Ally Carter, Out of Sight, Out of Time

Ally Carter is one of the most charming women I have ever met. I love her books (both series) and I love her. And she is coming to Kepler's on

MARCH 21
at 7.00

so anyone in the Bay Area should mark it on your calendars and make sure you come and hear her talk about her newest Gallagher Girl book, Out of Sight, Out of Time

Background: With more than a million Gallagher Girls books sold, a legion of fans have fallen in love with the New York Times best-selling spy-girl series, and the fifth book delivers the most nerve-wracking, high-stakes adventure yet.

The book: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, her memory is a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie's summer vacation are the bruises on her body and dirt under her nails. All she wants is to go home. But even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers as Cammie and her friends face their most difficult challenge yet. With only their training and a few clues to guide them, the girls go in search of answers on the other side of the world. But the Circle is hot on their trail and will stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

see video:



and join us!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Review

Hazel Grace meets Augustus Waters at a cancer support group. Hazel has thyroid cancer, carries around an oxygen tank, and feels like she is living on borrowed time. Gus has osteosarcoma and has had a portion of a leg removed. As they get to know each other Hazel shares her favorite book, An Imperial Affliction (that I googled because I SO wanted it to be real). They are both witty and perceptive, charming and incredibly likeable, which makes the book all the more heartbreaking.

But what could have been a very depressing book isn't at all. It's about two people meeting their match and finding out how precious life is, determined to live undeterred by their diagnoses. As Hazel herself says, "cancer books suck" but although this is a very real picture of how they deal with their illnesses and their friends illnesses, it is also full of hope. The book leads to a trip to Amsterdam, there's lots of humor, and yes, it made me weep. But it is beautiful, touching, and full of empathy. I was deeply affected by this book and find it still lives with me. John Green is a very talented writer and this, for me, is his best work. It deserves every prize I am sure it will win.

Tonight - Alexander Gordon Smith

Tonight: Alexander Gordon Smith at 7.00 and he'll be talking about his newest book: Fugitives: Escape from Furnace 4

Furnace Penitentiary is the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, Alex has done the impossible and escaped. But the battle for freedom is only just beginning. Charged with his superhuman abilities, Alex must uncover the last of Furnace’s secrets — the truth about Alfred Furnace, the man who built the prison. And to do that he must stop running and finally confront his greatest fears.

Can't wait!

For those of you who don't know his books, see the book trailer below



See you tonight!

Starters by Lissa Price - review

How far would you go to help the ones you love? Would you let someone else live in your body?

In Callie's world the Spore Wars killed anyone not vaccinated, including her parents. So only the very old and the very young survived. Callie lives with her little brother Tyler and her friend Michael. They live in abandoned buildings, never have enough to eat, and fight continuously for survival. They know that to be caught by the Marshals means being thrown into forced work camps. Then Callie hears of Prime Destination, a company where the young and beautiful can rent out their bodies to the old for a lot of money - with strict limits of course. It seems like the perfect way out of her problems and to help Tyler who is sick.

But there's a glitch, a malfunction in the chip they put in her brain, and she wakes up on the floor at a dance in her renter's life. She's back in her own body but she can live her renter's life. She can't believe her luck, especially when she meets Blake. But there is a catch - there is always a catch. And she starts to hear her renter's voice in her head. And her renter has a plan. This is a very disturbing look into the future, a real page turner that rang true. Can't wait for the sequel.

TC Boyle

Yay, TC Boyle stopped by today to sign stock. Love his books.

Fierce Reads comes to Keplers June 8th

In a brainstorming session, Angus Killick, newly appointed v-p and associate publisher of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, had one of those bolts of lightning. He thought: Fierce. "Here's a word teens relate to. If something is fierce, something is really great," he said. "It's edgy, too." A campaign was born: "Fierce Reads."

The Four Books for Fierce Reads are:

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Holt)
Struck by Jennifer Bosworth (FSG)
Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (Feiwel & Friends)
Monument 14 by Emily Laybourne (Feiwel & Friends)
Guest for the tour: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

"We looked at all these amazing debut novels and came up with a great word that we could hang it all on. There's nothing that says a Fierce Read has to be a new author, though it so happens that all four this spring are new authors." Special guest authors will attend some of the Fierce Reads events, too.

"The ultimate goal," explained Killick, "is to create an online home and a brand where teens can interact with books they love and be a part of the discovery of new books." Fierce Reads will promote books across all imprints, with a mix of debut and well-known authors. Killick sees this as a brand to build on over several seasons, one that he hopes will be embraced by not only teens but also librarians and teachers.

And the best news: they will be at Kepler's with
Marissa Meyer, who wrote Cinder (which I loved) on June 8th.
Don't miss this.

Andre Norton Awards

They've just announced the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Books. What a great list. Which have you read? Which do you recommend? I LOVED Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I would recommend it to everyone. Which shall I read next?


Akata Witch, Nnedi Okorafor (Viking Juvenile)
Chime, Franny Billingsley (Dial Books; Bloomsbury)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Hodder & Stoughton)
Everybody Sees the Ants, A.S. King (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
The Boy at the End of the World, Greg van Eekhout (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman (Big Mouth House)
The Girl of Fire and Thorns, Rae Carson (Greenwillow Books)
Ultraviolet, R.J. Anderson (Orchard Books; Carolrhoda Lab)

Game of Thrones Season 2 trailer

Full disclosure: I'm such a big fan of George RR Martin's Game of Thrones series - both books and TV series. HBO has upped the tension for the second season of Game of Thrones, with a new video offering more details on the impending war in Westeros. It's SO good and makes me want it to start right now.



According to the Hollywood Reporter, here are the 10 best lines from the new video:

1. "Sometimes those with the most power have the least grace."
2. "The war of five kings they're calling it; nothing matters but how it ends."
3. "The time to strike is now, the Starks fight the Lannisters, the Baratheons fight each other."
4. "The Iron Throne is mine, by right."
5. "You have inherited your father's responsibilities -- they come at a cost."
6. "The comet means one thing, boy: dragons."
7. "They will hit us in force and they won't run away when we hit back."
8. "You want to lead one day? Well learn how to follow."
9. "When my dragons are grown, we will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground!"
10. "The king is a lost cause; it's the rest of us I'm worried about now."