Writer for Young Adults
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken Disney-Hyperion, January 2016 Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy (Time Travel) Passage, n. i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes. ii. A journey by water; a voyage. iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time. In one devastating night, violin… Continue reading Book Review: Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Thank you for all your good wishes on my last post! It's been a whirlwind around here, full of classes and rearranging furniture and counting down the last few weeks before school. And I'm suddenly realizing that we only have 7 (7!) weeks left before the baby's due date. So while we've been accumulating books… Continue reading Sad Detectives
The book situation in our house has always been a bit...precarious, mostly thanks to my habit of acquiring more books than our shelves can hold. Josh keeps books, too, but he's much better about borrowing from the library and only holding onto those he receives as gifts. No, the problem is mainly due to me. There's… Continue reading Building a Little Library
A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers & Other Badass Girls edited by Jessica Spotswood Candlewick Press, March 2016 Genre: YA, Historical Fiction (with some Fantasy) From an impressive sisterhood of YA writers comes an edge-of-your-seat anthology of historical fiction and fantasy featuring a diverse array of daring heroines. Criss-cross America — on… Continue reading Book Review: A Tyranny of Petticoats edited by Jessica Spotswood
Gold is in the air this fall, and not just in the turning leaves. Two new YA westerns, Erin Bowman's Vengeance Road and Rae Carson's Walk on Earth a Stranger, send strong young women on the trail for gold in the 19th century. Vengeance Road is a straight-up western, chockfull of strong characters and fast-paced action. When… Continue reading Golden Girls
Just as I was starting school at the end of August, Libba Bray's long-awaited Lair of Dreams hit shelves. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of pretty much anything she writes, and The Diviners, a sprawling historical thriller set in the 1920s, set my expectations high for her new series. Luckily, Lair of Dreams delivers, delving into fascinating… Continue reading Lair of Dreams and the American Dream (Spoilers)
Writing about some of my favorite YA historicals got me thinking about my other favorite genre: historical fantasy. There's something so freeing and fun about a great fantasy romp through, say, an alternate London, where girls wield formidable magical powers and the dead come back to life. I've touched on a few YA historical fantasies in my… Continue reading (Some of) My Favorite Books: YA Historical Fantasy
I love Newport. It's one of my favorite things about living in Rhode Island: drive 45 minutes and you're in the middle of a gorgeous port city, filled with historic houses and fun restaurants and bracing sea air. When my sister visits in the spring or summer, we often try to fit in a trip to… Continue reading Afternoon Adventure: Newport, RI
A little over a week ago I spent a lovely afternoon drinking milkshakes and browsing my local indie bookstore with a good friend. (AKA one of the best ways to pass the time.) While we were aggressively perusing the YA section, she asked me about my favorite historical fiction titles. And while I had a few… Continue reading (Some of) My Favorite Books: YA Historical
In keeping with my study of historical fantasy, I just finished Brandon Sanderson's The Rithmatist, on Josh's suggestion. He's a huge Brandon Sanderson fan, and this YA novel sounded right up my alley. It was a lot of fun, with an intriguing world and compelling plot. But the book's attempt to integrate colonial American history within… Continue reading Responsibility in Writing Historical Fantasy
Abby Murphy 