International YA Blogger Celebration: Khy from California, USA

Last but by no means least, Khy will be the last blogger from this year's International YA Blogger Celebration - yep, I plan on doing it next year!

Name: Khy
Country: Southern CA, USA
Blog: Frenetic Reader

Your favourite YA title: OH MY GOSH THIS IS WAY TOO HARD. Talk about pressure. Um. Well, I love everything by David Levithan because he is amazing. My favorite this year would probably have to be Hate List by Jennifer Brown because it's so powerful and emotional and aaaaah so good.
Favourite New Find: For this one I'll go with Natasha Friend. I just finished Bounce, and while not as awesome as her other books, was great! No one else seems to have read her books, but THEY SHOULD.
Bookstore of Choice: Barnes and Noble to go to frequently, but I love Mrs. Nelsons :D
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: Maureen Johnson's! She is hysterical.

Book Blogging from California
Best thing about being from Southern CA:
It seems like more authors have events here than, say, Wisconsin.

What is the state of YA literature in Southern CA?:
I assume that, like in the rest of the USA, the state of YA is awesome. There are plenty of events where no one goes, or I am like the only person there, but for the big events there's plenty of crazy fangirls.

How accessible are international YA titles on the Southern CA:
Um, not at all, really. Which sucks because I want my OZYA!

Authors that you would recommend:
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl are in the LA area, and their upcoming book Beautiful Creatures is totally awesome! Plus, they are super nice. Cindy Pon is from San Diego and she and her book, Silver Phoenix, is total win. Jay Asher and Robin Benway both wrote amazing books and need to come out with new ones like, now. I love Alexa Young's Frenemies series- they're so cute and fun!

Most popular YA author in Southern CA:
Oh gosh. Cecil Castelluci counts, right? She's cool. Jay Asher is also a Southern CA author, and he is insanely popular EVERYWHERE.

Best thing about YA blogging:
It's cliche, but the community. Everyone is so awesome!

YA blogs that you would recommend from Southern CA:
I do love Jordyn's blog, Ten Cent Notes. Her blog rocks and so does she.

Thanks muchly lovely Khy.

Tomorrow there will be one final post wrapping up this international celebration. Thanks so much for dropping by and (hopefully) adding some more international flavour to your Google reader!

Check out who's stopped by:

Other fabulous international bloggers:

Marjolein from The Netherlands
Rhiannon from Melbourne, Australia
Silvia from Ripollet, Spain
Thao from Vietnam
Jo from London, UK
Lauren and Alex from Canada
Alea from USA
Prodhi from Banglades

Steph from Australia

Tarie from the Philippines

Lenore from Germany

Liyana from Singapore

Mya from Pakistan

International YA Blogger Celebration: Mya from Pakistan

Name: Mya
Country: Pakistan
Blog: Dissecting Perfection

Your Favourite YA title: It's excessively optimistic of you to suggest that I would be able to pick one! Okay, I guess if I had to pick my favorites from THIS YEAR
ALONE, I'd go with Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell (GHOSTS!), The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (ZOMBIES!), Fade by Lisa McMann (DREAMCATCHERS!), Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty (MARCUS FLUTIE!), and If I Stay by Gayle Forman (... SHEER AWESOME!).
Favourite New Find: I just devoured Rampant by Diana Peterfreund in one sitting. Though... does it count as a new find if I've been foaming at the mouth since I first heard of it?
Bookstore of Choice: Variety Books and The Last Word in Lahore; Saeed Book Bank in Islamabad, Liberty Books in Karachi... books are pretty much all I shop for when I'm traveling so my loyalties are evenly spread out.
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: Do the Tenners count? No? Okay, then. Maureen Johnson.

Book Blogging from Pakistan
Best things about being from Pakistan:
The shopping, the cricket, the music and the food! Absolutely matchless.

What is the state of YA literature in Pakistan?

Sadly, it's pretty nonexistent. There's not one local author catering to the strictly YA crowd, though there's a vast number of them that write for the older, more serious, more disillusioned crowd. Which is nice, but why not ease the young'uns into it? Sure, we get a bunch of popular international YA titles, but it's hard to get people interested in something they might never be able to relate to on a cultural/personal level. It's not like the average Pakistani teen deals with publicly dating, proms, alcoholism, or much of the normal lifestyle that these novels depict on a daily basis.

How accessible are international YA titles in Pakistan:
Usually? Not accessible at all. That's mostly because there isn't much awareness for YA titles out here. I personally have them shipped to my bookstore (on special order, and only if they can find it elsewhere in Asia/feel helpful), pay the exorbitant shipping fee for Amazon (even the BookDepository.com doesn't deliver to Pakistan), buy the e-books from BooksonBoard.com (the fastest possible way to read, especially for new releases within a series that I can't wait to get my hands on), or in very rare cases, have the author or the publisher send me a copy. Those are the best, of course, but it's a lot harder to make contacts willing to ship out here.

Authors that you would recommend:
Diana Peterfreund, because the Secret Society Girl series is to date my favorite series of all time, and Rampant - the first in what promises to be a breathtaking killer unicorn series - is just plain fantastic. And Lisa McMann, because the Dreamcatcher series is sublime. Oh, and Sarah Dessen. Because... duh.

Most popular YA author in Pakistan:
Only the international bestsellers, really. Meg Cabot, Stephenie Meyer, J K Rowling and Christopher Paolini sort of win the pool here.

Best thing about YA blogging:
The community! The interacting with authors! The collective squee-ing over covers, new releases, movie news, etc! The spontaneous rioting/indignation! There's no place on earth quite like the YA blogosphere, truly.

YA blogs that you would recommend from your Pakistan:
Are there any others? I'd love to hear from them!

Thanks Mya! We finish up tomorrow with the fantastically Frenetic Reader, Khy!

International YA Blogger Celebration: Liyana from Singapore

Name: Liyana
Country: Singapore!
Blog: LiyanaLand!

Your Favourite YA title: I have a bunch of them, but one that I would absolutely read over and over again (other than Harry Potter) is Blood Promise (Vampire Academy 3) by Richelle Mead. It boasts a kickass heroine, a swoonworthy hero and the plot is just oh-so-effing-mazing. It's the third book in the Vampire Academy series, and I have to say that it's the best book out of the whole series. Richelle Mead has fantastic storytelling abilities, and I htink you should check it out yourself. Just the title should clue you in as to how good the series is.
Favourite New Find: Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. Now that I think of it, it bears some striking similarities to the Vampire Academy series.
Bookstore of Choice: Borders, no doubt.
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: Kiersten White's blog: Kiersten Writes. I knew of her and her blog before she became one of the Tenners. It's insightful and funny. Another one is Nathan Bransford's blog. I'm sure you might have heard of him. He's an agent and judging by the way he writes, I'm sure his book is going to be fantastic.

Book Blogging from Singapore
Best thing about being from Singapore:
The security. No honestly, you know you're safe in Singapore. :D

What is the state of YA literature in Singapore?
It's a shame, but I'm completely clueless about the state of YA literature in Singapore. Other than YA, the books has a distinct taste of Singapore in them (mainly by the use of Singlish).

How accessible are international YA titles in Singapore:
I use Borders or online stores. Usually YA books will appear a month or so after its official release date, so I'm pretty bummed about that.

Authors that you would recommend:
Meg Cabot. Her books are perfect for a read anytime, anywhere.

Most popular YA author in Singapore:
J.K Rowling, then Stephenie Meyer. I don't really have to explain why, do I?

Best thing about YA blogging:
The community! You get to meet other book bloggers, authors, publicists, publishers, agents etc. and they're just so approachable. Other than that, it's have to be the book discussions. That's the main reason why I started one, anyway: to find someone to yap about books.

YA blogs that you would recommend from your own country:
I have no idea if there are any other YA bloggers in Singapore, but if there are, please feel free to hit me up! xD

Thanks Liyana, tomorrow we will be joined by the radiant Mya from Pakistan and the awesome Khy from California, USA the day after for our grande finale!

International YA Blogger Celebration: Lenore from Germany

Name: Lenore
Country: Germany
Blog: Presenting Lenore

Your Favourite YA title: Three way tie between The Hunger Games, If I Stay and Dust of 100 Dogs. All three take an amazing premise and then hit the execution out of the park.
Favourite New Find: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. It doesn’t come out until March and I’m not yet that far into it, but WOW!
Bookstore of Choice: In Frankfurt, the Hugendubel English Bookshop on Hauptwache. I go in there at least once a week.
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: Beth Kephart and Diana Peterfreund

Book Blogging from Germany
Best thing about being from Germany:
Well, I’m not from Germany, but the best thing about living here is being at the center of Europe and getting to travel to cool places.

How accessible are international YA titles in Germany:
You don’t see that many English language YA titles in the book stores here, so usually I have to special order, and that is really only affordable if the title has a UK edition (most English language books in the stores are the UK editions). So I actually get most of my YA when I am in the US. My suitcases take a real beating!

What is the state of YA literature in your country?
Germany has built up a great YA fantasy tradition with authors like Michael Ende (The Neverending Story) and Cornelia Funke (Inkheart). A newer fantasy author who is quite popular is Nina Blazon, whose novel Fawn Blood was voted one of the top fantasy titles of last year. It is not yet available in English, but her novel The Pack of the Wolves was published in Canada, Australia and England.

Alexa Henning von Lange writes a lot of edgy realistic fiction with topics like anorexia and frank descriptions of teen sexuality.

And then of course there is a ton of international YA in translation – popular ones include Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series, the Twilight series, Harry Potter of course. Oh and I’ve recently been seeing Michelle Zink’s Prophesy of the Sisters everywhere!

Best thing about YA blogging:
Getting to interact with all these super creative and genuinely nice authors. It is so inspiring.

YA blogs that you would recommend from Germany:
I don’t know of any!

Lenore kindly contributed all the way from her adopted home of Germany and tomorrow we have Liyana from Singapore dropping by for a chat!

Other fabulous international bloggers:

Marjolein from The Netherlands
Rhiannon from Melbourne, Australia
Silvia from Ripollet, Spain
Thao from Vietnam
Jo from London, UK
Lauren and Alex from Canada
Alea from USA
Prodhi from Banglades

Steph from Australia

Tarie from the Philippines

International YA Blogger Celebration: Jenny from the UK

Name: Jenny
Country: Near Manchester, England.
Blog: Wondrous Reads

Your favourite YA title: My favourite book in terms of enjoyment is Twilight by Stephenie Meyer -- I'm completely obsessed with everything about that series. If you asked me the best book I've ever read, I would without a doubt say The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. To me, it is flawless.
Favourite New Find: I'm going to have to say Hush, Hush by the lovely Becca Fitzpatrick. I read it in one go, the cover is my all-time favourite, and I was captivated from start to finish. I also have a thing for bad boy angel Patch... he's my latest YA crush.
Bookstore of Choice: Borders! I work there, so... I'm a loyal employee ;)
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: Recently, I can be found stalking Becca Fitzpatrick's blog. I've loved following the progress of Hush, Hush, and have enjoyed seeing everything unfold.

Book Blogging from the UK
Best thing about being from England:
Getting the best of both worlds - UK & US books, TV shows and music. Pretty much everything from the US is easily accessible here, which is good.

What is the state of YA literature in England?
It's definitely getting better. I've noticed an influx of new UK authors and books over the last couple of years or so, along with more emphasis on promoting YA titles. If you walk into any UK Borders or Waterstones store now, the teen section is a lot bigger than it used to be. Also, more US books are getting UK printings, which is brilliant!

How accessible are international YA titles in your country:
Amazon.co.uk is where I go! They import most US titles, and have a back catalogue of older books in stock. UK stores don't tend to have many imports, but every now and then we randomly get sent a US title or two. Without Amazon, I would be completely lost when it came to reading.

Authors that you would recommend:
Kevin Brooks (gritty and realistic), Louise Rennison (funniest author), Liz Rettig (second funniest author), Marcus Sedgwick (fantastic writer), Luisa Plaja (very fun books!) and Lucy Christopher (She has one of the best UK debuts I've read).

Most popular YA author in England:
I think it's going to be the same as everywhere: Stephenie Meyer. Her rise to fame over here has been amazing to witness. I remember when I would mention her name or books and people would look at me with a very confused expression... now it's all anyone talks about!

Best thing about YA blogging:
Finding new books and authors, and talking to people who love the same things I do. I've met some brilliant online blogging friends from all over the world, and I love talking to them about books, TV, music and life in general. It's a fantastic community, and I'm really lucky to be a part of it.

YA blogs that you would recommend from your own country:
Chicklish, So Many Books, So Little Time, Ink and Paper, About Books, and I Want to Read That.

Thanks Jenny! Tomorrow we are heading over to Germany with the lovely Lenore from Presenting Lenore....

Death Hags with Kathy Charles

Today the lovely Kathy Charles (author of Hollywood Ending) was interviewed on Australia's "9am with David & Kim" show. Follow this link to see her thoughts on "death hags", her US book deal and John Belushi. You have to watch to just see the male host get increasingly excited, exposing his own death hag tendencies.

Kathy's debut novel is a spectacular read as Stephanie Kuehnert espouses "dark and disturbing the way good books should be. Unlike any other YA". If you'd like to read my thoughts on this fantastic novel then you can find my review here. Lucky for you all, Kuehnert's publisher MTV Books has purchased the distributing rights for this novel so you can get your greedy hands on it from 2010.

What's Hollywood Ending all about...? Pink haired Hilda and endearing punk Benji, both seventeen, have an obsessive hobby—they haunt the places where Hollywood celebrities have died.

In rundown Echo Park, once the hub of the movie business, they find the squalid apartment where a second-rate silent movie star stabbed himself to death with nail scissors. Its current tenant is Hank, an old man with a mysterious past.

While Benji dives deeper into the cult of celebrity death, Hank and Hilda make an unlikely pair. Then Jake the screenwriter turns up. What’s his story?

Kathy will be with me next week on the blog with an interview on her debut novel, I will also be running a competition for the book. Make sure you check in next week!

For those of you wanting some more info on the dark subject matter of this novel, take a look at these "death hag" excursions that Kathy recorded in LA.

International YA Blogger Celebration: Tarie from The Philippines

Name: Tarie
Country: I live in Quezon City, which is part of Metro Manila, Philippines. Metro Manila is the political and economic capital of the Philippines. Many will also say that it is the literary capital of the Philippines.
Blog: Into the Wardrobe, an international blog on literature for the young and young at heart.

Your Favourite YA title: My favorite YA novel is Good Enough by Paula Yoo, because it perfectly captures the academic pressures of senior year in high school. Paula Yoo is my favorite YA author because not only does she write cool books for children and teens, she also writes for cool TV shows and plays cool violin music!

Favourite New Find: The YA novel Chenxi and the Foreigner by Sally Rippin, a jaw-droppingly accurate portrayal of 1980s China/Asia. This novel blew me away.

Bookstore of Choice: I like two bookstores in the Philippines: Fully Booked and Power Books.

Book Blogging from The Philipines
Author blog you are most likely to be found stalking: I visit jama rattigan's alphabet soup almost every day. Jama is a picture book writer and her blog is about children's and YA books - and food!

Best thing about being from the Philippines:

The absolute best thing about being from the Philippines is having extremely close family ties. I'd say the second best thing is the physical beauty of the Philippine islands.

What is the state of YA literature in the Philipines?

Filipino YA literature isn't yet as developed as Filipino children's literature (particularly picture books), but I think this is an exciting time for Filipino YA literature because it is starting to grow and people are starting to explore it. The beginning of something is always exciting. :o)

How accessible are international YA titles in the Philipines:

Very accessible. If I want to buy an international YA book, all I need to do is go to my local bookstore. If a title isn't available, I just order it through my local bookstore or order through Amazon.

I just wish that more Australian YA was available in the Philippines. :o( I really want to read Australian YA!

Authors that you would recommend:

I recommend Perpilili Vivienne Tiongson, who wrote “I Hate My Mother!": Magnetic levitation, a grain of rice & 3 women, a Filipino YA novel in English that is an authentic look at a turbulent and complicated mother-daughter relationship.

I also recommend G.T. Los Baños, who wrote Playing It Safe, a very enjoyable Filipino YA novel in English about sports, university life, and relationships.

Most popular YA author in your country:

Stephenie Meyer!

Best thing about YA blogging:

The best thing about YA blogging is discovering and reading novels that entertain me as well as change the way I think or feel about life.

YA blogs that you would recommend from the Philipines:

I haven't yet found a Filipino blog that focuses on YA. Even my own blog isn't solely focused on YA! I also blog a lot about picture books and middle grade fiction. But another Filipino blog that I would definitely recommend is Bibliophile Stalker, which is about speculative fiction from all over the world, including YA specualtive fiction.

Thanks muchly Tarie! Wow, we're more than half way through the International YA Bloggers Celebration and tomorrow you get to meet to spritely Jenny from the UK.

______
International YA Blogger Celebration posts:
Marjolein from The Netherlands
Rhiannon from Melbourne, Australia
Silvia from Ripollet, Spain
Thao from Vietnam
Jo from London, UK
Lauren and Alex from Canada
Alea from USA
Prodhi from Bangladesh

Steph from Australia

and more to come each day...

In My Mailbox - 20 September

IMM is brought to you by Alea and Kristi - it is also an award winning meme from this week, having received a BBAW award! Congrats to all that make it such a successful community grower and awesome book, word-of-mouth (stoke of key?) spreader.

As you may have noticed I haven't posted a review in the last week or so. This is due to me hitting the home straight of Inky shortlist reading plus report writing time at work. It's a smidge crazy but I am confident that it will all work out.

This past week I have been highlighting bloggers from across the world, to raise their profile and also to share how diverse the blogosphere is. Please take the time to learn about some of our blogging colleagues from places such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, London, Phillipines, The Netherlands and other lovley places (all of which have been invaded by Twilight). Every day is a new blogger so definitely check out their thoughts on YA in their corner of the world and their blogs too.

Banquo's Son - TK Roxborough

How do you choose between love and honour?

Fleance, the 21-year old son of Scottish thane Banquo has been living rough in the woods of northern England since he escaped on that fateful night ten years ago when his father was brutally murdered.

He has never told anyone who he is because he has yet to discover who wanted him dead but he has learnt things - how to survive, how to use a cross bow, how not to trust anyone, but also how to love.

But before he can truly give himself to the beautiful Rosie, Fleance must avenge the
murder of his father and claim what is rightfully his.

Through good luck or chance Fleance journeys to Scotland and meets the charismatic Duncan, 22-years-old and next in line to the throne.

The two men are opposites - Fleance dark and mysterious, Duncan fair and open.

We also meet Duncan's sister Rachel, beautiful and royal and at the same time a gentle foil to Rosie's passionate nature.

With the throne of Scotland waiting to be claimed the choices facing Fleance will change his life forever while the secrets from his past threaten to bring down the throne of Scotland.

I am intrigued by this novel. It seems to be one of many YA titles at the moment that is turning Shakespeare on it's ear a little. It will be interesting to see how successful it is. It's also great to be reading a New Zealand author for once.

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers 13 cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

I have heard many things about this book; it's power and also it's manipulation of the reader. I guess it is time for me to pick a side. I do love the cover though, I am guessing this is the UK/Australia/New Zealand version.

Butterfly - Sonya Hartnett

Here is Plum Coyle, on the threshold of adolescence, striving to be new. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching: her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, at ease. The strength in the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed - a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a penny - will make sure of it.

Over the next couple of weeks, Plum's life will change. Her beautiful neighbour Maureen will begin to show her how she might fly. The older brothers she adores - the charismatic Justin, the enigmatic Cydar - will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends - her worst enemies - will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down.

Who ever forgets what happens when you're fourteen?

The new paperback cover is cute but knowing what I do about Harnett's work, I doubt the content is. Defnitely one to read once I've finished my current stockpile of books.

Gang Lands: Brazil - Ross Kemp

DEEP in the heart of Rio, a new gang has emerged in the favelas. A gang with a sinister reputation, heavy-duty weaponry and a seemingly limitless drug supply.

THE GANG is always one step ahead of the harassed Brazilian drug enforcement agencies – who is backing them?

RECRUITED by the shady organisation Trojan Industries, teenage rebel LUIZ ALVES must gain initiation, infiltrate the gang and find out.

BUT there are guns on every street corner and the threat of exposure – and a brutal death – hangs over him.

Luiz's mission of discovery isn't his biggest problem.

STAYING ALIVE IS.

I have no shame in saying that this novel has illicited no interest in me whatsoever. Shame.

I have also had the great pleasure of contributing a post for My Friend Amy at the BBAW site. I was asked to contribute a piece on Australian YA and (barring the typos) I hope you enjoy it!