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Lynn: Cindy deliberated with her YA Lit Jury last weekend for the L.A. Times Book Prize while I gleefully immersed myself in books I couldn’t take time for last year plus an outrageously tempting stack of shiny new 2012 arcs.  So we’re batting a little clean-up here on Bookends before leaping into posts on the [...]

Cindy: Wow. Lynn saw Return of the Dapper Men (Archaia 2010) on Booklist’s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth: 2011 list and tracked it down. We had missed seeing this when it published in November. This is an intriguing story, with philosophical themes to explore (or not) and exquisite artwork…all of which will prompt many rereadings. In [...]

Lynn: Our focus group are total graphic novel fans.  Thank you publishers for giving us more and more wonderful graphic novels for younger readers!  Zita the Spacegirl (First Second 2010) was a huge hit with the boys and it took me a while to get it away from them to read myself.  (Cindy was a [...]

Cindy: I’ve always been a fan of Candlewick Press. I love the beauty and attention they put into their bookmaking with special and expensive production attention to details. I admire their cadre of authors like M. T. Anderson and Adam Rapp and Sonya Hartnett and many other favorites that write unique and challenging books. Even [...]

Lynn: Unless you are one of those irritating people who read it overnight, you are probably immersed in Mockingjay right now. I am reading it as fast as I can and trying to avoid the spoilers on the listservs. What IS it with those people? They can’t wait till Monday to start discussing? Some of [...]

Lynn: Science fiction fans rejoice! You have a treat coming soon to a bookstore near you. Black Hole Sun (Harper/Greenwillow, Aug. 2010) is the sort of sf for teens that I’ve been begging for. Set on another planet (Mars) with an action-packed roller coaster plot, well-drawn characters, snappy dialog, nicely imagined future technology and outstanding [...]

Cindy: There are so many bad YA books by authors of adult fiction who try to cross over, that I rejoice when someone nails it. Paolo Bacigalupi, welcome to the fold! Ship Breaker (Little Brown, 2010) is not only a great cross over for this author, it’s one of the best books of the year [...]

Cindy: War makes monsters of men (and women) and war is upon the citizens of New Prenticetown in Monsters of Men (Candlewick, 2010), the conclusion to the stunning Chaos Walking Trilogy. If you’re not familiar with the trilogy, then what are you doing reading this post? Get thee to a library or bookstore and get [...]

Lynn: Fasten your seat belts, the tranquil journey of the space ship Plexus is about to experience some major turbulence! Living Hell (Houghton, 2010) is gleeful gruesome fun with a terrific concept! Plexus is a colony ship filled with 1500 settlers taking turns with stasis sleep, searching for a new planet. Narrator 17-year-old Cheney (33 [...]

Lynn: OK – let me just get this out of my system at the start. I am furious with Philip Reeve! I have PILES of books that I need to read, review deadlines and a blogging partner who was wondering quite vocally why I hadn’t passed Fever Crumb (Scholastic, April 2010) along to her. It [...]