Children & YA
"A Refreshingly Honest Story"
Buzz is building for a new children's book by Silas House and Neela Vaswani
by Margaret Renkl
January 5, 2012 Former Harrogate poet and novelist Silas House tends to be published by small literary presses without a huge budget for marketing, but his books always seem to find their way into the national spotlight anyway. Consider what Publisher's Weekly has to say--in a starred review, no less--about Same Sun Here, the new middle-grade novel by House and his coauthor, Neela Vaswani:
Published Thursday, 5 January 2012
“Heartbreaking, Searing, and Lyrically Written”
Nashville novelist Ruta Sepetys has had the kind of year every debut novelist dreams of
by Fernanda Moore
December 13, 2011 “I felt a weighty responsibility to get this story right—for history, for my heritage, and for these survivors—especially the survivors,” Ruta Sepetys told Publisher’s Weekly before her debut novel was released. “Because this chapter of history remained secret, no one had ever celebrated their bravery or consoled their regrets.” As a raft of awards and stellar notices has since attested, Sepetys’s message has come through loud and clear. Chapter 16 looks back on a year of raves for Between Shades of Gray.
Published Tuesday, 13 December 2011
No Sophomore Slump
With an international prize and a new six-figure book deal, the good news just keeps coming for Ruta Sepetys
by Fernanda Moore
November 30, 2011 Published in twenty-nine countries to rave reviews around the world, Between Shades of Gray, the bestselling debut novel by Ruta Sepetys, is a writer’s wildest dream come true. Now the Nashville author has signed a six-figure book deal and become the first American to win the prestigious Prix RTL-Lire, a French prize for the best novel for young people published in the last year. Fresh from the gala at the Petit Palais in Paris, Sepetys answered questions from Chapter 16 about her literary influences, the connections she’s forged with the descendants of Baltic refugees or deportees, and the much-discussed “darkness” of literature pitched to an adolescent audience.
Published Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Family is Forever
Patricia’s McKissack’s Never Forgotten offers children an honest yet gentle introduction to the painful subject of slavery
by Tina LoTufo
October 18, 2011 Author Patricia McKissack and illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon have created a children’s picture book about slavery that is neither maudlin nor depressing. Instead it is brave, heart-rending, visually breathtaking, truly magical, and filled with a deep wisdom that will resonate with anyone who has wrestled with pain and grief. Never Forgotten is an exquisitely hopeful, healing gift.
Published Tuesday, 18 October 2011
The True Costs of Amazon's Savings
According to a new analysis of a study by UT, it's even worse than we thought
by Margaret Renkl
September 22, 2011 Liz Garrigan's Dear John letter to Amazon in today's edition of Chapter 16 is an unvarnished call for book lovers to put their money where their mouths are and support their local bookstores instead of buying books online. Garrigan argues that Amazon's refusal to collect the state and local sales taxes that other bricks-and-mortar stores collect--taxes that support local schools, police and fire departments, and other civic necessities--amounts to a "powerful incentive for customers to let their fingers do the clicking."
Published Thursday, 22 September 2011
Spinning Ariadne
Tracy Barrett’s retelling of the Theseus myth subverts ancient tradition—and will delight young readers
by Fernanda Moore
September 12, 2011 Tracy Barrett has a way with classical myth. Her last young-adult novel, the brilliant King of Ithaka, is an astonishingly original and surefooted reworking of Homer’s Odyssey, in which she somehow discovered new paths on what must be the Western canon’s most heavily trodden ground. Her newest book, Dark of the Moon, takes another famous Greek legend—the story of Theseus and the Minotaur—and makes it fresh and fascinating, even as it honors the foundations of the original tale.
Published Monday, 12 September 2011
Timeless
In Myra McEntire’s YA thriller, Hourglass, two young sweethearts travel into the past to prevent a murder
by Tina LoTufo
August 8, 2011 When Emerson Cole discovers that she may have the ability to travel through time, she’s not particularly thrilled. As a high-school senior with exactly one friend, she’s actually far less interested in time travel than in avoiding the label of total freak. In Hourglass, Myra McEntire takes a twisting, turning journey through the physics of time, but the most important journey is Emerson’s discovery of her own surprising reserves of courage, love, and loyalty. Timeless qualities indeed. On August 8 at 6:30 p.m, McEntire will read at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood as a part of the Ash2Nash Tour of YA authors.
Published Monday, 8 August 2011
Potter 2G
Victoria Schwab grew up with her head in J.K. Rowling’s fictional world; now she’s writing fiction of her own
by Susannah Felts
August 2, 2011 In The Near Witch, the debut young-adult novel from Nashville author Victoria Schwab, an unfamiliar boy shows up in the insular village of Near, which has not been visited by strangers in decades. Soon, children are going missing from their homes, night after night. Only a young girl, Lexi, who narrates the story, is convinced that the strange boy is not to blame. Darkly atmospheric, this story by a twenty-three-year-old debut author is an accomplished take on the classic fairy-tale form. Victoria Schwab will read from The Near Witch as part of the “Ash To Nash Tour” of YA writers. They will be in Kingsport on August 6, Knoxville on August 7, and Brentwood on August 8. For details, visit the tour’s website here.
Published Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Don't Read This
Chapter 16 talks with Pseudonymous Bosch about being a riddle wrapped in an enigma published in a book
by Fernanda Moore
July 29, 2011 Ask any grade-school kid an innocent question about a Pseudonymous Bosch novel, and prepare to be stonewalled: Bosch’s books lure the reader into a conspiracy of silence, in which the author, characters, and plot are all secrets. In fact, Bosch’s entire Secret Series—the fifth and final installment, You Have to Stop This, will be published on September 20—is the apotheosis of what might be called the “reverse psychology” school of children’s literature: warning kids away from the dangerous book they’re presently holding is a surefire way to get them to crack its spine. Pseudonymous Bosch will appear at the 2011 Southern Festival of Books, held October 14-16 in Nashville.
Published Friday, 29 July 2011
Werewolves in the Heartland
With Forever, Maggie Stiefvater concludes her haunting Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy
by Tina LoTufo
July 27, 2011 This month the story of the Wolves of Mercy Falls comes to its much-anticipated conclusion. Maggie Stiefvater launched this riveting young-adult saga of humans and werewolves in the Minnesota woods in 2009 with a New York Times bestseller called Shiver. Linger followed in 2010, and the concluding volume, Forever, rounds out the trilogy. Stiefvater spins a compelling tale of humans and wolves both in love and at odds. Her characters make choices out of fear and hatred, self-sacrifice and loyalty, pain and grief. And after a while, it’s not so easy to tell the men (or women) from the beasts. On July 31 at 3 p.m., Stiefvater will read from and discuss her new book at the Nashville Public Library as part of the Salon@615 series.
Published Wednesday, 27 July 2011
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