Beth Kephart – The Hub

What’s Trending in YA?

I’ve had the opportunity to attend a few publisher previews recently and have noticed a few recent trends in YA publishing. Since I haven’t been able to attend all the previews it’s not a completely comprehensive list so I welcome any suggestions for those I’ve missed.

Road Trips:

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb (5/2015). Teenaged girl still grieving over her father’s death a few years before contrives with her best friend to enter and win a teen game show to win a trip to CA to follow her crush.
The Porcupine of Truth by Bill Konigsberg (5/2015). Two teens embark on a road trip to uncover the root cause of three generations of family estrangement and solve their difficult family issues.
Drive Me Crazy by Terra Elan McVoy (4/2015). Two girls who don’t really like each other, now related due to their grandparents’ wedding, try to get along as they accompany their grandparents on their California road trip honeymoon.

Mental Illness:

Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (4/2015). Caden, 14, is gradually descending into schizophrenia and lives in two worlds – the real one and the one in his delusions.
One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart (4/2015). Girl who steals things then weaves them into elaborate nests is also losing the ability to speak due to a mental disorder.
Made You Up by Francesca Zappia (5/2015). Girl with paranoid schizophrenia

Death/Dying:

The Last Leaves Falling by Sarah Benwell (5/2015). Seventeen-year-old Japanese boy dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease) wants to die on his own terms.
Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider (5/2015). Two teens with terminal TB

Kidnapping:

Emmy & Oliver by Robin Benway (6/2015). Teenaged Emmy’s friend and neighbor Oliver disappeared when they were in 3rd grade and she’s been overprotected by her parents ever since. Oliver returns years later after he finds out he was kidnapped by his father and must try to adjust to life with Emmy and his community again.
Shackled by Tom Leveen (8/2015). Teenager suffering from severe panic attacks ever since her best friend disappeared six-years ago determines to find her after thinks she sees her again.
Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller (3/2015). Seventeen-year-old Peggy recounts how when she was 8, her mentally ill survivalist father kidnapped her from London and took her to an isolated forest where they survived off the grid after he told her the world had been destroyed.

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Jukebooks: Going Over by Beth Kephart

Vivacious Ada lives in West Berlin. Her life isn’t easy by any means, but at least she is free to live it as she pleases. Ada is in love with Stefan, who also lives in Berlin, not so far from Ada. But they might as well be thousands of miles apart, because Stefan lives beyond the Wall, in East Berlin. Residents of East Berlin cannot leave. Like prisoners, they risk death if they try to go over the Wall. It sounds like the plot of a fictional dystopian world, but it is not.

Although the communist Soviet Union had allied itself with capitalistic nations such as the United States, Great Britain, and France during World War II, it emerged as an inimical force in determining Germany’s post-war fate. Germany was divided into sectors, with each of the Allied Powers governing one sector. The portion of Germany under Soviet rule became known as East Germany, and was developed into a Soviet satellite. Everything, from the home East Germans could life in to the jobs they could work, was determined by the government.

Two mothers can only wave to their children and grandchildren in the Soviet sector of Berlin from across the Berlin wall. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images). 1961

The capital city of Berlin happened to be in East Germany. Again, the victorious nations divided Berlin itself into sectors, with easternmost area under the rule of the Soviets. In 1961, the East German government began constructing a wall around its sector, allegedly because the West German government was a corruptive influence. In truth, it was to contain the thousands of East Berliners who were fleeing the constrictive Soviet government.

Once the Wall was built, it was guarded as Stefan and Ada describe. You could be shot and killed for trying to cross into West Berlin.

In the book, Ada falls into a fevered state, and while she is ill she hears the song 99 Luftballons by a German band called Nena. The presence of this song in the story is telling. Balloons sent into the air are perceived as a military threat, resulting in a war that destroys civilization.

http://youtu.be/14IRDDnEPR4

-Diane Colson, currently reading This Side of Salvation by Jeri Smith-Ready

YA Reads For Perfecting Your Triple Toe Loop

The figure skating competition for the 2014 Winter Olympics is just a few days away. It’s always been my favorite part of the Winter Olympics. Gracie Gold, 18, seems to be able to capture hearts with her smile and her sheer talent. Polina Edwards at 15 seems so excited and shows so much love for the sport. Her enthusiasm is contagious. Ashley Wagner at 22 seems determined to make this her year. Her strength dominates the ice when she’s out there.

With these three amazing athletes, is it any wonder I find myself wishing to be able to skate? In their honor, we’re gearing up with a fun book list and some entertaining movies.

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill
When Sloane Emily Jacobs, a socialite who fell from grace at the junior nationals, bumps into Sloane Devon Jacobs, a hockey player with a little too much aggression, both girls see this meeting for the opportunity it is. They decide to switch places for the summer in hopes of relieving the stress and pressure from their respective sports. Do they have what it takes to skate a mile in the other’s skates?

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler
Hudson intentionally threw her last figure skating competition after learning a secret about her father. She hasn’t skated since that secret tore her life apart. Three years later, she’s earned the nickname the Cupcake Queen helping her mother and brother at their family diner. Hudson hasn’t given up on her dream though and she might have a new way to achieve it.

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