Just a Quick Note

Hey all,

I just wanted to pop by with a quick note. I'm sorry I've not been here at all this week, but with Thanksgiving and all, I'm sure you all understand. :) I promise I'll try to be better next week, but things are about to get crazy hectic at work. I will tell you that I just read a great YA title that I can't wait to tell you about, but first I gotta get the review for it written up. Keep checking back, there's more to look forward to.

PS, if you write YA, I'm looking for guest bloggers. Pop an email to me at wantmyya at yahoo dot com.

Winner Announced!

Woohoo! Big congrats to Vampirecollin! You've won an ARC of Tenth Grade Bleeds. :) Send an email to heather @ heatherbrewer.com (no spaces) with your mailing info. Please contact her within the next four days to claim your ARC.

Thanks everyone for stopping by and commenting while Heather was visiting. Keep checking back for more great guest blogs and reviews.

Please Welcome YA author Heather Brewer!

I am absolutely thrilled to have my favorite Ya author Heather Brewer joining us here at Want My YA today. So on her behalf I give you her wonderful post on some fangtastic reads.


Vampire fiction is hugely popular right now, which is pretty awesome. For old schoolers like me, people that grew up on Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, it means that a lot more vampire fiction is available as of late. As a YA vampire author, I get asked for recommendations of what vampire-fiction-lovers should be reading, so I thought I'd tell you all what it is that I'm loving right now and hopefully, you'll find something to sink your teeth into.

First, as I mentioned before, Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles are definitely required vampy reading. After that, I'd recommend venturing into Stephen King's Salem's Lot or John Steakley's Vampire$, if you're into the scary side of bloodsucking fiends. If you're into romance, of course, there's Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries or that old standby, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. If you 're a reluctant reader—somebody that thinks that vampires are fangtastic, but you just can't get into books—check out Matsuri Hino's manga series Vampire Knight or Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak series.

I'm a big fan of all of these books and more. Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires is another series not to miss, as are Sunshine by Robin McKinley and Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith. So many fangtastic books and not enough moonlit hours to read them!

Whatever your interests, there are vampire books out there to fulfill them. I promise. If I'm wrong, well…I take my garlic roasted.

If you'd like to win an advanced copy of the third book in my Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, Tenth Grade Bleeds, just comment below with your favorite vampire book!

Two posts in one

Hey everyone,


So we're in week two of my new schedule and I'm already a day late. *sigh* But better late than never, so for your reading enjoyment I give you this week's eyecatchers. :)



Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey



Sadima lives in a world where magic has been banned, leaving poor villagers prey to fakes and charlatans. A "magician" stole her family's few valuables and left Sadima's mother to die on the day Sadima was born. But vestiges of magic are hidden in old rhymes and hearth tales and in people like Sadima, who conceals her silent communication with animals for fear of rejection and ridicule. When rumors of her gift reach Somiss, a young nobleman obsessed with restoring magic, he sends Franklin, his lifelong servant, to find her. Sadima's joy at sharing her secret becomes love for the man she shares it with. But Franklin's irrevocable bond to the brilliant and dangerous Somiss traps her, too, and she faces a heartbreaking decision.


Centuries later magic has been restored, but it is available only to the wealthy and is strictly controlled by wizards within a sequestered academy of magic. Hahp, the expendable second son of a rich merchant, is forced into the academy and finds himself paired with Gerrard, a peasant boy inexplicably admitted with nine sons of privilege and wealth. Only one of the ten students will graduate -- and the first academic requirement is survival.


Sadima's and Hahp's worlds are separated by generations, but their lives are connected in surprising and powerful ways in this brilliant first book of Kathleen Duey's dark, complex, and completely compelling trilogy.



The Devouring by Simon Holt

"When dark creeps in and eats the light,Bury your fears on Sorry Night.For in the winter's blackest hours,Comes the feasting of the Vours, No one can see it, the life they stole,Your body's here but not your soul..."


THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice. When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?


Revealers by Amanda Marrone


Jules has a rebellious streak, a massive crush on Connor, and the abilities of a Revealer witch. By day, she and her coven friends seem like typical high school seniors. By night, they have the power to make werewolves, vampires, and ghosts reveal themselves, so they can destroy them. It's not exactly cheerleading, but at least the girls know they're doing the world some good.

One by one, Jules's friends turn eighteen and are initiated into the coven's inner circle. And one by one, they are getting completely freaked out. Jules is the youngest, and though her friends are too scared tell her what's going on, something's clearly not right. As her birthday approaches, Jules realizes she's got to find out what's behind the shadows of her coven before it's too late to save her friends...and herself. But what she discovers may be too powerful for even the toughest witches to defeat.




Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

After Maddy’s parents divorce, she’s stuck starting over at a new high school. Friendless and nicknamed Freak Girl, Manga-loving artist Maddy finds refuge in the interactive online game Fields of Fantasy. In that virtual world, she reinvents herself as Allora, a gorgeous elfin alter ego, and meets a true friend in Sir Leo. Maddy can’t hide behind Allora forever, especially as a real-life crush begins edging in on her budding virtual romance. But would anyone pick the real Maddy, gamer girl and Manga freak, over the fantasy?

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."
But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.



So there you are, these are the five titles that caught my attention this week.



Now it's your turn. As promised Wednesdays are "You Recommend" days, so tell me what you think I should read.

*all book descriptions come from the publishers' websites

Bestsellers November 9-15 2008

Hello all,

It's time to report on last week's bestselling YA titles from my little corner of the book world. :) The first two should come as no surprise.

1. Twilight Saga from Stephenie Meyer (once again I'm only allowing her one slot in the list)

2. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

3. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

4. Night World by L.J. Smith

5. Untamed by P.C. and Kristen Cast

Honorable Mentions (let's face it, the only thing keeping these books off the list is the insane popularity of Stephenie Meyer's titles)

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Don't Miss

The China Garden
By Liz Berry

Whenever I think of the best books I've read I usually come up with a list of five that were out of this world. In fact no word in the English language could even begin to explain how phenomenal they are.
So of course when I began thinking of what book I'd like to recommend here I thought of one of those top five, THE CHINA GARDEN.




From Liz Berry's Website:

'Remember, I tried to stop you. Don't blame me. Remember I tried to warn you.'

Clare is chilled by her mother's warnings to stay away from Ravensmere, the large country house where her mother has taken a private nursing job. But Clare knows she has to go there - it is not a choice but a compulsion. And she only intends to stay a few weeks, anyway, just until she goes to university in the autumn.

Ravensmere is a strange, enchanting place, but she grows increasingly disturbed. How come the local villagers appear to know her? Why is she having these odd visions? And who is the attractive, leather-clad stranger who is watching her? What is the power of the Benison and why must she visit the China Garden in the middle of the night?

Ravensmere casts a magical spell over Clare, drawing her into a mystery that stretches back over thousands of years. She knows that Ravensmere and the valley are in danger and that time is running out - but will she risk her future to save it?

The China Garden is a haunting novel of an ancient legend, family secrets and young love. A heady mixture of romance and mystery.

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