Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Teen Menu

I'm guessing everyone is dragging a bit today with that lost hour of sleep last night. Why not take it easy today and kick back with a good book? Later in this post, I'll talk about this month's featured young adult book, but first up...the news.

YA News

A new image from the upcoming movie version of Ender's Game has been released. It features actress Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Ender's Battle School companion Petra Arkanian.

A new featurette about the upcoming movie The Host was recently released. It features commentary by author Stephenie Meyer and actress Saorise Ronan. The Host opens March 29. 

Did anyone see the movie version of Beautiful Creatures? I haven't had the opportunity yet, though I want to despite its poor showing at the box office. I'm wondering if there is beginning to be fatigue for paranormal YA-based movies. I still love them, but I'm curious what you all think.

YA Review

Next month will see the release of Inferno, the fourth book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Chronicles of Nick series. This series is different than many YA series because its main character, Nick Gautier, first appeared as an adult in Kenyon's popular Dark-Hunters adult paranormal series. He was a fan favorite and has a lot of interesting backstory, so Kenyon began Nick's story in the Infinity, book 1 of the Chronicles of Nick. She plans several books in this series, starting when Nick is 14 and culminating when the Chronicles of Nick storyline meets up with the Dark-Hunters storyline. At that point, Nick will have his own book as an adult in the Dark-Hunter series.

Nick Gautier is a snarky Cajun boy living in New Orleans' Ninth Ward pre-Hurricane Katrina when we first meet him. He lives with his mom Cherise, who had him when she was a teenager, and who has done whatever necessary to give her boy a better future than what's she's had as an adult. Nick is smart, so smart that he's on scholarship at a prestigious school. But as a scholarship kid who obviously doesn't have much money, he's the victim of bullying, and not just from the students. One night while he's out with some "friends," he makes a fateful decision that changes his life forever, catapulting him into a paranormal world he couldn't have ever imagined existed. One day he's worrying about being hungry and having to wear gosh-awful ugly shirts his mom gets him from a thrift store. The next, suddenly his world is full of vampires, demons and all manner of things that go bump in the night.

Nick is an awesome character, and readers love him because of his snarky attitude and his devotion to his mom. There have been times when I've been listening to the series on my iPod while out walking when I've started laughing out loud. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm unhinged. So I'm really looking forward to Inferno, which releases April 9. To learn more about the series and all the titles that have been released as well as Inferno, check out the Chronicles of Nick page on Kenyon's website.

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for another terrific update, Trish and especially for the review of Inferno. I wasn't aware that Kenyon was writing this series. I love the sound of it. I think it's something that both I and the teens in my life would enjoy reading.

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  2. Hi, Trish! I hope you were able to survive the lost hour of sleep. I acually feel good (we did yard work today), but tonight I might drop...after watching The Walking Dead, of course. ;-)

    Trish said: "I'm wondering if there is beginning to be fatigue for paranormal YA-based movies."

    You could be right, Trish. Or maybe they haven't done as much advertising for this one as compared to, say, The Hunger Games? I hope it does well. It looks good.

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  3. Andrea, we did yard work today too. It was so nice to be able to get outside and enjoy a taste of spring. Plus, it was good exercise. :)

    PJ, I think you'd like the Nick books.

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  4. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card has been a family favorite for years. Plus I gifted my daughter The Host at Christmas. I'm out of the loop because I didn't know that they were being made into movies.

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