.  She's not Anna Oliphant, just like how Cricket is not St. Clair.  Lola felt a little edgier to me, and it took me a little more time (like, an extra paragraph or two) to warm up to her.  And I LIKED that.  I wasn't worried that I was going to be stuck with some overly-snarky MC because I trust and admire Perkins' writing and characters, but Lola definitely had more of an edge to her than Anna, and a little more angst in her life.  But, like Anna, all the things she experienced and went through and felt reminded (sometimes painfully) of my own high school experiences.  I not only sympathized with Lola, I empathized with her.  And her fashion sense was amazing without seeming gimmicky at all.  Her fashion sense wasn't what gave her a personality--it was just one facet of the character that is Lola.

4) Anna and St. Clair!  It was really awesome seeing Anna and St. Clair from an outsider's perspective.  Like, kind of more awesome than I even realized it was going to be.  I have to admit, it was a little weird at first--like when you hear yourself recorded on audio for the first time, and you think, is that really what my voice sounds like?  At first, I thought, is this really who Anna was in her book?  But the more I read, the more I realized that it both was and wasn't--it WAS the Anna, but this is outsider-looking-in Anna, not in-her-head Anna, and the differences were natural and made sense.  Plus, I needed my hobbit fix, and St. Clair definitely delivered :)  Bonus points include the fact that Anna uses the word "wee" in the book.  Hehe.  Wee.  It still makes me giggle.

5) Cricket Bell.  Yeah, again.  It's my post, I'll make him worthy of two bullet points if I want to!

So, in conclusion: Lola & the Boy Next Door made me OMGSQUEE! more times than is probably healthy.

(OMGSQUEE! is the next fetch.  It's going to happen.)

Goin' to the chapel and we're...

Well guys, I'm taking a three-week hiatus from blogging because...

I'M GETTING MARRIED!

Never fear --- Frankie, Sara, and Janine will still be around to keep you PLENTY entertained --- and they have some really fun stuff coming up! Plus, I'll have lots of reviews to write after spending a week in the Bahamas lounging by the beach with awesome YA novels!*

See you in July!

*And in response to a couple funny comments, don't you worry, I won't neglect the husband! hehe. You guys crack me up!

Winner of signed ABANDON, BEAUTY QUEENS, and FOREVER!

With 169 entrants and a record-breaking 590 entries ...

(Thank goodness for Excel's "sort" function, or I would've been counting allllll day...)

(Oh, and yayyyy Random.org for its List Randomizer...)

... we have ourselves a winner!

First -- THE GIVEAWAY! 

Courtesy of Scholastic's This Is Teen event in NYC, we're giving away three incredible books signed by three incredible authors!

FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater (ARC)

BEAUTY QUEENS by Libba Bray

ABANDON by Meg Cabot

And the winner is....

Heidi Ayarbe!!!

Congratulations, Heidi, and thanks to all who entered!

Breaking Dawn Trailer: The Recap

Well you guys, it's summer and there are NO Vampire Diaries in sight! And I miss my vampires. And my recaps. And...diaries...

So I figured with the release of the official Breaking Dawn trailer, I could do a recap.

YAY!

Here we go...

BREAKING DAWN: THE TRAILER RECAP


Hollywood Movie Studios: Trailer Production Room (or what I like to imagine as Cameron Diaz's house in The Holiday!)


Trailer Producer 1: What kind of music should we use for the Breaking Dawn trailer.

Trailer Producer 2: Dramatic Wailing Woman?

TP 1: Nah, we used her for Twilight. She kind of creeps me out.

TP2: What about NO music? It'll be really dramatic. And focus on the characters' inner turmoil.

TP1: Too close to what we did for New Moon.

TP2: I know! Slow dramatic music that represents choices.

TP 1: Naaaah. Oh! I have it!

TP 2: What?

TP 1: The Most. Dramatic. Music. Ever.

TP 2: It says here the trailer is about a wedding.

TP 1: YES!

TP 2: I do not think this music means what you think it means....

TP 1: ....

TP 2: ....

TP 1: Roll tape!



Volterra, Italy: Volturi Headquarters


Girl: I am SO glad I caught that designer shoe sale so I could wear new heels while I deliver the mail to "Resident" on a silver platter.

Arro: Resident? They addressed this to resident!?!? See if I buy from their registry now!


Forks, Washington: Charlie's Place


Charlie: No open bar at the reception... Can I hide beer in my suit jacket? What about a fish?


Jacksonville, Florida: Casa De Renee and that other guy


Renee: It's the wedding invitation! YAY!

Wedding Invitation: Psst. Shake me like a polaroid picture.

Renee: Huh?

Wedding Invitation: I double as a fan!

Renee: Neat!


Black Screen: The Trailer


November 18th: Write me in your calendars, EVERYONE. Now!

Dramatic Music: Is intensifying



Forks, Washington: House of Black


Rain: Is raining

Jacob: I hate this shirt! *rips it off*

Every girl ever: Dayum!!!

Jacob: And I hate these cargo shorts! *WOLFS*

Cargo shorts: *explode*

Jorts: *feel left out*

Billy: WTF?

Wedding Invitation: Look at me! I'm water repellent!


Forks, Washington: The Wedding

Bella: I better not trip down the aisle.

Charlie: I won't let you trip in your own wedding trailer.

Bella: Thanks, Dad!

Charlie: But I make no promises for the extended DVD.

Edward: Wheee! It's my big fat 1800s wedding!

Bella: Crap. I should have brushed my hair.

Edward: You never brush your hair.

Bella: Good point.


The Honeymoon: Brazil? Isle Esme?

Edward: Let's dance!

Bella: You know I can't dance.

Edward: Ok, let's kiss!

Bella: Done

Giant Jesus Statue: Do not be alarmed, trailer viewers. The following scenes take place between two people who are MARRIED.

Bella: Let's lose our virginity on the count of three.

Edward: 1...

Bella: 2...

Edward: 3!

Honeymoon Bed: OW! WTF! I needed that! *crumbles*

Bella: Do it in the water!

Edward: K!

Honeymoon Bed: *grumble grumble* Sure now that you broke me! Don't break the river! *glares*



Volterra Italy, Volturi Headquarters:

Arro: Resident? RESIDENT! Don't these vampires know wedding etiquette!?!?! *vampire toss*

Girl: Stop! My shoes!


Isle Esme:

Edward: Just kissing my sleeping bride. In our honeymoon bed. Wearing a wife beater.

Honeymoon Bed: Wife beater? More like BED beater! I hate you!


Forks, Washington:

Jacob: Here's another close up of my face. Lest you forget I'm in anguish.

Edward: Obligatory Vampire Toss! RAWR!


Isle Esme:

Bella: *examines stomach in the mirror* This is impossible. I brushed my hair!

Edward: I have no reaction in this shot.

Renesmee Embryo: Oh HAI Mom and Dad!

Edward: *eyes widen*

FIN!

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PS from Donna -- As with all of our awesomely hilarious recaps, this one is by Frankie, though Blogger somehow attributed it to me! Yayyyy Frankie!

WINNERS of the Book Fort Giveaway!

Wow. You guys, like, WOW. 250+ entrants and a whopping 800+ entries to tally!

And thanks to Random.org, we have our two winners of our BEA Book Fort paranormal prize packs!

Up for grabs were...

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead

Undercurrent (Siren trilogy #2) by Tricia Rayburn

AND

 The Shadowing: Hunted by Adam Slater

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

ERIN

of Bookish in a Box

and

SHANNON O'DONNELL

of Book Dreaming

Congratulations!!!

And if you weren't lucky enough to be one of our winners, you still have a chance to win amazing signed books from Scholastic!

Ten new mini-reviews!

Only in YA can you find demon hunters, brain transplants, ghost sightings, brotherly love triangles, sassy flappers, dystopic factions, gritty realism, talking heads, AND zombie hordes. Awesome, right?

In order to keep my sanity in the last weeks before the wedding, I've been reading a ton and having a blast! Nothing like some YA escapism to relax and forget about bustles and seating charts! I've been on a roll, too, so I've compiled a list of the latest books I've enjoyed and exactly why you should check them out!

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Why? This buzzed-about book is deliciously fun to read, with excellent action and a romance to really root for.

Strange Angels - Lili St. Crow

Why? Reluctant demon hunter a la Buffy. Lili St. Crow doesn't hold back on the tough stuff, either.

Being Nikki and Runaway (Airhead trilogy #2 and #3) - Meg Cabot

Why? The Airhead trilogy is like cotton candy, and I'm addicted. The novels are entertaining, funny, and just a little bit outrageous. Love it!

Shade - Jeri Smith-Ready

Why? The question is, why not? This book has it all -- amazing plot, phenomenal worldbuilding, kickass MC, and a love triangle to drool over. Read it NOW! (Full review HERE.)

The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

Why? Everything I love about a contemporary novel. I felt such a connection to the main character, the romantic tension was authentic, and the voice was spot-on. I can't wait to read the rest of the Summer books!
Audio Files: So perfect! Highly recommended.

Vixen - Jillian Larkin

Why? Jazz, flappers, and the Prohibition, with a multiple-POV narration. Yum!
Audio Files: Engaging narration, definitely worthwhile.

Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

Why? This incredible book is part of the YA canon for a reason. Raw and moving, without being preachy or overdone. I can't believe I waited so long to read it.
Audio Files: Great, great narration.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer - Lish McBride

Why? Refreshing, funny, and a little bit twisted. Characters so awesome that you hope for a sequel because you want to hang out with them again. I'll recommend this to anyone. Check out the Forever YA review that convinced me to read it.

The Dark and Hollow Places - Carrie Ryan

Why? The final book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy, and my favorite by far. I LOVE Annah as narrator, the romance is spot-on, and the Dark City is my most-loved setting of the three books.
Audio Files: I would get to work and sit in the parking lot for five more minutes to keep listening.

Woo!

Tell me... Have you read any of these? Tell me what you think in the comments, or leave a link to your full review. Or recommend a recent favorite read of yours in your own mini review. I love adding to my TBR pile!

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Scholastic's This Is Teen event recap and GIVEAWAY of signed Abandon, Beauty Queens, and Forever!

If I were being honest, this post really would've been titled: In which I have a fangirl moment meeting Meg Cabot.

Because the instant I found out that Meg Cabot, Libba Bray, and Maggie Stiefvater were doing a This Is Teen signing in NYC at the Scholastic store, well... my reaction pretty much consisted of !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then a little more.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You get the picture.

Meg Cabot is two very important things to me: She's my comfort author -- the author whose books, no matter what, make me happy -- and she's the primary reason I write contemporary YA.

(I must also, of course, note the awesomeness of Libba and Maggie, two of my favorite YA authors and the coolest people ever. I totally had a squeee! moment the first time I met them.)

Once I discovered I could meet the person who is primarily responsible for my falling in love with YA, I was like HECK YES LEAVING EARLY FROM WORK, Y'ALL. GOT ME A TRAIN TO CATCH.

Except I don't even say y'all, like, ever. That's how excited I was.

And then I was like, "Oh, wow, same day as BEA, hmmmm maybe I should take a whole vacation day." But it wasn't so much of a "maybe." So I went to BEA, too!

And THEN we found out about this Scholastic-hosted blogger reception an hour prior to the signing, and we were even MORE excited. I mean, a chance to chat with three of the most excellent YA authors out there? Fabulous!

So we arrive, and there are so many awesome bloggers there, and we all get name tags and are ushered past security up an elevator to this room with a delightful view and butlered hors d'oeuvres and a bartender serving This-Is-Tinis. (Nonalcoholic, of course, and sooo yummy!) And all these Scholastic staffers are there, talking about upcoming and current YA titles, just as enthused as the bloggers -- love it!

Then I'm, like, tapping Frankie's shoulder maniacally because THERE IS MEG CABOT, casually chatting with bloggers. And then Frankie asks me to stop because I've likely left a bruise.

She gently suggests that I forces me to go over and introduce myself, and I meander over, convinced that I'll probably sound like one of the other five thousand blubbering idiots who've said to her, "Your books were my inspiration to write YA, blah blah blah."

So Meg finishes up talking to these other bloggers and we shake hands, and then I'm telling her about my dog-eared, yellowed, bent-spine copy of The Princess Diaries that I got almost ten years ago. She's, of course, super sweet and friendly and gracious, and I try not to smile too wide when we take a picture.

Me, smiling so wide my eyeballs disappear and you'd think it's Christmas, and Meg Cabot.

Once we meet, I resume acting like a normal human being and talk to Libba and Maggie and mingle with bloggers and nibble on hors d'oeuvres (who am I kidding, they were my dinner) until the actual event begins at 6:30.

Frankie and I mingling with the fab ladies of Forever Young Adult

Crazy enough, Scholastic increased its awesomeness even more by providing the reception attendees goody bags of books -- specifically, an ARC of Forever, Beauty Queens, Abandon, Pretty Bad Things, a paperback of Shiver, and Strings Attached. (All of them were on my Goodreads TBR list too!)

The event was excellent, and the Scholastic store was PACKED.

So many people! And there were even more that I couldn't capture in this photo!

All three authors were so entertaining, and they had a lot of fun bantering with one another.

Maggie, Meg, and Libba

I managed to get a video of them all answering the quintessential question of where their ideas come from -- apologies for the shaky camera skills during the first half, but the audio is great, and it gives you an idea of what the event was like.

Afterward, everyone stood in three lines to get their books signed. (I brought that super-loved copy of The Princess Diaries to get signed, and it's now sitting proudly on my bookshelf!) Maggie, Libba, and Meg were all so friendly and personable, taking time to chat with everyone.

Sara, Frankie, and I with Libba! LOVE Libba!

Sara and Frankie being silly with Maggie.

A huge thanks to everyone at Scholastic for hosting such an incredible event! And thanks to Scholastic's goody bag generosity, we're hosting a giveaway! I had already bought copies of Abandon and Beauty Queens for myself, and I had an ARC of Forever from BEA, so I got my free copies signed for you guys! Yayyyy giveaway!!!


*** THE GIVEAWAY HAS NOW ENDED. THANK YOU! ***

Ok, so tell me -- meeting which author(s) would turn you into a blubbering fangirl (or boy)? Make me feel like I'm not alone in the comments!

PS - This post reminded me of Stephanie Perkins' eloquent and generally awesome post on how Meg Cabot and John Green inspired her love of contemporary YA. (Coincidentally, John is another author I'd take a vacation day and travel to another state to meet. And I'll probably gush for ten minutes meeting Stephanie herself!)

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Teen Author Carnival Recap

Today is one of those days that end in D.A.Y. and so you know what that means...

Time for another recap!

WOOOOT!

Sit back, relax, and keep your eyes open because I'm about to take you back in time to two Mondays ago when I arrived in NYC and attended the Teen Author Carnival!


2:30PM Arrive in NYC! Hooray!

2:45PM Use the oh so friendly cab line outside the station and get into my cab. This trip is going so well so far.

2:46PM My cab driver has NO idea where the Teen Author Carnival is.... I tell her it's in NY, she thinks I mean New Jersey...

2:47PM We aim for side streets near the Carnival

2:50PM We have passed the Carnival

2:55PM We are going the wrong way...

3:00PM "I let you off here. You can walk the rest of the way, yes?"

3:01PM I have been booted from my cab!

3:02PM WALKING....

3:15PM Find the Teen Author Carnival! YAY! Find Rachael from The Book Muncher and meet Chelsea Swiggitt. Get coffee!

3:45PM Meet up with so many bloggers, my head explodes....Jenna, Lillie, Anna, Jessica Lawlor, Jamie, Lindsi, Farrah, Casey, Brittney, Carla, Steph Su....and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. Find Jeri Smith-Ready. HUGS!

Frankie, Lillie, Jenna

4:00PM Listen to Mitali and Devyn introduce Lisa Desrochers, the moderator for panel 1: Kick Ass Heroines! YES!

Kick Ass Heroines Panel

Listen to the following authors talk about girls...kicking butt!

1.      Malinda Lo

2.      Andrea Cremer

3.      Michelle Zink

4.      Courtney Allison Moulton

5.      Carole Estby Dagg

6.      Elizabeth Scott  

7.      Michelle Hodkin 
8.  Kirsten Hubbard

Teen Angst Panel

5:15PM Panel 2! Teen Angst, moderated by the amazing Ellen Hopkins. Listen to the following authors...

1.      David Levithan

2.      Susane Colasanti

3.      Melissa Walker

4.      Kody Keplinger

5.      Hannah Moskowitz

6.      Gayle Forman

7.      Torrey Maldonado

8.      Caridad Ferrer

6:15PM Is it hot in here or is it just me? It is SO hot in there!!!!

6:20PM Sneak over to chat with Gayle Forman. Take pictures. Meet her parents.

Me and Gayle

6:30PM Get trapped behind signing table with Gayle.

6:31PM Dirty looks from library staff...

6:32PM Escape!

6:40PM Meet Sandy from Pirate Penguin! Yay! Hug her! She's adorableness personified.

6:45PM Meet Ashley and Keyona. I think Ashley is my biggest Vampire Diaries Recaps fan ever! She nearly bowled me over with her enthusiasm and cuteness and totally made my night!

7:00PM Find Lenore. Take crazy pictures!

Dramatic Lenore and Frankie

7:15PM Meet Kirsten Hubbard! She rocks.

7:30PM Hang with Jeri. Talk to more bloggers and writers.

7:45PM Go in search of dinner with Steph Su, Lindsi, Casey, Brittney, Farrah. Also get to meet Heidi!

Lenore, Me, Steph Su

8:30PM Head towards Bronxville to meet up with FNC Sara and her awesome friend Melissa to crash for the night.

9:30PM Arrive in Bronxville. Phone is frozen. Directions to apartment are on phone. Am lost!

9:31PM FREAK OUT!

9:45PM Find a pub and convince the Irish bartender to lend me his cell phone.

9:50PM Have directions from Sara

10:00PM Arrive at apartment

10:30PM Discover Sara's sinister plans to wake me up at 5:30AM...

10:31PM Whimper...

10:32PM SLEEP!

Hope you enjoyed! Also you can find more pictures from Teen Author Carnival and BEA in general over at my blog...where there's a contest.

And check out or mega First Novels Club BEA giveaway!

BEA Recap and Book Fort Photos!

3/4ths of the FNC managed to make it up to BEA this year.  It was a first for all of us, and what a crazy adventure it was!  I'd been to Comic-Con, so I sort of knew what to expect, but it definitely was overwhelming at times.  To sum it up: books, books, and more books!

(Seriously, there's a reason we were able to make a BEA Book Fort! And we even snuck some fort pics in the recap for a closer look at what we brought home!)

Guardian of the Book Fort!

Frankie was lucky enough to make it up on Monday for Teen Author Carnival, which she'll be talking about tomorrow.  I headed up after work on Monday, and our adventures began...

MONDAY:

7:30pm--I arrive at my friend's house.  We get Mexican, yay!

9:00pm--Frankie takes the train to meet us at my friend's house.  Her phone (holding the directions to aforementioned house) freezes, and she gets lost in a town that only has one traffic signal ;) (Note from Frankie--this was my LEAST favorite part of the trip. Also thank goodness for Irish bartenders.)

11:30pm--We crash for the night, ready to charge full-force into BEA tomorrow!

TUESDAY:

5:30am--Wake up call!  I really wanted to get tickets for some authors, which they start handing out at 6:45am, so we were up bright and early.

6:00am--Leave for BEA, empty rolling suitcases in hand!

Click me to see a larger version!

6:45am--Arrive at BEA!  I score tickets for Julianne Moore, Mo Willems, Brian Selznick, and Colin Meloy.  Frankie goes upstairs to get into line to enter BEA...which is already forming, 2 hours before they open the doors!

8:00am--At the Children's Author Breakfast, I listen to Julianne Moore moderate a panel that included Kevin Henkes, Sarah Dessen and Brian Selznick, with special guest Katherine Paterson. I paid to sit at one of the round tables, so I get a free bagel and OJ, score!

This is also where I receive a copy of What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, Junonia and Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes, plus a sample chapter from Katherine Paterson's new book and some Freckleface Strawberry art (Julianne Moore's picture book series).

The view from inside the fort!

9:45am--I meet back up with Frankie. The next 3 hours consist of coming together, splitting back up, and waiting in a LOT of lines. I quickly learn the best way to pick up ARCs is just to wander through publisher's booths: I grab Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races and Forever, among others.  My free tote bag quickly fills up and I lose feeling in my shoulder.

1:00pm--Our eyes are on Shatter Me!  We camp out and manage to grab signed copies--Tahereh Mafi was super nice--and then it's off to Penguin, where we wait in line to see Richelle Mead and get signed copies of Bloodlines.  I also hit up Brian Selznick, Mo Willems, Marla Frazee and Meg Wolitzer and Rachel Vincent. Awesome!

All the pretty books!

4:00pm--End of the day!  My cell phone is dead from tweeting using the terrible service in the Javits Center, but I manage to find Frankie by telepathy (Note from Frankie--this is true!).  We meet up with Jeri Smith-Ready and Dawn Metcalf while we try to fit all our books into our duffel bags.

WEDNESDAY:

5:30am--Up early again!  My love for Mo Willems knows no boundaries, including normal amounts of sleep. We pack up and head off for BEA.

6:45am--I grab tickets for Mo Willems, Rick Riordan and Scott Westerfeld.  Then it's time to camp out in line until 9am. I'm headed to Sourcebooks, where they're giving away "Authors are my Rock Stars" t-shirts. (Note from Donna--I want one!)

9:00am--We're off!  There's someone actually telling people not to run into the exhibit area...and there are actually people not listening! I get sucked into the mob that travels from HarperCollins to Penguin to Bloomsbury and eventually Simon and Schuster.  It's 9:07, and I already have a bag filled with books!  I find Frankie, and we get in line for Lauren Oliver's signing of Delirium and Liesel and Po.

It turns out that Wednesday is even busier than Tuesday!  We go from signing to signing, including Ally Condie, Laini Taylor, Julia Kagawa, Melissa Marr, Maggie Stiefvater, Maile Meloy, Rick Riordan, Mo Willems, Sara Shepard and Marie Lu, plus surprise giveaways of ARCs of Sara Zarr's new book, How to Save a Life, and Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler's The Future of Us.

4:00pm--We are POOPED!  We cab it back to the hotel we're staying at for the night, check-in and drop our books. We head off to meet Maggie Stiefvater for dinner. Relaxation!

7:30pm--Donna arrives, yay!  The four of us go soak up some Daniel Radcliffe rays and watch him in How to Succeed in Business (Without Really Trying). Damn, that boy can dance!

10:00pm--Party in our hotel room. Ok...chatting and giggles in our hotel room.

12:00am--We woke up at 5:30! Pass. Out.

THURSDAY: 

(narrated by Donna, as Sara was away most of the day)

4:30am--Sara wakes up to drive back to Philly... to go to work! Teaching children all day! What a trooper.

7:30am--Wake up time! Frankie loves me for letting her sleep past 6am. Check out of hotel.

9:15am--Arrive at Javits via fancy BEA shuttle. Discover we're already too late for the Maureen Johnson signing.  :(

9:16am--Frankie gets in line for the Melissa Marr signing for Darkest Mercy and Enthralled. Yay Melissa!

10:00am--I sneak over to Ellen Hopkins' signing for Perfect.


10:30am--All the signings! We split up and get autographed copies of Family, Shut Out (Yay Kody!), Sirenz, Undercurrent, Frost,  and Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) (love Sarah Mlynowski!).

12:30pm--Javits wandering! Blogger networking! Books books books!

1:00pm--Lunchtime! We find a delightful Thai place a few blocks from Javits. Sunshine! Cute men in navy whites! Fresh air!

2:00pm--Mosey on back to Javits.

3:00pm--We intend to head to the Book Blogger Convention Reception, but then we randomly end up having a hilarious conversation with Maureen Johnson and Andrew Schaffer in the Javits food court area, and oh it was so lovely to give our aching feet a rest...

Donna in the fort!

4:00pm--Drop off our bags of books with the rest of our luggage and head to Scholastic's This is Teen event with Maggie Stiefvater, Libba Bray, and Meg Cabot (squeeeee!). (And Sara takes the train back from Philadelphia to attend. That's dedication!) But we'll recap that awesomeness on Friday!

THE END!

PS - Besides getting copies of incredible books and meeting some of our favorite authors (and soon-to-be favorites!), the best part of BEA was meeting SO MANY BOOK BLOGGERS after tweeting and reading each other's blogs for years! (A highlight for me was meeting Kristi of The Story Siren, chatting with Alea of Pop Culture Junkie, and hanging out with the fabulous ladies of Forever YA!) Check out Frankie's BEA recap on her blog for a TON of blogger photos, too!

PPS - Don't forget to click HERE for a chance to win one of two BEA prize packs -- Bloodlines, Undercurrent, and The Shadowing: Hunted!

PPPS - We want to hear about your NYC adventures -- link to your BEA recap in the comments!

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