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Read the January issue of readergirlz.

This month, readergirlz are discussing Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson.

In 1918, Hattie Brooks receives word that an uncle she's never known has passed away and left his homestead in Montana to her. She travels across the country to plant roots in this new place. She is understandably hesitant when she first realizes how much work she has to do to "prove up" her land, but she tackles the many jobs with determination and her own two hands. Those hands also craft letters to her friend Charlie, who is fighting in France, and articles for the newspaper. She befriends a lovable family and others in town as she fights to stake her claim.

After you've read Hattie Big Sky, drop by the readergirlz forum and discuss the book with other readers.

Check out other books recommended by the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council:

Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer (fiction)
Loose Threads by Lorie Ann Grover (verse novel)
A Room on Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (fiction)
The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marion Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman (non-fiction)

Download this month's poster (PDF)

Visit the readergirlz archive.

Related Posts:
My interview with Kirby Larson
My review of Hattie Big Sky
Cybils 2006 YA Finalists
Meet the readergirlz divas and the postergirlz advisory council
Read the original readergirlz press release
View all of the readergirlz-tagged posts at Bildungsroman

The State of Our Union: Please Read & Repost

January 1, 2008

An Open Letter to Readergirlz Around the World

When we started readergirlz way back in March on National Women's History Month, skeptics wondered: in today's world of IM, TIVO, and Guitar Hero, is reading even relevant to teen girls?

Well, if readergirlz is any proof, any indication, any sign of hope . . . YES, teen girls (and guys) are reading. Passionately. Deeply. And in droves. Let us tell you this. Not only are teens reading, they are also connecting books to their own lives. ( Read more... )

Thanks for making our 2007 a veritable pageturner. We hope 2008 will be revelatory. Revolutionary. And wholly revolving around words. So to the girl who wrote us on the last night of 31 Flavorites, "You're bringing me Stephenie Meyer tonight. Do you have any idea at all of how much I love you people? Monuments shall be erected in your honor!" - we say this: just you wait for 2008. (No monuments necessary. Just more books.)

To gutsy girls worldwide,
~ the readergirlz co-founders ~
Justina Chen Headley, Girl Overboard
Lorie Ann Grover, On Pointe
Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia
Janet Lee Carey, Dragon's Keep
www.readergirlz.com

For the second annual Cybils Book Awards, I was pleased to be on the Middle Grade nominating committee alongside Amanda, Jocelyn, Kate, Kerry, Miss Erin, and Sherry, with Liz as our category administrator.

With over seventy nominated titles, many of which were outstanding, it was difficult to select the finalists. Here now are the eight finalists in alphabetical order by title. Click on a title for my review or an author's name for our interview.

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree by Lauren Tarshis
Leap of Faith by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Leepike Ridge by N.D. Wilson
Louisiana's Song by Kerry Madden
Miss Spitfire by Sarah Miller
The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy

To view the complete list of Middle Grade nominees, click here.

Check out our 2007 Middle Grade Hall of Fame!

For a list of the 2007 winners in all categories, click here.

For lists of the nominees and finalists in all of the categories, please visit Cybils.com

In August 2008, you can become a part of The Brimstone Network.

Thirteen-year-old Abraham - Bram - Stone has never lived an ordinary life. Home is a monastery in the Himalayan mountains, where the monks train him in otherworldly fighting skills. Bram's father, Elijah Stone, leads a group called The Brimstone Network - an order of warriors and sorcerers who provide the last line of defense against all paranormal dangers.

Bram always knew one day he'd take his father's place. But that day comes far too soon when a bizarre man named "Mr. Stitch" arrives at the monastery and breaks the news to Bram -- every member of the Brimstone Network, including Elijah, has been assassinated. Suddenly it's up to Bram to form a new Brimstone Network out of the rubble of the old, and hope that he can rise to the challenge in time to stop a terrifying threat to humanity.

Visit Tom Sniegoski's official website.

Learn more about Sniegoski's other series for kids, OutCast (co-written by Christopher Golden) and Owlboy (illustrated by Eric Powell).

Deb Caletti imbues all of her stories with realistic sensibility and captivating characters. At the risk of sounding foolish while attempting to be succinct, I will say that I love all of her books, I recommend all of her books, and I think you should get them all right now. ("You" meaning "all teens and adults.")

Here are my thoughts on Deb's books, in order of publication:

The Queen of Everything

Jordan's life is about to change forever. This teenage girl thought the worse thing that could happen to her would be her artsy mother embarrassing her yet again. Then, her father - the "normal" one, the parent she chose to live with after the divorce, the optometrist - becomes the epicenter of a scandal. ( Read more... )

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

Ruby's always been quiet and shy. She knows it. She embraces it. Thanks in part to her mother, the elderly members of a book group, and a boy - who may break her heart . . . or just might win it - she's about to let go, just a little bit. She does not rebel nor become completely impulsive, but she does learn to be more in control and more decisive. ( Read more... )

Wild Roses

Cassie's stepfather Dino is famous. The world knows him as a talented violinist. Cassie knows him as an unpredictable and violent man. As the story progresses, he nears the brink of self-destruction. ( Read more... )

The Nature of Jade

This is my favorite Deb Caletti novel.

Jade doesn't know yet that she wants something more out of life - and that she is about to meet someone that will change her life.

Good student Jade is an overachiever who has developed panic disorder. Sometimes, the medicine she takes makes her antsy at night, so she's taken to watching the online elephant cam from her local zoo. One night, the camera shows her a young boy in a red jacket with a baby boy, and she is inexplicably drawn to them.

( Read more... )

The Fortunes of Indigo Skye

This isn't yet another rags-to-riches tale, nor "a simple story of money can't buy happiness." This book is about a girl on the cusp of adulthood who actually likes her life and doesn't really want it to change that much. She would rather be poor and happy than wealthy and miserable.

(Read my full-length review.)

As I read, I marked my favorite lines of this pretty Skye with little white Post-It flags. There are a total of 26 little flags sticking out of the book.

Many thanks to the book fairy who gave me this book!

Tidbits

A few weeks after I read Indigo, a man left $50,000 and his car to a waitress.

Deb's other works include an essay in the anthology First Kiss, Then Tell and the essay "The Joys and Perils of Dæmon Ownership" in The World of The Golden Compass, an anthology exclusively available at Borders.

Though the characters and stories are not directly connected, they all take place in and around the real community of Nine Mile Falls, Washington.

Read my exclusive interview with Deb Caletti.

I also wrote an article entitled Clamoring for Caletti which ran in the May 2007 issue of The Edge of the Forest.

Watch Book Lust with Nancy Pearl featuring Deb Caletti.

The books are being developed into a film series titled Nine Mile Falls. (From The Hollywood Reporter: Vulcan 'Falls' for rights to Caletti series)

Dear Vulcan Productions: Please do right by Deb's books . . . and please let me know when and where you're holding auditions. :)