Judging A Book By It's Cover (In A Good Way)

I don't deny that I will often pick up and read a book based solely on its cover. Good cover design is important! A couple of days ago when it was already dark outside and pouring with rain I ventured out to check the mail and there was a big tough envelope which was getting a bit soggy in the rain. Once safely inside, I ripped it open and the first thing I saw was that elephant. And I immediately decided that I really wanted to read this book :)

I have since found out a little more about it, as you can no doubt read it's called The Billionaire's Curse (which is an intriguing title) and is written by Richard Newsome. The whole book is published as a result of The Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing which is an annual prize awarded to an 'outstanding unpublished manuscript' with the aim to discover more wonderful new books for young readers, by Australian and New Zealand writers.

If you are an Australian or New Zealand writer you still have until July 31st to enter your manuscript for thsi year's prize. All the info is here. Otherwise there's always next year!

But back to The Billionaire's Curse...

Someone has stolen the world’s most valuable diamond and a constable lies unconscious in the British Museum, two sedative darts protruding from his backside. Not something Gerald Wilkins knows or cares anything about. Not until he finds himself on a private luxury jet heading for London to attend the funeral of a great aunt he has never met. Not until he inherits her estate, worth twenty billion pounds. Not until he opens a bundle of envelopes from his dead great aunt. Was she murdered? Who stole the diamond? And what is the mysterious casket that everyone seems to be looking for? With the help of the Valentine twins, the rat-fearing Sam and the gymnastic champ Ruby, Gerald’s got a mystery to solve. A mystery that will take them into secret passageways, a musty bookshop, an ancient crypt, a ruined tower and a colossal cavern where the secret of a priceless treasure lies protected by deadly booby traps.

The Billionaire’s Curse is an irresistible adventure story with an array of curious characters, ancient folklore and a whodunnit. Young and not-so-young adults, get ready to stay up late.

It's not out until August in Australia, so expect my review around then :)

Movie News! The Forest Of Hands And Teeth

Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, posted on her blog yesterday/this morning (depending on where you are, haha) that the film rights for The Forest of Hands and Teeth have been sold. Now that's exciting!

This is from Publisher's Weekly:

Alan Nevins of Renaissance Literary & Talent has just closed film rights on Carrie Ryan's YA novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Nevins, who brokered the deal on behalf of Jim McCarthy at Dystel Literary, sold the book, which Delacorte Books for Young Readers published in March, to Seven Star Pictures (K-11, forthcoming). Nevins said the book, a zombie thriller set in colonial times about a girl who lives in a religious community in the woods and is equally worried about a zombie invasion and her planned marriage, is in line to "do for zombies what Twilight did for vampires." Supposedly Seven Star is developing the project for an-as-yet-unnamed A-list starlet, and fast-tracking the project with a first draft of the screenplay already in the works.

I'm a movie fan and I usually like to visualise how I'd adapt a book into a film as I read it. I'm really curious to see how they do this. As I read The Forest of Hands and Teeth I got a distinct The Village vibe, with the whole religious-community-in-the-woods thing and it's all about zombies so it's going to be a zombie movie - I wonder how they will set it apart from other zombie movies. Also will it be actual-scary or just scary-for-tweens?! Speaking of zombie movies, how cool is 28 Days Later?! I should watch that again sometime.

I wonder who the 'A-list starlet' will be!

And in other cool and related news, here's the UK/Australian cover for the follow-on book The Dead-Tossed Waves...

Good News for Aussie Vampire Lovers

If you're into vampires there is a LOT of choice for you nowadays! The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead is especially cool. There's three books in it now so far - Vampire Academy, Frostbite and Shadow Kiss - with a fourth book, Blood Promise, due out in August here in Australia.

And in exciting news... Richelle Mead is coming to Australia. She will apparently visit Sydney, Melbourne & Brisbane in September 2009. Which is very, very cool. Unfortunately I don't live in any of those cities but I would definitely go meet her if I had the chance :)

Penguin Australia has also created a new website for Vampire Academy which has info about the books and is where you will be able to find out more about Richelle Mead's tour of Australia - http://www.penguin.com.au/vampireacademy/home.cfm

The pictue is of the cover art of the fourth book, Blood Promise. It looks a little different to the first three but I think it's a very cool cover regardless.

Here's the synopsis for Blood Promise from the Penguin Australia website:

GUARDIAN ROSE HATHAWAY'S LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck; a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

I'm looking forward to it :)

Happy 105th Birthday, Dr. Suess!

Today would have been Dr. Suess' 105th Birthday.. he's the Google picture of the day. Mr. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Suess, was a personal favourite of mine as a kid, and still is today. I love the rhymes and the nonsense words and the fun little characters.

My all-time favourite Dr Suess book is The Lorax. Though it's actually quite sad, I'm not entirely sure what appealed to me about it when I was a kid! There is a bit of hope in the end, though :)

'Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.'
- The Lorax

Some parting words from the doctor:

'I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!'

I was never a big fan of The Cat in the Hat. What's your favourite Dr Suess book?

Introducing the Australian Young Adult Alliance!

That's right: The Australian Young Adult Alliance! Or the AYA for short :) It's a brand new blog set up by me, Allie from Just Listen Book Reviews, and Adele from Persnickety Snark. We're all Australians and we've set up the blog to promote all the great things Australian young adult author's are up to!

It's just getting starting but if you go check it out you'll find some great reviews of Australian YA fiction. Coming soon we'll be having regular features, a monthly book club and competitions, so subscribe!

We'll also be letting you know when international authors are releasing their books in Australia but the main purpose of the site will be all things Aussie!

What are you waiting for? Go show your support :) Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!

http://aussieya.blogspot.com/

Yay! A New Sisterhood Grows!

I am super happy, I got 3 Willows by Ann Brashares in the post today! I am a big fan of the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants books so I am delighted that there is a new sisterhood.. though I don't know how they will measure up to the old four!

Note the Australian cover art!! It's a paperback. You get to see the three girls, rather than an oak tree :)

I think it's kind of cool that Ann Brashares is running with the samekind of idea... I haven't read very much yet so I won't comment on how similar 3 Willows will be to the Pants books. Do you think it's a good idea to keep going with the 'sisterhood' idea or do you think Ann Brashares should have tried something different?

The white book on the left is the ARC cover, while the blue one on the right is the US hardback! (Thanks Alea!)

I Can't Believe I Didn't Know This!

As regular readers will no doubt know, I'm a big big fan of Sonya Hartnett. Yet somehow I completed missed the part where she has a new book coming out.. IN TWO DAYS!!

Like what?! How could I not know this?! I am crazy. I live under a rock. But I do know now, so all is well.

The book is called Butterfly and is being released on Feb 2 in Australia (but later in other countries).

From the Penguin website:

Here is Plum Coyle, on the threshold of adolescence, striving to be new. Her fourteenth birthday is approaching: her old life and her old body will fall away, and she will become graceful, powerful, at ease. The strength in the objects she stores in a briefcase under her bed - a crystal lamb, a yoyo, an antique watch, a penny - will make sure of it.

Over the next couple of weeks, Plum's life will change. Her beautiful neighbour Maureen will begin to show her how she might fly. The older brothers she adores - the charismatic Justin, the enigmatic Cydar - will court catastrophe in worlds that she barely knows exist. And her friends - her worst enemies - will tease and test, smelling weakness. They will try to lead her on and take her down.

Who ever forgets what happens when you're fourteen?

Butterfly is a gripping, disquieting, beautifully observed novel that confirms Hartnett as one of Australia's finest writers.

Did you know this? Why didn't you tell me!

EDIT: I actually can't find the book on amazon.com... it's on amazon.co.uk though!

Jane Austen and Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!

I am so thrilled that this exists... Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

What more could you ask for in a book, seriously?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! Apparently it's the classic tale of Pride and Prejudice with some "all-new scenes of bone crunching zombie action".

Well I don't know about you, but I think that sounds like a whole lot of awesome for one book.

It's published by Quirk Books who seem to be a one-stop shop for all your insane heart's desires. I don't know about you but I would love to learn about Creepy Cute Crochet, The Baby Owner’s Manual or a book on How Not to Write. Aaaah I want them!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies isn't out until May so there's still a while to wait for a zombie fix!

Winnie The Pooh's Comeback!

More than 80 years since the lovable bear first appeared in print, an authorised sequel Return To The 100 Acre Wood. The book is being written by David Benedictus who is carrying on the stories written by A. A. Milne who died in 1956.

Personally I love A. A. Milne, I have a big hardcover book of all his work. All I can hope is that this new Winnie The Pooh book lives up to its predecessors.

What do you think - is this new book a good idea? Or will a sequel be an affront to the honey-loving bear?