The Lightning Thief movie -- casting report!

More news from Rick Riordan about the casting for the film based on his book The Lightning Thief.

One of my favorite actresses, Catherine Keener, is set to play Percy's mom, Sally. And Jake Abel will play Luke.

Filming is underway in Vancouver!!

Cinda Williams Chima's new series... the cover art

One of my favorite authors, Cinda Williams Chima (author of the Warrior/Wizard/Dragon Heir books) will be releasing her new high-fantasy series next fall (specifically 10.13.09). Here's a peek at the cover art of the first installment, The Demon King.

The cover is gorgeous, and while it does have a similarity to the Heir Chronicles, it's my understanding that the Seven Realms series will be a total departure from those stories.

To learn more about this series, you can visit the author's blog here and check out my interview with CWC here.

And check back in the coming weeks for my review of The Dragon Heir, the third book of her Heir Chronicles.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I've struggled over the past week as to how I review this book. No question, 13 Reasons Why (Razorbill, 2007) is a stunningly written novel. Listed for grades 7 and up (due to mature themes and language), this debut from author Jay Asher made quite a stir when it was released, earning rave reviews. While I'm a bit late on the bandwagon, this is one of those books that I have no doubt will be around a long, long while. And for good reason.

It's important.

There are some books that, as an adult, you think: if only every teenager would read this and take it to heart, maybe things would be different. The subject of teenage suicide is a difficult one, but Asher tackles it head on with an engaging premise that not only hooks you from the first page, but drags you along through the trainwreck to follow. And by trainwreck, I mean Hannah Baker's life.

High school student Clay Jensen comes home to find a package waiting for him. Inside are a bunch of cassette tapes. He's able to listen to these antiquated recordings thanks to the old cassette player in the garage. Curious, he pops one in and hears the voice of a girl he'd crushed on for years. A girl who committed suicide a few weeks before.

Hannah Baker has left a detailed suicide note in the form of these tapes, and on them are her 13 reasons why she's decided to end her life. The people involved (each star in their own personal cassette side) are told pointedly by Hannah how they contributed to her downfall.

After listening to all the stories on the tapes, they are instructed to send them on to the next person. Hannah has even taken steps to ensure everyone hears her words by making a second set, which will be publicly released if the tapes don't continue their journey to the end.

Clay is stunned. He can't imagine what he could have done to Hannah to be included on this horrific list. But he's compelled to listen, not simply because it is required, but because he's desperate to understand why Hannah did what she did.

Asher tells the story alternating between Clay's first person POV and Hannah's voice on the tapes, and the result is captivating. The audio edition, which I listened to, was mesmerizing in the performances and that you feel as if you are listening along with Clay.

But back to the importance of this book. High school is not the easiest time in anyone's life, and even for the privileged and popular, it can be tough. Struggling with self-discovery, it's too easy to overlook the little things we do to each other that can be hurtful. If this story does anything, it points out that everyone has a chance to make another's life better, or worse. Everything affects everything.

Hannah's downward spiral is slow and painful, and listening to it is, as I said, like watching a trainwreck happen before your very eyes (or ears). Clay's anguish and helplessness are palpable and while the ending does offer some hope, most of this book is horribly depressing. But it should be. A story about someone ending their own life absolutely should be depressing, and teenagers in particular need to always remember that small kindnesses can be a glimmer of hope to someone in pain.

While that sounds preachy, Asher's book is anything but. One of the many reasons why 13 Reasons Why should be required reading for high school freshmen. This story has stuck with me for days now, I keep thinking about how high school really hasn't changed that much since I was there -- and that the human element of the way certain people are treated never seems to change. Asher captures this so well through the voices of both Hannah and Clay.

A strong 4 bookmarks.

Sneak Peek at Being Nikki, Sequel to Airhead by Meg Cabot

The always lovely Meg Cabot has posted a sneak preview of her upcoming sequel to Airhead (see my review here) on her website. Interested? Click here

The book will be out May 5th. Can't wait!!

Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Oh my. Oh my oh my oh my.

Stephenie Meyer, honey, watch out. Twilight fans, you are gonna l-o-v-e Eternal (2009, Candlewick) -- the follow up/prequel to Tantalize -- written for ages 14 and up by Cynthia Leitich Smith (read my interview with her here.)

Take one guardian angel, Zachary, who happens to be crushing on his charge: Miranda. Although Miranda's number has come up and she is meant to stumble into an open grave while exploring a local graveyard, Zachary does the unthinkable to save her from breaking her neck -- he appears.

This begins a string of events that leads to Miranda's kidnapping and ultimate conversion into a vampire... by the reigning Dracula, no less.

A year later, and now the heir to the Drac empire, Miranda is living the high life, but still has a smidgen of goodness left in her. Zachary, now a "fallen" angel since he broke the rules, is given an earthly assignment to hunt down and destroy Miranda's new "father figure". Without realizing he will find Miranda there, Zach finds his way to Chicago and Dracula's castle, landing a job as Miranda's new personal assistant.

The relationship between the angelic boy and vamp girl develops in alternating first person chapters delivered by both Zachary and Miranda, which is the perfect way to showcase the author's trademark dry wit. Like in Tantalize, this is a world where vampires and were-wolves (and were-any animal, including armadillos) are known to exist. However, these creatures of the night remain on the fringes of society -- feared and, for those trying to live among us, prejudiced against. As in Tantalize, Smith draws this world so naturally that when a character turns out to be were-something or other, you don't blink an eye, you just go with it.

Zachary and Miranda have an on-the-page chemistry that just might rival Edward and Bella, if only due to the lovely twist surrounding their polar opposite origins. Zachary won me over in the first chapter, and if it took me a bit longer to warm up to Miranda then that might have something to do with her cold-bloodedness early on.

This is a vampire book, and their bloodlust is not sugarcoated whatsoever, but the message of good triumphing over evil shines throughout. A true page-turner, I can't imagine any fan of gothic suspense/romance not thoroughly enjoying this -- and not just YA readers either. I am eagerly awaiting the final installment, Blessed, where we return to Austin and Sanguini's to find out how all the characters are connected. 4 1/2 bookmarks!

Gregor the Overlander Series: The Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins

Make no mistake. Suzanne Collins' The Underland Chronicles are about war. The atrocities of war. The soul-crushing horrors of war. Which can be a little much for middle graders, except for the fact that this last installment wraps up the message so well.

Throughout the first four books, young Gregor has fallen into a world beneath New York city populated by humans, mice, rats and bats, then he found his lost father, nearly lost his baby sister and mother, and discovered that he himself is The Warrior featured in a prophecy surrounding the war between his new friends and the rats. A prophecy which states that The Warrior must die for the war to end.

Not too much to put on the shoulders of a 11 year old boy, but Gregor is a warrior. A rager, to be exact, which means he has an intensity of fighting that, once controlled, makes him the ultimate weapon. And in this final book, that weapon is put to the test.

Now, dealing with his feelings about the war, Luxa, Ripred, and the loss of many friends, Gregor continues his struggle to save Regalia from the Bane, even though he knows to do so means he will not come out alive (at least, according to the Prophecy of Time).

I am a huge Suzanne Collins fan and in The Code of Claw (May, 2007) she does a wonderful job of concluding the series in a touching, inspiring and optimistic way -- despite the violent last lap this installment takes.

Parents should note that these books are quite violent and action-packed, making them very appealing to young boys. This last one was the darkest of all five. But as the end is near, it becomes apparent that, for Gregor, it is darkest before the dawn.

I recommend this series with 4 bookmarks, but IMO it's more appropriate for the top end of the middle-grade set (closer to 12 than to 9).

Brandon Mull Rocked the House!

Took the kids and some of their friends to see Brandon Mull at the Plano book-signing last night and he fielded some great questions from the audience. He was SUPER nice and took the time to sign stacks of books from everyone, talk earnestly to all the kids and even pose for pictures. The kids now have their noses stuck in his latest book "Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary" and look for a review very soon right here at Cool Kids Read.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Graceling (2008, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), Kristin Cashore's debut novel, is a popular YA fantasy romance that is definitely for an older middle school/high school reader, IMO. Fans of Stephenie Meyer (Twilight), Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely) and Cassandra Clare (City of Bones) will eat this up.

Talk about girl power. Katsa has it in spades. Thanks to her "Grace".

In Katsa's fictional medieval world (that reminded me of Eragon in a way) there are some who are "Graced". What that Grace is depends on the person, but when you come into your Grace, your eyes change -- to two different colors -- so all will know you are a Graceling.

Katsa's grace showed itself when she was 8. And since her Grace is an amazing ability to fight (and even kill), it puts her in a precarious position. She is the niece of the King, and as his strong-arm, the now-grown Katsa is forced to threaten, torture and sometimes execute in the King's name.

And then, you guessed it, she meets a guy.

But not just any guy. Po is a prince. A Graced price. She knows this because of his eyes (one silver, one gold). Apparently, he likes her one blue eye and one green eye just as much, because he's one of the few people who will look her in the eye -- and who can give her a challenge in a fight.

He becomes her sparring partner of sorts, and although the characters are well-drawn and likable, and the action is tight, I wasn't finding anything special about this book.

And then I hit the halfway point.

Po and Katsa discover that a neighboring king is Graced as well, but with a Grace to manipulate the way people think. He has used his Grace to get away with unspeakable acts, but Po, because of his own secret Grace, is immune to the mind-control. Po's aunt is the King's wife and in order to save his cousin, Princess Bitterblue, Po and Katsa must not only rescue her, but find a way to kill the King or no one will be safe.

And of course along the way, Po and Katsa fall madly in love, with a passion that rivals Bella and Edward's.

The thing I liked most about this book was Katsa. She's uber tough, like seriously you would not want to mess with her. She has every man in the book terrified of her, yet she has a femininity and, dare I say, grace that transcends the violent nature. Her struggle to control her power, to come to terms with what it means for her future, and her feelings for Po, mirrors the same kinds of things the young women of today struggle against -- about how they look, how they behave toward boys, and fighting against stereotypes.

The entire last half of the book I just raced through, I couldn't put it down. 4 bookmarks and I look forward to more from this author.