Can you believe it is June already? We’re almost halfway through 2013! While I just picked up a lot of exciting Fall 2013 titles at BEA, I’m holding off until closer to their release dates to dig in! Good thing there are plenty of fabulous summer books headed our way! Here’s my list of June releases that I’m excited for:

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
June 1: Scholastic
A teen who has been out since middle school decides to keep his sexuality a secret when he transfers to an all-boys’ boarding school, not for fear of intolerance, but rather to start out with a clean slate – to be seen as a regular guy rather than “that gay guy”. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a coming-out-again story – sounds interesting.

You Look Different in Real Life by Jennifer Castle
June 4: HarperTeen
Justine and four of her childhood friends who have had their lives video-documented every five years since they were in kindergarten, reunite for the next installation, Five at Sixteen. Life in front of the camera as a teenager…doesn’t that sound fun? Jennifer Castle is a local author who I have yet to read and I’m looking forward to finally checking her work out! Plus, I love the documentary film angle.

Mortal Fire by Elizabeth Knox
June 11: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
A sixteen-year-old on holiday in New Zealand finds herself in an enchanted valley inhabited by children who all share the same last name and the same special magical power. When she discovers that she too shares this magical ability, she learns some unexpected things about her past. How beautiful is that cover! And having a Printz Honor attached to your name doesn’t hurt!

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks
June 11: First Second
In their latest graphic novel, Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks tackle “Leakey’s Angels”, or the “Trimates” if you prefer, i.e. three groundbreaking primatologists, Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Biruté Galdikas, whose research greatly impacted our understanding of three of our closest animal relatives: chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans. I’ve already read Primates and it is absolutely fabulous – beautiful artwork, engaging narrative, and it inspires further exploration of the story’s subjects, both human and non-human primates.

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
June 11: St. Martin’s Griffin
Andrew Winston Winters is a young man at war with himself. Win is a lonely teenager sent to a remote boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy, while Drew is the angry and violent wolf within him. When something horrible happens in the woods near his school, Andrew is convinced he is to blame. This dark, psychological tale sounds like it’ll be an emotionally challenging read. Good thing I’m always up for a challenge.

Proxy by Alex London
June 18: Philomel
Knox is a wealthy teen who has everything he could possibly want, including a Proxy, i.e. a person who will take on all his punishments for him. One day, Knox takes things too far and his Proxy, Syd, is sentenced to death. In an attempt to save Syd’s life, the two run away together, but a cross-country chase ensues, because as it turns out Syd is no ordinary Proxy. According to the publisher’s copy, this adventure novel was inspired by The Whipping Boy and Feed – one book I enjoyed as a child and one that I enjoyed as an adult. As the start of a new series, I hope this one is as good as it sounds (and doesn’t leave us hanging too much at the end).

There are also a handful of adult titles coming out this month that 1) I’m excited for and 2) sound like they’ll have some crossover potential: The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (June 4: Mulholland Books), The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (June 11: Scribner), She Rises by Kate Worsley (June 18: Bloomsbury), Lexicon by Max Barry (June 18: Penguin), and The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (June 18: William Morrow)

What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Have you read any of the above mentioned titles? Let me know what you think of them!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature created at the fabulous The Broke and the Bookish, featuring weekly top ten lists on a variety of bookish topics. This Tuesday’s topic is Top Ten Book Covers – specifically covers from books that we have read. I thought about just making a YA list, but I kept coming back to a couple of these adult titles. I didn’t include picture books because that would have taken me all night to narrow down (confession: I love picture books as much as YA!). But after much deliberation, here is a nice sampling of books that win big time in the judge them by their covers competition.

The Passage by Justin Cronin
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
Level Up by Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Wonder by R.J. Palacio
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Since I have read all these books I can vouch for them all being as fabulous on the inside as they are on the outside, with one exception…. Can you guess which book I was more crazy for the cover than the story and writing?

CONGRATULATIONS! We have been having some web hosting issues in the past couple weeks, which have made accessing the site impossible at times and all around frustrating. After a recent migration to a new server, the site has been working very slowly or not at all. We are planning to make a move soon to a new server and new provider. Hopefully, we’ll be back to usual in the next few days. Thanks for your patience! And happy reading!

Faith Erin Hicks’s Superhero Girl comic strips were originally published in black and white in Halifax’s free alternative weekly newspaper, The Coast. Many fans of the comic artist likely first read these comic strips online at superherogirladventures.blogspot.com, where they are still available in the original black and white. For those who prefer reading in book form and who like a little color in their comics, Dark Horse recently released the strips in digest form with vibrant colors by Cris Peter. Covering the full Superhero Girl run of comic strips, The Adventures of Superhero Girl is one fabulous and fun book.

As you might have guessed by the name, The Adventures of Superhero Girl is about the trials and tribulations of a young female superhero. As she explains to a comics fan (who she calls “skeptical boy”), her super powers are like superman, except she can’t fly. She’s very strong, she can leap very high, and she is a mighty fighter. She saves the day many times, whether it is beating up ninjas, stopping bank robbers in their tracks, throwing a monster into space, or saving a kitty from a tree. The trouble is, there’s not much crime in her city and it’s hard being a superhero without any super villains to fight. Sure there are plenty of ninjas, including King Ninja (a ninja who wears a crown), but they aren’t quite arch-nemesis material. The lack of arch-nemesis isn’t her only problem though. She also has everyday life issues to deal with. Superhero work isn’t exactly paying the bills anymore, not since her federal grant dried up. Job searching is made more difficult when you have no prior work experience, except, you know, fighting ninjas and wearing a cape. Her roommate, who is in on her secret, tries to get Superhero Girl to do normal people stuff, like go to parties and date, though with little luck. And then there is her brother, Kevin. Everyone loves beautiful, strong, superhero Kevin. It’s super annoying.

Anyway, you get the point. She has adventures. Some are of the superhero-y variety and some are more of the it could happen to anyone variety. Above all, it’s a fun and funny read. Because it was a weekly strip, each page has it’s own punch line or special feel, but the strips also tie into the larger story. Superhero Girl runs into many obstacles: skeptical boy, ninjas, Canadian winter (all the villains head South, because they’re smart like that), sun exposure while wearing a mask (yikes! mask-lines!), a hipster who wants to shrink-ray her brother, bad hair days, and so on. While she’s skilled in many special ways, these skills are not really helpful in landing her a job, fitting in at parties, or finding a sense of purpose. Her relationship with her brother is sweet. He’s annoyingly perfect and she moans and groans when he’s around, but he’s also someone she can relate to and, well, he’s family (the flashback to when they were kids is adorable). Oh, she also has a cute cat. Bonus points there.

Em’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Author: Faith Erin Hicks
Publisher: Dark Horse (February 2013)
Note: Review copy received from publisher for honest review

Tabitha, Moe, Elodie.

The princess, the rebel, the nobody.

Classmates. Deviants. Shoplifters.

Kirsten Smith is no stranger to stories of adolescence and in her debut novel, Trinkets, she once again captures the hearts and hurts of America’s teenage girls. Tabitha, Moe and Elodie have no more in common than the school they attend but when all three wind up in Shoplifter’s Anonymous together an unusual relationship unfolds.

Smith’s screenwriting credits include 10 Things I Hate About You and Legally Blonde. The dialogue and storyline that make those scripts uniquely identifiable are just as present in her novel. Just like real adolescence Trinkets is punctuated with emotional breakdowns and breakthroughs. None of the main characters come from a stable home – their mothers are passive and 2 of the 3 fathers are absent. The boys they date are abusive and distant. The girls in their peer group are superficial or mean. In 275 pages Smith manages to examine some of the most serious issues facing teenage girls and yet the book is never too preachy or depressing. These girls are no victims of circumstance.

Tabitha, Moe and Elodie are smart and savvy offering insightful reactions to their situations. Each is motivated to steal for different reasons and they each come to discover themselves in very different ways. I was particularly drawn to Tabitha, whose perspective is loaded with cultural implications of being a girl. Watching her friends get ready she notes: “That’s what sucks about Mirror Face; you make it because it’s how you want other people to see you, but you’re the only person who actually gets to.”  And, in response to her own boyfriend, she observes, “Sometimes it seems like guys really hate girls, with all the little things they say and do to try and get us to hate ourselves.” I also loved how she moves away from popularity for her own self-maintenance and, in doing so, inspires her mother to reconsider her own choices.

!!! The book’s cover features a photograph by 18 year old Petra Collins !!!

Alicia’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Author: Kirsten Smith
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (March 2013)
Note: received from author for honest review

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, the latest comic book memoir from Lucy Knisley, recalls her childhood growing up in New York City and New York’s Hudson Valley, her foreign travels, and her college years in Chicago, surrounded by delicious food. Knisley’s mother was a chef (and farmer’s market champ), her father was a culinary connoisseur, her uncle owned a gourmet food store in New York City, and many family friends were also deeply immersed in the culinary world. Not surprisingly, Knisley has strong taste-memories and in Relish: My Life in the Kitchen she explores various moments from her 28 years of life as framed by her diverse culinary experiences. These memories are interspersed with recipes (about one per chapter) for “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies”, Huevos Rancheros, Shepard (Fairey) Pie, and more tasty sounding meals and treats (and one alcoholic beverage) that connect with the stories/moments shared in the given chapter. It’s not just taste-memories explored here, though they are plentiful, but also memories of changing relationships, getting used to a new home and new way of living, and how our experiences shape us.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen made me feel nostalgic for all my own taste memories. There were several experiences shared in Relish that resonated particularly strongly with me—being the kid who never got to eat “junk food” at home but managed to get it elsewhere, wanting desperately to recreate a favorite food and failing miserably. I also love that a good portion of the book is set in the Hudson Valley, where I’ve spent 15 years of my life – even my favorite indie book store and theater make appearances! While there isn’t much of a story arc, more of a general age progression, Knisley still managed to pull me in and keep me engaged with her food-centric coming of age stories and her humorous and heartfelt visual storytelling. Her brightly colored illustrations are warm and inviting, and each page offers much to explore both visually and textually.

Graphic novel memoirs and food memoirs seem to have solidified their places in the publishing world. With Relish: My Life in the Kitchen, Knisley ties these two popular areas of storytelling together effectively and rather joyously. This is the second First Second release that I have read that included recipes, but it is the first that made me realize how much I would love a graphic novel cookbook. More please!

Em’s rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Author: Lucy Knisley
Publisher: First Second (April 2, 2013)
Note: Review copy received from publisher

And now for the giveaway! I just so happen to be going to a stop on Lucy Knisley’s Relish Book Tour later this week, where I’m planning to pick up at least three signed copies (one for me, one for my library, and one for YOU!). Enter to win a copy below!

One winner will be chosen at random on April 9, 2013 to win a copy of Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley. One entry per person, US mailing addresses only, 15 years of age or older (I’m going with the publisher’s suggested age range for this one). Winner will be contacted by email.

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This week I’m reading two great St. Martin’s Griffin releases, Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell on audio and If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch. The former title is a sweet story of first love set in the 1980s. The latter is a debut YA novel about a teen girl, abducted by her mother as a child and hidden away in the woods for years, who is forced to reenter society when her mother goes missing. If You Find Me will be celebrating its release Tuesday, March 26. To help celebrate we’re offering a giveaway!

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin, we have 2 advanced reader editions of If You Find Me to share with Love YA Lit readers! Enter using the Rafflecopter entry form below!

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Visit author Emily Murdoch’s blog to learn more about her life and her books!

Shaun Tan is best known for his unique and touching wordless graphic novel, The Arrival, and the three story collection, Lost and Found. Through his surreal illustrations and visual storytelling he explores themes such as immigration, colonization, depression, discovery, and friendship. The Bird King: An Artist’s Notebook is a peek inside his creative process and his artist notebooks. The book features short essays by Tan introducing collections of images grouped by theme including untold stories; book, theater, and film; drawings from life; and notebooks. In one of the introductory essays, Tan writes:

“My stories generally begin with images rather than words, modest sketches drawn in a fairly aimless way. One of the joys of drawing is that meaning can be constantly postponed, and there is no real pressure to ‘say’ anything special when working privately in a sketchbook. Nevertheless, interesting or profound ideas can emerge of their own accord, not so much in the form of a ‘message,’ but rather as a strangely articulated questions. A scene or character seems to look back from the page and ask, ‘what do you make of this?’ A drawing feels successful to me when it is both clear and ambiguous, something I try to underscore by adding an equally ambiguous title. While there is no set meaning in any of these drawings, there is an invitation to seek one (for myself as much as any other audience).”

This is really how I “read” this book – open to ambiguity and constantly asking myself, “what is happening here?” Because the images have limited text attached to them – the ambiguous title he mentioned in the above quote, a footnote perhaps at the end of the book – the reader can explore the image and create their own meanings, their own stories. It is rather thrilling. For those familiar with Tan’s work, images in the “book, theatre, and film” section will likely be familiar, and the footnotes often prove especially interesting here. The book is rather small in shape, especially in contrast to other Shaun Tan books, and so while the content feels well suited for a place at the coffee table, it stands out as something quite different. While the main audience for this book will likely be those already familiar with (and enamored with) his work, I believe that this book will also appeal to those interested in the artistic process or who are looking for some creative inspiration.

Em’s rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Author: Shaun Tan
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (February 2013)
Note: ARC received from publisher for honest review

February is a short and busy month for me. But the publishing world isn’t slowing down for this girl! There are so many exciting books that have been released this month that I can’t wait to check out, and some which I’ve been lucky enough to read already. Last week’s and this week’s releases finish the month off strong! Here are the books from the last two weeks of February that I’m most excited for:

Mind Games by Kiersten White
HarperTeen
February 19, 2013
I’m listening to Mind Games on audio this week. From the author who brought us the popular Paranormalcy series comes a story of two sisters with special abilities – one with flawless instincts, one who has visions of the future – attending a school where the girls are forced to use their powers for corporate espionage. It’s a quick read at 256 pages, or on audio just over 6 hours of listening pleasure, which is just what I need when overwhelmed by how many books I want to read!

How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
Razorbill
February 21, 2013
Rounding out our month of YA releases with bizarre schools (see Mind Games above, and Gail Carriger’s Etiquette & Espionage from earlier this month), Kirsten Miller’s Mandel Academy is an exclusive school where only the most ruthless of young criminals graduate and the rest disappear. This one made it on my must read list after one of the tweens that I work with told me week after week that it was one of her favorite books of all time.

The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
Dark Horse
February 26, 2013
This graphic novel is ridiculously fun and entertaining, portraying the trials and tribulations of Superhero Girl, a young Canadian superhero who is struggling to pay the bills, find a nemesis, escape the shadow of her popular superhero brother, and avoid skeptical guy and his snarky comments. I read the egalley for this book and the web version (with commentary!) as well. Both of those versions are in black and white, but when the book releases today it will be in full color. The few sample color pages that I’ve seen look fabulous.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
St. Martin’s Press
February 26, 2013
Set over the course of one school year in 1986 (great year btw), Eleanor and Park are two sixteen year-olds experiencing first love. Our blog buddy Capillya of That Cover Girl may not review books on her blog, but we still trust her reviews and she gave this one her stamp of approval (and some), so there you go. High hopes for a stellar read.

Also Known As by Robin Benway
Walker Childrens
February 26, 2013
Many have compared Robin Benway’s latest book to Ally Carter’s Heist Society series; some have even said that it is better than Carter’s popular spy stories. Either way, I’m excited to check out this story of a young safecracker on the case at her new school.

What were your favorite February YA releases?! Which of these titles are you most excited for?! Hope you have all had a fabulous month!

It seemed impossible to fit all the people she’d ever been into a single body…. (p.228)

It is the summer of 1929 when we meet Elsa Emerson, a resident of Door County, Wisconsin where her family houses and runs a theatre company. The youngest of three daughters, nine year old Elsa is desperately in love with the stage and jumps at every opportunity to be involved although it is her sister, Hilly, who assumes the beautiful starlet role. Beauty is as much a curse as it is a blessing and it is through Hilly that Straub first offers perspective on the roles we play: as women, as daughters and the ever evolving identity of our “self.” When the theatre’s leading man impregnates and then denies her, Hilly takes her own life leaving a gaping hole in the family unit and in young Elsa’s heart.

Looking for a way out, with a strong resolve to fulfill Hilly’s dreams as well as her own, Elsa marries aspiring actor, Gordon Pitts. Together they travel to Hollywood where Elsa is left to a traditional life of domesticity and motherhood while Gordon has moderate success as an actor. Pregnant with her second child and accompanying Gordon to a cast party, Elsa catches the eye of studio head Irving Green. Green quickly becomes her mentor, her confidant and, eventually, her second husband. Committed to making her a star, Elsa gives herself up to Green who, after a complete makeover, re-introduces her to the world as Laura Lamont.

Movie lovers will enjoy Straub’s journey into the golden era of film – a glamorous and innovative time in our nation’s collective consciousness. For the rest of the novel, we follow Laura’s rising star, as she becomes a successful, award-winning actress and the inevitable fall of that star in the fickle world that is Hollywood. Straub’s narrative, while eloquent and rich with detail, is as predictable as Hollywood itself. Laura’s success develops from her relationship to a powerful man and studio owner yet is sustained by her beauty – a “look” created by Green – and her ability to follow the unwritten rules of women in Hollywood: Be beautiful, Be agreeable, Be quiet. The women around her fit neatly into stereotypical boxes and, as she ages, she struggles to find work.

For most of her life, Laura lives in quiet conflict with the person she is on the outside and the girl from Door County who resides within her soul. It is these moments where the novel sings. Through the lens of Laura/Elsa, Straub invites us to consider the many roles we play in this life and the value each has for ourselves and for others.

Alicia’s rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Author: Emma Straub
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (September 2012)
Note: ARC received from publisher for honest review