Ally Carter entered fresh territory when she created the Gallagher Girls series. A group of teenage spies in training taking on the adult world of espionage works well. The fourth book in the series “Only the Good Spy Young” sees the heroine Cam up against a clandestine group. Here’s the blurb from the website:

When Cammie Morgan enrolled at the Gallagher Academy, she knew she was preparing for the dangerous life of a spy. What she didn’t know was that the serious, real-life danger
would start during her junior year of high school. But that’s exactly what happened two months ago when she faced off against an ancient terrorist organization dead set on kidnapping her.
Now the danger follows her everywhere and even Cammie “The Chameleon” can’t hide.  When a terrifying encounter in London reveals that one of her most-trusted allies is actually a rogue double-agent Cammie no longer knows if she can trust her classmates, her teachers—or even her own heart.

In this fourth installment of the New York Times best-selling series, the Gallagher Girls must hack, spy, steal, and lie their way to the truth as they go searching for answers, recognizing that the key to Cammie’s future may lie deep in the past….

Here’s a link to the First Chapter.

Now I must tell you that my teen loved, loved, loved this book, especially Zach.  Cammie’s friends are with her 100% of the way, but does Cammie really know what’s she’s in for? And can she trust the guy who saved her life? Oh just go out and get this book already. I enjoyed it, it’s light hearted, not weighed down by litres of angst, and it’s fast paced and well worth the read. Go out and get yourself a copy. I’m hoping that Ally is busy writing the next book, because I for one really do like this series.

I was sent this link a few days ago and just giggled at the genius behind it.  My favourite line is “8 out of 5 dentists say that studying in a library is six bajillion times more effective than studying in the shower”… or something to that effect. Very clever concept, excellently presented.

I have a couple of book reviews coming up, including Ally Carter’s “Gallagher Girls No.4″ book (which I had to read before my teen found it, soo good) and Michael Pryor’s latest in the Laws of Magic series…yay, now I just have to wait for the next one (and I’m not that patient Michael, just letting you know that I need you to write more thanks).

I’ve started a Crossfit training program and I must say…I’m soo tired, but it’s so good for me. I love the attitude of those women/girls who do crossfit – it’s not about looking good (although that comes as a bonus), or the numbers on the scales,  it’s about performing/getting the best out of yourself.  I will let you know how I go in the next few weeks.

Last week I ran a personal best 3.2km in 20mins 50 seconds. I haven’t run that fast in a long time. I can do much better, but that will have to be worked up to. It was great to say I did a PB, that sense of accomplishment, I’ve achieved something that I thought I couldn’t. I have the same feeling when I finally finish a story. I’ve typed The End and can put it away for a few months before I get into the rip it apart edits.

What about you? Do you have goals or dreams that you’d love to acheive? What’s stopping you from giving it a go?

I remember in Year 8 when our English teacher told us we had to keep a journal, and we had to write in it regularly. I can’t remember how often…but I know the whole class let out a collective sigh. The journal would be handed in once a month to the teacher to ensure we were interacting with it regularly.(Which may have actually stifled the process for me – I’m sure I was either censoring what I really felt in my writing, or just writing to impress)

I still have those journals, complete with copyright notice.  Even at fourteen, I was a pretentious would-be author, protecting my intellectual property.  (Mmm, is the contemporary equivalent of this assignment keeping a blog or a vlog even?)

So I opened my  journal with “I think writing in journals is a good idea because it lets you express your own ideas and record events the way in which you see them.”

I followed this with a cartoon of my science teacher and a speech balloon of him defining velocity.  Anyway, the first journal is filled with descriptions of events (including my aunt’s wedding at which I was bridesmaid – will have to make a copy for her), crappy love poetry and lots of writing.

My next journal  had a pic of Chris Atkins on the front, and Chris and Brooke Shields on the back from ‘The Blue Lagoon.’  Scantily clad.  I had a rating of guys I thought were spunks, with Animal from The Muppets getting a rating of 10. Clark Gable was in there at nine along with Peter Mochrie, Leigh McCluskey, Prince Andrew and Chris Atkins.

It was the year of Lady Di and there are a lot of pictures dedicated to her. It didn’t help that Lady Di became my nickname as soon as she appeared. Newspaper articles about fires at Glenfield Railway station and James Meehan High.

Here’s an excerpt from one of our fabulous family holidays:

“That night I babysat the kids while mum and dad were at the club. (mysister would have been 8, and my brother 5). After they’d had tea, I gave them icecream but then they started mucking up as soon as they’d finished it. I got sick of them so I went outside (the caravan) and locked them in. Somebody probably thought I was murdering them or something, the screaming they made and my sister’s bawling, they nearly busted the door down in their efforts to get out. I let myself back in with my sister hitting, pinching and kicking me and shouting and calling me names.”

Man, no wonder I hated the family caravanning holidays so much!

Volume 2 is covered with huge pictures of Christopher Atkins as Frederick in The Pirate Movie. I’d definitely moved on from the pictures of birds on the first journal. And the cover page says its filled with “spunks, hunks, flunks, clucks, shucks, no trucks, funks, punks, fiction, faction, chain reactions, guys, spies, flies, tries, cries, lies, sighs, ties, whys?, what?, where?, who?, how? etc.”

Yeah right…I guess I knew what I was on about at the time.

The first few pages…a cartoon summary of our excursion to Hill End, followed by the text version. Hehe! This was the school excursion where I ‘married’ the bus driver. He was very cute and Scottish!  And then a three panel cartoon of our school excursion to ‘Murphy’s Glen’ and then it ends. And the rest is blank pages. Yes I was very dedicated to my journal that year.

Okay, that was an interesting trip down memory lane…

After that ‘enforced journalling’, my journal life became a lot more sporadic. It happened in spiral ring ‘stenographer’ notebooks and I must admit that I never really developed a relationship with my journal. I hear other writers talking about the volumes and volumes of journals they have from their lives, and regret not at least keeping a ‘theatre journal’ of all the shows I’ve seen and my response to them. I guess when we’re young we believe that our memories will last a lifetime…but I find I often struggle to remember the details of specific events.

Last week, I read ‘Creative Journal Writing’ by Stephanie Dowrick. It  has inspired me to start journal writing again, but also I’m secure that the journal is just for my eyes. I’ve decided I’m always going to buy nice journals from now on, pretty to look at, nice to keep, saving my  memories.

At the very least, I might get a good line or two out of the journal that can be recycled in a novel.

‘I need your voice, your smile, your presence…to feed the creature that I have become’  was a journal entry that I put into a story.  Sigh!  Doesn’t unrequited love inspire wordage?

So do you keep a journal? Are you sporadic or dedicated?  Tell me about your experiences.

This unobtrusive little book was sitting on my TBR pile, probably trying to chat up the new Gallagher Girls book when I picked it up last Wednesday. Tim Pegler has a marvelous way of weaving plot points into his story, you sort of know what’s coming but then you don’t. The book centres around a guy who’s survived a horrible car accident that claimed three of his best mates. He has to live with the knowledge that everyone around him blames him for it. So his parents take him away for the summer to a secluded island to recover. The story starts there, and includes ghosts, mystery and first love. If I keep blabbing the way I want to I’ll give out too many spoilers. Tim’s great at getting into the teen guy headspace and sharing a tale that really could happen to a lot of teens out there, underage drinking, driving under the influence, the consequences, etc. Well worth the read.

Here’s the blurb:

What do you do when you’ve just lost three of your best mates?
Who do you turn to when your life is suddenly bound to a wheelchair?

Dan has dodged the Reaper again. If he were a cat, five of his nine lives would be gone—when his mates didn’t even get second chances. He’s still grieving their deaths when he’s dragged on a family holiday at a remote island lighthouse.

Left alone, at what feels like the end of the earth, Dan starts sensing a mysterious girl. Is she a dream? Or has he somehow hooked into the spirit world?

The lighthouse logbook helps illuminate some of the girl’s tragic story but Dan will have to dig deeper to find answers and the inspiration to embrace life again.

Five Parts Dead is available 2nd August from Text Publishing.

I’ve had a hankering for faeries lately. Tales both dark and light, and have come up with a list of some of the best (so far). These are not the bedtime stories of yesteryear when I would curl up and dream of pretty butterfly wings attaching themselves to my back and whisking me away to an enchanted land of lollies and cake. Instead they explore the darker paths that the Fae have trod.

First up is “Glimmerglass” by Jenna Black. From her website: 

Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble. When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn’t just an ordinary teenage girl—she’s a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.

Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone’s trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does.  Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…

I did not stop with this story, I had to keep reading, which is a big deal in my house. It’s worth the read. I need the next story now, but will have to wait. I haven’t read any of Jenna’s other books so I’m going to have to go through her list and order them. Definitely a good writer.

The next book I pulled off the TBR pile was Lisa Manchev’s “Eyes Like Stars“. I saw the cover and fell in love. From the publisher:

All her world’s a stage

Enter Stage Right

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith (Bertie): Our heroine.
Nate: A dashing pirate who will do anything to protect Bertie.
Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom: Four tiny, mischievous fairies, and Bertie’s loyal sidekicks.
Ariel: A seductive air spirit. Disaster follows in his wake, but Bertie simply cannot resist him.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. The actors are bound to the Théâtre by The Book, an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of the actors, but they are her family. And she is about to lose them all because The Book has been threatened, and along with it the Théâtre. It’s the only home Bertie has ever known, and she has to find a way to save it. But first, there’s the small problem of two handsome men, both vying for her attention. The course of true love never did run smooth. . . .

Now I must admit that I’d just read Glimmerglass and was still basking in the Fae glow, I delved into this book and got completely lost. It wasn’t until the third chapter that I realised that they were in a sort of half world called the Theatre. Once that kicked into my brain I could understand the storyline much better, but I would still venture to say that I liked Glimmerglass more.

Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely series is wonderful and I’m waiting for the next book to be published, although I think she’s still editing it, subtle little “please  hurry up” shouted Melissa’s way.

Then we have Holly Black’s “Tithe” books, which are darker than Jenna’s and Lisa’s books, about on parr with Melissa’s. I enjoyed them and hope that she’ll bring another book out in the series soon.

My ultimate favourite faerie book is “Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book” by the wonderful Terry Jones.

This illustrated gem of a book just has the naughty child in me giggling. I can imagine someone collecting fairies like bugs and creating this type of book.

RJ Anderson’s “Knife” was a great read which we’ve shared before on this blog, still waiting for her next book “Rebel” to come out.

Cyn Balog’s “Fairy Tale” is another great book about the gilded ones.

Aprilynne Pikes “Wings” about a girl who sprouts wings, is another in the subgenre of Young Adult Fae tales. I’m sure there’s more coming out and I for one can’t wait.

What are your favourite faerie books?

Hey everyone, have had a quick hiatus from the blog but back on board now. In my travels around the interwebs I’ve managed to get addicted to book trailers. There are so many fantastic trailers out there that it’s hard to pick only a few, but I’ll give it a try.

First up our friend Kirsty Eagar (author of Raw Blue) has a new book out this September called “Saltwater Vampires” the trailer has put it firmly at the top of my TBR pile. Have a look and see what you think.

Susan Beth Pfeffer’s book “This World We Live In” has a great trailer as well.

Oh and “The Poison Diaries” by MaryRose Wood is on my TBR list as well after this great trailer.

Now Max Brooks knows how to do a good book trailer or two. His comic book approach to The Zombie Survival Guide is a bit gory but very well done.

And how could I go past this great book trailer for The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer. This guy shows how to share your novel by using all the bad things people have said about the book. I want to read it just for that reason.

Just a few trailers to wet your appetite, hope you enjoy them.

I finally received the second book in Richard Newsome’s great MG trilogy and loved it. Richard won the inaugural Text Publishing competition, his book “The Billionaire’s Curse” was published last year. I know why it won, it’s freaking awesome, you seriously can’t put it down. The Emerald Casket is just as good and has the hero and his friends traveling to India.  The one bad thing about the book is the fact I have to wait for the next one. Richard knows how to throw his characters into dangerous situations and not use an act of God to get them out, he relies on the characters own ingenuity to figure out how to save themselves. And I like the fact that the girls are just as good as the boys in the story. It’s aimed at middle grade but as an adult I really did enjoy the story.

The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker by Leanna Renee Heiber started out with great intentions, I had really enjoyed the first book – The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Percy Parker.   Unfortunately for me after 110 pages I stopped reading. I just couldn’t get through the lovey-dovey language Leanna used. It seemed every second dialogue sentence was saturated and it detracted from the story itself. I know people about to get married or newly married tend to be quite vocal in their affection, but for the danger element of the story it didn’t help. I haven’t finished it, I don’t know if I will. Perhaps in a few weeks I can come back to the story without the sarcasm, but for now it’s in the unfinished/never finish pile which is a shame because the first book was great.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer was a bit disappointing for me. I managed to snaffle a copy and sat down hoping that the book/characters would bring out Stephenies best writing. While it did answer some questions, and showed a greater depth of perception in Ms Meyers work, it left me kind of flat. I know I’m going to be railed on by Twihards, but honestly it was so-so. I’d read it, but not rave about it (sorry Di, have to give it a low attention rating).

In contrast I finally finished Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose. It’s  the book the miniseries was based upon. I was moved by the men’s words as they described their lives during World War 2. It’s not a light read, in fact it’s taken me a couple of weeks to get through (I could only read a chapter at a time because of the issues that it covers). I recommend it and not just for research purposes. I picked it up for research into a story I’m plotting out and then was sucked into the mens struggle to survive against such overwhelming odds. The camaraderie and the integrity of Major Richard Winters makes for a worthwhile read.

Our review today comes to you from a We Love YA buddy, Olly. Check out his review of Morris Gleitzman‘s ‘Now’…and this gigantic image of the book cover:

Morris Gleitzman’s ‘Now’ is a book about a young girl called Zelda who is living with her grandfather while her parents are away and she subsequently finds out why she is named Zelda. A story of truth and of the past. It is one of a three-part series that delves into the lives of the young and old alike delivering a fast-paced book with no lack of action, which is why at first I thought this book should be aimed at a higher age group. As the main character Zelda has people she knows die around her, I don’t want to give anything away here but what kills them is a destructive force we face everyday. Although all the action just entices you even more to keep reading with the promise of an action packed book.

These books can be read in any particular order but I recommend reading books one and two first. The first two affected me quite profoundly with their intensity and description of the events in Nazi Germany. These two books should be read by all ages in my opinion as everyone should know of the horrors committed in those days, it’s a far different read than from a history book. It WILL shock and astound you. Gleitzman deserves more than a pat on the back for writing such an epic series and he certainly gets one from me.

Thanks, Olly! ‘Now’ is available…well, now!

Time to announce the winner of Elizabeth Eulberg’s gorgeous debut, ‘The Lonely Hearts Club’–SHARON FISHER! Yay! You’ll love this, Sharon. Please email me with your snail-mail addy and I’ll post it to you asap. Thanks to everyone who posted all those fun comments on last week’s blog. You’re an inventive lot!

I’ve hit the doldrums, the wind of motivation has died out and I’m floundering around in my little dinghy trying to find out where I need to go with writing etc. Has anyone come to this point in their writing life?

What drives you to write? What is it about Young Adult novels that you like so much that you’d like to write your own? I’ve been trying to find out what it is for myself. I think the opportunity to write without limits, Young Adult novels can be on any subject. Teens have an amazing ability to open their minds to new ideas and I love that about the genre.

I came across a great talk by Tony Robbins given back in 2006 on what motivates us to do what we do. What is it that pushes you to be who you are?

A funny thing happened to me when I read Elizabeth Eulberg’s debut YA, The Lonely Hearts Club. Ironically, I made a new friend. Each morning, I have exactly seven minutes to read on the train commute to work. At 5:30am, it’s always just me and one guy sharing the carriage. For months, we’d ignored each other in that uniquely Sydney way. However, while reading Elizabeth’s book, I LOL’d  so much, the guy looked up from his own book, smiled, and asked what I was reading. And so a new friendship was born! (I should note, our conversations haven’t gone past hello, goodbye and have a nice weekend! It’s a start, though, don’t you think?)

Back to the book, The Lonely Hearts Club. Stephenie Meyer describes it “A must-read for anyone who’s ever fallen in love – or sworn off it completely. A funny, fantastic debut.” I think she’s spot-on!

Penny Lane’s parents are obsessed with the Beatles. John, George, Ringo and Paul are practically members of the family. Their music is a source of comfort to Penny in times of trouble. And, boy, does she need a shoulder to cry on when the love of her short life, Nate, betrays her. Disillusioned, Penny swears off guys. They lie, they, cheat, they stink. Staring at a “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band” poster in her room, Penny is inspired to start a club with a membership of one. It’s more about making herself happy, not about wallowing. Penny unwittingly starts a revolution, with dozens of girls demanding to join her club. She’s happy to oblige. Among the club rules, thou shalt not ditch thy friends for a boy, no matter how hawt that boy may be. When newly single (and hawt) Ryan looks more and more like boyfriend material, Penny fights her feelings. After all, she’s the prez of an anti-dating club. She can’t give in to Ryan’s charms. Can she?

The Lonely Hearts Club is a warm, fun read about friendship and taking responsibility for your own happiness. I loved this book, and I was thrilled when Elizabeth, who is my lit agency sistah, agreed to an interview to celebrate the release of TLHC in Australia. She explains, among other things, why her drum kit is incomplete.

Elizabeth, tell us about your road to publication.

My road to publication was a long one!  I came up with the idea for The Lonely Hearts Club in the spring of 2004.  I didn’t have an outline or character studies when I began to write so I struggled through a lot of drafts before the story really came together.  I worked on four drafts before I sent it to a literary agent.  I’m really fortunate because I work in the publishing industry so I already knew several agents (I think finding an agent is the hardest part, so I always tell people they are allowed to hate me for getting an agent so easily!).  I then worked on seven drafts with my agent before we had a manuscript that was ready to be sent out.  I had a book contract by July 2008.  The reason I like to mention how many drafts and how long it took to get a book contract is because it can take a really long time to get a book published.  But the most important thing is to stay with it!

Seven drafts?! That is a long and winding road! What inspired you to write The Lonely Hearts Club?

I was out with a friend of mine who was the type of friend who only called me when her boyfriend wasn’t around (we all know the type!).  She was ignoring me because these guys came over and started talking to her.  I was getting really annoyed, and then I realized that I was being stupid.  I needed to stop hanging out with someone who wasn’t a good friend, instead I should get all my amazing single girl friends together every Saturday night to celebrate being single.  As soon as I had that thought, I knew that would be a great idea for a book.  I had the title and basic concept before the night was over!

Now, that’s what I call turning a negative into a positive! If you could form your own club, what would it be called?

Well, I am single so… the Lonely Hearts Club?  Just joking (or am I?).  I love going to concerts, so it would be fitting to start a concert club…maybe we’d be called the Concert Club Society.

I love the relationship Penny has with her parents. (They were kind of dorky, cool, and attentive all at the same time.) Your own mother worked at your high school as a librarian. What impact did that have on you?

Thanks! Penny’s parents are two of my favorite characters in the book.  My mother was my high school librarian and I like to joke that those scars run pretty deep.  I did see my mom a lot in between classes and she taught a few classes.  But the biggest influence my mother had on me had to do with her putting books into my hand from an early age and then giving me a book called Careers in the Music Industry which is how I found out about publicity.  That changed my life!

I’m glad to hear it wasn’t traumatic for you! One of the elements I loved about the story was the characterisation. Penny’s friend Diane is beautiful, blonde and a cheerleader. It would’ve been so easy to add “catty” to her list of traits. Were you conscious of steering away from cliches?

I’m so happy you feel that way.  Diane was a character that I struggled with for awhile because she WAS a cliché.  I sat down with her and said (in my mind!), “I don’t like you.  You are just this big cliché of a character.  Why would Penny be friends with you?  You need to do something else, I need to shake up your life a bit.”  Once I figured out the problem with Diane, I decided to have her quit cheerleading to join the basketball team. That is one of the plot points that came later in my editing process and it really not only strengthened Diane, but made the club a lot stronger.  It was that small change that made me see what a positive influence the club could have over the members.

You devoured the Sweet Valley High series when you were growing up. (A woman after my own heart! Isn’t it wild that you’re now represented by Francine Pascal’s agency?) How did SVH influence you as a writer?

I LOVED Sweet Valley High.  I would read a book a day over the summer – I couldn’t get enough.  Those were the first books that I read about high school characters.  I remember that each character had such a distinctive personality and you genuinely cared about them.  I think that had the biggest influence over me as an author – the importance of having several unique and identifiable characters.

Which Beatles tunes can you play on piano? And have you added a second drumstick and snare to your drum kit yet?

I can play a bunch of Beatles songs on the piano and guitar.  Because I currently take guitar lessons, I play the guitar more than the piano now.  My favorite songs to play on the guitar are “Blackbird,” “Yesterday,” “Ticket to Ride” and “Revolution.”

I still only have the one drumstick.  I got it from Jonny Quinn, the drummer of Snow Patrol, after a gig.  I’m hoping to get another one to make a complete set, but I’m holding out on getting one from another famous drummer.  Hint to all you rock star drummers out there!

Did you hear that, Ringo? All she needs is one drumstick! Come on, be a pal. Elizabeth, you’re a publicist in the book industry. Can you share some tips on self-promotion for authors?

Authors need to be more involved in the promotion of their books more now than even five years ago.  A lot of that has to do with the importance of social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, etc.  I guess my biggest advice, especially for first-time authors, is that no request is too small.  Do as much as you possibly can and don’t use your social networking for strict book plugs, allow readers to get to know you better.  I try to do a balance of “check this book-related thing out” and more personal things, like what kind of music I’m listening to, books I’m reading and every now and then something random that probably nobody cares about, but what’s important is for people to get a sense of you and your personality.

Elizabeth, thanks so much for keeping us company at We Love YA! I’ve dug up the opening titles of the Sweet Valley High TV show from a years back just for you:

WLYA readers, here’s a challenge for you–incorporate a Beatles song title into a comment for your chance to win a copy of The Lonely Hearts Club. The winner will be announced next Friday.