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Shift, follows Scott Tyler, a 16-year old loser who has the power to undo every decision he’s ever made. It sounds cool, but when his power starts to have terrible, unforeseen, circumstances, Scott must decide where he stands, in a world where everything can change with a thought…
Strange Chemistry editor, Amanda Rutter: ”From the first moments I began reading Kim Curran’s work, I knew that she was a very special author. For me, this award nomination pays tribute to Kim’s professionalism, her enthusiasm, and her enormous talent. I couldn’t be more thrilled for her!”
Award-nominated Kim Curran: ”I’m utterly stunned and delighted, but mostly stunned (I am looking into whether my mother ran a secret campaign). To see my name alongside such talented writers, well, it’s a cliche to say I’m honoured, but I really am. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I hope to buy you all a drink at World Fantasy Con in October.”
With the countdown on to Kim’s follow-up novel, Control (Aug, 2013), these few months are going to be even more exciting for the wonderful Kim! Good luck to all nominees – and a special shout-out to our Angry Robot‘s Anne Lyle also in the Best Newcomer category – and roll on the announcement, at the Fantasy Awards banquet at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton on Sunday, November 3, 2013.
Best of luck, Kim!
Reviews for Shift
“Shift is exciting, funny, clever, scary, captivating, and – most importantly – really, really awesome.
- James Smythe, author of The Testimony and The Explorer
“Kim Curran has crafted a sci-fi horror shocker packed with all kinds of cool stuff.”
- Patrick Doud, Author of The Hunt for the Eye of Ogin and The Mornith War
“Unless you can Shift, make the right choice now and read Kim Curran’s exciting debut. There is no reality in which you won’t enjoy this thrilling adventure. It’s like the best kind of video game: full of fun, mind-bendy ideas with high stakes, relentless action, and shocking twists that not even a Shifter could anticipate!”
- E C Myers, author of Fair Coin
“A hi-octane, timey-wimey thriller. It’ll blow your mind!”
- James Dawson, author of Hollow Pike
We’re very excited today at Strange Chemistry HQ as Forbidden Planet have just gone live with the details of our forthcoming joint launch for Bryony Pearce and Kim Curran! Here it is on the FP page, in all its glory!
Scott Tyler is not like other teenagers. With a single thought he can alter reality around him. And he can stop anyone else from doing the same.
That’s why he’s so important to ARES, the secret government agency that regulates other kids like him: Shifters.
They’ve sent him on a mission. To track down the enigmatic Frank Anderson. An ex-Shifter who runs a project for unusual kids – as if the ability to change your every decision wasn’t unusual enough. But Anderson and the kids have a dark secret. One that Scott is determined to discover.
As his obsession with discovering the truth takes him further away from anyone he cares about, his grip on reality starts to weaken. Scott realises if he can’t control his choices, they’ll control him.
Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark to her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them – and if she doesn’t make it in time? The Darkness will come for her…
When Justin Hargreaves – one of the most popular boys at school and Taylor’s worst enemy – is murdered, life gets a whole lot worse for her. Justin denies that he was ever killed, so Taylor has to solve the mystery before she can lay him to rest. This leads her to the terrifying V Society, and a game of Truth or Dare that has gone very wrong.
Can Taylor find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him?
Welcome to another week here on planet Earth, and today we’re unveiling the rather spectacular cover to Katya’s War, the sequel to the fantastic Katya’s World that came out from Strange Chemistry November 2012. Katya’s War is coming atcha in November 2013.
Here is the blurb:
The battle lines have been drawn. The people of Russalka turn upon one another in a ruthless and unwavering civil war even while their world sickens and the deep black ocean is stained red with their blood. As the young civilisation weakens, its vitality fuelling the opposing armies at the cost of all else, the war drums beat louder and louder.
Katya Kuriakova knows it cannot last. Both sides are exhausted – it can only be a matter of days or weeks before they finally call a truce and negotiate. But the days and weeks pass, the death toll mounts, and still the enemy will not talk.
Then a figure from the tainted past returns to make her an offer she cannot lightly refuse – a plan to stop the war. But to do it she will have to turn her back on everything she has believed in, everything she has ever fought for, to make sacrifices greater even than laying down her own life. To save Russalka, she must become its greatest enemy.
And here is the snazzy cover (cover artwork by Lee Gibbons)!
As you can see, it is a rather lovely match for Katya’s World:
Do let us know what you think and please do share this cover reveal!
The Pirate’s Wish follows Ananna and Naji as they find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in their quest to break the curse that binds them together. With nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse, they must complete the three impossible tasks, escape the island and return to the south. All the while, coming to terms with their growing romantic attraction.
With reviews for The Assassin’s Cursealmost all begging for the sequel to be swiftly released, we are excited to hear everyone’s thoughts on the final instalment of Ananna and Naji’s adventure.
Happy book birthday, Cassandra, and here’s to The Pirate’s Wish!
Yes, yes, we’re late, please forgive *grins* With various bank holidays and BEA in the way at the end of May and start of June, it feels like we haven’t breathed for a couple of weeks! Anyway, there is great excitement in the office for all of the many wonderful YA releases we really have to read during the month of June – leading the way our own Cassandra Rose Clarke with The Pirate’s Wish. As always, do let us know which of these books you have now added to your wishlist!
1) The Pirate’s Wish – Cassandra Rose Clarke
The Assassin’s Curse #2
After setting out to break the curse that binds them together, the pirate Ananna and the assassin Naji find themselves stranded on an enchanted island in the north with nothing but a sword, their wits, and the secret to breaking the curse: complete three impossible tasks. With the help of their friend Marjani and a rather unusual ally, Ananna and Naji make their way south again, seeking what seems to be beyond their reach.
Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.
2) Stormbringers – Philippa Gregory
The Order of Darkness #2
Italy, 1453. Luca and Isolde grow more and more attracted to each other as they continue their journey to unravel the mysteries throughout Christendom. But their travels are delayed by the uprising of an intense religious crusade that threatens the balance of the civilized world. Death lingers in the air as war ravages on, but this religious conflict is nothing compared to the arrival of an intense and deadly storm.
Caught in the midst of unimaginable chaos, Luca and Isolde must rely on one another in order to survive.
3) The Noble Conflict – Malorie Blackman
Years after a violent war destroyed much of the world, Kaspar has grown up in a society based on peace and harmony. But beyond the city walls, a vicious band of rebels are plotting to tear this peace apart. It is up to the Guardians – an elite peacekeeping force – to protect the city, without ever resorting to the brutal methods of their enemy.
When Kaspar joins the Guardians, he has a chance encounter with a rebel – a beautiful girl named Rhea. Haunted from that moment on by strange visions and memories – memories that could only belong to Rhea – he realises he hasn’t been told the truth about what the rebels really want, and what he’s really fighting for.
4) Zom-B Angels – Darren Shan
Zom-B #4
Where can you find shelter in a city of the damned? How can you build a new life if you’re undead? Who can you trust in a world gone mad? B Smith has come to a crossroads…
5) Crushed – Sara Shepard
Pretty Little Liars #13
It’s springtime in suburban Rosewood, which means iced soy lattes, fresh manicures in shimmering pastels—and prom. But while everyone else is flipping through the racks at Saks in search of the perfect dress, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria are on a different kind of hunt: They’re looking for A. . . .
Hanna puts her campaign for prom queen on the back burner to volunteer at the burn clinic, where one of A’s victims is recovering. Emily digs into Ali’s past at the mental hospital with some very crazy consequences. Spencer contacts a private eye to help her stalk her stalker. But when their sessions get a little too private, they may forget to keep their eyes on A. . . . And Aria’s worried that A is even closer than she thought. When her dark secret from Iceland finally comes to light, she discovers that maybe, just maybe, the one person she’s been trying to hide the truth from has known all along.
The liars are finally taking the fight to A. But no matter what they do, A’s always one step ahead, ready to crush the girls completely.
6) Siege and Storm – Leigh Bardugo
The Grisha #2
Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. But she can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.
The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.
7) The Oathbreaker’s Shadow – Amy McCulloch
The Knots Sequence #1
Fifteen-year-old Raim lives in a world where you tie a knot for every promise that you make. Break that promise and you are scarred for life, and cast out into the desert.
Raim has worn a simple knot around his wrist for as long as he can remember. No one knows where it came from, and which promise of his it symbolises, but he barely thinks about it at all—not since becoming the most promising young fighter ever to train for the elite Yun guard. But on the most important day of his life, when he binds his life to his best friend (and future king) Khareh, the string bursts into flames and sears a dark mark into his skin.
Scarred now as an oath-breaker, Raim has two options: run, or be killed.
8) The Lost Sun – Tessa Gratton
The United States of Asgard #1
Seventeen-year-old Soren Bearskin is trying to escape the past. His father, a famed warrior, lost himself to the battle-frenzy and killed thirteen innocent people. Soren cannot deny that berserking is in his blood–the fevers, insomnia, and occasional feelings of uncontrollable rage haunt him. So he tries to remain calm and detached from everyone at Sanctus Sigurd’s Academy. But that’s hard to do when a popular, beautiful girl like Astrid Glyn tells Soren she dreams of him. That’s not all Astrid dreams of–the daughter of a renowned prophetess, Astrid is coming into her own inherited abilities.
When Baldur, son of Odin and one of the most popular gods in the country, goes missing, Astrid sees where he is and convinces Soren to join her on a road trip that will take them to find not only a lost god, but also who they are beyond the legacy of their parents and everything they’ve been told they have to be.
9) Out of the Easy – Ruta Sepetys
t’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer.
She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.
10) When You Were Here – Daisy Whitney
Danny’s mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.
Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn’t know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.
When he gets a letter from his mom’s property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother’s memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.
11) Star Cursed – Jessica Spotswood
The Cahill Witch Chronicles #2
With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate’s friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.
Cate doesn’t want to be a weapon, and she doesn’t want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood’s schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she’ll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.
12) Another Little Piece – Kate Karyus Quinn
On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.
A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.
Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese’s fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.
13) The Hidden Summer – Gin Phillips
After a falling out between their mothers, 13-year-old best friends Nell and Lydia are forbidden from seeing each other for the whole summer. Nell struggles with the thought of not only losing her best friend, but also losing the only person in whom Nell finds refuge from the difficulties she faces at home. Determined to find a place of their own, Nell and Lydia spend the summer hiding out in an abandoned golf course where Nell and Lydia find mysterious symbols scattered throughout the grounds. As they reveal the secret of the symbols, Nell discovers she isn’t the only one seeking haven and begins to uncover what’s really been hidden all along, finally allowing herself to be truly seen.
14) You Look Different in Real Life – Jennifer Castle
For the rest of the world, the movies are entertainment. For Justine, they’re real life.
The premise was simple: five kids, just living their lives. There’d be a new movie about them every five years, starting in kindergarten. But no one could have predicted what the cameras would capture. And no one could have predicted that Justine would be the star.
Now sixteen, Justine doesn’t feel like a star anymore. In fact, when she hears the crew has gotten the green light to film Five at Sixteen, all she feels is dread. The kids who shared the same table in kindergarten have become teenagers who hardly know one another. And Justine, who was so funny and edgy in the first two movies, feels like a disappointment.
But these teens have a bond that goes deeper than what’s on film. They’ve all shared the painful details of their lives with countless viewers. They all know how it feels to have fans as well as friends. So when this latest movie gives them the chance to reunite, Justine and her costars are going to take it. Because sometimes, the only way to see yourself is through someone else’s eyes.
15) Golden Girl – Sarah Zettel
The American Fairy #2
Callie LeRoux has put her grimy, harrowing trip from the depths of the Dust Bowl behind her. Her life is a different kind of exciting now: she works at a major motion picture studio among powerful studio executives and stylish stars. Still nothing can distract her from her true goal. With help from her friend Jack and guidance from the great singer Paul Robeson, she will find her missing mother.
But as a child of prophecy and daughter of the legitimate heir to the Seelie throne, Callie poses a huge threat to the warring fae factions who’ve attached themselves to the most powerful people in Hollywood . . . and they are all too aware that she’s within their reach.
16) Born of Illusion – Teri Brown
Born of Illusion #1
Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?
17) Elegy – Tara Hudson
Hereafter #3
A stalker ghost, misguided Seers, and spellbinding wraiths—Amelia Ashley has faced them all. Now her greatest hope is to spend the rest of her afterlife with her living boyfriend, Joshua. But the demonic forces return to give her an ultimatum: turn herself over to the darkness or watch them murder one living person per week until she does.
Amelia fears she might really be doomed, until the forces of light give her another option. She can join them in their quest to gather souls, with a catch: Once she joins them, she can never see Joshua again.
Faced with impossible choices, Amelia decides to take her afterlife into her own hands—and fight back.
18) Game On – Monica Seles
The Academy is the hottest international sports school for teen athletes. There are only two ways in: money – and lots of it – or enough talent to earn a scholarship.
Young tennis star Maya’s dreams have finally come true! She’s got the scholarship. She’s got the drive. She’s on her way from small town to pro career . . . But when Maya starts boarding at the sports training school, her fantasy of the Academy doesn’t quite match the reality – because where there are beautiful, talented teens, there’s plenty of drama.
Meet the players:
Nicole: a tennis star who feels threatened by Maya (although she’d never admit it).
Cleo: Maya’s rebel / punk room-mate who’s reaching the top of the golf world.
Renee: a super-rich, super-gorgeous swimmer.
Travis: the son of the Academy’s owner and perfectly groomed to be the next big star
of the National Football League.
Jake: Travis’s younger brother – and the bad boy of the school.
19) Phoenix – Elizabeth Richards
Black City #2
Ash and Natalie are just starting to build a life together when things in the United Sentry States go from bad to worse. Ash and Natalie find themselves at the center of turmoil when dictator Purian Rose threatens Natalie’s life unless Ash votes in favor of Rose’s Law—a law that will send Darklings and other dissenters to a deadly concentration camp known as the Tenth.
When Ash can’t bring himself to trade Natalie’s life for those of millions of Darklings, her fate is sealed. Enter Elijah Theroux, the handsome Bastet boy Natalie once saved from her mother’s labs, where he’d been experimented on and tortured. It was his venom the Sentry used to create the lethal Golden Haze, the heart of the government conspiracy that led to Black City’s uprising and Ash’s rebirth as the Phoenix, the face of the rebellion. Elijah is back and Ash doesn’t like him; it’s clear he’s taken with Natalie, and Ash fears she may have feelings for him as well.
But Elijah also may have the answer to taking down Purian Rose for good—a powerful weapon called the Ora. Ash, Natalie and Elijah just have to escape Black City undetected to find it. But fleeing the city and finding this weapon (if it even exists) are easier said than done, and the quest could tear Ash and Natalie apart, even pushing them into the arms of others.
20) Dance of the Red Death – Bethany Griffin
Masque of the Red Death #2
n Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles—betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.
Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.
With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.
21) The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls – Anton DiSclafani
It is 1930, the midst of the Great Depression. After her mysterious role in a family tragedy, passionate, strong-willed Thea Atwell, age fifteen, has been cast out of her Florida home, exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes. High in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its complex social strata ordered by money, beauty, and girls’ friendships, the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is a far remove from the free-roaming, dreamlike childhood Thea shared with her twin brother on their family’s citrus farm—a world now partially shattered. As Thea grapples with her responsibility for the events of the past year that led her here, she finds herself enmeshed in a new order, one that will change her sense of what is possible for herself, her family, her country.
22) Spies and Prejudice – Talia Vance
Fields’ Rule #1: Don’t fall for the enemy.
Berry Fields is not looking for a boyfriend. She’s busy trailing cheaters and liars in her job as a private investigator, collecting evidence of the affairs she’s sure all men commit. And thanks to a pepper spray incident during an eighth grade game of spin the bottle, the guys at her school are not exactly lining up to date her, either.
So when arrogant—and gorgeous—Tanner Halston rolls into town and calls her “nothing amazing,” it’s no loss for Berry. She’ll forget him in no time. She’s more concerned with the questions surfacing about her mother’s death.
But why does Tanner seem to pop up everywhere in her investigation, always getting in her way? Is he trying to stop her from discovering the truth, or protecting her from an unknown threat? And why can’t Berry remember to hate him when he looks into her eyes?
23) Intuition – C J Omololu
Transcendence #2
As Cole begins to accept her new life as Akhet, someone who can remember flashes of her past lives, every new vision from her past lives helps explain who she is in this life. As her passion for Griffon grows, she learns to identify other Akhet around her, including Drew, the young self-made millionaire who reveals his startling connection to Cole-he was her husband in Elizabethan England and gave her the ankh necklace that has been returned to her after centuries in hiding. Drew’s attentions are overwhelming as he insists that their connection in the past signals their future destiny together, but before she can decide who she truly loves, Cole must learn to harness her unique Akhet abilities if she is to ever understand her role in this strange new world.
24) Abandon – Elana Johnson
Possession #3
Vi has made her choice between Jag and Zenn, and the Resistance may have suffered for it. But with the Thinkers as strong as ever, the rebels still have a job to do. Vi knows better than anyone that there’s more at stake than a few broken hearts.
But there is a traitor among them…and the choices he makes could lead to the total destruction of everything Vi has fought for.
Vi, Jag, and Zenn must set their problems aside for the Resistance to have any hope of ending the Thinkers’ reign. Their success means everything…and their failure means death.
25) Sweet Peril – Wendy Higgins
The Sweet Trilogy #2
Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.
Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.
When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?
26) The Moon and More – Sarah Dessen
Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.
Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo’s sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.
Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?
Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she’s going?
27) The Girl With the Iron Touch – Kady Cross
Steampunk Chronicles #3
When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. What’s left of their archenemy, The Machinist, hungers to be resurrected, and Emily must transplant his consciousness into one of his automatons—or forfeit her friends’ lives.
With Griffin being mysteriously tormented by the Aether, the young duke’s sanity is close to the breaking point. Seeking help, Finley turns to Jack Dandy, but trusting the master criminal is as dangerous as controlling her dark side. When Jack kisses her, Finley must finally confront her true feelings for him…and for Griffin.
Meanwhile, Sam is searching everywhere for Emily, from Whitechapel’s desolate alleyways to Mayfair’s elegant mansions. He would walk into hell for her, but the choice she must make will test them more than they could imagine.
To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist’s ultimate creation—an automaton more human than machine. And if she’s to have any chance at triumphing, she must summon a strength even she doesn’t know she has…
28) Falling – Cat Clarke
It’s the party of the year and everyone’s going to be there – the perfect opportunity for Jess to set up her newly-out best friend Tilly with the only other gay girl in school.
And it’ll help her keep her mind off the fact that she cheated on her perfect boyfriend Cam last night. But this party will change everything.
A powerful novel about sexuality and growing up, realistically and frankly portrayed by acclaimed YA novelist Cat Clarke.
29) Dark Triumph – Robin LaFevers
His Fair Assassin #2
Sybella arrives at the convent’s doorstep half mad with grief and despair. Those that serve Death are only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The convent views Sybella, naturally skilled in the arts of both death and seduction, as one of their most dangerous weapons. But those assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to a life that nearly drove her mad. And while Sybella is a weapon of justice wrought by the god of Death himself, He must give her a reason to live. When she discovers an unexpected ally imprisoned in the dungeons, will a daughter of Death find something other than vengeance to live for?
30) Unbreakable – Elizabeth Norris
Unraveling #2
Four months after Ben disappeared through the portal to his home universe, Janelle believes she’ll never see him again. Her world is still devastated, but life is finally starting to resume some kind of normalcy. Until Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay shows up. Somebody from an alternate universe is running a human trafficking ring, kidnapping people and selling them on different Earths—and Ben is the prime suspect. Now his family has been imprisoned and will be executed if Ben doesn’t turn himself over within five days.
And when Janelle learns that someone she cares about—someone from her own world—has become one of the missing, she knows that she has to help Barclay, regardless of the danger. Now Janelle has five days to track down the real culprit. Five days to locate the missing people before they’re lost forever. Five days to reunite with the boy who stole her heart. But as the clues begin to add up, Janelle realizes that she’s in way over her head—and that she may not have known Ben as well as she thought. Can she uncover the truth before everyone she cares about is killed?
31) Tidal – Amanda Hocking
Watersong #3
With Penn and Lexi determined to kill Gemma and replace her with another siren, Gemma’s life is in grave danger…unless she can break the curse before it’s too late. With the help of Harper and Daniel, she’ll delve deep into her enemies’ mythical past–and their darkest secrets. It’s her only hope of saving everything she holds dear: her family, her life, and her relationship with Alex–the only guy she’s ever loved.
32) Compliance – Maureen McGowan
Dust Chronicles #2
Haven Equals Safety.
The slogan is emblazoned on the minds of every Haven employee. But for Glory, life inside the domed city is anything but safe.
After rescuing her brother, Glory returns to Haven as a double agent to locate and save fellow Deviants. Far from her family and from Burn, Glory faces danger at every turn as she trains to be a Compliance Officer–to track and subdue her own kind–while she works undercover to rescue as many Deviants as she can.
When people she trusts turn against her and a powerful member of Management takes her under her wing, Glory questions everything she believes and can no longer tell her allies from her enemies. A Deviant, a member of the secret police, a double agent–Glory fights to save others, but can she save herself?
33) Dark Waters of Hagwood – Robin Jarvis
The Hagwood Trilogy #2
Wicked queen Rhiannon, High Lady of the Hollow Hill, is more intent than ever on finding the enchanted casket containing her heart. Made immortal through evil sorcery, she has ruled the land of Hagwood heartlessly for far too long. If someone can discover the lost casket and destroy the beating heart within, her terrible reign will end.
The werlings Finnen and Gamaliel—in possession of the golden key that will unlock the High Lady’s casket—race to find it first. Their quest leads them to the Pool of the Dead, where the hideous Peg-tooth Meg resides with her slimy snails and mutated sluglungs. Caught between the armies of Peg-tooth Meg and the High Lady, Gamaliel and his friends must make a desperate stand to save the world of Hagwood from the forces of evil.
34) Spy for the Queen of Scots – Theresa Breslin
As lady-in-waiting to Mary, Queen of Scots, the beautiful Ginette – known as Jenny – is the young queen’s closest childhood friend. Growing up in the elegant but ruthless French court, surrounded by enemies and traitors – not least the jealous, manipulative Catherine de Medici, and Mary’s own scheming half-brother, James – Jenny has always been fiercely loyal to her mistress. But when she overhears a mysterious whispered plot, closely followed by several unexplained deaths at court, she puts her own life in danger and turns spy for Mary.
Jenny quickly realises not a soul at court can be trusted, and when she and Mary return to their Scottish homeland for Mary to claim her throne, they face even greater peril. Desperate to protect her friend from those who would slit her throat to steal her crown, while battling her feelings for the charismatic nobleman Duncan Alexander, Jenny becomes embroiled in a dangerous web of secrets, betrayals and lies.
35) The School for Good and Evil – Soman Chainani
The School for Good and Evil #1
This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.
But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?
36) Winter Queen – Amber Argyle
Fairy Queens #1
Mortally wounded during a raid, seventeen-year-old Ilyenna is healed by winter fairies who present her with a seductive offer: become one of them and share their power over winter. But that power comes with a price. If she accepts, she will become a force of nature, lose her humanity, and abandon her family.
Unwilling to pay such a high price, Ilyenna is enslaved by one of the invaders, Darrien. While in captivity, she learns the attack wasn’t just a simple raid but part of a larger plot to overthrow her entire nation.
With the enemy stealing over the mountains and Darrien coming to take her to his bed, Ilyenna must decide whether to resurrect the power the fairies left behind. Doing so will allow her to defeat Darrien and the other invaders, but if she embraces winter, she will lose herself to that destroying power—forever.
37) Rose Under Fire – Elizabeth E Wein
Code Name Verity Companion Novel
While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?
38) Hold Your Breath – Caroline Green
Tara has the power to find missing things and people, but it’s only been a source of trouble for her so far and she’s relieved when her family move house so she can make a fresh start and try to forget about the odd images in her head.
Making friends at her new school hasn’t been easy, especially with mean girls like Melodie Stone running the show. Then Melodie disappears. Tara’s not too sorry, but she starts to see strange images of a captive girl who she gradually realises must be Melodie. Tara tries but fails to ignore the pictures in her head and finally goes in search of Melodie, with the help of Melodie’s attractive half-brother. She finds herself trapped with her former enemy, and Tara and Melodie must work together to get free, with the help of Tara’s gift.
39) The Savages – Matt Whyman
Sasha Savage is in love with Jack – a handsome, charming … vegetarian. Which wouldn’t be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that Sasha’s family are very much ‘carnivorous’. Behind the family facade all is not as it seems. Sasha’s father rules his clan with an iron fist and her mother’s culinary skills are getting more adventurous by the day. When a too-curious private detective starts to dig for truths, the tight-knit family starts to unravel – as does their sinister taste in human beings . . .
40) Parallel – Lauren Miller
Two worlds. Two separate identities. Two guys.
A collision of parallel universes leaves 18-year-old Abby Barnes living a new reality – every time her parallel makes a new decision. Never-without-a-plan Abby is forced to cope with the consequences of waking up in a life she has no memory of creating.
With chapters that alternate between our world (Here) and the parallel one (There), Abby’s Here comes complete with a Yale address, a new roomie, and birthday blind date with a super-hot lacrosse player. In the parallel world, Abby’s still navigating senior year class schedules, college applications, and her relationship with Astronomy Boy at her high school.
41) The Apprentices – Maile Meloy
The Apothecary #2
Two years have passed since Janie Scott last saw Benjamin Burrows, the mysterious apothecary’s defiant son who stole her heart. On the other side of the world, Benjamin and his father are treating the sick and wounded in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam. But Benjamin has also been experimenting with a magical new formula that allows him to communicate with Janie across the globe. When Benjamin discovers that she’s in trouble, he calls on their friend Pip for help. The three friends are thrown into a desperate chase around the world to find one another, while unraveling the mystery of what threatens them all.
42) The Impossibility of Tomorrow – Avery Williams
Incarnation #2
Seraphina has been living for centuries, thanks to a special method of alchemy, but only recently has she really felt alive. She’s finally broken free from her controlling boyfriend, Cyrus, and after years of swapping bodies to preserve her immortality, is happily settled into a life worth sticking with. Because in this life, she has Noah.
But Noah might not be as trustworthy as he seems. After he delivers an ominous message that could only come from Cyrus, Sera is worried that her new friends and family will find out her secret. And as her suspicions extend beyond Noah, Sera is forced to wonder about her new friends as well: Could her old coven be disguising themselves right under her nose?
Will Sera have to move to another body—and take another life—or can she find a way to keep what she’s got, forever?
43) Outcast – Adrienne Kress
After six years of “angels” coming out of the sky and taking people from her town, 16-year-old Riley Carver has just about had it living with the constant fear. When one decides to terrorize her in her own backyard, it’s the final straw. She takes her mother’s shotgun and shoots the thing. So it’s dead. Or … not? In place of the creature she shot, is a guy. A really hot guy. A really hot alive and breathing guy. Oh, and he’s totally naked.
Not sure what to do, she drags his unconscious body to the tool shed and ties him up. After all, he’s an angel and they have tricks. When he regains consciousness she’s all set to interrogate him about why the angels come to her town, and how to get back her best friend (and almost boyfriend) Chris, who was taken the year before. But it turns out the naked guy in her shed is just as confused about everything as she is.
He thinks it’s 1956.
44) Stray – Monica Hesse
Lona Sixteen Always is not herself – quite literally. She lives her life virtually through the experiences of Julian, a boy who was chosen as a role model for the Pathers of Quadrant 1 – troubled children who have been ‘rescued’ by the government and put ‘on-Path’. But one day Lona finds she can think for herself. And on top of that, the face of a familiar boy appears on her screen – Fenn, who she thought had moved on to a different stage of the Path last year. But he didn’t. Fenn and other rebels like him have strayed from the Path, and now Lona must stray too. But life off-Path is strange and difficult, and Lona uncovers a secret that will threaten all their lives. Can there really be life after the Path?
45) Insomnia – J R Johansson
The Night Walkers #1
Instead of sleeping, Parker Chipp enters the dream of the last person he’s had eye contact with. He spends his nights crushed by other people’s fear and pain, by their disturbing secrets—and Parker can never have dreams of his own. The severe exhaustion is crippling him. If nothing changes, Parker could soon be facing psychosis and even death.
Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. Parker starts going to bizarre lengths to catch Mia’s eye every day. Everyone at school thinks he’s gone over the edge, even his best friend. And when Mia is threatened by a true stalker, everyone thinks it’s Parker.
Suffering blackouts, Parker begins to wonder if he is turning into someone dangerous. What if the monster stalking Mia is him after all?
46) Belle Epoque – Elizabeth Ross
When Maude Pichon runs away from provincial Brittany to Paris, her romantic dreams vanish as quickly as her savings. Desperate for work, she answers an unusual ad. The Durandeau Agency provides its clients with a unique service—the beauty foil. Hire a plain friend and become instantly more attractive.
Monsieur Durandeau has made a fortune from wealthy socialites, and when the Countess Dubern needs a companion for her headstrong daughter, Isabelle, Maude is deemed the perfect foil.
But Isabelle has no idea her new “friend” is the hired help, and Maude’s very existence among the aristocracy hinges on her keeping the truth a secret. Yet the more she learns about Isabelle, the more her loyalty is tested. And the longer her deception continues, the more she has to lose.
47) Rush – Eve Silver
The Game #1
When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.
48) Tides – Betsy Cornwell
When high-school senior Noah Gallagher and his adopted teenage sister, Lo, go to live with their grandmother in her island cottage for the summer, they don’t expect much in the way of adventure. Noah has landed a marine biology internship, and Lo wants to draw and paint, perhaps even to vanquish her struggles with bulimia. But then things take a dramatic turn for them both when Noah mistakenly tries to save a mysterious girl from drowning. This dreamlike, suspenseful story—deftly told from multiple points of view—dives deeply into selkie folklore while examining the fluid nature of love and family.
49) The Testing – Joelle Charbonneau
The Testing #1
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?
The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.
Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies–trust no one.
But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.
50) The Elementals – Saundra Mitchell
The Vespertine #3
Kate Witherspoon has lived a bohemian life with her artist parents. In 1917, the new art form of the motion picture is changing entertainment—and Kate is determined to become a director.
Meanwhile, midwestern farm boy Julian Birch has inherited the wanderlust that fueled his parents’ adventures. A childhood bout with polio has left him crippled, but he refuses to let his disability define him.
Strangers driven by a shared vision, Kate and Julian set out separately for Los Angeles, the city of dreams. There, they each struggle to find their independence. When they finally meet, the teenage runaways realize their true magical legacy: the ability to triumph over death, and over time. But as their powerful parents before them learned, all magic comes with a price.
So there you have it! 50 glorious reads for June – which are you rushing out to buy?
From Thursday to Saturday last week, Strange Chemistry editor Amanda attended BEA and here is her little report of the event!
BEA is Book Expo America, a massive show held at the Javits Centre in New York each year. This is the second year I’ve been, but the first year that Osprey Publishing (of which Strange Chemistry/Angry Robot/Exhibit A are part) had a booth. It was super fun to have people come up to the booth to say hi or meet the authors or drool over our lovely books. As part of having a booth, we were also able to host some author signings. On Friday we had Ann Rought signing copies of Broken, and on Saturday Tracy Costa signed ARCs of Playing Tyler. In both cases, those books just flew out of the booth!
For an editor, BEA is about so much more than the free books (although I did sneak home a few) or meeting bloggers (although that bit is awesome fun! Especially when they say such lovely things about what you’re doing – thanks Tabitha!)
My jobs included meeting with agents – both those I’ve been in touch with already and those new to me – in order to discuss what Strange Chemistry is up to right now and what we’re planning for the future. This is where I get to talk about my future requirements for manuscripts and see whether anyone has the perfect book for me to read. I already have some very exciting books in my inbox!
I was also able to meet with four of my US-based authors, including newly signed MG Buehrlen and Amalie Howard. Being able to meet authors face to face is a true joy, after email or phone communication only. And it usually involves drinks. That bit is fun.
Walking the show floor is also something that I like to do as an editor. I get to see the booths of other publishers, and chat a bit to people about what is coming out in their next few seasons. I can try to judge what future trends might be emerging, and it’s a chance to see cover artwork and how that is changing. Although we like to be unique at Strange Chemistry, we also have to bear in mind the general marketplace to see what may or may not fit.
But mostly for an editor: meetings, meetings, meetings. Back to back meetings. Gallons of coffee to prevent jet lag from encroaching. And being able to talk to people about Strange Chemistry. That last one is just the best. I’m so proud of my imprint!
Here are a handful of pictures from our BEA experience!
Our fabby Sales and Marketing manager for the States, Mike Underwood – looking super snazzy with his robot friend!
Mainlining iced tea to stay awake! Our robot pal got in on the act as well!
T L Costa a little over-excited by massive Lego model!
And I was thoroughly confused by the difference between Grumpy Cat and Bad Kitty. You appear to have all the cats. One of my enduring memories of the show will be Tracy bounding up to Bad Kitty, gushing about how much she loves the books!
It’s almost-BEA time, and whilst that makes me very sad as I haven’t had the luverly Amanda in the office all week, it’s also very exciting as we have not one, but two authors signing books at our booth!
Kicking off the author autographing is A.E. Rought, who will be at the Osprey stand this Friday at 2pm, busily signing copies of Broken.
T.L. Costafollows the next day, Saturday, also at 2pm, with copies of Playing Tyler. If you’re going on Saturday, you might want to nip over an hour earlier to the stand, as Angry Robot’s Chuck Wendig will be warming the seat for T.L. with his own signing!
Booth #2938 is the place to be, at this year’s BookExpo America!
PS: Say hi to our Amanda and Mike from me and everyone back in Nottingham!
Hello lovelies, and a very happy Friday to you all!
I’ve exciting news for you via Christian Schoon today; he’s running a very cool competition on his site where not only could you win a copy of the amazing Zenn Scarlettbut also the chance to name your very own star! I’m super excited about this competition and only wish I could enter…although I now have some good birthday present hints to drop!
To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on his site, saying why you should win this stellar prize assortment, and then use the Rafflecopter widget to enter. It’s that easy! So, what are you waiting for? Go forth, enter, and do spread the word about this wonderful competition.
First off, thanks to everyone who has commented, tweeted, shared and participated in this conversation; it’s been very encouraging to see how much we all want to make NetGalley even better! I just saw this NG Tumbler post and think it’s worthwhile sharing as well: http://netgalley.tumblr.com/wellness. They’re running a Wellness Pledge programme to help users improve their profiles and usability of the site, with the aim being to get a badge posted to your profile showing publishers that you’re committed to being “NetGalley Healthy”! Here’s the page for the pledge: https://www.smartsheet.com/b/publish?EQBCT=4ca06851f92c4ded943c5816b387caa4
I hope that further helps!
Caroline
***17/05/2013 POST***
So first off, I want to say how much I utterly love NetGalley; it’s an amazing tool for everyone involved and strikes up conversations about books prior to publication in a, largely, hassle-free manner.
But after working with it for the last month, I thought I’d put together a few, hopefully, handy tips and some advice. The aim is that this will help reviewers, bloggers, librarians, booksellers and everyone else who uses NG, understand what we, as publishers, would love to see in requests. If this helps us approve more requests, and gives you an insight into what we’re looking for, then I’ll be very happy! Thusly:
Profiles
When I was first applying for my publishing internship way back when I was still in college, my cover letter was all about how much I loved books, and thus this naturally meant I was made for the world of publishing. That is, until it was pointed out to me by my lovely publishing mentor that it’s a given to all involved with books that we’re voracious readers who absolutely love everything bookish. It doesn’t mean it’s not important that you love reading, but to us, what’s more important is what you’re going to do after you read our books. Ideally I’d love to see the following in your profile:
Links to your blog/website/online forums where you talk books
Your bio as a reviewer/bookseller/librarian (from here on, NG user as I don’t want to leave anyone out!) is really important:
how long have you been active whether reviewing, book club recommending, or as a bookseller, librarian etc;
where have you reviewed in the past
where do you think you’ll be sending this review
who will you be talking to about the book ie fellow students/bloggers/librarians/booksellers/customers
If possible, include direct links to some sample reviews or blogs/school library sites
If you’re a librarian, and registered with the American Library Association, please try and register your membership number with the NG site so you have the official ALA logo beside your name. That makes a big difference! I’m not sure how you do this, and am happy to be guided, and can include a how-to here if needed.
For bloggers/reviewers, we absolute love to see your stats: the most useful and helpful basic site statistics are:
dated eg as of 17 May 2013 I have xyz followers…
if you have a newsletter subscription, tell us how many subscribers you have
Page views per day (average)
Unique visitors per month
But don’t just tell us about your site, especially if you don’t have one! If you use Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads etc and will be talking about the requested book on these sites, you can still tell us how many followers, friends, interactions you have.
Requesting
Whenever we put a title on NG, we send out the respective group email: to the Robot Army, the Chemistry Set or the Witness Protection Programme. We always urge NG users to get requests in early, and I can’t stress that enough: there are often hundreds of requests and we cannot match that amount for each book so do get your request in as soon as possible
With that, please make sure you do have time to read the books you’re requesting, and that more importantly you download them as soon as possible: our books are generally only available for 4 weeks on NetGalley so if you’ve been approved, please do download the title
Posting Reviews
When you’re sending in your review, there are a few things that would really make my job easier…and also make me love you even more!
Please include the date the review was published especially if it’s a forthcoming review
If you run your own blog, or contribute to one, send us the link which the review will appear on, but also don’t forget to include the link for your Goodreads account, your Amazon reviews, twitter or basically anywhere else the review will appear. This not only makes it easier for me to remember how amazing you are, but also to help promote you and your work: if we’re not already connected on Twitter, I’ll tweet your review and link to you. We want you to get as much out of your work as we can.
Possible Reasons for Declining
First off, none of us like declining people…it makes us sad, really. We love our books, and so look forward to people reading them and sending back informed reviews, whatever way they may go. It’s the nature of the game that not all books are going to satisfy all readers, and we’re never going to decline you because you didn’t like our last book or anything silly. But it is a business, and we do need to make sure we don’t potentially undermine any book’s worth by sending out copies to everyone without seeing a value in it. So, to avoid you and I both feeling terrible, please bear in mind:
If your profile has no link to a blog, or any discernible outlet, but you maintain you’re a reviewer, it definitely lowers your approval chances
A profile with little info at all will also lower approval rates
If you provide a link to a website but there haven’t been any recent posts, or it doesn’t have any book reviews, that will look odd. If there’s a reason for this (you’ve been caught up in something else and are looking to get back to bloggging, for example, let us know that – add it to your bio)
No bio at all: unless you’re an extremely high-profile person or known to us personally, this is always worrying
I think that covers everything; if you think of anything you’d like clarification on or want to run past me/us, please comment below. I’d really love to hear from NG users as well, especially on what we could be doing to help you: this is a site that we’ll all get as much out of as we put in, so let’s start talking about how we could all do better and help each other out!
Hi everyone, and welcome to my first Strange Chemistry Round-Up!
There’s been some fantastic coverage for so many of our titles over the past few weeks, but I’m going to start off with a post celebrating Christian Schoon and Zenn Scarlett in honour of his publication month! Next week will be a round-up of all books strange and wonderful, so let’s show Christian some book-love today and keep an eye out for next week’s all-encompassing summary.
The ever tireless Christian has been busy with Interviews & Guest Blogs galore. To whit:
Christian spoke to Stefan at Civilian Reader and it’s a great introduction to Christian, the novel – and its forthcoming sequel, and all things great & interesting on what brought Christian into writing…and also a brief mention to the time he was shot at by Minnesota police…more details please, Christian!
The Authoress interviewed Christian early in May; check it out for insight into the alien world of Zenn Scarlett and the link between his Iowa farmstead and Zenn’s world of animal biology and alien ethics.
YABC was another stop for Christian and I, for one, was fascinated with the revelation that Christian likes anything that Kevin Costner is in! But seriously, find out Christian’s movie dream team for the cast of Zenn Scarlett, and be in with a chance to win one of three copies of this amazing debut.
Christian’s Blog Tour has had many wonderful stops and Paper Cuts is certainly one of those as Rachel invited Christian to write about his time working at Disney.
Birth of a New Witch‘s blog tour stop opens up the topic of Aliens and ‘The Other’ and Christian’s writing process
Christian was left to his own devices for his Books Before Bed stop, and rather cheekily nabbed Scarlett’s own About Me questions to answer for himself!
The Reflections of a Book Worm took a dive into Christian’s head (careful now) and you can read how a “nameless girl knocking on the front door of my skull became a novel that will transport readers into a future universe full of some pretty interesting stuff”
The mighty SF Signal thought it was a simple question asking Christina about the inspiration behind Zenn Scarlett…little did they know it involves an American alligator named Lex Luthor!
To get more of an insight into how animals, and Christian’s love for them, inspired Zenn and her world, here’s a well-timed link to the Des Moines Register.
Buried in Books not only has a US giveaway for Zenn Scarlett but also an interview with Christian…and check out below for their review!
The Reviewsfor Zenn Scarlett have been many, and wonderful, and here’s some clickety-clicks to bring you to them:
Books, Bones & Buffy not only give Zenn Scarlett 4.5 stars but also have this to say: “a brilliantly imagined world, full of strange and delightful creatures, one adorable rikkaset named Katie, and an explosive but frustrating ending.” Good & bad news for you Tammy: Zenn will be back (with the beautiful title, Under Nameless Stars) but not until April 2014!
Seeing Night have happily awarded Zenn Scarlett 4 stars and rounded a great review off with an even better recommendation “This is young adult science fiction novel that will take you on a great adventure that’s out of this world, literally. Fans of the Unraveling series by Elizabeth Norris and The Host by Stephenie Meyers will love Zenn Scarlett by Christian Schoon.”
I hate to disappoint Finding Wonderland, but as I mentioned above, your wait for the sequel is near on a year…by gosh, is it worth it! Here’s what Tanita had to say about Zenn Scarlett: “This has all the earmarks of a great series: an engaging, realistically flawed main character, stupendously detailed world-building, and tons of new-things-per-page. It’s got adventure and heart”
Buried in Books‘ Heather, and her love of good characters, is certainly happy with the cast of Zenn Scarlett! She also makes some real-world insights: “Zenn learns that sometimes you have to let people in and you need people. That despite misgivings and earlier assumptions and actions can be forgiven in the face of selflessness. And sometimes people don’t leave, they come back.”
Awarding Christian’s debut 8 out of 10 stars is Mel’s Random Reviews, who had this to say: “the fantastic description of these truly alien creatures and how they actually work is wonderfully done.”
Vicky Thinks joins the gang longing for their own rikkaset with her review of Zenn Scarlett! Victoria raises some really good points about the novel, and if she thinks this is a “fascinating and well-executed” idea, just wait for the sequel!
Aoife over on Footnotes highlights Christian’s amazing creativity with his astounding menagerie of alien animals, as well as the themes of tolerance and learning that run throughout.
“Alien vets, strange creatures, a Martian colony, and a girl stuck in the middle of a conspiracy” and with that, Kindle-aholic was, in her words, a very happy reader!
The brilliant Popcorn Reads usher in Christian’s debut with terrific noise and praise: Schoon has given a whole new spin to a tale on Mars and whilst the “alien life forms, the starliners, and intergalactic political intrigue will keep sci-fi fans very happy”, Zenn Scarlett is also a great way for new readers “to test the waters” of sci-fi!
For Fantasy Book Review, “Zenn Scarlett is right up there with Ender’s Game, Partials and Katya’s World as one of my favourite YA sci-fi novels.” and they too mention that Zenn Scarlett will appeal to all readers, regular sci-fi readers or not. 9 out of 10 stars from Fantasy Book Review, go Christian!
“thoroughly enjoyable and beguiling”, with “mind-blowing” alien lifeforms whose “scenes captivated my imagination, especially as the novel progressed” … and so says For Winter Nights!
Ashley at The AP Book Club awards Zenn Scarlett 4 stars out of 5, and is, like most others, excitedly awaiting Under Nameless Stars!
Carole Finds Her Wings ”loved Zenn Scarlett for a number of reasons” and whilst it’s definitely worth checking out the full review, she highlights the characters, the world-building, the creatures, Christian’s level of detail, and his brilliant writing. Not only that but “I was won over by Zenn Scarlett‘s beautiful front cover and wasn’t disappointed at all by the story inside. I will definitely be waiting impatiently for the next installment to be released.” 5 out of 5 from Carole!
Sarah over on And Then I Read A Book also mentions the amazing cover (thanks yet again to Argh! Oxford) and whilst being left on such a cliffhangover was tough, Sarah praised Zenn and “her world [which] was a good combination of the alien and familiar” Roll on 2014 for the next book!
Reminding Tsana of James Cameron’s Avatar, Zenn Scarlett gets 4 our of 5 starts at Tsana’s Reads and Reviews
The rave reviews for Zenn Scarlett continue with Willing to See Less awarding it no less that 5 out of 5 stars, yippee! “Treat yourself to Zenn Scarlett. It’s a delight for fans of YA, sci-fi and animal lovers.”
Radiant Shadows call Zenn Scarlett “vastly imaginative and ambitious in scope” and whilst I could stop there, Radiant Shadows also says it’s “easily one of the most thorough and imaginative science-fiction/dystopian reads” she’s read this year!
We do like to keep readers and reviewers on their toes, here at Camp Strange Chemistry, and The Nocturnal Library happily call Zenn Scarlett “unlike anything that is currently being published” and “richly imaginative and breathtakingly original.” Not a bad quote at all to end this round-up on!
So, I’m now off for a mug of tea and to rest my eyes & typing fingers after this mammoth summary! Well done Christian, and happy publication month! Have a great weekend, everyone!