Tag: YA lit

So Many YA Books!

ByRachel February 2, 2010 5 Comments
The size of my reading que approaches unbelievable lengths this week. I'm still trying to finish PURE by Terra Elan McVoy--I started this one primarily out of curiosity, to see how an author would handle the Christian faith in a mainstream YA novel about sex and friendship. My search for further volumes of Tanith Lee's CLAIDI JOURNALS turned up empty. Oh, I found them at the library all right,...

Trekking Through the Rockies

ByRachel October 5, 2009 9 Comments
I just finished up my long trek to Colorado for the inaugural year of the Sirens conference, and boy oh boy was it a week of adventure! It was an exercise in socializing, networking, intellectualizing...and survival. The altitude alone took some endurance. Crammed into the car with my husband and parents (our luggage practically spring-loaded the trunk), we made the ear-popping climb to Vail, CO,...

Captivity: The Inevitable Turnoff

ByRachel September 21, 2009 0 Comments
I'm about two-thirds through THE WARRIOR HEIR and enjoying it pretty well. The middle dragged a bit, and for awhile my attention flagged. In fact, I almost lost interest in the thing and stopped reading entirely. Here's why. *spoilers!* Teenage warrior Jack is on the run from two wizarding Houses, the Reds and the Whites, both of whom wish to catch him and force him to participate in the...

Dead Characters

ByRachel September 15, 2009 3 Comments
I'm reading a YA fantasy series (I won't say which one to avoid spoilers) and one of the two main characters died suddenly in the middle of the second book (it's a four-book series). It's a rather disorienting sensation. In the realm of fantasy and adventure, most main characters make it to the end, or at least until the final battle. I can't tell if it's upsetting or refreshing to have someone...

Happy Endings Writing Contest

ByRachel September 8, 2009 6 Comments
I recently got in a discussion at Science Fiction and Fantasy Novelists about happy endings--are they cheesy? Unrealistic? Do you like them or find them trite? I won't delve into that argument here. Maybe I'll save it for a later post. But it did give me an idea for Up and Writing's very first ever contest.Ooooh. I want to hear your very best real-life happy ending. When did you fight the...