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BookExpo Preview
For me, BookExpo signals the nearing end of the school year, and the approach of ALA Annual. Unlike ALA, BEA is all about books, all the time.
I thought it would be fun to share my personal preview of the week. First, the books I have my eye on with Adult for YA potential, in no particular order. (These authors are all appearing at BEA.)
The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (Little, Brown, July). I had the chance to meet the author at a Hachette preview event a few weeks ago. She read from The End of Everything and signed. Abbott is completely charming and a wonderful reader. I predict this book will be huge (it certainly starts off with a bang) for teens and for adults.
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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Ballantine, August). Erica Melnichok at Random turned me onto this book a while back, and I am finally getting a chance to read it. 60 pages in, I love it. Definitely has appeal for teens.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday, September). I’ve already read this one. This is going to be a huge book when it lands in September, mark my words. Brilliant!
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Crown, August). A geek’s paradise.
Habibi by Craig Thompson (Pantheon, September). Blankets is among my favorite graphic novels of all time. Hard not to be excited about this one!
We the Animals by Justin Torres (Houghton Mifflin, September). There is a great deal of buzz about this novel, and the description is intriguing. Hoping to score a copy and find out for myself.
The Leftovers by Tom Perotta (St. Martin’s, August). I will admit that his brand of satire is a little too edgy for me. But the description of his new novel caught my eye.
The Magician King by Lev Grossman (Viking, August). I am willing to stand in line for quite a while for this one. Both to have a copy of the book (sequel to The Magicians) and to say hello to its author. I’m a fan, what can I say.
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (Algonquin, May). You will be seeing a blog review of this one on Monday. A natural for teens.
Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber (Norton, September). About a teen runaway.
A More Perfect Heaven by Dava Sobel (Walker, September) — Sobel’s new book about Copernicus will certainly end up on my library shelves.
YA to Adult panel , Wednesday afternoon, featuring Melissa Marr, Ellen Hopkins and Melissa de la Cruz.
I am also looking forward to meeting:
Michael Kortya — I just finished So Cold the River and like his approach to suspense and horror. Looking forward to The Ridge.
Pam Lewis — A Young Wife has been compared to Robert Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife (Algonquin, 2009). If it’s anywhere near as good, I’m in.
Francisco Goldman – Say her Name is too gorgeous for words.
Lauren Oliver – I loved Before I Fall and it was my student bookgroup’s favorite read of the year by far.
Ally Condie – Looking forward to reading the follow-up to Matched.
Laini Taylor – Her new novel, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, is getting great advanced reviews.
Jennifer Haigh — I enjoyed Baker Towers a few years ago. Faith is getting such raves, I hope to have time to check it out.
And one recommendation — If you attend the SLJ Day of Dialog, keep an eye on Paul Griffin, who will be participating in the morning Diversity panel. I just finished his new novel Stay with Me (Dial, September) and it is a tour-de-force. (Loved his first two novels also.)
I will report back here at the end of the week. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter at AngeReads. Often, it is the surprises that are most memorable about any conference. Can’t wait to share the books I discover this week!
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About Angela Carstensen
Angela Carstensen is Head Librarian and an Upper School Librarian at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Angela served on the Alex Awards committee for four years, chairing the 2008 committee, and chaired the first YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adult committee in 2009. Recently, she edited Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Titles and Programs for a New Generation (ALA Editions, 2011). Contact her via Twitter @AngeReads.
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