Brian Farrey at TKB in October

If you missed us in October, you really missed out! Brian Farrey, Aquiring Editor at Flux Books, dropped by for a visit at our monthly meeting to talk about the exciting world of editing and publishing. Brian shared some great advice as our aspiring authors and future book editors were on the edge of their seats.

According to Brian, “research is the key to everything!” If you’re trying to get your book published, take a moment to go online and find the publisher’s submission guidelines before spending money on sending out a manuscript. If you’re looking for an agent, Brian says to look at the acknowledgements in a book similar to yours and you’ll usually find the name of that author’s agent (again, research). What is Brian looking for as he’s reading submissions?? Since Flux is a smaller imprint, they publish about 24 books in a year, so Brian is more interested in themes than the trends—in other words, “I don’t care that mermaids are the next werewolves,” lol.

Brian was almost giddy about a new book he recently acquired, called Skyship Academy, The Pearl Wars. He says he read it cover to cover in one sitting, because “it constantly surprised me!” All we know is that there may be some strategically placed explosions that will catch you by surprise. The book will be published next fall by Flux, thanks to Brian’s immediate offer “sprinkled with sparkly dust.” It’s no wonder Flux has gotten so much attention lately, with Brian’s good taste working for them.

TKB was also very interested in Brian’s new experience: switching gears from editing to being edited! Simon and Schuster picked up the new book he wrote, called Chasers, which will be hitting shelves July 12th, 2011—and we can’t wait! Brian let us read a few pages and even showed us some of the many edits. He admits that he was surprised that, being an editor, he missed so many things in his own writing. “As a writer, you get too close to the book.” Easy to see why though—it sounds like a story you’d get wrapped up it. Congratulations on the huge accomplishment, Brian! And congrats on your new marriage as well! Brian actually got married a few days before our meeting. He must have wanted to come to TKB so much that he postponed the honeymoon getaway—just kidding.

By the way TKB members, Brian says they have internships for high school students at Flux! If you’re interested, you can email the HR director at erikac@llewellyn.com.
(posted by JuliAnn Betker)

TKBs Meet Suzanne Collins and David Levithan

Hey everybody, we had a lot of fun at the Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul on Saturday!  We got to meet Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and MockingJay.  One of her editors, David Levithan was also there--another of our favorite authors (Will Grayson, Will Grayson and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares), which was a nice surprise.


Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Reader: Elise S
Age: 14
Title: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Author: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Pub Date: Oct. 26th
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: When Dash finds a red notebook containing dares written by a stranger named Lily, adventure beckons. As they exchange the dreams, dares, and true wishes in the notebook, both of their dream soul mates seem to be growing, but when they finally meet face to face, will all of their ideals become reality?
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This is the ideal, but realistic romance. Both the characters are very relateable, funny, wonderful, and just real. Both Dash and Lily had quirks that made me think they could be alive somewhere (I hope), and weren't forced. The perpetual nerdiness made very VERY happy! Creativity was brimming from every page. Basically, it's the best romance I've ever read, and I am very jealous of the characters. (Contemplating starting my own notebook - definitely.)
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The characters were the absolute best part. People like that bolster my faith in the human race. The idea that two strangers were willing to take that kind of risk, without freaking out about "Oh no, it's a creeper" paranoia was very refreshing. Dash and Lily were amazingly, wonderfully, awesomely nerdy. I learned some new words, and laughed out loud.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Did it have to end?
Comments: Another great thing about this book was that the entire romance wasn't focused on sex, which was fabulous. This is how I want my romance to be.
Cover: I must admit that the cover wasn't particularly to my taste. It fit the book, was colorful, and creative (love the title and authors on the signs). However, when I see books like this, I usually think of fluff. Lots of it. The heart-shaped snowflakes were a tad overboard. The heart on the light already gives enough of that huggy feel to it.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Rang: 12-18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Reader: Payton G
Age: 14
Title: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Author: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: 10/26/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: If you found a little red notebook nestled in with your favorite author in your favorite book store, what would you do? The answer is simple for Dash. He would pick it up, only to discover a gateway into the best relationship of his life.
Recommend: Yes
How would you convince someone to read the book: I would tell them that it is the most ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE book on the face of the planet, with well written plot, and characters.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I liked that it was fluff. I mean to say that while it was fluffy, it also had depth, plot, and well developed characters.
Cover: I have mixed feelings about the cover. I think it reflected the MOOD, rather than the contents of the book (the mood is totally freaking adorable, in case you were wondering.) I wouldn't mind if they changed the cover, but I also wouldn't mind if they left it alone.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 14-18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Brain Jack

Reader: Elise S
Age: 14
Title: Brain Jack
Author: Brian Falkner
Publisher: Random House
Pub Date: Sept 28
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Annotation: When Sam Wilson crashes the internet, phone, TV, ATMs, and bank systems all across the US, and then goes through a very unique job interview, it's just the beginning of an intense battle against a power-hungry electronic entity.
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: WARNING: will instill you with a paranoia (in a good way) of computer games, technology, and hackers. Apart from that, the idea of this technology-based future is very creative and, quite frankly, terrifying. This futuristic world is different from a lot of what's out there now in the sense that it feels very close. What the author describes could be 20 years from now, instead of 200 like in the Hunger Games.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The plot was so gripping, I couldn't put it down. It kept me guessing, and was fast paced. I loved how creepy the whole video game addiction thing was, and the intricacy of the technology.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: Not so much disappointed, as confused by a couple of things. 1) Some of the descriptions of them fighting hackers seemed out of place. I would have liked more description about what the screens looked like, and the actual, physical actions they did (keys, mice, pressing buttons, etc.) 2) The relationship between Sam and Vienna was very sudden, there was no build up, and I wondered about how it continued.
Cover: First of all, this color green almost always gets a thumbs up from me. I'm not quite sure what exactly it is, but the design definitely looks computer-y, and dramatic.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Epitaph Road

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: Epitaph Road
Author: David Patneaude
Publisher: Egmont USA
Pub Date: 02/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Epitaph Road is a curious, exciting read about a young man who grows up in a world where women rule and a "plague" has wiped out almost all men on earth. Finding out about a plot to kill his birth father, he undertakes a quest to find him and warn him about the almost certain death. This book is told from a new perspective, in a world that seems very realistic.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: The best part of this book is that it is told from the perspective of a young teenage boy that has grown up in a world of women. This sort of circumstance is usually reversed in the books similar to this one; it proves to be a provocative read.
Comments: I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in looking at the future with a different point of view. The future in this book is barely fifty years away from when it is written, and yet it seems like nothing like that could happen in our lifetime. This books stress's the idea that the world can change in a very short amount of time.
Cover: The cover of this book was quite compelling, in a slightly sinister manner. The gray clouds overhead don't quite fit, since the world in the story is supposed to be happy with sunny blue skies, but otherwise the fields of metal crosses fit right into the contents.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

Hunger

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: Hunger
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Publisher: HMH Children's Paperback
Pub Date: 10/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: Hunger is a thrilling book that once you start, you must finish. A compelling read to men or women, it portrays the difficulties a teenager must face in the high profile life of today. The main character faces problems with a neglecting family and an eating disorder that has the potential to turn deadly. The interesting twist appears when death beckons her to become Famine, one of the four bringers of the apocalypse.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I think the most compelling part of this book is that it is centered around real life issues and the main character really struggles to work through them. She doesn't face the fact that she has a problem at first, driving away friends and family.
Comments: This book really relates to many issues that teens face today. Ms. Kessler writes a compelling story, albeit short, conveys the hardships and hurdles that many people face as they grow up.
Cover: The cover of Hunger does a wonderful job at conveying the dark tone and theme of the book. The set of scales clearly represents the balance the main character uses and finds in the book.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 16-17
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal

This World We Live In

Reader: Charlie S
Age: 17
Title: This World We Live In
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group
Pub Date: April 2012
Galley: Yes
Nominate for Teens’ Top 10: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book is great, there is not one boring point in the book. It gives us a glance at the future without sunlight, what things would be like and what not. I would read it if I were you.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Just how the family survived without sunlight and much food at all was amazing. How they tried to keep things as normal as possible in a very imperfect world.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: The only thing that disappointed me was the back of the book. It gave away too much information I think. Don't include information about the Tornado hitting Howell. That part definitely ruined it for me when the tornado actually hit.
Comments: Very good book, just remove the part on the back of the book talking about the Tornado.
Did the cover reflect the contents of the book: Yes it did. Yes the plot was about how the moon was pushed closer to Earth and that is exactly what is on the cover.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 5P Everyone wants to read it

Time Riders

Reader: Luke M
Age: 17
Title: Time Riders
Author: Alex Scarrow
Publisher: Walker and Company
Pub Date: 09-2010
Galley: Yes
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I liked how Kramer only wanted to help the world and also his method of doing so. It was definitely unique. I also enjoyed Bob and the part when he became worshipped. Finally, the time travel, the issues related and the invention of it seemed reasonable.
Cover: The cover wasn't as interesting as it could be. It needs swirling time machines and the changes they
have on history, not some backlight kids in front of a city with UFOs. It didn't reflect the content either as Maddy and Sal were never chased by Nazis.
Recommend: Yes
Age Range: 12-15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: The Wake of the Lorelei Lee
Author: L. A. Meyer
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Pub Date: 09/2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate For Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: The eighth installment of the Jacky Faber adventures provides the reader with a light read about the perils to sailing to Australia as a convict to populate the new found land. Jacky once again encounters fierce pirates, the love of her life, and many old shipmates. A good read if you have a few hours on your hands.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: Jacky Faber continues to be a spontaneous, young, courageous, and crafty young woman. Her adventures always lead to good times, harrowing adventures and a usually happy ending.
Comments: The eighth installment was better than the last, Jacky seems to be leading a very eventful life for a girl of barely 16 years. I think that the letter from her intended husband, Jaimy, could be reduced a bit, they really detracted from the plot and were placed in an unfortunate spot. A few times it was confusing to determine what was happening because of the quick transition.
Cover: The cover of this book is very fitting of the eighth installment of the Jacky Faber series. Jacky sitting on the anchor, waving cheerily resounds with a sense of adventure. The crew cheering over the side of the Lorelei Lee is
compiled of a group of women, representing the convicts setting sail towards Australia.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 3Q Readable
Popularity: 4P Broad general teen appeal

How I Made It to Eighteen

Reader: Emily
Age: 16
Title: How I Made It to Eighteen
Author: Tracy White
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Pub Date: 2010
Galley: Yes
Nominate For Teens’ Top 10: No
Recommend: Yes
Convince us to read the book: This book presents the author’s life in a very edgy way, using comic book style. I think that it was easier to relate to because it was told in a more visual format. This is a serious topic, but the presentation was put together well.
Compelling Aspect of the Book: I think the most compelling part of this book is that it is a re-telling of the author’s actual life and that makes it very realistic.
Were you disappointed with the book at all: I think the author could have reduced the commentary from the friends a little bit. It was difficult to understand why they kept popping up every couple of pages.
Cover: The cover was vaguely interesting. The writing was slightly humorous, but not an extremely impressive cover.
Did you finish: Yes
Age Range: 12-17
Quality: 2Q Needs more work
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal