Lisa Yee's first novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, is an absolute riot. At the tender age of eleven, Millicent completed eleventh grade. Over the summer, she plans to take college courses and (unhappily) tutor Stanford, a boy who drives her up a wall. Her mother, thinking she needs more of a social life with kids her own age, enrolls her in a summer volleyball team. There, she meets a girl who recently moved to town and does not know of Millicent's collegiate status. What's a smart girl to do?

This hilarious book reminds readers of all ages that it is okay to be smart. Millicent may feel much older than she is, mentally, but chronologically, she is still a kid. By the end of the summer, she is a little more comfortable in her own skin and proud of who she is and what she's accomplished.

Pop culture tidbit: The audio book of Millicent Min is read by Keiko Agena, best known for her role as Lane on the Gilmore Girls television series.

When I originally read and reviewed Millicent Min upon the book's release in 2003, I said, "I hope that Yee writes more tales, if not of Millicent, then of others. She has a real knack." Happily, Yee DID write more tales, two of which are connected to Millie: Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time and So Totally Emily Ebers.

Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time parallels the events of Millicent Min, Girl Genius, retelling things from Stanford's point of view. He would much rather play basketball than study, so he's super upset when he has to go to summer school instead of basketball camp. He also doesn't want to be tutored by Millicent, but he relishes the opportunity to make her look silly when she pretends that SHE is the one being tutored.

I've known many real-life Stanfords, kids who have struggled with school and excelled in sports. I want to give this book to all of them, even if they are grown up now. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time will hopefully encourage readers to see the value in both education and athletics.

Millie's volleyball teammate tells her own story in So Totally Emily Ebers. After her parents get divorced, Emily has to move across the country with her mom. The bulk of the book is a letter to her father, filling him in on everything that goes on that summer. She tells him all about volleyball, her new friend Millie, and her crush Stanford. She misses her dad like crazy, but she finally clicks with her mom and enjoys making a new start in their new town.

Emily is a truly nice kid. Rather than act out in an angsty, cliched way after the divorce and the move, she remains perpetually optimistic and eternally kind. Emily is charming and sweet, and her story wraps up the trilogy with the smile.

Lisa Yee has also written for American Girls. Their line of Julie Albright books written by Megan McDonald introduced Ivy, Julie's best friend. Ivy then got a book all her own called Good Luck, Ivy, and Yee got to write it.

Between regular grammar school Monday through Friday, Chinese school on Saturdays, homework, and gymnastics practice, Ivy's plenty busy. She's looking forward to an upcoming gymnastics meet, but she's worried about her routine on the balance beam, having fallen off of the apparatus in an earlier competition. When she learns a family reunion is scheduled for the same time as the meet, Ivy has to decide which event to attend . . . or figure out a way to go to both!

The book takes place in 1976, so Ivy references the 1972 Olympics and Olga Korbout's balance beam routine, which won her the gold medal. Even though the book takes place over twenty years ago, the theme of appreciating your family's culture is timeless. Readers will hopefully be moved to consider the struggles and traditions of their own families.

The vignettes at the end of the book details real-life events in the lives of Chinese immigrants. This section also includes photographs of Lisa Yee and her relatives. How cool is that?

Learn more about Ivy's best friend Julie.

To learn more about Lisa Yee, read my interview with the author or visit her website or her LiveJournal.

Catherine Clark writes comedies, dramas, and dramedies for teens. She also lists her cat as her hero. That earns her even more points in my book, no pun intended.

My favorite Clark novel is her most serious:

The Alison Rules

"You're begging her?" [Laurie] asked. "You'll have to work up to that. That's one of the Alison rules."

"Alison rules?" Patrick repeated.

"Yeah. Don't worry - you'll find out," Laurie said.

After Alison's mother passes away, she is reluctant to confide in anyone other that her long-time best friend Laurie. Alison decides to play it safe, rather than be sorry later.

I like this book so much, I gave it a post all its own!

Her next release, Wish You Were Here, will be available in March 2008.

Wish You Were Here

Before leaving for her summer road trip with her family, there are a few things Ariel has to do:

1) Go to Target (she's been there five times in two days to prepare for her trip)
2) Pack up her Skittles (she has six bags stashed in her desk drawer)
3) Say good-bye to her "semi-new, semi-boyfriend" Dylan (they've been dating for two weeks)
4) Temporarily give her cat to her paternal grandparents (Gloves can't come on their trip)
5) Stock up on postcards and stamps (so she can write to Dylan, her friend Sarah, and, yes, even Gloves)

Continue reading my review of Wish You Were Here.

Three of my favorite Clark comedies are about to be reprinted with new titles and new covers:

Better Latte Than Never (previously published as Frozen Rodeo)

A teenage girl's summer adventures include being chased by a crazy dog, working at the local Gas 'n' Git with a guy who thinks he's Bono, and attending a summer school French course taught by substitutes who don't actually know the language.

Written in first person present tense, Better Latte Than Never (previously published as Frozen Rodeo) focuses on a teenager named Peggy. Middle name, Fleming. Her father is an amateur figure skater turned real estate agent and her mother is a very pregnant weather forecaster. Due to her father's career, the children all have been named in honor of famous skaters. The five year old twins are named Torvill and Dean. The quiet and thoughtful three year old is called Dorothy. That in itself is sure to crack up any skating fan - but wait, there's more.

Peggy, who opts to go by Fleming, has a very interesting summer. After getting into multiple car accidents - in which she remains unscathed, but sadly cannot say the same for the vehicles - she is no longer allowed to drive and gets a job at the local Gas 'n' Git to pay her father back. Meanwhile, she takes a French class taught by a string of unqualified substitutes, fights her attraction for the cute waiter at IHOP, befriends a girl named Charlotte with a wild streak and bickers with her co-worker, Denny, who has an obsession with U2 and often attempts to look, sound and act like his idol, Bono.

Anyone who has ever lived in a small town and dreamed of getting out of it will echo Fleming's thoughts about her city; anyone who has felt pressured to take care of their younger siblings will sympathize with her family plight.

With a solid ending that ties every subplot and character together, I give this book a perfect score.

Banana Splitsville (previously published as Truth or Dairy)
Rocky Road Trip (previously published as Wurst Case Scenario)

Courtney Von Dragen Smith thought everything was going well for her. She had a great boyfriend, a job at a cool cafe with her best friend, and a family that was somewhat average, somewhat odd (depending on the family member). Senior year was about to begin, with great promise.

Then her boyfriend went to college and broke up with her. Then her dog ran away. Repeatedly. In an effort to minimize the chaos surrounding her, she makes two huge decisions: she will stop dating, and she will become vegan.

Easier said than done. She falls on and off the vegan wagon on a fairly regular basis, temped by tasty treats at the Truth or Dairy cafe. Her dog runs away again. Her classmates give her grief. Her brother sets his sights on her best friend. Courtney describes these and other melodramas in her diary, making for easy-to-follow laugh-out-loud stories. Her freshman year of college is chronicled in the sequel, which is just as good if not better than the first, and which is also written as a diary.

Banana Splitsville and Rocky Road Trip will be republished in June 2008.

Additional Titles
Maine Squeeze
Icing on the Lake
So Inn Love
Picture Perfect (Coming out in May 2008)

Visit Catherine Clark's official website.

Also visit the website of Sasha Illingworth, whose artwork is featured on the covers of Maine Squeeze, Icing on the Lake, Banana Splitsville, Rocky Road Trip, Better Latte Than Never, and Picture Perfect. She has also provided the art and/or design for many other book covers you'll recognize.

My age registered in single digits when my mother handed me a copy of Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery. I immediately opened the book and read the first paragraph. I exclaimed, "It's all one run-on sentence!" I suppressed the urge to rewrite that paragraph and kept reading.

In short order, I read all eight of the books about Anne Shirley. I was delighted by her misadventures. It was the first time I'd read a series that followed a character's entire life. It was fun to watch Anne grow up and change from an unwanted orphan to an adopted daughter and student to a teacher and a mother. The earlier books, powered by the fun of youth and whimsy, are my favorites in the series.

I love the character of Anne Shirley because she is smart, spunky, sassy, bold, determined, and creative. I related her to her love of stories, her insatiable appetite for knowledge, and her vivid imagination.

After tackling the Anne octet, I read many of L.M. Montgomery's other stories, such as the Emily trilogy and Magic for Marigold. I found them all enjoyable. Montgomery's writing is detailed and exquisite, with dialogue specific to certain characters and accurate depictions of small towns and certain time periods. She created characters which were both daring and thoughtful, who fought to realize their dreams, and who respected their origins and their families.

I've never been to Canada, but someday, I'd like to visit Prince Edward Island, the province where many of Montgomery's stories take place. Until then, I'll simply watch Kevin Sullivan's great film adaptations of Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea starring the incredible Megan Follows and feel as if I'm there.

Learn More about Lucy Maud Montgomery

You may read many of Lucy Maud Montgomery's works online, thanks to Project Gutenberg.

Wikipedia offers a biography and bibliography about the author.

University of Guelph in Canada appears to have a lovely collection of Lucy Maud Montgomery's manuscripts, journals, and scrapbooks.

Travel on Today's One-Shot World Tour

Last year, Colleen's idea to spotlight books and authors from a specific country led to the One Shot World Tour: Best Read With Vegemite, a blogfest of love for Australian authors.

Since the first One Shot World Tour (OSWT) was a success, we're taking another trip. Join us today as we celebrate Canadian authors. Simply post about any book of any genre for any age group written by a Canadian author, then provide Colleen with the link to your post and you'll be included in the day's round-up.

Today's participants include:
Aurora's Journal
Big A, little a
Bildungsroman
Bookshelves of Doom
A Chair, a Fireplace & a Tea Cozy
Chasing Ray
Chicken Spaghetti
Educating Alice
Finding Wonderland (Post 1)
Finding Wonderland (Post 2)
A Fuse #8 Production
The Journal of Impossible Things
NYRB
Once Upon a Bookshelf
Original Content
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
Shaken & Stirred
Teen Book Review
Wands and Worlds
Worth the Trip

For years, as I would assist kids who enjoyed fantasy, sci-fi, and horror novels, I would think, "These kids will love books by Christopher Golden . . . in ten years."

Golden's first novel, OF SAINTS AND SHADOWS, was released in 1994. This dark horror story about a vampire named Peter Octavian contains what Buffy Summers would describe as "violence, strong language, adult content." This and the subsequent Octavian novels - referred to collectively as THE SHADOW SAGA - were not written for kids.

Golden continued to write stories shelved in the fiction/literature department (or sci-fi/fantasy or horror, if the bookstore or library has genre breakouts) until he became involved in the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER line, which was in teen series. He was one of the first authors on board with the BtVS books. He authored or co-authored multiple original novels based on the television series as well as companion books such as the first volume of THE WATCHER'S GUIDE and THE MONSTER BOOK. Then Simon & Schuster started an adult line of BtVS novels, shelved in sci-fi/fantasy series instead of teen series. These books were longer and meatier than the teen BtVS line.

BODY BAGS, Golden's first novel in the BODY OF EVIDENCE forensic murder mystery series, came out in May 1999. (Note that this outdates CSI by nearly a year and a half.) BODY BAGS and the books that followed it were shelved in teen fiction and featured a college-aged protagonist, the intelligent and quick-thinking Jenna Blake. BoE offered ten books which I in turn offered to teens and adults alike. In fact, when a new book came out, some parents and teenagers who would teasingly fight over who got to read the book first!

A few summers ago, Christopher Golden and Thomas E. Sniegoski released a quartet of juvenile fantasy novels entitled OUTCAST, starting with the book THE UN-MAGICIAN. Finally, finally, I could give Golden books to eight year olds. In fact, due to the timeless nature of this fantasy series, I put these books in the hands of kids, teens, and adults alike.

Golden has continued to write books for adults. His novels and series range from urban fantasy to Victorian ghost stories and everything in-between. He has brought mythology into contemporary settings (THE FERRYMAN, THE VEIL), dabbled in dark magick and time travel (THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN), even re-told Peter Pan as a coming-of-age story set in 1981 (STRAIGHT ON 'TIL MORNING). These and more are the titles you'll find in the sci-fi/fantasy or horror sections of the bookstore. Mature older teens gobble up these stories just as quickly as adults, while other parents hold on to the titles for their kids to read when they are older.

Christopher Golden has successfully written for adults, teens, and kids. If I can claim the same too someday, I'll be a happy girl.

Here is a quick rundown of his most popular works for different age groups.

( Read more... )

Visit Christopher Golden's official website to learn more about the man, the myth, the legend.

Browse through my Golden-related posts at Bildungsroman.

See my other author spotlights.

In 2002, a customer tapped a book that was facing out on the shelf. It was called This Lullaby. Her finger still on the cover, she turned to me. "Have you read this?"

"No, actually," I replied.

She was surprised. "But you've read everything!"

I smiled. "Not everything. Not that one - not yet." I told her that I hadn't read anything by the author, Sarah Dessen, but I intended to do so.

And I did. At the urging of one of my regular customers, a very passionate reader who was in high school at the time, I read Dreamland first. I quickly blazed through Sarah's backlist, reading them in the order they had been released. By the time I got to This Lullaby, Sarah had firmly secured a place on the list of contemporary authors I enjoyed. She has a strong following, and I feel she has earned it. Her writing is consistent, engrossing, and straightforward. I've enjoyed all of her novels and look forward to more.

Here is an overview of her books, in order of publication:

That Summer

All of Sarah Dessen's books have fitting titles and realistic leading ladies, and her debut is no exception.

( Read more... )

Someone Like You

Some best friend pairs are comprised of one outgoing person and one introverted person. Such is the case with dynamic Scarlett and quiet Halley.

( Read more... )

Keeping the Moon

Nicole "Colie" Sparks isn't the only girl who feels embarrassed by her mother. She is, however, the only daughter of Kiki, a woman who has become known for informercials. Both Kiki and Colie have lost a great deal of weight, but while Kiki seeks out the spotlight, Colie would rather hide out in the shadows.

( Read more... )

Dreamland

To simply say that Dreamland is the story of a girl who has an abusive boyfriend would be selling the book - and the girl - short. Though the physical abuse is a large portion of Sarah Dessen's darkest story, that is not all. Dreamland is also about the dissolution of a family.

( Read more... )

This Lullaby

My second favorite Dessen novel revolves around a girl who has no interest in romance and is haunted by a song.

( Read more... )

The Truth About Forever

When Macy was little, her father used to drag her and her older sister Caroline out to local marathons with him and sign them up for the kids' track. By the time she was eight, Macy knew she was a good runner - fast, focused, flying. Caroline was no longer interested in running, so it became something that Macy shared just with her father. He'd help her prepare for meets, and they ran together in the mornings.

One morning, that all changed.

( Read more... )

Just Listen

Annabel Greene lives in a glass house.

No, really.

( Read more... )

Check out the roundtable discussion of Just Listen with the postergirlz.

Lock and Key

Ask twenty people to define "family," and you'll get twenty different definitions. Ruby's definition of family is about to change, and she's not quite sure what that means.

For years, Ruby and her mother moved from apartment to apartment. They lived in random places and cramped spaces above other people's garages. When Ruby's mom takes off and doesn't come back, Ruby does just fine on her own - until child services steps in and sends her to live with her older sister, Cora, who hasn't seen Ruby in ten years.

( Read my full-length book review... )

Tidbits

All of Dessen's books are set in the same town, a fictional town called Lakeview. No book is a sequel/prequel to another book, but the books do have connections. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll put it this way: Keep your eyes open and you will see some familiar faces make cameos.

Though The Truth About Forever is my favorite Dessen novel, Lock and Key is home to the first Dessen protagonist that I can directly relate to - though not to the family situation, thank goodness, or the "bad stuff." Instead, I simply get Ruby, like I get Jade from Deb Caletti's novel The Nature of Jade. I share elements of Ruby's personality: her stubborn streak, her determination to do things on her own and her reluctance to let others assist her.

That Summer and Someone Like You were combined to make the film How to Deal. It was odd to see them mixed together into one film. Some characters weren't there, while others were combined. Some of my favorite moments from the books weren't in the movie.

Sarah has contributed short stories to anthologies such as Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, One Hot Second, and Twice Told: Original Stories Inspired by Original Artwork.

In 2006, when Just Listen was released, I had the opportunity to interview her.

In March 2008, Sarah will be the featured author at readergirlz, with Just Listen as the book group pick of the month. Learn more. Read the March 2008 issue of readergirlz.

Many thanks to Sarah for noting this post at her own journal. I'm honored!

Visit Sarah Dessen's official website and LiveJournal.

Christopher Golden and Maureen Johnson have at least two things in common:

One: I will read anything and everything they write. Their novels, their blogs, their shopping lists... If either ever chooses to write greeting cards, I will read those too.

Two: Each author has a varied backlist, allowing me to recommend their books to an audience just as varied. Like greeting cards, there's something for every occasion.

While the majority of Golden's books are in the horror/fantasy genre, Maureen tends to live in the land of realistic fiction. Her dramatic stories get me right in the heart. Her novels which are infused with elements of comedy make me laugh out loud.

Shiny Objects

Here's a rundown of Maureen Johnson's novels in order of publication:

The Key to the Golden Firebird

Three sisters deal with the loss of their father in vastly different ways. I recommend this book alongside The Alison Rules by Catherine Clark, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, and The Pursuit of Happiness by Tara Altebrando. They make for a well-written quartet of books about grieving. It just so happens that the titles all start with the same word.

The Bermudez Triangle

Nina, Avery, and Mel have been best friends for so long that nothing could ever change that. Right? Their close ties are tested when two of them start dating each other and senior year rears its ugly head.

This book has one of my favorite supporting characters: the instantly likable Parker. I think he would be friends with Xander from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charlie from A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian. In fact, I wish he were my friend.

The Bermudez Triangle: Too Cool for School? details what happened when this book was challenged at a school in 2007.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Ginny is sent on a journey through Europe via letters from her aunt. Since Aunt Peg recently passed away, this is Ginny's chance to see how she lived and connect with her friends. She is instructed to open the envelopes one by one, which makes for an interesting scavenger hunt which includes airmail, famous sights, and foreign money. Oh, and washing machines, department stores, and braids.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes What a Girl Wants. Mention that movie in my presence and I will tell you about no less than three things, one of which is this book, which I read while traveling myself, though not to Europe.

Devilish

Warning: While reading this book, you may have a craving for cupcakes, but do not, repeat, do not accept cupcakes from strangers. Even if they are seemingly harmless new transfer students. This modern-day spin on Faust takes place at an all-girls prep school. Can we say dark comedy?

Girl at Sea

Clio was planning on spending her seventeenth summer at an art supply store, working alongside hip, artsy folks who would appreciate her unique style, and hanging out at home with her mom and her cat. Then the phone rang, and she ended up on a ship in Italy with her father and his co-workers.

This book is fabulous, and Clio may very well be my favorite of Maureen's protagonists. Read my full-length review of the book.

Suite Scarlett

Scarlett's story begins on her fifteenth birthday, and the most important gift she receives is a key to a suite. You see, she and her family live in a hotel that's been passed down through the generations, and her parents assign each kid a suite to care for on his or her fifteenth birthday. Scarlett gets more than she bargained for in Mrs. Amberson, the aging actress who occupies the Empire Suite. Mrs. Amberson has money to spare and plenty of opinions to share.

This book has burnt food, fresh bagels, unicyclists, Hamlet, a former actress, and shiny things. What more could you want? It also speaks volumes of truth about family ties.

Read my full-length review of the book.

Suite Scarlett will be available in May 2008.

Fan Movies

The creative team of Starlight Productions and Stun Gun, Inc. have made not one but two short films based on Maureen's blog entries. Maureen was very touched.

Random Thoughts

What I admire about Maureen - in addition to her impressive storytelling ability and her witty sense of humor, of course - is her sense of integrity. She has been honest throughout this whole endeavor. She has garnered the support of readers and authors around the world because she's earned it.

Read my interview with Maureen and The Bermudez Triangle: Too Cool for School?

Visit Maureen's blog and website.

Maureen will be blogging at http://www.insideadog.com.au - the YA site for the Centre for Youth Literature of the State Library of Victoria, Australia - from January 21st, 2008 until February 15th, 2008.

Some people like to mix and match. I like to match, not mix. I can't wear clothes which mix patterns within the same piece. I won't wear blue jeans with a patterned shirt that doesn't have blue in it. I'm serious. I'm seriously strange.

Even though I don't mix it up myself, I do appreciate the artistry of Lauren Child. She has a cool style which uses pieces and patches, combining photography and illustrations. Here are a few quick examples of her work.

Child's writing is hilarious, and her artwork always matches her stories. I've read many of her picture books and juvenile novels, and I declare myself a fan of her original characters Charlie & Lola, who now have their own television series, and Clarice Bean, a sassy girl who loves reading books about her favorite spy. In addition to her original works, Child also retold The Princess and the Pea as a picture book and provided the illustrations for a new edition of Pippi Longstocking translated by Tiina Nunnally.

I've read and enjoyed:
Clarice Bean, That's Me
I Want a Pet!
Beware of the Storybook Wolves
I Will Not Ever, NEVER Eat a Tomato
My Uncle is a Hunkle Says Clarice Bean
I Am NOT Sleepy and I WILL NOT Go to Bed
My Dream Bed
What Planet Are You From, Clarice Bean?
That Pesky Rat
Utterly Me, Clarice Bean
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?
I Am TOO Absolutely Small for School
Clarice Bean Spells Trouble
But Excuse Me That Is My Book
The Princess and the Pea
Clarice Bean, Don't Look Now

- as well as the aforementioned 2007 edition of Pippi Longstocking.

Check out her complete bibliography at Wikipedia

Visit Lauren Child's official website at www.milkmonitor.com

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. :)

Thanks to Milly Marie for prompting this post.

I grew up on a steady diet of classics and contemporary stories. I'd polish off a book from the 1800s, then pick up the Scholastic Book Order form and dream of writing my own book series.

In the 1980s, the series I read and enjoyed the most was The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin. At the library, I checked BSC books as well as Ann's stand-alone novels, along with beloved dusty classics, more favorite series, and non-fiction. I bought Martin's books from the library book sale whenever they were available and affordable, and I collected most of the new books as they were released. (This is thanks to my mother, who let me know that it was okay for us to spend a few dollars a month on books.)

When all is said and done, I own most (but not all) of the BSC books. I'm missing about twenty of the regular titles in the series and about twenty-five of the sub-series. I have read most of her non-series works as well.

Here's a bibliography of Ann M. Martin's works, with the proper chronology supplied by Wikipedia, and with titles/series I've read in bold print.

Series
The Baby-Sitters Club, which included:
- The Baby-Sitters Club Super Specials
- The Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries
- The Baby-Sitters Club Super Mysteries
- The Baby-Sitters Club one-shots (Secret Santa, Chain Letter, etc)
- The Baby-Sitters Club: Friends Forever
(Sadly, I have not read nor do I own ANY of the Friends Forever series.)

The Baby-Sitters Club Little Sister
(Italicized because I only read a few of these books. Karen was a decent character, but this series was too young for me, and I greatly preferred the BSC.)

California Diaries
(Italicized because I have only read a handful of this series. I wouldn't mind reading more. The California Diaries were definitely different - edgier than the BSC - which I liked, and I found it ironic that her series with two Sunshines was the series that finally showed that life wasn't always happy, as those books didn't always have happy endings. I also like the covers, especially Sunny, Diary Three. There are only 15 California Diaries. I really ought to own these too.)

The Kids in Ms. Colman's Class

Main Street
(This is her newest series. It has three titles so far, and at least two more are due in 2008.)

Short Sequences
P.S. Longer Letter Later (co-author: Paula Danziger)
Snail Mail No More (co-author: Paula Danziger)

The Doll People (co-author: Laura Godwin)
The Meanest Doll in the World (co-author: Laura Godwin)

Stand-Alone Novels
Bummer Summer
Inside Out
Stage Fright
Me and Katie (the Pest)
With You and Without You
Missing Since Monday
Just a Summer Romance
Slam Book
Ten Kids, No Pets
Yours Turly, Shirley
Ma and Pa Dracula
Eleven Kids, One Summer
Rachel Parker, Kindergarten Show-off
Leo the Magnificat
Belle Teal
A Corner of the Universe
Here Today
A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray
On Christmas Eve

Tidbits

Many authors contributed to the BSC series. Ghostwriters included Suzanne Weyn, Peter Lerangis, Nola Thacker, Ellen Miles, Jan Carr, Jahnna Beecham and Malcolm Hillgartner. Editors included David Levithan.

Four books of the original BSC books have been made into adorable graphic novels by Raina Telgemeier, and I absolutely adore what she's done. Not only do the graphic novels stay true to the original storylines and text, but they stay true to the characters, who look as they have always been described. Even Dawn's ear piercings are correct!

Check out my other posts related to the BSC.

Watch The Baby-Sitters Special Christmas on YouTube.

Today's spotlight shines on author Wendy Mass. Her novels that make readers think about life on a grand scale as well as a more personal one.

A Mango-Shaped Space

Every turn of the page offers another peek into the mind of a 13-year-old girl named Mia. She sees colors related to numbers, letters and sounds but has kept this a secret ever since she was little and realized that other people do not see things the same way.

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Leap Day

In 2004, a very cute and insightful book entitled was released in anticipation of February's special day: February 29th, a date that comes only once every four years. The book was Leap Day by Wendy Mass.

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Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

When Jeremy was just eight years old, his father passed away in an automobile accident. His family had been dreading this day almost all of his life, ever since a fortune-teller told him he would die at age forty. She was wrong: He died at age thirty-nine.

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Heaven Looks a Lot Like the Mall

Imagine coming upon a bag of forgotten things, then reliving memories for each and every item you touch. After being beaned on the head during a game of dodgeball, high school junior Tessa finds herself in what she thinks is heaven - but what looks a lot like the local mall.

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Wendy Mass has also written two books in the Twice Upon a Time series, a fairy tale line published by Scholastic for younger readers. She has also written several non-fiction titles.

Read my exclusive interview with Wendy Mass!

Visit Wendy's official website.