Bite Me! YA Interview and Review

Bite Me!
Author: Melissa Francis
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Available at Indie Bound, Powells, Barnes & Noble.

SUMMARY: AJ Ashe isn’t your typical seventeen-year-old vampire—as if there is such a thing. Her ex-boyfriend—whom she’s still totally in love with—is now her stepbrother. A former classmate—who, um, she may or may not have turned into a vampire—is stalking her. And now, apparently, the fate of humankind lies in her little undead hands. Whatever happened to the good old days when all a vampire girl had to worry about was the occasional zit and hiding her taste for blood?

I bought Bite Me! on sale and was intrigued by the cover and the description, though I hadn't read anything about the author or the book previously. I really enjoyed the plot, the characters and the writing style. The main character A.J. is 17 and we learn in the first sentence that her mom is getting married. She likes the man who will be her stepfather, she loves her mom and she wants her mom to be happy. So what is the problem? She's been dating her brother-to-be for months and now they have to break it off. It's the right thing to do, but it's breaking A.J.s heart. Plus, their new blended family doesn't know everything about one another which makes it even more stressful. A.J., her mom and her sisters are vampires, and they can't tell anyone. Can you imagine?

I loved the main characters in Bite Me!, and the plot twists which kept me guessing. Who should A.J. trust? The reader isn't really sure until the end of the book reveals all. I thought the author captured the teen angst that makes high school a roller coaster of emotions. A.J. deals with issues such as jealousy, loyalty, friendship, love and fear. She learns that her actions have consequences, something that all of us deal with sooner or later.

Bite Me! has humor, action and romance. It's a fast, fun read for ages 14 or 15 and older. There are sexual situations, but no sex. I thought it was handled well by the author.

Mom notes: I loved the main character's mom, and their relationship. When A.J. was upset she ran straight to her mom, who as a vampire, wouldn't judge her and knew how to help her. A.J.s mom MADE the time to help, even at work. The issues A.J. has with a teacher and the consequences of NOT telling anyone about it were something that has happened to many kids, and unfortunately doesn't always have a good ending. It's an important lesson for kids to learn.

INTERVIEW WITH THE FABULOUS MEL
Melissa graciously answered my nosey questions, so I could share them with you during YA Week. Don't forget that every comment this week enters you for a chance to win Bite Me! and four other YA books.

I loved your book, especially A.J 's mother and their relationship. Why did you decide to make them so close, and not give them a "typical" teen/parents relationship?

Honestly, I hated the relationship I had with my mom growing up. No trust, always combative, etc. I don't have that relationship with my teens and decided that I can't be alone. So I put a lot of 'us' into the book.

Did you find writing YA different from writing adult fiction? Did you find yourself thinking about what you wanted teens to take away from your book?

YA isn't that different to me except the angst and melodrama is elevated a bit more. (because honestly, teens are nothing if not dramatic! LOL) I want kids to read, get lost in the story, imagine themselves as the main character, and come away satisfied. I want girls to understand that they are strong and wanted them to read a story about a heroine who, even though is very flawed and made lots of mistakes, was also strong enough to know she could rescue herself.

How the heck did you come up with the idea of a boy and girl who were dating finding out they were going to be brother and sister with almost no warning after dating so long?

Well, I always thought that could happen in real life and one day I just started really playing with the idea. And the more I thought of it, the more intrigued by it I became. How devastating would that be if you were a teen and in love for the first time? And wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am I had a story!

Thanks Mel:) Love Sucks! , Mel's next book, will be released on July 27, 2010. Be on the lookout for it this summer!

-You can visit Mel at her website here: http://www.haveyoubeenbitten.com/

-Download cell phone wallpapers in Bite Me! themes here: http://www.haveyoubeenbitten.com/downloads.html

~Moonsanity

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod

Eleventh Grade Burns
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod
Author: Heather Brewer
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Summary: Things have taken a darker turn for the half-human teenager with an appetite for blood. Joss, a vampire slayer and Vlad’s former friend, has moved back to Bathory. A mysterious and powerful new vampire, Dorian, appears with a shocking secret and an overwhelming desire to drink Vlad’s blood. And Vlad’s arch enemy, D’Ablo, has a sinister plan to eliminate Vlad once and for all. With death threatening from every angle, Vlad will have to use every ounce of his skill and training to survive, but nothing can prepare him for what awaits him in the end.

I won Eleventh Grade Burns from Steph at http://stephsureads.blogspot.com in one of her contests where I was allowed to choose YA books.

I've been wanting to read Heather Brewer's books for awhile now, but with such a huge To Be Read shelf, and blog tours coming up I had put it off a bit. When I won Eleventh Grade Burns I decided to read it for my YA Week. What did I think of Vlad and his world? I loved it, both as a mom and a reader.

The author did a great job dropping in past events so I had no problem understanding what was happening in the book. Vlad is a teenage vampire who's entering his junior year of high school. Instead of worrying about AP classes and ACT or SAT tests, he's trying to keep his family together, protect his friends and keep himself alive. I loved how the author kept Vlad down to earth, and slipped in things that would concern any 16 year old. He may be able to read minds but he's the only one without a car, at least among his friends. He has super speed, but that isn't going to help him pass his trigonometry test. Vlad's having trouble figuring out his feelings for two different girls. His best friend wants to kill him, but he still wants to hang with him. I have two teenage sons, 15 and 16 years old, and I know how teenagers think and feel. The author hit the nail on the head when it comes to the trials and tribulations of being a teenager.

Eleventh Grade Burns isn't a romance, though there are issues with girls and guys. It would be a great read for boys or girls from ages 13 teen and up, possibly younger depending on maturity and reading level. It has action, suspense, twists and turns but it also has drama and humor that keeps it from being too dark of a read. The author does a great job of being hip with out going over the top.

Mom Notes: The author scored big with me as a mom. The adults weren't idiots, but they weren't perfect either. They cared for their kids, and admitted when they made mistakes. There weren't any sex scenes but there was teen romance. One situation brought up the issue of making out just to make out, instead of caring about the person and getting to know them. There was violence because it's a book about vampires, but it wasn't horrendous or over the top. The idea that there are always consequences to our actions was there as well.

Eleventh Grade Burns is the fourth book in Vlad's series. The fifth book is coming out in September 2010 as well. I love all the covers, especially this last one that shows Vlad's face.

Chronicles of Vladimir Tod
1. Eighth Grade Bites (2007)
2. Ninth Grade Slays (2008)
3. Tenth Grade Bleeds (2009)
4. Eleventh Grade Burns (2010)
5. Twelfth Grade Kills (2010)

You can find out more about Vlad and his series at Heather Brewer's website here: http://www.heatherbrewer.com/.

Heather is on Twitter here.

Vlad also has his own website:

http://www.vladtod.com

Young Adult Review Guidelines

When I review YA books I review them first as a reader just as I do with any other book. I'll give you my opinion on characters, writing style and the plot plus I'll let you know the type of book it is, whether paranormal romance, adventure, etc. After I review the book for those things, then I will let you know how I felt about it as a parent. I may love a YA book myself, but that doesn't mean I think it should be read by all teenagers. I will always tell you what age group I feel comfortable recommending the book to.

To give you a little background on how I know the minds of teens and preteens, I have three children who are now 10, 15 and 16. My 15 year old is reading at his correct reading level, my 16 year old is reading at college level. All three enjoy different types of fiction and non-fiction. I don't consider myself an overprotective parent, but at the same time my husband and I do put limits on our teenagers when it comes to movies, television and books. Every parent knows their own kids best, so I can only make recommendations based on what I feel is appropriate.

If you ever have a question about the content of a book I've reviewed and want me to be more specific just leave me a comment or email me and I'll be happy to share more.

~Moonsanity

YA Humor: Twilight Fans & The Librarians

Libraries are one of my favorite places to hang out, and have been since I was a kid in grade school. Librarians are cool. They are excited about reading and books. They are varied in age, and they aren't mild mannered much of the time because they have to deal with patrons who demand a turn at the computers, the copier, and worst of all, they have to deal with fans of the Twilight books. One day I was pondering what would happen if someone didn't return their copy of Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, especially now that the movie is due out in June.

I'm willing to bet it would go like this:

Cool Librarian 1: Hey, did that copy of Eclipse come in yet?

Cool Librarian 2: No, and I am NOT a happy camper. The next patron on the list has come in SIX freaking times this week to check on it. SIX. This last time she threatened to prick me with her Twilight pin. Damn, she is stressed.

Cool Librarian 1: Let me try calling the patron again. (She picks up the phone. She has the number memorized.) Alas, she gets a voice mail, and has to leave a message.

"Hello, this is the head librarian AGAIN. We really need you to bring in that copy of Eclipse. The Twilight moms are threatening violence. We will wave your over due fee. Hell, I'LL pay your fee if you will drop the book off today. Pleeeeeeaaaassse."

A WEEK LATER

Cool Librarian 2: Please tell me that copy of Eclipse is here. I have three Twilighters out front and they are hissing at me. Apparently there are no copies within a 50 mile radius, and they are tired of waiting. Their eyes are black and I swear they are crouching like they are going to lunge at me. I'm frightened.

Cool Librarian 1: Sigh. I'll try calling again. (She gets a voice mail once again.)

"This is the library AGAIN, and I must insist you bring the copy of Eclipse in TODAY or I will call Charlie over at the police station to take action. This is getting serious. We can no longer hold off the Twilighters on the waiting list and YOU will be responsible for any violence on their part."

Cool Librarian 2: (Running and out of breath...) HELP ME...they just threw some kind of sparkly crap at the front desk. Patrons are crying, it's all over the place. One chick is threatening to whip off her Twilight shirt if we don't order another copy of Eclipse. There are CHILDREN out there and she's going to fricking strip!

As you can see the situation is dire. Things escalate and the police are called. The Twilighters are taken to the station to cool off; their families are called. The library closes early and an arrest warrant is issued for the woman who has the copy of Eclipse. Can you blame them? NO ONE should hog a copy of a book in the Twilight series, especially the THIRD book for Pete's sake.

The lesson: Return your library books. Be considerate. Lastly, NEVER fool with a Twilight reader, things could turn ugly.

~Moonsanity

YA Week: Vampires, Witches & Fae

Today is the official start to our first themed week! Young Adult Week will run today through next Sunday. You'll find our YA Contest Extravaganza, interviews, reviews, humor and opinions galore. Let's start out with the contest details.

THE PRIZES:

First Prize:
Bite Me! by Melissa Francis
Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
Evernight by Claudia Gray
Poison Ink by Christopher Golden
Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Second Prize
Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones (Book 1)
Drowned Ammet by Diana Wynne Jones (Book 2)
Daughter of the Sea by Berlie Doherty

All of these books are very gently read and will be shipped out by me after the winners are chosen by the Random Number Generator on Monday, April 12th in the morning after I log on to my blog.

THE CONTEST RULES
The rules are fairly simple. Starting today with this introduction post, each comment will be an entry in the contest. The comment must be something more than 2 or 3 words, interacting with each post in some way; opinion, agreement, additions, etc. Each person can comment ONCE on each post. At the end of the week I will assign each comment a number, and pick first from those numbers for the 1st Prize and again for the 2nd Prize.

Example: If you comment once on each post during YA Week, and there are 14 posts, then you'll be entered 14 times.

I'll sort through the comments and delete duplicates, spam, or skip my own comments if I reply to someone. I'll go down the line from today through the week and number all the comments in order. Leave your email if it's not connected to your profile.

That's it! No extra entries, but if you would like to become a follower, or have my blog delivered by email I would appreciate it greatly. When I reach 100 followers I will run a contest for that too:)

Enjoy the week and good luck!

~Moonsanity

May Your Easter Be Whimsical

If you carry your childhood with you, you never become older. ~Tom Stoppard

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.
The rain makes running pools in the gutter.
The rain plays a little sellp-song on our roof at night--
And I love the rain.

~Langston Hughes

The Winner of Our Lovely Fish Is...

What? You didn't know we were giving away a fish? Really? Hmmm....


*snicker* Okay, I had to do something for April Fool's Day. You caught me, there is no fish. Instead I drew a winner for the mass market copy of Demon Possessed by Stacia Kane. The handy Random Number Generator came up with Number 8:

Bookie who said:

My minions need to be big and strong and know how to cook. Sexy and can whip up a meal. Perfect!

I've emailed Bookie and will send her address to the publisher. Thanks to everyone who entered and left their comments expressing what type of minions they would like if they could have them. I didn't give my answer so I will now:

If I could have minions I would make them fairly small and fast so they could clean house, do laundry and catch my cats in the act of peeing, transporting them to the litter box before the pee hits the floor. Wouldn't that be lovely?

~Moonsanity