Books and Sensibility

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Audiobook Review: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

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  • Release Date: January 21, 2014
  • Genre: Contemporary/Thriller/Mystery
  • Length: 7 hours 58 minutes
  • Publisher: Harper Audio

In Lamar Giles debut novel, new kid in town Nick Pearson finds himself mixed up in a murder with a side of corruption. As Nick searches for answers to a murder that could upend all his secrets he dodges bullies, crashes a party and tries to keep his parents together.  Move over Veronica Mars, Nick Pearson is on the case.

Lamar Giles writing is clever. He lays out tension, plot and conflict in front of you while still sneaking in a bit of misdirection. He has a great way of ending chapters on mini cliffhangers and you just HAVE to know what happens next.  I totally did not see the ending coming. I was like “what !?” This isn’t really a spoiler but. . .literally anyone can die. Which takes the tension up to eleven

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Audiobook Review: Insiginia by S.J Kincaid

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  • Release Date: July 10th 2012
  • Genre: Sci-Fi 
  • Length: 15 hours 18 minutes
  • Publisher: Katherine Teagen Books

I was exploring
Scribd in all its audiobook glory  because  I’ve really been in the
mood for action adventure YA.  When I heard  Lincoln Hoppe’s
performance it instantly grabbed my ear, he has this great laid back teen voice and I jut wanted to hear more.

I knew nothing about
Insignia going in and it took me a while to center myself. The book takes place
in a future much like today, except virtual reality is common place for things like gaming and schooling. There is also a war brewing that is  fought in the final frontier. . . space,  with mechanized drones controlled on earth by  teen combatants who train for the war in the Pentagonal Spire.

Okay, so maybe it’s not a future much like today.

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Dispatches From BookCon: #WeNeeDiverseBooks

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Last weekend Kat and I made the trip to attend the inaugural BookCon . The one day event  offered panels, autographing and chances for fans to connect. We had to see it for ourselves so here is our account of BookCon 2014

For the uninitiated,  #WeNeedDiverseBook is a movement that refuses to be a trend. In response to the disparity of minorities in children’s and YA literature, Ellen Oh and 21 other authors worked together to create the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign that ran for 3 days in May.

We participated here on Books and Sensibility and the fact that there was going to be a panel at BookCon was one of the reasons we wanted to attend BookCon.

So many phones went up !

We arrived 30 minutes early and the room was already  packed. It was  great to see so many people excited about diversity and books. For me it was so cool to see a panel full of authors of color. Seeing so many different people really shows how problematic representation is in YA and children’s fiction.

As the authors talked about how they dealt with identity in their reading lives, I found myself nodding along to some of their experiences.

Ellen Oh announced the future of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign and she is in it for the long haul. Here are some of the highlights :

  • #WeNeedDiverseBooks will work with NEA’s Read Across America to promote diverse books and authors.
  • WNDB is developing a 2016 Diversity In Children’s book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Can I say how excited I am about the book festival ? D.C is in my backyard so I hope I can attend/volunteer.

If you missed the panel you canread the transcript here orlisten to the audio !

Dispatches From BookCon, The Bright Spots

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Last weekend Kat and I attend the first ever BookCon in NYC.  The one day event offered panels, autographing and chances for fans to connect with publishers. We had to see it for ourselves, so here is our account of BookCon 2014. Based on my experiences here is who I think shined at BookCon.

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Our YA Genre Kryptonite

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GENRE KRYPTONITE [zhahn-ruh kryptonite]

noun

1. That moment when your TBR pile is overflowing, your to-read list on Goodreads is overwhelming, and then  you see THIS TYPE OF BOOK it makes it’s way on to your pile, no excuses needed. 

Origin: http://bookriot.com/category/genre-kryptonite/

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Audiobook Review : Lexicon by Max Barry

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  • Release Date: June 18th 2013
  • Publisher: Penguin
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Length: 12 hours 36 minutes 

At an exclusive training school at an undisclosed location outside Washington, D.C., students are taught to control minds, to wield words as weapons. The very best graduate as “poets” and enter a nameless organization of unknown purpose. Recruited off the street, whip-smart Emily Ruff quickly learns the one key rule: never allow another person to truly know you. Emily becomes the school’s most talented prodigy, until she makes [a] catastrophic mistake 


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