Two magical books topped off our April reading, both earning starred reviews. The Golem and the Jinni is a mash-up of Jewish and Arab folklore, historical fiction and fantasy, new and old world sensibilities. Helene Wecker’s debut seems destined to be among the best of the year. The publisher has certainly gone all-out. The physical package is richly [...]
I’ve been thinking about horror fiction lately. What are the secrets of its appeal? Why are teens so drawn to it? How can we know which adult horror novels will appeal to teens and which won’t? One of the reasons I’ve been thinking about this lately is because I enjoyed The Demonologist by Andrew Pyper [...]
Today we review three thrillingly original works of speculative fiction. Let’s start with a post-apocalyptic, dystopian debut novel. The Office of Mercy is being marketed as a Hunger Games readalike. (I’ve also seen comparisons to recent Alex Award winner, Pure). However, debut author Djanikian is more concerned with ethical questions than fast-paced action. The Alphas had good intentions [...]
A few weeks ago, I posted about genre fiction and teen appeal. At that time I made a promise to myself that I would read more genre titles this year. So far so good because by reading The Six-Gun Tarot I covered three in one – fantasy, horror and western. Teens are going to love [...]
Ted Kosmatka‘s first novel receives our latest starred review. The Games has nothing to do with The Hunger Games, although it is a dystopian thriller that deals with a gladiatorial fight to the death (or rather, destruction), in a great blend of horror and science fiction. Library Journal named The Games a science fiction/fantasy debut [...]
Tom Wright‘s debut is far from a typical southern coming-of-age novel. What begins as a dysfunctional family story (and what a family) becomes something else after our two young teens, Jim and L.A., find the body of a girl just about their age while out riding bikes and collecting bottles to supplement their allowance. There’s [...]
The publication of a new novel by Anne Rice is always an event, and especially when she begins a new series. The Wolf Gift is a werewolf novel that displays her unique combination of philosophy, sensuality and gothic horror. I was thrilled to interview Anne Rice for the AB4T blog, and Random House is also [...]
from graphic novel guest blogger Francisca Goldsmith: Ernie Colón’s transformation of a quartet of horror tales from the essentially aural to equally essentially visual suggests some interesting questions about how our minds meet and work with elements of story. Inner Sanctum was among the radio-broadcast “theaters” through which audiences could get doses of pleasing thrills [...]
First, I have to say how thrilled I am that AB4T has been nominated for an Edublog Award in the Best Librarian/Library Blog category. I certainly share the honor with the many fellow librarians who contribute book reviews and guest posts to this blog. It is a wonderfully collaborative effort, which is what makes this [...]
Jonathan Maberry, author of popular YA novels Rot & Ruin and Dust & Decay (both Simon & Schuster, 2010 & 2011 respectively), is out with a new adult zombie novel this week. Maberry debuted Dead of Night as a special guest at ZomBcom 2011 this weekend. You may also know Maberry for his Joe Ledger novels, [...]
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