12/22/2014
Alameda makes a strong debut with this fast-paced urban fantasy/horror novel, which sees the last remnants of the Van Helsing and Stoker bloodlines running an organization dedicated to fighting the restless undead. When Micheline Helsing, daughter of the American branch’s leader, takes her team to confront a murderous ghost, all four of them are infected by a terrible curse that will kill them in under a week if they can’t find a cure. Unfortunately, Micheline’s father would rather put them in quarantine instead of help them. The crew goes on the run, and as they battle undead monsters, elude the living, and confront the sins of the past, they learn that the solution to their fatal dilemma may lay closer to home than they expected. Alameda’s worldbuilding is strong—this alternate version of San Francisco is dangerous and unpredictable—and her characters evoke shows like Buffy and Supernatural. The story has plenty of room to grow, and readers will be left eager to see what Alameda has in store next. Ages 13–up. Agent: John M. Cusick, Greenhouse Literary Agency. (Feb.)
This summer’s Openly YA tour, starring author David Levithan, Bill Konigsberg, Adam Silvera, and Will Walton, is chock full of amazing. So much so that it got us thinking about other inspired lineups we’d love to see! Too good to be true? Of course! But a girl can dream, can’t she?
Now more than ever, we record the present through cameras instead of living in the moment—a detachment that brings with it the benefit of being able to recall our best (and worst) moments with more clarity than our memories can provide. Even before smartphones and social media, YA protagonists used cameras as shields, as masks, as […]
With Halloween just around the corner, everyone’s looking for the best of the best when it comes to spooky reads, featuring things that go bump in the night…and sometimes during the day. And who better to recommend some of the newest shining stars than an author of a creeptastic book herself? Chandler Baker’s debut, Alive, follows the […]
Is there anything more exciting than the promise of a crop of fantastic new writers that comes with a new debut class each year? You may already know the answer is a resounding “No,” but what you might not be aware of is that this year’s debuts are frighteningly fantastic. Ask anyone who gets their […]
The week’s most exciting releases include a dystopian reality-show thriller, two fairy-tale mashups, and a story of sisters on opposite lines of the gentrification divide. Here are the books we’re accidentally singing with our space heaters this week: