Jack Russel sitting
Gray Pitbull sitting
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Young Adult Fiction Pick and Mix 8/3/13 Edition and MY CHEMICAL MOUNTAIN Giveaway

by Martina Boone

Announcements

Hi Everyone! Hope you all had an amazing week. Was it just me, or did it seem even shorter than most weeks?
Don’t forget the August First Five Pages Workshop with guest mentor Sherry Ficklin will open for entries at noon today! Get the rules and information here.
I’m working on nailing the shape of my second book and preparing to get edits back from my wonderful editor. Plus I’m moving my daughter, possibly/probably having gallbladder surgery, trying to close out a slew of clients, and prepping for the Breakout Novel Workshop with Donald Maass. Basically, I’m going to be up to my eyeballs for the next few weeks, so apologies in advance if I get behind on leaving comments on your blogs or responding to comments here. As you may or may not know, I do my blog reading through Feedly now, and that’s a lot faster than visiting blogs individually, but it doesn’t make it easy for me to comment as frequently as I’d like. Please bear with me. I’ll be doing my best to still keep up!!!!!

Thought for the Week


Young Adult Novel of the Week


  Buy on Amazon | Buy on IndieBound | Add to Goodreads Shelf

Sarah Dessen is a genius at creating characters so genuine and warm, you can’t help but fall in love with them. Emaline is another great example. She’s relatable, layered, and vivid. I loved the romantic elements in this one, too. The only thing that would have made this better is being out on a beach somewhere reading it with a fruity tropical drink.


* * *

I also LOVED:




Pre-Order from Amazon | Pre-Order IndieBound | View on Goodreads
I was a little wary, when I realized this was based on the Perspehone myth, that it was going to be too familiar to be truly gripping. But Bree Despain pulls it off! Her world is complex and new, and full of vivid characters we haven’t met before. Characters I love! The set up is fresh, and I was sucked in from the very first page. Even though I was lucky enough to get the ARC, I will definitely be buying the book when it comes out next spring! 



* * *


Young Adult Giveaway  

Complete the form below to win a copy of MY CHEMICAL MOUNTAIN by Corinna Vacco

Purchase on Amazon | Buy on IndieBound | Add to Goodreads Shelf

Rocked by his father’s recent death and his mother’s sudden compulsion to overeat, Jason lashes out by breaking into the abandoned mills and factories that plague his run-down town. Always by his side are his two best friends, Charlie, a fearless thrill junkie, and Cornpup, a geek inventor whose back is covered with cysts. The boys rage against the noxious pollution that suffocates their town and despise those responsible for it; at the same time, they embrace the danger of their industrial wasteland and boast about living on the edge. 


   Then on a night the boys vandalize one of the mills,  Jason makes a costly mistake–and unwittingly becomes a catalyst for change. In a town like his, change should be a good thing. There’s only one problem: change is what Jason fears most of all.

And Here Is the Winner


The winner of last week’s PARADOX by A.J. Paquette: ERIKA 

Buy on Amazon | Buy on IndieBound | View on Goodreads

 Fans of James Dashner’s Maze Runner series will love this postapocalyptic adventure about a girl who must survive an alien planet in order to save the Earth.


   Ana only knows her name because of the tag she finds pinned to her jumpsuit. Waking in the featureless compartment of a rocket ship, she opens the hatch to discover that she has landed on a barren alien world. Instructions in her pocket tell her to observe and to survive, no doubt with help from the wicked-looking knives she carries on her belt. But to what purpose?


   Meeting up with three other teens–one boy seems strangely familiar–Ana treks across the inhospitable landscape, occasionally encountering odd twists of light that carry glimpses of people back on Earth. They’re working on some sort of problem, and the situation is critical. What is the connection between Ana’s mission on this planet and the crisis back on Earth, and how is she supposed to figure out the answer when she can’t remember anything?

* * *

Young Adult Reader of the Week:   

Victoria

She loves reading books and watching movies. Her favorite books are still the Twilight series, but she enjoys reading paranormal, ya, romance, and some horror. She loves mixing books from a variety of different genres into her reading, and loves spending hours just reading a book.
        
* Want to be the reader of the week next week? Leave a comment on our Thursday or Friday posts! 


  

Young Adult Writer/Blogger of the Week: 


Rosi of The Write Stuff 

Rosi writes stories, poems, and articles for children, as well as children’s novels. She spent many years teaching high school English and is in love with words, books, theatre, and related subjects.

She regularly reviews children’s and young adult books for the San Francisco and Sacramento Book Reviews.
She regularly runs reviews and giveaways on her blog. Here are just a couple to get you started:

Whistling Past the Graveyard and Princess Academy – two reviews and one giveaway
The Boxcar Children Beginning — Review and a Giveaway

Head over to The Write Stuff

* Want to be the blogger of the week next week? Leave a comment. I’ll pick from among the bloggers who leave comments here on the blog today through Wednesday.

Writing Tip of the Week

       
Write to explore what you’re afraid of:

    

More Writing Tips


Writing Brain Fuel     

         

Great infographic that sums up a lot of the great information in Lisa Cron’s brilliant WIRED FOR STORY


More Writing Inspiration


Getting Published


Publishing News and Trends                         


Just for Smiles

              
What About You?                     


What are you reading? Writing? Have any quotes or thoughts you’d like to share? Did you find or write any book reviews or blog posts you want to let people know about?

Martina Boone

Martina Boone is the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, starting with COMPULSION from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse and the Celtic Legends Collection of novels set in Scotland, Cornwall, and Ireland beginning with LAKE OF DESTINY. She’s passionate about improving lives through literacy and the love of books, and she runs the Compulsion For Reading program to distribute books to underserved schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, Shetland Sheepdog Phinney, and Zoey the lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction with a hint of magic set in small towns and beautiful places. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Post © Martina Boone and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Posted: Aug 3, 2013
Category: Imported from AYAP
Tags: Craft of Writing | Inspiration for Writers | Literary Agents | YA Fiction Giveaways

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p> <p>Your main character needs to be:<br /> • Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br /> • Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br /> • Active enough to drive the story<br /> • Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p> <p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />
The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p> <p>But your theme needs to be:<br /> • Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br /> • Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br /> • Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br /> • Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p> <p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />
The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p> <p>In general, your plot should:<br /> • Hook readers fast<br /> • Build tension that a child can follow<br /> • Create page turns that feel natural<br /> • Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p> <p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.
The Arms of your story are the side characters.
The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p> <p>Your setting should:<br /> • Make your character's world feel real<br /> • Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br /> • Connect different scenes and moments organically<br /> • Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p> <p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black. 

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