Book Recommendation: DIANA: PRINCESS OF THE AMAZONS by Shannon & Dean Hale, Victoria Ying (DC Zoom)

Happy launch day to DIANA: PRINCESS OF THE AMAZONS, the newest in the DC Zoom line of graphic novels for middle graders. Written by Shannon & Dean Hale and illustrated by Victoria Ying. Thanks to Michele Wells at DC Kids for sending me a copy!

For more of my book collages, feel free to browse my BookADay Padlet as well as my BookADay and Book Recommendation archives. I read a lot more books than I have time to post, especially now that I've joined the Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge!

COUNTING BIRDS by Heidi E.Y. Stemple and Clover Robin (Seagrass Press)

Above: My #BookADay post about COUNTING BIRDS: The Idea That Helped Save Our Feathered Friends, written by Heidi E.Y. Stemple and illustrated by Clover Robin (Seagrass Press, 2018). I was inspired to add some fan art!

**BOOK GIVEAWAY!** The publisher is giving away a copy of this book! Just retweet my post; a randomly picked winner will receive the book from the publisher (open worldwide).

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More info: Donalyn Miller's #BookADay Challenge - My #BookADay Archives (also see my visual #BookADay archive on Padlet, Flickr and Pinterest).

HEARTS UNBROKEN by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, 2018)

Catching up with some of my favourite #BookAday reads over the past few months, starting with HEARTS UNBROKEN by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, Oct. 2018). Side note: if you're not already, you need to follow Cynthia's wonderful blog, Cynsations.

You can find out more about HEARTS UNBROKEN here.

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More info: Donalyn Miller's #BookADay Challenge - My #BookADay Archives (also see my visual #BookADay archive on Padlet, Flickr and Pinterest).

HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE by Josh Funk and Sara Palacios - Highly recommended!

If you don't have time to read the rest of my post, that's fine. Here's a one sentence summary: I love everything about HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE by Josh Funk and Sara Palacios, and I can't wait until it launches from Viking Books For Young Readers and Girls Who Code on May 15, 2018!

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Happy launch day to FAIRY SPELL: How Two Girls Convinced The World That Fairies Are Real - by Marc Tyler Nobleman and Eliza Wheeler (Clarion/HMH)

More info about FAIRY SPELL: How Two Girls Convinced The World That Fairies Are Real by Marc Nobleman and Eliza Wheeler on the HMH site.

More info: Donalyn Miller's Book-A-Day Challenge | Archives of my #BookADay posts. 

THE MAGIC WORDS: Writing Great Books For Children and Young Adults

I rarely post about books on the craft of writing because there are so many good ones, and I was also being inundated by requests from publicists and authors to review their books for Inkygirl readers. To reiterate: I lack the time or inclination to be an official book reviewer, so please do NOT put me back on your lists. Thank you. :-)

I do, however, sometimes post about books I like, and I had to post very briefly about THE MAGIC WORDS: Writing Great Books For Children and Young Adults by Cheryl B. Klein (W.W. Norton).

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"Read big and WRITE." Advice for young writers from Danielle Younge-Ullman (EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IS NOT RUINED)

 

I recently finished EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IS NOT RUINED by Danielle Younge-Ullman and adored it. I'm not surprised it's garnered so many rave reviews as well as being a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award. I've always been a fan of survival-type stories, and Danielle's YA novel combines this with beautiful writing as well as a complex and entirely believable main character. I loved that Ingrid had a musical background, her complicated relationship with her mother, how her character gradually develops throughout the book. Highly recommended.

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THE SECRET LIFE OF LINCOLN JONES by Wendelin Van Draanen (Knopf)

I recently read THE SECRET LIFE OF LINCOLN JONES by Wendelin Van Draanen, which launches today from Knopf Books For Young Readers. Thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator is 11-year-old Lincoln, who keeps secrets in his notebook. His voice is fresh, funny and I love how he sees the world. 

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CLARA HUMBLE AND THE NOT-SO-SUPER POWERS by Anna Humphrey, illustrated by Lisa Cinar

CLARA HUMBLE AND THE NOT-SO-SUPER POWERS is the first novel in a fun new middle-grade series written by Anna Humphrey and illustrated by Lisa Cinar, coming out from Owl Kids this week.

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Why I Love SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS! Plus Three Questions with Marcie Colleen

Just read the first two books in Marcie Colleen's debut chapter book series, SUPER HAPPY PARTY BEARS (just launched from Imprint/Macmillan) Omigosh, I am in love with these books. Here are just a few reasons:

- So many laugh-aloud moments, for both kids AND adults. What I especially loved: the humor aimed at adults is NOT the "nudge nudge wink wink, we gro

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#BookADay: BEWARE THAT GIRL by Teresa Toten (Doubleday Canada)

If you are looking for a great summer read (and esp if you enjoyed GONE GIRL or WE WERE LIARS), I *strongly* encourage you to get a copy of psychological thriller BEWARE THAT GIRL by Teresa Toten (Doubleday Canada). Don't start reading it at night, because you will be up waaaaayy too late. Love the dark edge and unpredictability (you THINK you know the implication of the title...), the mystery within mystery, the satisfying conclusion. For teen and above.

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#BookADay: MY LIFE BEFORE ME by Norah McClintock (Orca)

Just finished MY LIFE BEFORE ME by Norah McClintock (Orca Book Publishers, 2015). Inspired by a talk at CANSCAIP by Norah and some of the other SECRETS authors, I bought the whole set of SECRETS books last year. I was intrigued by the premise and also liked the fact that each of these YA books is standalone. I was also inspired to do a bit of fan art (see attached image).

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ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES by Jennifer Niven: funny, sweet and heartbreaking

I finished reading Jennifer Niven's ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES on the flight home from Chattanooga. Tears were involved. Such amazing writing, so many truths, humor and heartbreak. The characters and story still haunt me, but in a good way. Highly recommended.

Added: Ooo, and Jennifer just gave a sneak peek of her new book, HOLDING UP THE UNIVERSE.

THE DIABOLIC by S.J. Kincaid: Standalone, action-adventure thriller launching this Nov/2016

Wow, loved S.J. Kincaid's THE DIABOLIC so much. I strongly recommend this standalone action-adventure thriller, especially if you're a fan of Erin Bow's THE SCORPION RULES. Fantastic world-building and character relationships.

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The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Just finished THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, loved it. This  historical fiction novel for middle grade is such a satisfying read, full of adventure and heartbreak and compassion. I loved the characters in this book SO MUCH, and desperately want a sequel.

I confess that I held off reading this book because its premise sounded too depressing but I am soooooooooo glad that I got over this and strongly encourage others who have held off for the same reason to get over it as well. Highly recommended.

Find out more about Kimberly Brubaker Bradley at her website.

More about the book on the Penguin Random House site.

Graphic novel love: SUNNY SIDE UP by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

Not only is SUNNY SIDE UP a wonderful graphic novel for middle grade, but you can also find out tons of behind-the-scenes info about how it was made in THE YARN. I met Jenni Holm at NerdCampMI earlier this year and found her super-friendly and down-to-earth. 

Found out more about Jenni at JenniferHolm.com, about Matthew at MatthewHolm.net and SUNNY SIDE UP at Scholastic.

THE SCORPION RULES by Erin Bow (Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster)

I've been a fan of dystopian YA long before it became a trend, and confess I had been turned off the genre because of so many jumping on the bandwagon. THE SCORPION RULES by Erin Bow (Margaret K. McElderry/Simon & Schuster) however, has such original and multi-layered world-building plus I find the main antagonist (Talis) so fascinating that I can't WAIT for the next book in the series. THE SCORPION RULES is a breath of fresh air for fans of dystopian YA.

Find out more about the book on the Simon & Schuster website and on Erin Bow's website.

Reading Journal: ROLLER GIRL by Victoria Jamieson

CRUSH. CANDY. CORPSE. by Sylvia McNicholl (Lorimer)

For more info about Sylvia McNicoll, see SylviaMcNicoll.com.

AWKWARD by Svetlana Chmakova needs to be in every school library

Just finished AWKWARD, an absolutely wonderful middle grade graphic novel by Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press/Hachette, 2015). Omigosh, this needs to be in every school library. Why? Because it Svetlana does SUCH a great job at capturing the awkwardness of middle school personal interactions, especially for the insecure and shy. I wish this book had been around when I was that age, because it would have inspired me to take more risks, to not be so afraid of making mistakes when it came to social situations.

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