WINNER of THE TIME TRAVELING FASHIONISTA announced! Plus, check out these other giveaways!

Chosen by random number generators, the winner of THE TIME TRAVELING FASHIONISTA is....

Schuyler, aka @ReadersInk!

Schuyler, I just know you're going to love this one!  And to those of you who didn't win, don't dispair! There are a LOT of giveaways going on both here and at my other blog, The Tart.  (And more still coming!  Go ahead and enter -- I'm linking some of them below.  All of these are open through May 1!

For THREE Lois Duncan novels, newly reissued and updated by the author, see this post!  Three winners will win a set of these books including DOWN A DARK HALL, STRANGER WITH MY FACE, and SUMMER OF FEAR.

For a copy of the adorable new middle grade novel in verse, LIKE PICKLE JUICE ON A COOKIE by Julie Sternberg, comment on this post!

To enter to win a copy of POEM IN YOUR POCKET FOR YOUNG POETS, edited by Bruno Navasky, see on this post.

Especially for National Poetry Month, win one of THREE copies of renowned author Julia Alvarez' poetry collection, THE WOMAN I KEPT TO MYSELF, comment on this post.

And if you're interested in a set of TWO poetry anthologies for young readers from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, check out this post, here! Two winners will be selected.

Thanks to Abrams/Amulet, Algonquin, and Little, Brown for providing all of the above books!

Celebrate International Women's Week With Me!

Hi everyone! Sorry about the crazy inconsistency of my posts over here at the YA-5 lately. I promise, I'm going to work hard to make my Mondays awesome! BAM. There, I said it -- I PROMISE!

Okay, so, there's this thing this week. It's INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S WEEK. Yeah, feminism is a dirty word to some. I know some women who don't even like to call themselves feminists because they associate the word with man-haters and bra-burners. To me, feminism just means being able to be who I want and do what I want and achieve what I want regardless of my gender. I believe in equality. I believe in fierce, fabulous ladies making names for themselves in a world that would rather they stay silent. I believe in stay at home moms and career women. I believe in girls who want to be quarterbacks and cheer captains. I believe in fashion models and rock stars and engineers and math teachers. And, DUH, I believe in women writers.

Author Cayla Kluver

So this week over at my personal blog, I'm celebrating women in writing. From LOTS of different angles. Today, the fabulous Cayla Kluver (whose debut novel LEGACY will be coming out with HarlequinTEEN later this year) is talking about writing "That Woman" -- the Mina Harker, the Buffy Summers -- the woman that every man and even a lot of the ladies want to write off but, you know, they sort of kick butt anyway?

I love Cayla's post and I am looking forward to the lineup I have for the rest of the week: Tess Hardwick on the sometimes limiting labels of "chicklit" and "women's fiction," The YA-5's own K.A. Holt on writing male-voiced middle grade, Tiffany Reisz on writing naughty novels WITHOUT a penname, Gretchen McNeil on being bold, and Jeanette Larson on literary awards. I'm so so so excited for this week, and I hope you'll join me in celebrating the literary ladies who make our bookshelves so much more badass. And, you know, go give some chicks a hug today, okay? The world would totally suck without women!

On Allegra Biscotti, my new fashionspiration.

I don't usually like to write about a book before I've finished it. But you know what? I can't help myself. THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION by Olivia Bennett (Sourcebooks, 2010) is so freaking stuck in my head that last night while I was getting dressed to go out I was thinking of its main character.

I'm not even kidding. I was putting together a way-over-the-top outfit for my birthday celebration (we went to Sonic for dinner -- yes, THAT Sonic) and I was trying a bright purple mini dress and sparkly shoes with the right leggings and I thought to myself, "What would Emma Rose do?"

That's when I knew: THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION is definitely one of the best tween books of 2010. When a character sticks with you like that, when you haven't even had a chance to pick up the book yet that day, man, you know it's good.

And I love that this book is about a young entrepreneur. Emma Rose is a thirteen-year-old fashion designer juggling all the craziness of the 8th grade with an accidentally burgeoning career. And, okay, I'm only about halfway through the book, but I have loved every page -- and not just because the pages are decorated with illustrations from Emma's sketchbook. But because Emma is so real, so vivid, so inspiring.

I started making my own clothes when I was in high school, but maybe if I'd read THE ALLEGRA BISCOTTI COLLECTION I would have gotten a head start. And had some serious delusions of grandeur...because the way Emma Rose is headed, whoa, there's no stopping this girl. Gotta love a character that lights a fire in you, that's for sure.

So, with Channukkah in full swing and Christmas right around the corner, I hope you'll give the young girlie-girl in your life some ALLEGRA BISCOTTI. I promise, she'll fall in love just like me!


Oh, and PS, yes it *is* my birthday today. And some of the YA-5ers are on my blog making fun of me. Hop on over for the hilarity.

Review: REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS by Hélène Boudreau

So I usually don't blog about books that aren't out yet, but I simply can't keep this one under my hat any longer. But this new title from Sourcebooks is so freaking awesome, and I want to share it with all my YA-5 readers, especially since our Friday blogger, Miranda Kenneally, just signed a book deal (HOORAY!!!!) with the same publisher! So, following her lead, celebrating this fabbity fab publisher, I'm going to tell you about my new favorite tween book.

It's not often that I pick up a middle grade that makes me think of Margaret. I'm talking about Margaret of ARE YOU THERE GOD? fame, of course. I mean, there have been many books over the years that deal with coming of age and first periods and first crushes and all the hormonal insanity that is growing into your teen self. And many of these books are awesome in their own right. But none of them touched my heart the way Hélène Boudreau's REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS did.

Jade is almost fourteen when she gets her first period in a department store bathroom while trying to find a bathing suit that compliments her "muffin top." And she can't tell her best friend, Cori, since she kind of sort of fibbed about getting it back when everyone else did, when they were twelve. She can't tell her mom, since she died about a year ago -- and how Jade wishes she were there more than ever! She doesn't want to tell her dad, but is forced to when she realizes she spent all her money on the bathing suit post-period-panic and now hasn't got the cash for "feminine hygiene products." So Dad comes to the rescue, which unfortunately means loading up a shopping cart -- a shopping cart! -- with everything on the shelves while reading menstrual remedies aloud from Google results on his smart phone. Jade thinks she can just walk away and deal until Luke shows up. Adorable, evil Luke who has called her Scissor-Lips for years after a spin-the bottle accident that involved Jade's braces and Luke's head. Woops. But Luke looks different. And he's looking at Jade different. If only Dad didn't choose that moment to price-compare pads.

The worst part? The worst part is that the drug store fiasco wasn't the worst part. When Jade takes an Epsom-salt bath, she falls asleep in the tub. When she wakes up, she's sprouted a scaly, gross tail where her legs were. It can't be real, and yet it is. And that's when her dad breaks down and tells her: Jade's mom was a mermaid. And Jade is, too.

But here's the thing -- if her mom was a mermaid, how could she have drowned? As soon as Jade's legs have transformed back -- thank goodness! -- she wants to run to Cori and spill her guts, but sworn to silence she finds herself tangled up in secret after secret. And as the mystery of her mom's death begins to unravel, the lies she has to tell keep piling up. Jade feels like the worst friend ever as Cori begins to turn to the snotty Lainey instead, and even though she's starting to have mushy crushy feelings for Luke, she's got way too much on her plate to even think that he'd be interested in a plus-sized mer-girl anyway.

REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is an unputdownable adventure, part Judy Blume, part Hans Christian Anderson, and 100% delightful, this fun, fresh tale (tail?) will have girls begging for a sequel. The mer-mythology is solidly constructed around an exciting story, and Jade's voice is so real, so authentically thirteen, that I feel like she's the girl next door. And, you know, I remember being that age. Getting your first period, having boobs that you're dissatisfied with (whether too big or too small), trying to figure out boys -- it's a lot like turning into an otherworldly creature, if you really think about it. Hélène Boudreau's REAL MERMAIDS is absolutely the book to share with your favorite pre-teen girl this December.

REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS is available next month on December 1st. Pre-order your jillion copies now, or head to your local bookstore or library STAT and make sure they'll be getting it in!

Small Publishers Rock!

NaNoWriMo starts today, but look at me, I'm still totally posting over here at The YA-5! If you, too, are NaNo-ing, I posted some info on my own NaNo process (or, um, lackthereof) here. Also, Hannah Moskowitz posted an awesome blog on NaNo and PJ Hoover put up another 10 Things From the Place post, this time NaNo-themed, which our writing group compiled on Friday.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite reads from small presses. Why? Small presses are awesome, but it's often word of mouth that gets books in the hands of readers. Recently I told you about Ilsa J. Bick's DRAW THE DARK, published by Carolrhoda. If you don't have this book yet, GO GET ONE. Or check to see if your library has a copy. It's awesome.

But there are other small press books I want to share with you, too! So here goes.

TOFU QUILT by Ching Yeung Russell (Lee & Low, 2008)
This is a beautiful collection of poetry, which reads almost like a verse novel. Together, the autobiographical poems tell the story of a girl growing up in Hong Kong in the 60s. This girl wants so badly to be a writer, and while some, like her cousins and her mother, support her, some teachers ridicule her for her efforts. The girl's extended family chastises her mother for continuing to send her daughter to school. Both heartbreaking and enriching, this book is an empowering read for young girls and women. I hope the poetically-inclined as well as those interested in cross-cultural themes will give it a read.

THE SECRETS OF THE CHEESE SYNDICATE by Donna St. Cyr (CBAY Books, 2009)
A fun middle-grade romp perfect for reluctant readers, this book is the story of a boy destined to be a cheese monger. Except a cheese monger isn't what you think it is -- in the world of The Cheese Syndicate, different cheeses have different powers. And it is up to one boy to save the world -- and his long-missing father -- from things such as manticores and those who might use cheese for evil. Plus, his annoying little sister drank a secret elixir, and without a very special cheese, she's pretty much doomed. I absolutely can't wait for the next book in this series, and fans of quick reads and mysterious fantasies like SPIDERWICK and mythology-influenced stories like PERCY JACKSON will love CHEESE SYNDICATE.

NO SAFE PLACE by Deborah Ellis (Groundwood Books, 2010)
This highly political but ridiculously engrossing story will break your heart by page two. And yet, you won't be able to put it down for a second. It's the story of Iraqi refugee Abdul, a fifteen-year-old boy living in a place called "The Jungle" in France. He's come a long way from his war-torn home country, where he's seen so many loved ones die, but he still has a long way to go. The Jungle is not a safe place to live, and it's only through the help of a nasty smuggler with a tiny boat that he -- and a few other refugees from various other backgrounds -- have any hope of getting to England, where they envision their lives will change for the better. An absolutely eye-opening look at young people across the globe, NO SAFE PLACE is a book that both fiction readers and politically-minded youth will enjoy.

GIRL FROM MARS by Tamara Bach (Groundwood Books, 2008)
A sweet story of unlikely love, set in German suburbia, this quirky book will be quick to make you smile. Miriam, a self-described plain fifteen-year-old girl in a small town who dreams, like many of us, of getting out and living a fabulous big-city life. She wishes she were beautiful and popular and spends every morning commiserating in the girls' restroom with her two best friends, Ines and Suse. Then enters Laura, with her wild black hair and carefree attitude, who rolls her own cigarettes and goes to clubs. Miriam is instantly enchanted, and begins to feel something she's never felt before, especially for a girl. GIRL FROM MARS is beautifully written, and rife with genuine emotion. This is a book that should not be ignored, and I urge anyone who can to track down a copy. It will make your heart ache in all the right ways. I am really hoping that Groundwood will publish translations of Tamara Bach's other books in the near future.

There you go! Lots of books to go looking for! You can pretend it's like a scavenger hunt, where all the hunters are winners -- as soon as you find these books, you get to read them and enjoy them and love them and tell all your friends about them! YAY! And remember, if your local bookstore or library doesn't stock books from these publishers, TELL THEM that they totally should!



PS: I am hosting a giveaway over at my dot com! Go here to read an interview with Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié, and enter to win a copy of CRUSADE! Woo!

Congrats to our very own K.A. Holt!

Hey YA-5 Readers! Today is normally K.A. "Kari" Holt's day to post, but seeing as she's out of town and super busy being a supermom and saving the world and stuff, I thought I'd post a little somethin' somethin' on her behalf. You see, Kari has a fabbity fab book coming out NEXT WEEK called BRAINS FOR LUNCH from Roaring Brook/Neal Porter Books, featuring illustrations by New Yorker cartoonist Gahan Wilson. And it is (imagine Zoolander voice here) ridiculously good.

Yeah, I know. You all are screaming NEPOTISM in your heads, right? Because, duh, of course YA-5ers love K.A. Holt books. Or maybe you're not as cynical as I imagine. And you all are like GIVE ME MORE, GIVE ME MORE! Well, in either case, I'm not the only one who loves BRAINS FOR LUNCH. In fact, I am so proud of and excited for Kari, who just got a STARRED REVIEW in Publisher's Weekly! In case you're unfamilliar with PW, basically it's a magazine that industry professionals, booksellers, librarians, etc. read to find out what's going on in the book world. And a starred review is KIND OF A BIG DEAL. It says, HEY, LIBRARIANS! BOOKSELLERS! EVERYONE! YOU NEED THIS BOOK! And, no lie. Everyone does need BRAINS FOR LUNCH.

In case you STILL don't believe me, I'm giving away my very own ARC (advanced reader's copy) of BRAINS FOR LUNCH. What you have to do is Tweet a kick-butt zombie haiku, and then follow AND @reply me (@emilytastic) AND the YA-5 (@YA5updates) to let us know you have completed your mission. By this time next week, the very best zombie haiku gets BRAINS FOR LUNCH.

In case you missed it when Holteriffic posted the trailer last week, here it is, in all it's ridiculously awesome glory:

PS, here is a unicorn, because K.A. Holt loves unicorns. Woooo!

UPDATE:
Here are some rules, as per some questions! One submission per person, and the haiku are 5-7-5 haiku like in BRAINS FOR LUNCH. Also, feel free to use the #braisnforlunch hashtag if you have room! Any other quessies, leave a comment or @emilytastic on Twitter!