Recently in Young Adult Category

Popular young adult novelist Andrew Klavan, is out with a new book this month, Crazy Dangerous.

Sam Hopkins is a good kid who has fallen in with the wrong crowd. Hanging around with car thieves and thugs, Sam knows it’s only a matter of time before he makes one bad decision too many and gets into real trouble.

But one day, Sam sees these thugs harassing an eccentric schoolmate named Jennifer. Finding the courage to face the bullies down, Sam loses a bad set of friends and acquires a very strange new one.

Jennifer is not just eccentric. To Sam, she seems downright crazy. She has terrifying hallucinations involving demons, the devil, and death. And here’s the really crazy part: Sam is beginning to suspect that these visions may actually be prophecies – prophecies of something terrible that’s going to happen very soon. Unless he can stop it.

With no one to believe him, with no one to help him, Sam is now all alone in a race against time. Finding the truth before disaster strikes is going to be both crazy and very, very dangerous.

Check out the first chapter to Crazy Dangerous.

Today is our last day for 2 things… 1.) Our 30% off coupon that’s good towards most regularly priced items at LifeWay (normal exclusions apply) and 2.) Today is the last day to pre-buy Karen Kingsbury’s next book, Coming Home, and get a $5 savings card that’s good for a future visit.  We'll continue to be pre-selling her book through June 25 but hurry in today for the sweet offer!

Today we have Jerel Law, author of Spirit Fighter, the first book in a series for younger readers called Son of Angels. There is a great need for quality novels that are geared toward 9-12 year olds that have a strong faith and moral basis to them. It sounds like Jerel has seen that need as well and is passionate about writing stories for them.

Welcome, Jerel!

 “Dad, this is awesome!”

Those were the first words my lanky eight-year old son, Christopher, hit me with as he walked down the steps to the family room late one night (long after he should have been asleep). He had just finished reading the first draft of Spirit Fighter, my first book, so it wasn’t hard to look past a missed bedtime. The truth was, I was nervously awaiting his reaction to the novel. Kids are nothing if not brutally honest, after all. And while I didn’t want to admit it, the opinion of a third-grader was a pretty big deal to me. When he said those two beautiful words, I knew that I just might have something here.

But let me back up.

When I wrote Spirit Fighter in the fall of 2009, my intention was not just to write something I thought could be published…I wrote it specifically for my two oldest kids, Bailey and Christopher. At the time they were 10 and 8, and voracious readers. I couldn’t keep enough books in their hands – as soon as they finished one they would ask for another. As my son was racing through the Percy Jackson series, I began to wonder why there wasn’t a Christian series that he felt the same way about. That he couldn’t put down. The only ones I could think of were a little too mature for him, and I really didn’t think either he or my daughter would go for Amish fiction just yet. I had been writing off and on for ten years, mostly at night, since I am a pastor by day. I began to wonder if the seed of an idea could be here.

I love stories as much as my kids do. Stories of adventure that take the reader into a new world, stories that present timeless truths in new ways, that allow me to not only get lost within the pages, but to wrestle with things that are meaningful and true. Stories about life and death, and things that matter…those are the ones I am drawn to. And the ones I try to spend my time writing.

Around that same time, I came across a passage from the Bible that really caught my attention. Genesis chapter six speaks in hushed tones about an ancient people who were the children of both angels and humans…the half-human, half-angel race known as the nephilim. There simply isn’t much there about them, which made it all the more interesting. Suddenly it began to seem as though my desire to put something inspired by the Scriptures into my kids’ hands, and the intrigue I found in this passage in Genesis, began to intertwine. I began asking a lot of “what if” questions.

          What if nephilim existed not only in ancient times, but today? What if they were pretending to be normal people…maybe even in my neighborhood, or yours? And what if they had children? They would be one-quarter angel, and three-quarters human…would those children have some angelic powers?

          These questions became the core idea for Spirit Fighter and the Jonah Stone: Son of Angels series. The story revolves around a brother and sister who discover that they are part-angel, and as a result begin to develop certain abilities only angels possess. When their nephilim mom is kidnapped, they find themselves right in the middle of the battle between Good and Evil.

          I’m still blown away and humbled that Thomas Nelson has been so enthusiastic about Spirit Fighter. My hope and prayer is not only that kids say “it’s awesome!”, but that they find themselves somewhere in the pages of this book, and begin to ask their own “what if” questions. What if God has given me gifts to use? What if He really does love me? And what if He wants to use someone like me to change the world?

In 2008, I had only four girls in my AP English Language class at Citrus Park Christian School. Class sizes are small here, but this was exceptional, even for us. Four students! Because this class focuses on reading and analyzing complex works of non-fiction, I felt like Starbucks would be the perfect classroom. Thankfully, I have a great principal and she agreed. And so “Starbucks’ Fridays” was born.

We discussed great works of non-fiction on those Fridays, but we also discussed life and struggles and the difficulties these young women faced. Having worked in youth ministry for over a decade, I had led small groups before; and, though this wasn’t a typical small group, it became one. These girls were like little sisters to me. I taught them how to think through what we were studying, but I also felt God leading me to teach them to think through the Christian life. What does it mean to follow Christ? What does it look like? How are we to be different – in how we talk, how we act, how we date?

From the two years I had with these precious girls (they went on to take AP Literature the next year), I learned that teens today are overloaded with information. They are told what to buy, what to wear, how to talk, where to go, who to emulate. They are being pushed harder - and earlier - academically and in their extra-curricular pursuits. Their innocence is being stripped away, layer by layer, often by those whose job it is to protect them. And yet they still hunger for what is good. They yearn to make a difference. They crave authenticity.

And they need examples. They need to see that girls can live for Christ in a culture that promotes compromise, that they can maintain their purity and their character, even if everyone around them is forfeiting theirs.

And so the idea for my first book, First Date, was born. I wanted to show young women that the Christian life can be lived with passion and integrity. And fun. Because I believe that there is no greater joy than to know Christ and serve Him.

Esther is one of my favorite books of the bible. Her story exemplifies what God can accomplish through someone who is – even reluctantly – willing to step out and do something great for him. So I began to think of what that story might look like today. What is the 21^st century equivalent to a king’s harem? A reality TV dating show, maybe? Hmmm….Teenage girl is a reluctant contestant on a reality TV show where the President’s son is picking his prom date. That could work! She goes, not because she really wants that date, but because it is what she feels like God wants her to do. In being forced out of her comfort zone, she learns to depend on God more and see him work in ways she never would have seen had she stayed at her little Christian school in Tampa.

My prayer for this book – and those that follow – is that girls all over America can have their own “Starbucks’ Fridays” with me, being encouraged in their Christian walks and determined to pursue the joy that is found in a wholehearted commitment to our Savior.

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Krista McGee writes for teens, teaches teens, and, more often than not, acts like a teen. Along with her husband and three kids, Krista has lived and ministered in Texas, Costa Rica, and Spain. First Date released in January 2012. USAToday.com says it’s “a great debut from an author who's sure to make a splash in the inspy YA market… sings with tender teen honesty.” Follow-up Starring Me will release in July.

Do you have a teenager in your life that you just don’t know what to buy for? There are some great selections in young adult fiction this fall that would be great for gift giving! 

Now, don’t go turning your nose up at the thought of “Christian young adult fiction.” Yes, it was pretty bad back in the day, but not anymore! There are some of the finest authors today writing for today’s teens because they have a heart to provide them with a more wholesome alternative to other novels that are available. These stories are just as well-written (if not better) and just as action-packed. Here are some recommendations for you.

The C.H.A.O.S Series by Jon S. Lewis is a relatively new series.  The first book, Invasion, met with wide acclaim. It’s a cyber-tech retelling of the story of David and will appeal to teens who desire to live an epic life. Here’s what Invasion is about:

Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident.

He’s forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. The only person he knows at the new high school is a childhood friend named Dani. And Oz, a guy he’s sure he’s never met but who is strangely familiar.

But what if his parents’ death wasn’t and accident? His mother, an investigative reporter, was going to expose a secret mind-control program run by one of the world’s largest companies. Before she could release the story, what if agents from Trident Biotech made sure she couldn’t go public?

Vowing to uncover the truth, Colt gets drawn into a secret world of aliens, shapeshifters, flying motorcycles, and invisible getaways.

The invasion has begun.

The second book in the series, Alienation will be hitting our shelves at LifeWay Christian Store over the next 1-2 weeks so it’s a great time to start this series!

One of the most popular authors in the YA genre is Jenny B. Jones. She’s so much fun. Girls of all ages will really enjoy her. Her latest novel, There You’ll

Find Me, will take you to rural Ireland where Finley, an exchange student, discovers she can no longer outrun the past. Like many teens, she begins to feel pressure from all around her. Things start to fall apart and she begins to rely on an old method of controlling her world: anorexia. 

As her eating disorder flares to life again, Finley tries to balance all of the demands that are placed on her. For the first time in her life, she must get honest with herself to get right with God.

If you’ve read our blog since earlier this year, you’ll know that I became a wee bit obsessed with The River of Time Series by Lisa Bergren (Waterfall, Cascade, and Torrent). Still some of the best books I’ve read all year. I know, I know… I’m not a teenager (and haven’t been in quite some time) but I still L-O-V-E-D this series. Moms, aunts, sisters, grandma… buy this for the teen girls in your life and read with them. Trust me.

     

Another great series for teen guys is the Homelanders Series by award winning author Andrew Klavan. He was one of the first authors we had the privilege of visiting with early in our blogging days. Check the past post to see why he felt the need to write an action series for teens. The first book in the series is The Last Thing I Remembered, followed by The Long Way Home, The Truth of the Matter, and The Final Hour. 

   

It’s hot… it’s humid… it’s a great day for giving away a book or two!

Yesterday, I blogged about Lisa Bergren’s young adult series called The River of Time Series. I’m chomping at the bit to get my hands on the third book… but alas, I have a couple of more months before Torrent releases. 

For your chance to win one of two signed copies of the first book in the series, Waterfall, take a guess at our trivia question:

The River of Time Series is set in the Tuscany area of both modern day and fourteenth century Italy. People have lived in that area of the world for a long, long, loooong time. If they had a calendar hanging in their kitchen, it would have said something like 700 B.C. or so. Talk about ancient. When many of us think of ancient Italy, we immediately think of the Romans since they pretty much dominated the region for so long. But, history tells us that there were a group of people in the Tuscany area before the Romans.

Who predated the Romans in the Tuscany region of Italy?

A.)  A.) The Levites

B.)  B.) The Venetians

C.) C.) The Etruscans

D.)  D.) The Canaanites

Leave your answer in the comments section of this post by 6:00 p.m. Central time today. We’ll randomly select two winners from the correct answers to receive a signed copy of Waterfall by Lisa Bergren.

Good luck!

Back in April I blogged about a new series that I’ve gotten hooked on, Lisa Bergren’s River of Time Series.   Waterfall is the first in the series and is easily one of my favorite books of the year.  Have any of you read it by chance?  Let me know what you thought of it!  The second book released last month and Cascade hooked me right back up with Gabi and Lia, two modern day American girls who have traveled back in time to fourteenth century Italy.  Here's a quick peak at the story...

In Waterfall, the first book in the River of Time Series, two bored American sisters stumble on a door to the past, where Gabi is rescued by a handsome knight who vows to love her forever. But there is a rival for his affections, and the girls flee into the present to escape.

Now lovestruck Gabi persuades Lia to help her return, even though she knows dangers abound in medieval Italy, including an entire city that seeks revenge. But Marcello awaits, and Gabi must decide if she’s willing to leave her family behind for love.

Moms… these are great summer reads that you and your kids could enjoy together.   You’ll be just as hooked on them as your kids will be, trust me!  What better way to spend a hot summer day then reading and discussing a book together?  You could have your own family book club!  There are some great discussion questions in the back of the book to help get the talking started. 

Check out the first chapters to both Waterfall and Cascade.  Torrent, the final book in the series (boo hiss!), will be out in September.

Oh, and stop back by tomorrow. We’ll be doing a giveaway for a copy of Waterfall!

Yesterday I chatted about a new young adult (YA) series that best-selling author Lisa Bergren has started.  Another new series that hit the shelves a few months ago is the C.H.A.O.S. Novel Series by Jon S. Lewis.  Invasion is the first book in the series and is already getting great reviews.  Here's a peak into the story:

After a car wreck takes the lives of his parents, Colt moves to Arizona to stay with his grandfather.  There, an informant tells him that his parents were actually murdered because his mom, a journalist, was getting ready to write a story exposing Trident Industries.

Along with Oz and Danielle, his new comrades at Chandler High, Colt vows to uncover the truth.  But the more they learn, the more bizarre reality becomes.  Mind control, jet packs, and flying motorcycles only scratch the surface of what they discover.

Colt is recruited by a secret organization called the Central Headquarters Against the Occult and Supernatural.  But the battle isn't just against an out-of-control giant corporation.  A gateway to another world is opening and the invasion has already begun.

Get to know Jon a little more as he takes us on a tour of his writing space!

Young Adult fiction (YA) has seen some strong releases over the last several months. I’m so glad that we’re continuing to see quality novels being published in this genre. It’s great to have additional choices for our teens to read along with the popular series that dominate the general market.

One of my sales reps recently read Waterfall by Lisa Bergren. Almost every time I would see her, she would ask me, “Have you read Waterfall yet?” Well, Marilyn, I’m happy to tell you that I took your advice and read it.  And you were right… it’s so good!

I know I’m not a 17-year old girl (this fact is only too real when I complain about aches and pains on a daily basis) but I thoroughly enjoyed Lisa Bergren’s launch into YA novels. I had read one of her older adult series several years ago and found them to be very engaging.   Lisa is the mother to tween and teen daughters and felt compelled to write a series that her girls and their friends would enjoy reading. In the back of the book she mentions that her daughters were the first to read it and that “they set me straight on things that would make other kids roll their eyes.” I love that!

Waterfall is book one in The River of Time Series. Gabi and Lia Betarrini are American sisters who are spending the summer following their archaeologist mom around Italy. Sure, this might sound like the ideal way to spend a summer to the rest of us.  However it’s anything but exciting for the sisters who have spent every vacation trudging off to some historical dig. The girls are bored out of their minds even though they are surrounded by the beautiful Tuscan landscape.

Gabi and Lia sneak into their mom’s latest dig site, an old Etruscan tomb. Although she can hear her mother’s voice in her head telling her not to touch anything, Gabi can’t resist putting her hand atop a painted hand print in the tomb. Next thing she knows, she finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. If that’s not bad enough, she’s in the middle of a fierce battle between a bunch of feuding knights.

When the fighting ceases, one of the knights (and the most handsome, of course) brings her to his home, er, castle, as they figure out exactly what has happened to her. It’s fun to watch Gabi, who everyone calls Lady Gabriella, figure out life in medieval times. Not only is she taller than most of the women there, her skinny jeans and t-shirt quickly make it obvious that she’s not from around those parts. 

I found myself immediately swept up in the romance and gallantry of Italy back in the fourteenth century. There are plenty of brave knights to like such as Marcello, the handsome son of Lord Forelli, who is immediately intrigued by this girl who is unlike any he’s ever known. Marcello’s closest friend Luca becomes a trusted ally to Gabi as he offers her much needed assistance, humor, and friendship. 

Gabi is a cool girl that readers will instantly connect with. Her urgency to find a way back to the 21^st century becomes blurred with the desire to stay in a place where a dashing knight has not only captured her eye but her heart as well. What girl doesn’t want that, no matter our age?! 

I highly recommend Waterfall to girls of all ages. I would say that I give it two thumbs up but that doesn't seem appropriate for a book filled with sword fights, dashing knights, and

romance.  How about two swoons instead?!  Buy a copy and then pass it around to all your girlfriends.  Check out the first chapter to see what you think.   You’ve got about two months before book two comes out! Cascade hits stores in June!

Happy reading!

Today we have best selling author Andrew Klavan stopping by to chat about his young adult series, The Homelanders.  Enjoy getting to know about Andrew and his recent novels!

A lot of readers will recognize your name as the author of best- selling adult thriller novels such as True Crime, Don’t Say a Word, and Empire of Lies.  What made you want to write a series for young adults?

Looking back at it, it was really one of those wonderfully providential things.  I had once been hired to adapt a young adult novel as a screenplay and I found I just loved writing for that audience.  But the chance to do it again didn’t come up and I forgot about it.  Years went by.  Then, one day I finished a novel, and started thinking, “You know, I really want to do something different, try a totally new direction.”  And almost on cue, the phone rang and there was Amanda Bostic, an editor from Thomas Nelson.  And she said, “I was wondering:  Have you ever thought of writing Young Adult fiction?”  I leapt at the chance.

How have you had to adapt your writing knowing that you are aiming for a much younger audience then you have in the past?

It’s actually a pretty organic process.  A story isn’t just about what happens, it’s about who it happens to.  I mean, let’s say the story is:  a hero has to slay a dragon.  It makes a big difference whether that hero is Superman or Frodo.  So when the hero is a young adult, his concerns, his actions, his thoughts and the people he interacts with are all going to be part of that.  Just by following the character, the story changes and becomes a young adult story. 

Do you think this series will appeal to adults?

I get letters from adults who seem to like it a lot actually.  I mean, why not?  It’s a story about a guy who goes to sleep one day in his own normal life and wakes up with the whole world against him and no one to turn to.  I think that’s a pretty cool story no matter how old you are.

It seems that many of the characters in today’s young adult novels are people who seem to have no values, they don’t consider the consequences to their actions, and are even morally bankrupt.  Why was it so important to have Charlie West, the main character, be the kind of hero that teens can admire?

What makes stories interesting—what makes life interesting really—are the choices people make.  And a person without values has many fewer choices.  He’s a slave to the moment and his own self-interest.  A person who’s morally bankrupt might do interesting things, flashy things, even cool things, but ultimately he’s just a train on the track of his impulses.  A person like Charlie—a person who believes in something, stands for something besides himself—has an opportunity not just to survive the dangers he faces, but to elevate himself to a higher place than where he started.  That’s true in life too.  People with strong values are the people who tend to become fully human and admirable, the people whose stories we want to hear.

How important is Charlie’s faith in his story?

In some sense, Charlie’s faith is his story—because everything else he has is stripped away.  He loses his home, his family, his friends, his whole life, really.  Even his identity becomes suspect.  All he has left is his faith, the source of his spirit and strength.  That’s the only tool he has with which to rebuild his world from the ground up…while everyone’s trying to kill him!

What are some of the takeaways you hope that young readers will get out of Charlie’s adventures?

I’m just trying to give readers an experience:  the experience of an honorable young man hurled from a safe, quiet life into darkness and danger.  I want you to live with him through that and face the things he faces and go with him as he looks inside himself to find the answers.  Then that becomes part of your experience and might even come in handy when you face the things you have to face in your own life.

Rumor has it that The Homelanders Series has been optioned to be made into movies.  Can you give us any scoop on that?

Yeah, it was optioned by Summit entertainment, the guys who made Twilight and The Hurt Locker.  I understand they’ve got some very good writers working on it right now, but I don’t think they have a script yet.  That’s all I know.

The final book in the series comes out August 2011.  Can you give us a glimpse into what will happen to Charlie in The Final Hour?

I think people will find it pretty surprising.  In The Truth of the Matter, as the title suggests, we get a lot of the answers to Charlie’s situation.  He gets very close to finding out how he got into the situation he’s in.  But finding the answers doesn’t actually get him out of the situation so the next book, The Final Hour is, in some ways, his darkest hour.  It starts with him stuck in one of the worst situations imaginable…  That’s vague, I know, but I think that’s all I’ll say.

With the success of book series like Twilight and Harry Potter, it's clearly popular for teens to be reading these days.  There are a lot of great reading options for teens and young adults in the Christian book market as well.  These titles are targeted to the 14-21 age crowd and provide a great story line with the faith element woven in to provide a great alternative for today's reader.

Here are some of our most popular authors in the young adult (YA) line of fiction.  If you have a teen on your gift list this Christmas you might consider one of these titles!

 Dragons in Our Midst Series by Bryan Davis

 Check out this contemporary fantasy series with hair-raising adventures to other worlds.  The battle of good versus evil is played out with dragons, knights, and fair maidens.