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YA Shelfies: the Year Ahead
Is there a more exciting feeling than opening the first page of a new book?
A page filled with promise, with the sense of a beginning, a fresh start – and, above all, the unknown. Who knows what you might find as you delve in; fabulous new worlds, new places filled with new sights, new stories, new characters – or old characters, doing new things, new feelings, new everythings.
Here on the YA Shelfies, we’re similarly imbued with the sense of a brilliant new beginning for the year ahead. What will 2017 bring? Well, there’s one thing we know for definite – there’s something for everyone in our 2017 YA. And to whet your appetites, we’re delighted to give you a sneak peak of the stories that we’re extraordinarily proud to be sending out into the world…
Unconventional by Maggie Harcourt
What do you get if you mix conventions, a heart-stoppingly brilliant
love story, and a big old dollop of fandom? Unconventional! If you’re a
fan of Rainbow Rowell, if you’ve ever visited a convention, if you’ve ever been
a fan of someone, anyone, or if you’ve ever fallen in love – with a fictional
character, or a real person – Unconventional is most definitely the UKYA
romance to look out for this Valentine’s Day. @MaggieHarcourt
Black Moon by LA Weatherly
The epic Broken trilogy is drawing to a close in March. With more twists, intrigue,
action and passion than ever before, all eyes are on Amity, as the fate
of the world as she knows it rests on her shoulders. Are you Team Ingo or Team
Collie? Are you ready for Black Moon? There’s only one way to find out… @LA_Weatherly
After the Fire by Will Hill
What would you do if your whole world was a lie? asks this
astonishing novel, which follows seventeen-year-old Moonbeam’s journey after
she finds herself free of the religious cult which she grew up in. Exploring
the provocative and universal questions of faith, truth and identity, as well as
hope, love and family – this is the stunning, haunting story of one girl’s fight to
find herself after everything she’s ever known falls apart. It’s
totally unputdownable, and if you’re wondering what on earth you’re
going to be reading on your summer holiday this year,
look no further. @WillHillAuthor
The Extinction Trials by Susan Wilson
If Katniss Everdeen ever had to face vicious
dinosaurs, she could take some tips from Stormchaser Knux, who storms into
death-defying action in The Extinction Trials. All Storm wants to do is escape her starved, grey
life. And all Lincoln wants to do is save
his dying sister. Their only chance is to join an expedition to a deadly
country to steal dinosaur eggs. If they succeed, their reward is a new life
filled with riches. But in a land full of monsters – both human and reptilian –
only the ruthless will survive. The Extinction Trials are about to begin… @SusanWilsonBook
A hugely exciting new novel from Holly Bourne
Holly Bourne, the bestselling author of The Spinster Club trilogy,
is back with a top-secret new novel. We can’t tell you anything more as yet,
but there’ll be lots of exciting news about
it over the next few months… What I can say at this point, however, is that it’s really bloody great. Well, would you expect anything less from the incredible
Ms Bourne? @Holly_BourneYA
What a year to look forward to! As always, the YA Shelfies will be here every step of the way with all sorts of exclusive content, behind-the-scenes previews of covers and free chapters, as well as our news and views about the YA world, so check back to find out more.
And, if this wasn’t enough, there’s an exclusive Usborne YA newsletter which
you can sign up to here. With giveaways, deals and all sorts of top-notch info,
it’s a monthly round-up of everything YA and definitely worth a read.
So here’s to there being a lot of first pages in 2017… Happy reading, readers! @Walker_Becky
With exactly TWO WEEKS TO GO until The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander is out in the wild, there’s already a whole lot of love going round for it…
Read the first chapter and find out more here!
SHELFIE SEVEN: Mel Darbon, it’s time to express yourshelf!
Mel Darbon is the author of the stunningly beautiful debut YA novel Rosie Loves Jack, a love story from a unique perspective that will make you look at the world in a different way. We put her on the spot with our Shelfie Seven questions!
1. Which book first hooked you into reading?
I was hooked into reading at a very young age and loved the
story of Chicken Little, a folk tale about a chicken that believes the world is
coming to an end. But I think the book
that sticks with me more than any other is The Lion, the Witch and the
Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis. When I first read it I was transported to a magical
world that I wanted to be part of. It showed me what stories could do and how
they could take you out of your own life into a completely different
one.
2. Where is your favourite place to read?
I have an antique leather armchair with a velvet seat by the
side of our old stone fireplace. Behind it is a vintage theatre light to see
by. In the winter I have a log fire burning and curl up in my chair to
read.
3. You’re about to embark on a mission to Mars but can only
take one book; what do you pack?
I think it would have to be The Inheritors by
William Golding, my all time favourite book. I was always fascinated by the
Neanderthals and this book is such a beautifully realized tale of their last
days. I still cry at the ending and every time I read it I find something new
to wonder at.
4. If Rosie Loves Jack was going to be made into a film,
who’s your dream director? Who gets to be Rosie and Jack?
My director would have to be Ken Loach because he is, in my
opinion, the best there is for producing powerful, thought-provoking films
about ordinary people and their dilemmas.
I would love an actress called Sarah Gordy to play
Rosie, as she is a great actress who would fit the part perfectly - and even
has the same colour hair as my character! Sarah was recently honoured with an
MBE for her services to the arts and people with disabilities.
I would like Jack to be played by an undiscovered actor with learning disabilities, so would set out to find one by opening up auditions all over the country.
5. You’re booking a holiday to a literary location, real or
fantastical. Where do you go?
I’d like to go back about three hundred thousand years ago
to William Golding’s world of The Inheritors and see a place untouched
by by the modern world and observe Neanderthal man and all the creatures that
existed during that period. Well, as long as I didn’t end up as dinner!
6.You’re going away on a writer’s retreat and the cottage
sleeps four - who’s coming with you?
Oh goodness - how to choose? I think I’d take Ken Kesey who wrote One
Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest to hear about his research on the human mind in all its complexities, so that I could
refer to it for one of my books. I’d like to take Brian Conaghan, author of When
Mr Dog Bites and The Bombs That Brought us Together, because he could give
me help writing dark and difficult topics with humour and humanity, but
would also keep us all entertained with his wonderful repartee. I’d like
to invite Emily Bronte to discuss Wuthering Heights, so
that hopefully I would be able to write a love story one day with such passion
and intensity. And finally I’d have to invite William Golding, author of The Inheritors. Mind you, I might have
to change my mind about him because I probably wouldn’t get any of my own
writing done as I’d be too busy listening to him!
7. You can travel back in time and give sixteen-year-old-you
a book you’ve read recently; what do you choose?
It would have to be a Holly Bourne - Am I Normal Yet? We
didn’t have books like this when I was a teenager and I think it would have
been fantastic to have stories that are a real comfort during the difficult
time of adolescence that deal with tough issues such as mental health,
friendship and feminism - and are as funny as they are heart-rending.
Rosie Loves Jack is out now, and if you commute in London, keep an eye out this Thursday as it may appear on a train near you!
Zodiac Advent Calendar Day 1: What the signs remind me of (winter/Christmas edition)
- Aries: having crazy snowball-fights or building a snowman, snowflakes trapped in your hair or lashes, taking a walk through the christmasy decorated city, the feeling of warmth streaming through your body when you come home after a long and cold day
- Taurus: baking christmas cookies, hot chocolate, misty breath, warm sweaters, the smell of cinnamon, lighting all the christmas candles in the house, decorating the living room, christmas dinner with the whole family
- Gemini: lighting the christmas tree for the first time, breathing in the cold and cleansing winter air, the excitement you feel when you wake up to see the first snow of the year, stuffing your belly with christmas treats, knitted socks
- Cancer: christmas shopping, big scarves and oversized coats, writing christmas cards, long walks on the snow-covered field, the sound of boots walking on the snowy street, gingerbread men, candy canes
- Leo: christmas markets, staying in with your best friends, ice skating, singing christmas songs at the top of your lungs, hundreds of blankets and pillows, chimneys, the sound of the snow pusher passing by, making snow angels
- Virgo: reading christmas novels and stories in the candlelight, searching for the right christmas tree, mulled wine, wearing your long pyjamas all day, chocolate santas, watching old fairy tale movies on tv
- Libra: wrapping and unwrapping christmas presents, the excitement you feel when someone is about to open your present, the way snow is glistening in the sun, snow-powdered forests, christmas lights everywhere, different coloured baubles, christmas commercials
- Scorpio: watching my favourite christmas movies from childhood all over again, foggy winter mornings, the colour burgundy, advent calendars, oranges, icicles hanging from the gutter, driving through a snowstorm in the evening
- Sagittarius: secret santa, creating a christmas playlist, santa hats, nutcrackers, reindeers everywhere, winter hikes with your loved ones, cuddly evenings on the couch, sleigh rides, glittery decoration, silver and gold
- Capricorn: roasted chestnuts, St. Nicholas day, gingerbread houses, the smell of pine, red noses and rosy cheeks, the way christmas presents look under the tree, watching The Grinch, heavy perfume, kissing under the mistletoe, coming home for Christmas
- Aquarius: sitting on the windowsill watching the snow fall, drinking tea, the way trees look without their leaves (a little bit creepy but strangely beautiful), baked apple, warm baths, the star on top of the Christmas tree
- Pisces: listening to Frank Sinatra's voice singing Christmas songs half asleep, being wrapped in blankets, christmas jumpers, cinnamon flavoured popcorn, cosy slippers, genuine anticipation, scented candles, turtlenecks
joshtheblogger asked:
Hi! I love Usborne books and I think the books you publish are amazing. I'm a massive fan of Holly Bourne's titles especially, but for years I've loved Usborne titles! As a book blogger, I love reading and reviewing books and helping to generate discussions around them. I just wanted to know: do you have a blogger list I could be added to or could work to be added to? Like I said I love the books you publish, and I'd love to be able to connect with them more! Thank you very much!
Thank you so much for your lovely message! *beams* We shall add you to our blogger list for potential future reviews and features. In the meantime, if you have any ideas for posts you might like to contribute, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
And that goes for all you YA book tumblrs x
MEET MATT KILLEEN AT YALC
2-4 PM SIGNING AT YALC
4PM PANEL With Ed McDonald, Joanne Harris, Melinda Salisbury, Sarah Maria Griffin, chatting Frankenstein and the portrayal of MONSTERS in YA.
Can you tell us about your book and who we will be meeting? Orphan Monster Spy is set at the outbreak of World War Two. Sarah, a German Jewish girl, is orphaned in an escape attempt but runs into a British agent. He recognises her special skills - she’s smart, a gifted athlete and a cunning actress - but critically, she’s blonde and blue-eyed. He sends her undercover in a school for the daughters of elite Nazis so she can infiltrate the estate of a reclusive nuclear scientist… but the school is full of human monsters and the mission becomes a living nightmare.
How important was it for you to have such a brave female character such as Sarah? She arrived in my brain pretty much fully formed, whether I liked it or not, so she made herself important… and she was inspired by real women like SOE agent Violette Szabo. It was more important to me that she was well written and multi-dimensional, rather than strong, brave or likeable. Female protagonists don’t have to be those things to be worthwhile. If she is, that’s great but a bit incidental… and Sarah herself wouldn’t give a hoot. Is it important to have well written female protagonists? Absolutely. Representation is invaluable and let’s face it, there’s no shortage of male (and white and straight) heroes in fiction, more than enough to go around. They don’t tend to be very interesting. They’re always starting from a position of privilege in one way or another.
How important do you thing it is for YA fiction to draw attention to big historical events such as the Second World War? No one should allow themselves to think that the Holocaust and the Third Reich couldn’t happen again. From Rwanda to the last US Presidential Election, the same events and themes constantly recur. The more you know about how they play out, the more likely you are to recognise and stop them. I grew up in a world that venerated the tales of WW2, and not always in the healthiest ways. But that did mean that I absorbed a huge amount of information and that did a lot of the groundwork for my later studies. Most children today are taught the Holocaust in school, but I wonder how much of that is “going in”? I know I spent far too many history lessons staring out the window or, on one occasion, asleep. Back in the 19th century, Lord Macaulay said, “history must be burned into the imagination before it can be received by the reason”. Sometimes you need to tell a story.
How important do you think it is for YA readers to be exposed to tricky subjects through books? Young adults and older children are largely resilient, thoughtful and capable of entering into a dialogue on most subjects. If it’s dealt with in the right way and isn’t prurient or exploitative - which is the truly tricky bit - I don’t think there’s anything you can’t discuss. Given that, why wouldn’t you want to touch on those things? It’s generally the important stuff.
What inspired you to write Orphan Monster Spy? How much research was involved? My mother’s best friend was German and as a child I had real problems squaring the lovely, pacifist people I knew with the war stories that made up the majority of the films, comics and TV programmes at the time. As I learned the details of the Holocaust that dichotomy grew more profound and disturbing. I’ve carried this horrified fascination ever since and a lot of the research for this book was built on that foundation. Going past the Violette Szabo memorial in Stockwell every week had me considering how young she was when she volunteered. I wasn’t that much more mature at 21 than I had been at 18 or 15… and Sarah was born. The fact that Stockwell was where Jean Charles de Menezes was killed - what happens when you let fear dictate action and policy - made the whole bus trip fertile creative ground.
What message, if any, do you want readers to take away after reading Orphan Monster Spy? No matter how insignificant you feel you are, resistance starts with one person. That’s how the world starts to change. So, stand up and change it.
How did you find the experience of publishing your debut book? Wonderful, terrifying, brilliant and nauseating - all at once. When the deal was announced I got emails from other published authors to check I was OK, because they know what an emotional roller-coaster it can be. It’s a very nice “problem” to have though and I’m in great hands. Most of the negative stuff is in my head.
Name three of your favourite books of all time. Very hard to choose three… Watership Down by Richard Adams takes some beating. It’s a deep and exciting story, beautifully written, with the power to delight and appal in equal measure. Most of the things I’ve ever learned about responsibility and leadership come from that book. Anne of Green Gables is a book I came to later in life as I explored all the things feminine in my teens. I feel head-over-heels in love with the tragical (sic) misadventures of Canada’s most famous orphan and her puffed sleeves. Anne (with an E) is one of my very favourite characters. The Phantom Tollbooth is a work of genius. Every step of Milo’s quest to rescue the Princesses Rhyme & Reason is a delight, both intellectually and emotionally. It has one of the most terrifying demons ever created and has a great map. All fantasies need a good map.
We meet Rebecca from Taken Moons…
Hi Rebecca! Thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions about your literary candle company, Taken Moons. We just LOVE what you’re doing and couldn’t get enough of your The Extinction Trials candle, so we can’t wait to find out a little more about you!
Usborne YA: Tell us about yourself – how long have you been running Taken Moons? What made you start making candles, and most importantly why book-themed candles?!
Rebecca: Hi! I’m Rebecca, fangirl,
candlemaker and blogger of things (mostly books) and at the end of January this
year I started Taken Moons as a way to fulfil my need to be creative while
working in retail. Book-themed candles were the obvious choice for me because
books are one of my biggest passions, and I love getting to work with authors
to design things – it’s a fangirl’s dream come true.
Usborne YA: What goes into making your candles? What’s your favourite part?
Rebecca: So the process starts with an
idea, a character or a book. Scent matching comes next, which is my favourite
aspect of making candles. This is usually when I message an author and ask
if they have any ideas, or if I’ve read something in a book that sounds good I
just take that directly and mix the scent. I design the labels and order all
the ingredients, so the process takes a couple of weeks but the end result is
worth it.
UsborneYA: You made the coolest purple candle inspired by Storm in The Extinction Trials – why did you choose Storm to focus on? Are you always inspired by characters or does it depend on the book?
Rebecca: Storm was my favourite character in The Extinction Trials. She’s who I want to be in a lot of ways, like back in the day when I read The Hunger Games and wanted to be Katniss Everdeen. If there’s a symbol for the book, it’s Storm. I like to base candles on a character because it’s like I can put something of myself into the products - it’s a The Extinction Trials candle but it’s my favourite character; the same with my The Hunger Games candle, it’s Haymitch, and then my Jurassic Park candle is Ian Malcolm and so on.
UsborneYA: What’s next? Can you give us any tasters of what candles are in the pipeline? How can people get hold of your awesome literary-inspired wax creations?
Rebecca: I’m working on some Gothic literature candles right now. The Picture Of Dorian Gray is my favourite classic/gothic novel so it’s inspired a new range of candles that will include Dracula and The Raven. My Etsy shop is https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/takenmoons and if you use the code YASHELFIE20 you can get 20% off everything - including my Pride Month candle box!
UsborneYA: What’s your favourite YA series at the moment?
Rebecca: The Extinction Trials is my favourite for sure, I can’t wait for book 3 and I think the wait is going to be tough. I also really loved Everless by Sara Holland and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, so I can’t wait for the next books in those series either.
UsborneYA: Who was your first literary crush?
Rebecca: My first literary crush I
believe was Legolas from The Lord of the
Rings, which was only strengthened in the film adaptation when Orlando Bloom
was cast (obviously I was older then). I really think it’s an Elven thing - I
remember wanting to marry Legolas from about the age of 9 because he was my
hero and I hoped that marrying him would make me an elf too.
Thanks so much, Rebecca! We’re off to buy ourselves some gorgeous candles!
fall-out-book-nerd
