Brodi Ashton – The Hub

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2022) Nominations Round-Up, Fall

BFYA Fall Roundup Art — Due to the large number of nominees, not all titles are shown here. See full list below.

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These books have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.

The City Beautiful. By Aden Polydoros. Harlequin/Inkyard Press, $19.99 (9781335402509).

Amidst the glitz and glamour of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Alter Rosen, a gay, Jewish, Romanian immigrant teen, becomes possessed by the dybbuk of his murdered friend and must avenge the deaths of his friend and a growing number of other local Jewish boys.

Curses. By Lish McBride. Penguin Random House/G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, $18.99 (9781984815590).

When Merit refuses to marry a prince, she is cursed to live as a beast. Tevin’s family runs cons on rich girls, but when his mom runs afoul of the beast she trades him for her freedom. This fresh, gender-bent Beauty and the Beast retelling examines what “beastly” really is.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows; narrated by Fiona Hardingham
Publisher: Harper Audio
Release date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 9780063087903

Mary, Queen of Scots, is an Eðian in a cutthroat world of Verities. Despite her mouse form in a world of predators, she refuses to be a victim. She may be caught between scheming deGuise uncles and a vicious Catherine de Medici, but she never forgets that she is a queen. Instead, she frees Eðians that have been captured and abused, retakes her throne, and discovers romantic love is possible, even in politically arranged marriages.

Hand, Ashton, and Meadows have spun off their Jane series and are now reimagining historical Marys. With their signature nods to actual history and several hilarious homages to pop culture this well-crafted story of power and intrigue with a strong female protagonist is worth the listen. Fortunately, the characters are voiced by the consummate narrator, Fiona Hardingham. Hardinham flawlessly performs the multiplicity of accents (French, English, Scottish) enabling listeners to immediately recognize each character and breathes life into a rollicking tale that will appeal to teens.

Readers who enjoyed The Lady Jane Series (My Lady Jane, My Plain Jane–also narrated by Hardingham, and My Calamity Jane) will avidly devour this fantasy.

– Jodi Kruse

Other Nominated Titles

This Is Not The Jess Show by Anna Carey; narrated by Suzy Jackson (February 2, 2021)

The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.
Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten. The previous years’ lists are available on The Hub.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2022) Featured Review of Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun Cover Art

Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa
Amazon Publishing / Skyscape
Publication Date: June 8, 2021
ISBN: 978-1542027052

Julián Luna has his senior year all figured out – spend time with his friends, get into UCLA, get the heck out of Texas and away from the pressure to be anyone other than his whole, true self. Unfortunately, with one drunken Tweet he outs himself to the whole world, and suddenly Jules finds himself having to navigate a blossoming romance with the perfect boy, Mat (who is 1500 miles away in LA) and the worst-case-scenario with his homophobic father while trying to hang on to his hope of leaving Texas at the end of the school year.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

Book cover for Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall

Our Last Echoes by Kate Alice Marshall; narrated by Kathleen McInerney, Robbie Daymond and Rob Shapiro
Listening Library
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 9780593340806

Bitter Rock has a long history of disappearances. In 2003, Sophia’s mother vanished and now years later, Sophia returns to discover the truth about what happened to her. Not everything is not as it seems. There is just something a little off, not quite right about Bitter Rock. The horrifying truth will have dire consequences for Sophia and the friends she meets on the island.

This horror novel weaves the supernatural with the psychological and forces the listener to ask, how well do we know our friends, our family? Can we trust what we see with our own eyes? This was deliciously creepy and Marshall did a great job of keeping the pace and the multiple narrators provided depth that provoked fear and sympathy for the characters.

Readers who enjoyed Marshall’s Rules for Vanishing, will be pleasantly surprised to see some minor characters featured more prominently in Our Last Echoes. However, one does not have to read one to enjoy the other. And for more island monsters, try Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand.

–Lorrie Roussin

Other Nominated Titles

My Contrary Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows; narrated by Fiona Hardingham (June 22, 2021)
The Witch King (The Witch King Duology) by H.E. Edgmon; narrated by Dani Martineck (June 1, 2021)
Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom’s Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder; narrated by Amanda Dolan (March 30, 2021)
Pumpkin (Dumplin’) by Julie Murphy; narrated by Chad Burris (May 25, 2021)
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar; narrated by Reena Dutt and Shubhangi Karmakar (May 25, 2021)

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, July 24 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Best Fiction for Young Adults nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

My Calamity Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
HarperTeen / HarperCollins
Publication Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0062652812

Everyone knows Calamity Jane as a girl in buckskins who performs tricks with the bull-whip in Wild Bill Hickock’s Wild West Show. What they don’t know is that Calamity, along with fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler and undercover Pinkerton detective Charlie Utter, is part of a team of werewolf, or garou, hunters led by Wild Bill himself. But when Jane discovers a suspicious bite after a tangle with a garou, she worries that her life is about to get a lot more complicated.

#AA2019 Nominees Round Up, September 5 Edition

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, narrated by Fiona Hardingham
HarperAudio
Publication Date: June 26, 2018
ISBN: 9780062841667

My Plain Jane, the second (standalone) title in the Lady Janes series by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows, is a tongue-in-cheek, supernatural spoof of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel, Jane Eyre. In this retelling, our titular heroine, Jane, can see dead people. In fact, she’s what’s known in the ghosthunting world as a Beacon–ghosts are drawn to her and will do anything she asks of them. While Jane enjoys getting to hang out with her (unfortunately deceased) childhood BFF, Helen Burns, she does not want anyone to know about her secret ability. Jane’s (living) best friend, Miss Charlotte Bronte herself, sees great things for Jane, and is dismayed when Jane decides to take up a position as a governess at Thornfield rather than work for the exciting Society for the Relocation of Wayward Ghosts with Charlotte’s brother Alexander.

Continue reading #AA2019 Nominees Round Up, September 5 Edition

Books for Fans of Urban Fantasy Anime

Urban fantasy is set in magically injected alternate universes where limousines carry lycanthropes around or suburbs conceal super-powered mages. Think Harry Potter, not The Lord of the Rings. These titles range from action adventure, to comedy, slice of life and romance. Today we will travel to alternate universes populated by warring magic users, corporate ladder climbing demons, and undersea middle school students.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

The Holy Grail War is a deadly competition. The winning mage has the chance to make a wish and change the world. Some masters will do anything to win this prize. Shirō Emiya has stumbled into this terrifying tournament, and he doesn’t know how to use his powers. Will he be able to survive the coming battles? Who do you trust when at the end of the tournament, you may be may be facing your closest ally?

Each master calls on a Legendary Hero to help them fight in the tournament. Most of the action takes place at night, and the darker color palate of the series leads to some jaw dropping animation of magical duels.

Note: “Unlimited Blade Works” is based off a single storyline from the visual novel Fate Stay/Night the same name (a kind of interactive animated game, like an animated “choose your own adventure” book). There have been numerous video game, manga and light novel adaptations and spinoffs of this series, but the anime “Fate/Zero” is a prequel.

Love this series? You will also love… Continue reading Books for Fans of Urban Fantasy Anime