Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) and Maira Kalman

You must have all heard of Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman's fabulous new book, Why We Broke Up. And that they are on tour. Well, they will be at Kepler's on Thursday, February 2, at 7:00 p.m.

Yes, it was originally scheduled to be held at the Menlo Park Council Chambers, but it has been changed and I just want everyone to know that it will now be held in-store. So, for anyone who has ever been heartbroken, join us. Share your stories on our board (see left). Hear their stories and join us for an unforgettable evening.

I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

And even better: we are giving out signing line tickets with every copy of the book you buy from us. And these tickets will be numbered. So the earlier you buy the book, the less time you will spend in line waiting to meet and get your book signed by Daniel and Maira. Can’t get better than that!

And if you come on Thursday, stop me and introduce yourself. Always a pleasure to meet you

Monday, January 30, 2012

Cinder By Marissa Meyer - Review

We all know the story of Cinderella – now imagine her as a cyborg in a world ravaged by a plague, set after World War IV in New Beijing. She still has an evil stepmother/guardian, two step-sisters, but one of them develops symptoms of the illness and Cinder is blamed for her exposure. This Cinder is a mechanic and meets the young Prince Kai in the marketplace when he brings his android to be fixed. And of course there is a ball, which her stepmother does not want her to attend.

Add to this mix a Lunar Queen who visits unexpectedly after the Emperor dies, wanting to marry the Prince and ultimately rule Earth, a missing princess, and experiments to cure this plague and you get a very different Cinderella story.

I love fractured fairy tales and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It retains most of the traditional elements but is also a completely different story. This is the first of a quartet, it’s unusual, fun, and leaves you wanting the second installment NOW.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Daughter of the Centaurs by KK Ross - Review

Here's Antonia's review of Daughter of the Centaurs. Looks great


Malora was young when she witnessed her father and his hunters attacked and killed by great winged beasts from the sky. In the months that followed Malora's village was decimated by the same creatures. Sent away by her mother as her only hope of survival, Malora spends years on the plains with her herd of horses before she is captured by a strange group of people long thought mythical - the Centaurs.

Treated almost as a pet by these vain, proud creatures, Malora must learn their ways in order to not only survive - but thrive. With unexpected allies in this hostile realm Malora faces her future as the last of her kind.

Different, exciting and fun, this first book in The Centauriad Trilogy left me eager for more.

YALSA's 2012 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults

Here's YALSA's top ten list for best fictions for young adults. If you want the whole list you can go here

Carson, Rae. The Girl of Fire and Thorns.
Cohen, Joshua C. Leverage.
King, A.S. Everybody Sees the Ants.
McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. Under the Mesquite.
Myracle, Lauren. Shine.
Ness, Patrick. A Monster Calls. Illus by Jim Kay.
Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray.
Stiefvater, Maggie. The Scorpio Races.
Taylor, Laini. Daughter of Smoke and Bone.
Zarr, Sara. How to Save a Life.

Hm, do you agree? I have only read 4 on this list (but shh, don't tell anyone!) 3 others are on my TBR pile. Sigh.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Lauren Myracle

I had the great pleasure of hosting Lauren Myracle at Kepler’s yesterday. What a lovely person - so thoughtful and fun. Bit of background: She’s the author of numerous young adult novels and holds an MA in English and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. She has written many novels, including the New York Times bestselling IM books, ttyl, ttfn, and l8r, g8r.

But did you know that her first novel, Kissing Kate, was selected as one of ALA's "Best Books for Young Adults" for 2004, was named by Booklist as one of the "Top Ten Youth Romances" of the year, as well as one of the "Top Ten Books by New Writers." She went on to write the middle grade series Eleven, Twelve, etc , the Flower Power Series as well as Peace Love and Baby Ducks, Bliss, How to Be Bad, and Rhymes with Witches.

According to the ALA Lauren’s books were one of the most challenged books of 2009 and continue to be challenged. And then there was the firestorm with the National Book Foundation and Shine. I’ll just say that Lauren handled it all with grace and maturity and the book is fantastic and deserved its place on the shortlist. And, as she tells it, she learned a lot, and got the National Book Foundation to donate $5000 to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. I hope the National Book Foundation judges learned from this too.


Lauren has an easy and open style, she sat perched on a stool and chatted about her writing, her inspiration, her path to publication, and her books, how she works at Starbucks and listens to all the conversations around her - and was so supportive and interested in her audience. They had great questions. If you get a chance, go and hear her. It's well worth it.

And, by the way, these photos were taken by Nancy aka the Ravenous Reader because my camera died. Thank you Nancy.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Lauren Myracle - TONIGHT

Lauren Myracle is in the Bay Area this week and is touring local schools today to talk about her new Flower Power book, Ooopsy Daisy, and will be at Kepler's tonight (Jan 23) at 7.00 to talk about her wonderful book, Shine.

Join us!

Want to know more about the book?

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. This daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.

Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

ALA winners

So - it appears all my picks were incorrect but I did guess a few. And now I've got even more books added to my TBR pile...What did you think of this list? Did you do a happy dance when you saw this? Did they include your favorites? And what books did they overlook?

John Newbery Medal
“Dead End in Norvelt,” written by Jack Gantos
Honor Books: "Inside Out & Back Again," written by Thanhha Lai and
"Breaking Stalin’s Nose,”

Randolph Caldecott Medal :
“A Ball for Daisy," illustrated and written by Chris Raschka
Honor Books: “Blackout,” illustrated and written by John Rocco,
"Grandpa Green" illustrated and written by Lane Smith, and
“Me … Jane,” illustrated and written by Patrick McDonnell

Michael L. Printz Award:
“Where Things Come Back,” written by John Corey Whaley
Honor books : “Why We Broke Up,” written by Daniel Handler, art by Maira Kalman,
“The Returning,” written by Christine Hinwood and
“The Scorpio Races,” written by Maggie Stiefvater

Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award:
Kadir Nelson, author and illustrator of “Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans,”
.
William C. Morris Award :
“Where Things Come Back,” written by John Corey Whaley .
Finalists: “Girl of Fire and Thorns,” written by Rae Carson,
“Paper Covers Rock,” written by Jenny Hubbard, ,
“Under the Mesquite,” written by Guadalupe Garcia McCall, and
“Between Shades of Gray,” written by Ruta Sepetys,

Schneider Family Book Award:
“Close to famous,” written by Joan Bauer and
“Wonderstruck: A Novel in Words and Pictures,” written by Brian Selznick .
“The Running Dream,” written by Wendelin Van Dranen

Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences:
•“Big Girl Small,” by Rachel DeWoskin
•“In Zanesville,” by Jo Ann Beard
•“The Lover’s Dictionary,” by David Levithan
•“The New Kids: Big Dreams and Brave Journeys at a High School for Immigrant Teens,” by Brooke Hauser
•“The Night Circus,” by Erin Morgenstern
•“Ready Player One,” by Ernest Cline
•“Robopocalypse: A Novel,” by Daniel H. Wilson
•“Salvage the Bones,” by Jesmyn Ward
•“The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt: A Novel in Pictures
•“The Talk-Funny Girl,” by Roland Merullo

So, I guess, when I'm finished Under the Never Sky (which is SO very good) I'm going to turn to Where Things Come Back!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Upcoming Events

Oh we have such great events coming up. Just want to recap for you (so I've included all ages from picture books to teen events). Hope to see any of you who live in teh Bay Area at many of these events. SO excited.

Lauren Myracle
Monday, January 23, 7:00 p.m.
Shine

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. This daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.

Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

John Green

Friday, January 27, 7:00 p.m.
The Fault in Our Stars
Fox Theatre, 2215 Broadway St., Redwood City

John Green is coming to the Fox Theatre on January 27 to celebrate his new book with his brother, Hank. Be prepared for a night of music, readings, comedy, free posters, fancy programs, and vlogbrother mayhem! This will be unlike any other reading or booksigning. Come and be entertained.

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is John Green's most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

This is a ticketed event; we are sold out.


Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) and Maira Kalman
Thursday, February 2, 7:00 p.m.
Why We Broke Up
Menlo Park Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park

Have you ever had your heart broken?

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

We can’t tell you how excited we are for this event. And you can imagine how long the signing line will be. The good news is that we are giving out signing line tickets with every copy of the book you buy from Kepler’s. And these tickets will be numbered. So the earlier you buy the book, the less time you will spend in line waiting to meet and get your book signed by Daniel and Maira. Can’t get better than that!


Love Maia

Thursday, February 9, 6:00 p.m.
DJ Rising

The first thing I hear is music. The first thing I've always heard is music. Meet Marley, an unassuming high school junior who breathes in music like oxygen. In between caring for his heroin-addicted mother, and keeping his scholarship at a fancy prep school, he dreams of becoming a professional DJ. When chance lands Marley his first real DJ job, his career as "DJ Ice" suddenly skyrockets. But when heart-rending disaster at home brings Marley crashing back down to earth, he is torn between obligation and following his dreams.

Love Maia share Marley's passion for music and his belief in dreaming big. She loves the freeing energy of the club world, as well as pizza, kickboxing, butterflies, death metal, and underground hip-hop. When not writing, Love can be found playing drums in an alternative rock band in and around San Francisco.

Meg Rosoff
Thursday, February 16, 7:00 p.m.
There Is No Dog

What if God were a teenaged boy? In the beginning, Bob created the heavens and the earth and the beasts of the field and the creatures of the sea, and twenty-five million other species (including lots of cute girls). But mostly he prefers eating junk food and leaving his dirty clothes in a heap at the side of his bed. Every time he falls in love, Earth erupts in natural disasters, and it's usually Bob's beleaguered assistant, Mr. B., who is left cleaning up the mess. So humankind is going to be very sorry indeed that Bob ever ran into a beautiful, completely irresistible girl called Lucy...

Meg Rosoff's debut novel, How I Live Now, won the Michael L. Printz Award and was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Just in Case won the 2007 CILIP Carnegie Medal and was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. What I Was was shortlisted for the 2008 CILIP Carnegie Medal.


Story Time with Jennifer Fosberry
Sunday, February 19, 11:30 a.m.
Isabella: Girl on the Go

Jennifer Fosberry takes us on a new imaginative journey featuring everyone's favorite purple-haired, little girl. Previously, Isabella discovered her favorite heroes in My Name Is Not Isabella. Now she travels around the world experiencing its greatest wonders without ever leaving her own backyard.


Story Time with Alexandra Day

Sunday, February 26, 11:30 a.m.
The Fairy Dogfather

Alexandra Day is a legendary storyteller who has a knack for surprising juxtapositions. She is the creator of the rottweiler named Carl who gently tends to an infant in a series of books that began in 1985. Now comes The Fairy Dogfather.

Hector has trouble differentiating the letters D and G. Thus when he writes a request for a fairy godfather, the Fairy Dogfather arrives instead wearing a fedora and smoking a cigar. He isn’t what Hector had in mind at all. He uses big words, and instead of simply granting Hector’s wishes, like a regular fairy godmother, he is a rather demanding visitor. And Hector needs a present for his Mom’s birthday right away. Can the Fairy Dogfather help grant his wishes?

Free the Children presents Spencer West
Friday, March 9, 7:00 p.m.
Standing Tall: My Journey

Spencer West is many things. Accomplished speaker. University graduate. Natural prankster. Former cheerleader. And a young man without legs - something that has never held him back. Spencer was born without the use of his legs. When he was five, doctors decided to amputate below his pelvis to better help him get around. It didn't bother him; he was Superman and nothing would ever get in his way. Or so he thought.

Navigating through life on his hands, Spencer has always lived with purpose. But he wanted more out of life than just a paycheck and material possessions. He wanted to make an impact but wasn't always sure how. That was until he had the epiphany: He was different for a reason. Infused with humour and humility, Spencer has never lost the hope or courage he needed to tackle personal obstacles-bullying, isolation, failure, or pride. His secret? Always standing tall.

Ally Carter

Wednesday, March 21, 7:00 p.m.
Out of Sight, Out of Time

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 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.

Tiger's Curse series by Colleen Houck

Another of Marilyn's fabulous reviews, this time for Tiger's Curse series by Colleen Houck. Must. read. faster.

Who wouldn't want adventure in exotic lands hunting for mythic relics with exciting gorgeous guys? Every girl does and Kelsey's no different. But she's in for some big surprises! The circus' white tiger she's tasked to care for is being moved to a preserve in India. Kels feels great loss by the news of the tiger's departure but is pleased to learn she'll be helping the tiger in transit to India. Imagine her surprise to discover the white tiger is actually an Indian prince trapped in the tiger's body!

Kels is now on a whole new life path tracking ancient evil to free Ren and his brother from their tiger curse. This series has it all - romance, intrigue, crazy adventure with awesome princes! Read it - you'll be glad you do!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight By Jennifer Smith - Review

Marilyn just read this and LOVED it. OK, another one onto my pile. (I'm reading Cinder right now...review soon). Here's Marilyn's review

Finally it's the day to fly to London for her dad's wedding and Hadley dreads it, as she has for the past six months. It seems only a minute since her parents' divorce and though both her mom and dad have moved on, Hadley is still angry and hurt. So of course, a pile of little things makes her late for her flight by four minutes. FOUR MINUTES!!! Could this weekend get worse for her?

As her anger stews and brews to new levels a very cute guy helps her with her bag and actually makes her smile and joke. As luck would have it, Oliver (that cute guy) is her seat mate on the next flight to London. During their long flight they talk like they've known each other for years when Oliver asks Hadley what she thinks the statistical probability of falling in love on first sight is....hmmmm... This story is a fun romp of just missed opportunities and happy surprises - maybe there IS a chance of love at first sight...

Sunday, January 8, 2012

The Iron King By Julie Kagawa - Review

Things have not been straightforward for Meghan Chase since her father disappeared when she was six. But her world gets even stranger on her 16th birthday: her brother disappears leaving a changeling in his place and her best friend admits that he is actually Robin Greenfellow (better known as Puck - yes, THAT Puck from Midsummer Night's Dream). He tells her that to rescue her brother she has to find him in the Never Never (faeryland). Not exactly the birthday she had hoped for.

It gets stranger. Once there she discovers she is actually the daughter of Oberon, king of the Seelie Court. And Meghan has to find out what that means and how far she will go to save her brother. She is attacked by goblins and trolls, nixies and satyrs. There's a talking cat, a handsome prince, a very real edge of danger, an enemy that could endanger the entire fey world, and a lot of nonstop action that makes this a must-read.

This is the first of the Iron Fey Series and is followed by The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen, and The Iron Knight. SO many people have told me to read this series - I have no idea why I waited so long. They were all right. It's addictive. I'm turning to The Iron Daughter RIGHT NOW!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Why We Broke Up

Did you hear? We're hosting Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) and Maira Kalman on February 2nd at 7.00 pm for their new book, WHY WE BROKE UP.
It'll be at the Menlo Park Council Chambers, 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park which is an awesome venue, really comfortable, and can hold a lot of people

For those of you who don't know anything about the book, here's back cover copy:
Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.

We can’t tell you how excited we are for this event. And you can imagine how long the signing line will be. The good news is that we are giving out signing line tickets with every copy of the book you buy from Kepler’s. And these tickets will be numbered. So the earlier you buy the book, the less time you will spend in line waiting to meet and get your book signed by Daniel and Maira. Can’t get better than that!

If you want to order onine click here

And click here to go to Entertainment Weekly to watch a video of Daniel at Grand Central Station interviewing people about their own breakups. It's hilarious.

Finally we have a bulletin board in the store filling up with postcards on which people have written their own break up stories. I'll take a photo later this week and post it. If you would like to add yours story to our bulletin board either come in to the store and fill out a postcard, or add your story to the comments beneath and I can fill it out for you! Let your story be heard!

Monday, January 2, 2012

Cybils Finalists

The Cybils have announced their finalists. Great choices

FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION

1. Angelfall by Susan Ee

2. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

3. Blood Red Road by Moira Young

4. Misfit by Jon Skovrom

5. Red Glove by Holly Black

6. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

7. The Shattering by Karen Healey

Tough to choose but I'm rooting for Anna Dressed in Blood (although Red Glove and Blood Red Road were awesome too).


YA FICTION

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

2. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

3. Bunheads by Sophie Flack

4. Everyone Sees the Ants by AS King

5. Frost by Marianna Baer

6. Leverage by Joshua Cohen

7. Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

Some I have to check out but I loved both Between Shades of Gray and Everyone Sees the Ants.

Which are your picks?

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - Review

Wishing everyone a very happy 2012. This is my first review of the year. One of my favorite holiday gifts. And it really is a fabulous book

The night circus arrives without warning. One day it is simply there, when yesterday it was not.

Take two illusionists who have been entered into a competition they know very little about. They are bound to compete but only one can walk away. And their arena is the circus. But Celia and Marco like to think they work together rather than against each other to make the circus ever more fantastic.

But it’s the circus itself that captured me from the start, with its black and white stripes, astounding clock, cloud maze, ice room, and acrobats - a place where the magic is real not an illusion. It travels constantly and we, like the reveurs, simply long to travel with it, wearing a red scarf, utterly besotted.

I lingered over every description, read it as though moving through the tents myself, pondering on the ideas of ability versus effort, and the simple magic of love. Mesmerizing, elegant, dark, and utterly addictive this is one of my favorites of 2011.