Some words from the YA Books Goddess…

Boy, winter sure is different up here in Chicagoland! I guess we lived in Florida for too long...this time of year around Tampa/St. Petersburg (where we used to live) is Strawberry Festival time. Here in Illinois, we've got a couple of feet of snow on the ground and we won't see the strawberries until sometime around June! Definitely an adjustment, let me tell you. Of course, right now I'm all about adjustments...we've got the baby room pretty much ready for the little one coming (if anyone is interested, we did a Where the Wild Things Are theme (one of my favorite books of all time) and have pictures of it up at our family blog: The Pauleys Go to Chicago).

And I'm definitely getting excited about my book! I got 3 ARCs (advance reader copies) in the mail last week and it is just SO COOL to actually get to hold the book in my hot little hands. I'll have to think of a neat giveaway for an ARC copy...gotta start getting the word out. So, if you have any ideas, please let me know. (I was thinking something special for YABC members, maybe) The publisher is planning on sending me to the ALA conference and Book Expo this year as part of the book promo. Are you going to one of those? If so, let me know! I'd love to meet you!

But way more than enough about me...let me give you a hint on some of the cool things to come this year for YABC. The new reviewers are settling in (I'm sure you've noticed some of their reviews) and the 2008 Teen Demi-Goddess is off to a great start. Some of the giveaways coming up this year include The Gossip Girl: The Carlyles, Lock and Key, and Generation Dead (and those are just a sampling...there are tons more!)! And I've got some other volunteers in the wing that that I need to talk to about expanding the Guides section of the site (I know, I know, you've been asking forever).

So, as always...if you have any questions or comments or just want to say "Hi!", drop me a line anytime at kim@yabookscentral.com.

is...Val Pearson! And the rest of you, good luck in this month's giveaway…keep reading to find out what it is.

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Here's a brief sampling of some of the new stuff added to the site recently. There's always more, however, and the best place to keep up with everything is by visiting the site blog. There you'll find links to the latest reviews, shipment notices, contest notifications...basically a one-stop shop for all the latest.

Mr. Touchdown by Lyda Phillips

A story about desegregation set in 1965
a review by Kimberly Pauley, the YA Books Goddess
Set in 1965, Mr. Touchdown is a story about segregation and integration, but also about friendship and courage. Eddie Russell, a star football player (the Mr. Touchdown of the story) and his very shy sister Lakeesha have been “asked” (i.e. told by their parents and civil rights activists) that they and a couple of other black students are to help desegregate the local all-white high school…Read more

This time the lists are useful
a review by Alyssa Feller, POD Princess & Graphic Novel Guru
When you sit down and actually think about it, we use lists all the time. TV listings, class schedules, shopping lists, we’ve all been there at one time or another. So with all this emphasis on lists, why not actually turn all these lists into something useful? Enter Life Lists for Teens. On the outside it looks life your average self-help book, but this is a whole new approach to the genre: the entire book is made up of lists. Even the introduction is lists. From the serious (“24 Warning Signs of an Eating Disorder”) to the interesting (“7 Good Times—and 7 Bad Times—to Ask Your Parents for Something You Want”) to the completely-just-for-fun (“The 8 Clown Commandments”), this book has just a little bit of everything... Read more

Super Bowl from the Inside
a review by Ed Goldberg
Stevie and Susan Carol are at it again in the third installment of John Feinstein’s sports mysteries (Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery and Vanishing Act: Mystery at the U.S. Open). Also back are Bobby and Tamara, their newspaper reporter mentors. Famous from their mystery solving activities at the Final Four and the U.S. Open, Stevie and Susan Carol have been asked to host a TV sports show. Although, reasonably successful, Stevie was replaced right before he and Susan Carol were to go to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis. He just didn’t have the required star power....Read More

Big Sister, Little Sister
a review by Becky Laney
BIG SISTER, LITTLE SISTER written and illustrated by Leuyen Pham is an admittedly cute and sentimental picture book describing the special experiences shared between big and little sisters. The text is simple and straight forward. I would say the text is understated. "In this family, we have two sisters. She's the Big Sister. I'm the Little Sister." And there you have the first three pages of text. The text utilizes common childhood experiences... Read more

the 3rd child
a review by Gabby (Reader Review)
Luke thinks that all children have to hide. He thinks that when he gets older like his two brothers, Matthew and Mark, he'll be able to play, go to school, and stop hiding, like them. What he does'nt know is that 3rd children have to stay hidden. That it's illegal to have more than two children....Read more

If you get stuck on a story what do you do?
I always have several projects running and change from fiction to non fiction, do some administrivia like answering letters, go for a swim or try to interview my character. Or I may ‘talk’ possible endings onto tape.
» » » Read more!

Niki Burnham is originally from Colorado, but when her father joined the Army, she started traveling around the world, too (because she was only six years old at the time, she didn't get a say.) She even wound up living in Germany—twice. Now that she's grown up and theoretically gets to do whatever she wants, she still hasn't stopped traveling.
» » » Read more!

Enter to win a SIGNED copy of Suicide Bombers: Foot Soldiers of the Terrorist Movement, a book by Elaine Landau. All you have to do is visit http://www.elainelandau.com and then e-mail me at kim@yabookscentral.com and tell me…where was the author's favorite research trip (Hint: look for the Meet Elaine page)?

About the author: Award winning author Elaine Landau is a highly acclaimed author of over 300 nonfiction books. She has written on such subjects as earth science, the supernatural, planets, dinosaurs, ancient civilizations, ecology and a broad range of contemporary issues. Ms. Landau is unique in that she writes for young people from first grade through high school and equally enjoys speaking to her readers at all these different grade levels.

Get an extra entry in any of the February Giveaways! Whoo-hoo! The giveaways are for The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz, and The Best Thing by Jennifer Anna, and a Cecilpalooza Prize Pack. All you gotta do is send Kimberly an email at kim@yabookscentral.com with the subject line: "Extra Entry: [Name of giveaway]" for each giveaway that you wish an extra entry in (and yeah, I know it is kind of a pain to do it for each one, but that's the easiest way for me to separate them into the different contest folders in Outlook).

Please note that these are "extra" entries, which means you need to enter the contest at least once the normal way too. Which you should anyway, since then you'll have two entries instead of one...

Curious as to some of my all-time favorites? Check out the YA Books Goddess Picks (it's a little mini-Amazon store with links & descriptions of my fav books). All sales (as with the other Amazon links on the site) go directly to supporting the website.

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