Saturday, March 10, 2012

The Teen Menu

YA News

One of the best books I've read in recent years is Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief. So it's cool news that Fox 2000 is set to begin production on a movie version this summer. Deadline.com recently reported that director Brian Percival (Downton Abbey) will direct the film.

We are a mere 13 days away from the opening of The Hunger Games in theaters. I suspect it is going to have a huge opening weekend box office take. The artists on the movie's soundtrack were recently revealed along with the video of "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift with The Civil Wars. Among the other artists featured are Maroon 5, The Decemberists, Miranda Lambert, Kid Cudi, and several others.

More photos from the film were recently featured on the Entertainment Weekly website. Check them out here.

And here's a cool clip in which Katniss begins to impress the Capitol bigwigs with her archery skills.

In non-Hunger Games news, Austin Butler has been cast to play male lead Sebastian Kydd in The CW's television adaptation of The Carrie Diaries. The book and show chronicle the teen years of Carrie Bradshaw of Sex in the City fame. I'll have to check this out because it's set in the '80s, and that's when I was in high school. I wonder if parachute pants will make an appearance. :)

The Pottermore site from J.K. Rowling, which will sell electronic and audio versions of the Harry Potter books, will be out of beta testing and debut to everyone in early April.

YA Review

I realized recently while going through a list of the books I read in 2011 that I read a YA at the end of the year that I neglected to review here. Ally Condie's Crossed is the second in the trilogy that began with Matched. The series is set in a dystopian world, one in which the Society chooses everything for all its citizens (jobs, clothing, what people can read and do, even who one is to marry aka their match). The Society does this in exchange for safety. But the question central to this trilogy is whether guaranteed safety is worth giving up one's ability to choose. The books' central character, Cassia, has come to believe that choice is more important, including her choice to love Ky instead of Xander, the boy the Society has chosen for her who also happens to be her best friend.

Cassia's struggle is made more difficult by the fact that Xander is her dear friend, and had she not fallen for Ky she could probably be happy with Xander. But events in Matched have sent Ky to the outer reaches of the Society, and Cassia spends a good bit of Crossed moving from one work station to another in attempt to eventually get transferred to the area where she believes Ky to be. Even when they are eventually reunited, there is no time to rejoice. They're on the run, fleeing the Society and seeking out two different groups -- one a group of farmers that live in the canyons that Ky heard about as a child before his parents' deaths, another a group of rebels whose aim is to fight the Society and what it stands for.

Reached, the final book in the trilogy, is set to release in November. I'm curious to see how Condie wraps up the story and what will be the eventual fate for Cassia, Ky, Xander and the Society.
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Pardon me for a bit of self-promo. I just wanted to announce that my new paranormal YA novel, White Witch, is now available from Bell Bridge Books. It's the first in the Coven trilogy about Jax Pherson, who flees her dark witch coven in pursuit of a normal teenage life. This book, originally titled Coven, won RWA's Golden Heart award in the Young Adult category in 2007.

15 comments:

  1. I am so excited that you mentioned The Book Thief. It is one of my favorite books of all time. I'm so happy they're making a movie of it. And I love Downton Abbey so I'm glad the same director is involved in that project. I also loved The Hunger Games and can't wait for the movie. Great report and congratulations on the new release.

    Marilyn Baron

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    1. Hey, Marilyn. The Book Thief was so good. Good story and the writing and language was beautiful.

      I'm going to start watching Downtown Abbey soon since so many people I know love it.

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  2. I had to stop watching clips for THE HUNGER GAMES. I need to be patient & wait. I have not read THE BOOK THIEF yet. I must, before the movie.

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    1. I can't seem to stop myself watching every little thing that comes out about it. Only two more weeks!

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  3. Wow! Lots of great news this month! First, congratulations on the release of WHITE WITCH! A new book from you, Trish, is always good news! :)

    I think The Book Thief will be another huge film, especially with such a talented director at the helm. I'll be watching for this one.

    Crossed, Matched and Reached sounds like a trilogy that's right up my alley. Thanks for bringing them to our attention.

    A bit of news from my little town: I found out this week that an empty complex of buildings that was formerly a textile plant has been sold and is going to be turned into a state-of-the-art movie studio. One of the owners said they are already being contacted by top Hollywood directors who want to use the site for future movies. You can imagine the buzz that's causing around here!

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    1. Thanks, PJ. That's really cool about the movie studio. One of my bucket list things is to have some little bit/extra role in a movie or TV show.

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  4. Trish, congratulations on the release of White Witch! It sounds amazing and the cover is gorgeous. And you got a cover quote from Sherrilyn...awesome!

    As you know, I've not read the Hunger Games books but am really looking forward to the movies. They look so good!

    Thanks for the update on the Pottermore site.

    And I'm laughing about your parachute pants comment. Maybe they'll have tight-rolled jeans and jelly bracelets, too. LOL! I'm sure big hair will prevail. ;-)

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    1. LOL on the jelly bracelets. We'll have to break out the Aqua Net and big '80s hair too. :)

      Yes, Sherri was so sweet to offer me a quote.

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  5. Trish, my oldest son read THE BOOK THIEF several years ago in school---sounds like it will make a great film.

    I love the cover of CROSSED! Methinks I'll need to add that to my list, too. And as for THE HUNGER GAMES, my daughter is beside herself waiting for the movie. LOL She devoured the entire series and can't wait to see it all unfold on the big screen. They filmed a lot of it here in NC, so that's pretty cool.

    Ooooh, look at your new book! I will most definitely be reading that. Love the title, love the plot, love the cover! Winner all around! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Gannon! I have a friend whose son us an extra in The Hunger Games. I'm so jealous!

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  6. Trish, congrats on the release of White Witch! Great summaries!

    We're looking forward to Hunger Games, too.

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  7. Your book sounds really interesting. I enjoy reading YA books sometimes

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    1. Thanks, Quilt Lady. There is such a wonderful variety in YA that they can be enjoyed by readers of all ages.

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  8. Thanks for the links, I think. They actually turned into a time suck, even if it was an interesting one. As it turns our, they filmed it not that far from where we live. It would have been interesting watching it being filmed, but I have seen movies and TV shows being filmed before and for the most part, it is as exciting as watching paint dry. Hours of set-up, preparations, waiting around, run throughs with stand-ins, and a few minutes of excitement - then hyou start all over again.

    I am really going to miss being the children's librarian. We had such fun events leading up to the premier of films based on YA books. We would have an opening day party and all go to the movie together, often dressed as characters in the movie.

    The books you have mentioned above are all good examples of the variety and quality of the books out there for teens. Many make good adult reading too. Congratulations on the release of WHITE WITCH.

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