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In this edition of YA Wednesday, we say goodbye and thanks to non-YA author John
Updike.
His suburban Northeastern Rabbit, Run was a bizarrely soothing salve for my inland rural Northwestern, I-don't-want-my-life-to-be-conventional YA woes. He was the first writer I ever met in real life, and I was a little blown away that this extremely well-mannered, quiet man had written that book.
The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King
Okay.
This book is officially coming out February 1, but people (including
me) have been blogging about it for months. With good reason. The Dust of 100 Dogsis
complex. It's disheartening and terrifying one minute and twisted and
fun the next. The story opens when Emer, an Irish farmgirl turned
murderous pirate, dies and is cursed to live 100 times as a dog. On the
101st reincarnation, she is human again, and much of the first half of
the book rests with Saffron, who lives in current-day Pennsylvania with
a vaguely alcoholic mom and a druggie brother. Saffron
tells her story along with Emer's (throwing in a few "dog facts," or
things she learned during her various dog lives). By the end we are
firmly with Emer, and her cinematic Caribbean adventures take over with
some surprising twists. And, it doesn't hit you in the face, but King
gets into some pretty interesting philosophical territory about people
owning dogs, and the ways in which they have also "owned" other people.
But don't let that fool you, this is a romantic adventure, and a
totally fun read.
The book trailer matches Saffron's wry narration pretty well. (It has some spoilers, I think, but it doesn't give away too much):
You can also read an excerpt on the 100 Dogs website and at Flux.
Quick links...Publisher's Weekly unveiled the cover for Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, due out September 8.
Parties and Potions author Sarah Mlynowski has been making the blog rounds. On Sunday, she hijacked Lauren Myracle's blog. Monday, she talked with Ally Carter, and Tuesday she was on Cynsations.
Molly Ringwald is writing a book. (Thanks, Galley Cat!) It's not YA. But if anyone
says that her 80s characters have not completely influenced the world of YA, you have to be kidding. And she's on ABC Family's The Secret Life of The American Teenager. She plays the mom, but still. She talked with the L.A. Times about the show, and the book, which is due out this fall.
And the Buffy v. Twilight war continues.
Poor Edward. --Heidi
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