One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.
New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth’s much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.
I really enjoyed Divergent. But Insurgent was a whole new level of awesome.
Here are my initial, just-finished-the-book thoughts on Goodreads:
This, quite simply, was astonishing. Perfectly crafted with crystalline prose, breathlessly paced, nail-bitingly suspenseful, and bursting with the whip-smart observations of morality and humanity we’ve all come to expect from Veronica Roth, INSURGENT rocked me to my core. DIVERGENT was a great book; INSURGENT is electrifying. Heartbreaking. Brutal. Beautiful. And Tris . . . she and I got off to a rough start in book one, but I feel we’ve bonded during this second book, and I now have such admiration for her bravery, resilience, and intelligence that I often found myself moved to tears while reading because I was so dadgum proud of her. Love you, Tris. And you, Veronica, for writing such an incredible book. And you, INSURGENT, for being so, so very pretty.
Y’all are gonna LOVE this book.
Insurgent comes out on May 1st, and I’m SO excited for it to hit the shelves. So excited, in fact, that I’m going to give away my ARC.
That’s right: One lucky person will get the chance to read Insurgent a couple of weeks early.
All you have to do is
leave a comment below for a chance to win
tweet about this with hashtag #wantINSURGENT, and copy/paste the link to your tweet below, for an extra entry
That’s it!
The contest is U.S/Canada only and ends April 19th at 11:59 p.m. EST.
This is a brief post to let you know that I have a new Tumblr!
I know — STOP THE PRESSES, right?
But seriously. I love compartmentalizing things. Organization is the key to maximizing productivity, juggling multiple deadlines/projects, maintaining personal zen, and having a clean apartment (this last one is extremely important; I LOATHE mess!).
With that in mind, I’ve created a separate Tumblr (in addition to my formal, author Tumblr), for posting about things that aren’t related to my books.
Said formal, author Tumblr mostly consists of posts directly relating to a book project of mine. I have, however, had a “Miscellaneous” tag for a while now, under which I post random things I like but that don’t fit into a particular book category.
This “Miscellaneous” tag has been driving me crazy. It is my personal guilty secret, much like Monica’s secret closet. This tag has been the tag under which all the stuff that just doesn’t fit goes.
And now that I’ve demonstrated the full OCD-esque extent of my organizational quirks, come follow me! If you like cupcakes, that is. And who doesn’t like cupcakes?? Crazy people, that’s who.* **
*No offense to crazy people.
**Or to people who, for medical reasons, cannot eat cupcakes.
Y’all know I am all about the fantasy up in here (oh god did I really just say it like that?), especially high fantasy, so you can imagine my unbridled JOY when I got an ARC of Leigh Bardugo‘s upcoming Shadow and Bone a couple of months ago.
Let me just say right up front that it is everything I could have hoped for and more. Beautifully written and imaginative, with dark intrigues galore and a world rich and dangerous as Philip Pullman’s in His Dark Materials and Kristin Cashore’s Seven Kingdoms, Shadow and Bone is sure to become a modern fantasy classic.
Read on to find out more about Leigh, Shadow and Bone, and the world of the Grisha. And comment below to win an ARC of Shadow and Bone!*
First, a bit about Shadow and Bone (from Goodreads):
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.
Also, here is the trailer:
YEAH. I KNOW.
Okay, Leigh, let’s do this. You ready?
LET’S DO THIS THANG.
1. One of the things I love so about this book is the Russian-flavored setting and how original that feels. Tell us a little about the inspiration for the world of Shadow and Bone. What led you to craft a fantasy world like this?
Thank you! (And thanks for having me by to chat.) When I got into world building, all I knew was that I wanted the advent of modern warfare to be a part of the story. I went scrounging around the travel and history sections of a local used bookstore and I happened to pull an old Russian Imperial Atlas from the shelf. There was a picture on the cover of three men in coats and fur hats standing by a sledge in the snow. I started flipping through it, looking at trade routes, exports, military campaigns, and something just clicked. Now I don’t feel like the story could belong to any other world.
2. What kind of research did you do to give the setting of Ravka such authenticity? Did you do a lot of reading up on Russian culture and folklore? (Note: Leigh talks a bit about her research in her acknowledgments, but I wanted to give her a chance to elaborate further here for those who don’t have ARCs!)
Hmm, I think “authentic” may be a loaded word. Ravka isn’t Russia. It’s a fantasy world with Russia as its cultural touchstone, and my world building was based on what I felt best served the story and the reader’s experience– not on what was authentically Russian.
As for the process, I spent about two months researching Russian history and culture. I put a limit on it because I knew burying myself in folklore and history could be a very comfortable way to avoid getting back to the draft. My favorite find and one that I recommend to anyone interested in reading about the real Russia was Natasha’s Dance by Orlando Figes. It’s a thoughtful, richly detailed cultural history of Russia and also just a really good read. A few others are Land of the Firebird, the Beauty of Old Russia by Suzanne Massie, Russian Folk Belief by Linda J. Ivanits, and The Bathhouse at Midnight by W. F. Ryan. I bought up old atlases and art books, and acquired an absolutely obscene book of Russian slang. (Those people know how to swear like nobody’s business.) I was also inspired by the illustrations of Ivan Bilibin. So gorgeous. I definitely recommend checking out his work.
3. One of the things I find most challenging (and fun!) about writing fantasy is coming up with a language system that sounds exotic but also accessible. What kind of system did you develop for crafting the names of various characters and locations throughout Ravka?
This was a big challenge with Ravkan. Russian is an incredibly opaque language for non-speakers. Because we don’t share an alphabet, most of the words don’t have any resonance for us.
I took a few different approaches. For instance, when I named the town where Mal and Alina took their military training, I used the root “polis” for city (which also gives a nice echo of “police”) and added a Russian suffix. The result was Poliznaya. Or for the Darkling’s title, in Russian, “yes, sir” would be something like “da, moi gospodin.” Instead, I took the root word “sovereign” and his title became “soverennyi.” I don’t know if this is something a reader will pick up on or care about, but I think details like this can make a difference.
In a very few cases, I did use real Russian words. The Darkling’s personal guard are the oprichniki. This was the same name given to Ivan the Terrible’s brutal secret police. I chose the name Grisha for the magical elite because it is the Russian diminutive of Gregory which means “watchful” and derives from the biblical Grigori (which a lot of paranormal fans will recognize from fallen angel tales). Whenever I use a Russian word or a fragment of a Russian word, there’s a story behind it for anyone who wants to go looking.
Language can be a touchy thing and I know people may not like some of the choices I made, but I did agonize over every one of them– from choosing “Starkov” over “Starkova” to “Corporalki” over “Corporalniki.” (If you’re interested in seeing how it’s really done, check out conlang.org, home base of David Peterson. He built Dothraki for the HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones and he’s so welcoming and generous with his time. The site is a great resource for writers and language lovers.)
4. Let’s talk about your main character, Alina. What was it like writing her? Was she a challenge? Did she come easily? What can readers expect from her that they might not find in other YA heroines?
There are so many amazing YA heroines out there these days. I will say that Alina isn’t someone who finds out that she’s the Chosen One and starts kicking ass and taking names. Don’t get me wrong, I love those heroines, but I wanted to write a story about a girl who struggles to be strong. Discovering her power is just the first step in Alina’s journey, and she needs more than a makeover to get right with herself.
Writing her was tough because, while I always liked Alina’s pragmatism and prickliness, I think I had to get comfortable with her vulnerability. She’s had a hard life and she’s hungry to find a place to belong. She makes some iffy choices because of this and sometimes it was difficult to let her.
5. Now, let’s talk the Darkling. I won’t say much about him because, believe me, y’all, you don’t want to be spoiled on anything in this book, but especially the Darkling. But let’s be honest here: He was super fun to write, yes? Why do you think those ambiguous characters are so fun, both for the writer and the reader?
Well, people who are wholly any one thing are awfully predictable. When a character has bad and good impulses, when he’s fighting against particular elements in his nature, you never know what might happen. And when you throw power like the Darkling’s into the mix, it starts to get really fun because that tension charges even the most innocent exchanges. It’s like there’s a secret conversation happening beneath the surface: “Hey, what did you have for breakfast?” You do realize I could cut you in half without raising a blade, right? “You had frittata? I love frittata.” Almost as much as I love the cries of my enemies.
6. Did you put together a soundtrack while writing Shadow and Bone? If so, can you share some of that music with us here?
When I write, if I listen to music, it’s something I can ignore like Ratatat or Four Tet, or I’ll cue up something classical. And yes, I do love a Slavic chorus.
But I had a few songs that I used as emotional prompts. Placebo’s cover of “Running Up that Hill” has this driving, cool intensity that I associated with the Darkling. “Winter Song” by Sarah Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson was Mal and Alina’s song and it rips my heart out every time. And… I hesitate to mention this last one because I think all YA writers feel like Florence + the Machine is scoring their stories, but I always felt like “Cosmic Love” belonged to Alina, Mal, and the Darkling. I only let myself listen to that one on occasion because I don’t want it to lose its impact.
7. What was the hardest thing about writing Shadow and Bone? Was it finishing that first draft? Revisions? Brainstorming at the very beginning? Did you ever experience moments of doubt?
I’m actually laughing out loud right now. Did I experience moments of doubt? Not at all. I fell into days-long, soul-wrenching chasms of self-doubt, then rolled around at the bottom of them like a piglet in a misery trough. For me, the biggest challenge is always shutting down those feelings and facing the page anyway.
8. Tell us about your writing experience. When did you first start writing? And have you always written fantasy?
I’ve been writing stories and poems and all manner of nonsense since I was a kid, but I think the dynamic changed when I went to junior high. That was when things got really rough for me at school and at home, and it was also when I discovered science fiction and fantasy. I read and wrote myself into those worlds and I think genre fiction kind of saved me. As I got older, I drifted more toward literary fiction and nonfiction. I worked as a journalist for a while and then writing scripts for movie trailers (“In a land without justice” and so on). These days, I write whatever suits my fancy and just hope that someone will read it.
9. Besides the Grisha trilogy, do you plan to continue writing more YA fantasy in the future? Can you give us any teasers regarding future planned works?
I’d love to write more YA fantasy. I have a few things in the works, but I won’t be free to tackle them until Book 3 of the Grisha Trilogy is finished. In the meantime, I’m working on a horror project set in our world and time. It’s so nice to just be able to say “peanut butter” instead of “ground nut paste from the Isle of Mermu.” (Just so you know, there is no Isle of Mermu, and if there were, they wouldn’t export their precious nut paste. We would have to acquire it through bloody conquest.)
10. What is the most important piece of advice you would give to writers who are seeking publication?
Just finish. Let that first draft be messy, stupid, obvious, ugly. If you don’t know how to deal with something, write the question into the draft and keep moving. Don’t get bogged down.
11. Besides being a writer of awesome books, you are also a makeup artist living in Hollywood. Tell us: Have you met any famous people? And what’s being a makeup artist like? Do you do freelance stuff? Do you work on movie sets? *fangirls, starry-eyed* I find this so interesting and it makes me want to kidnap you for a makeover party. Not to be creepy or anything.
What’s that? I can’t hear you because I’m drinking vegan smoothies with Victoria Beckham.
First of all, you can ALWAYS kidnap me for a makeover party. I looove to talk product and doll up my friends. That said, being a makeup artist is really hard work. It’s a lot of hours on your feet and early mornings. I’ve worked movie and TV sets, some commercial, and print. My favorite thing is runway, though I haven’t gotten to do as much as I would have liked. I would have loved to work NYFW, but I never got called up to the majors. I do have some stories about the fancy people, but you’ll have to be very nice to me and possibly buy me a few cocktails before I spill.
12. Are you reading any books right now? What upcoming books are you most looking forward to?
So many! Eager to dig into the last few books of THE LYMOND CHRONICLES, then WOOL by Hugh Howey. I just started TORN by my agent sister Erica O’Rourke and it’s so much fun. I have ARCs of STRUCK by Jennifer Bosworth, ALTERED by Jennifer Rush, and SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY by Susan Dennard. I’m also going to dip my toe into contemporary with Abby McDonald’s GETTING OVER GARRETT DELANEY. For high fantasy, I cannot wait for PROPHECY by Ellen Oh and THRONE OF GLASS by Sarah Maas. In middle grade, I’m looking forward to CHAINED by Lynne Kelley and THE WIG IN THE WINDOW by Kristen Kittscher. Honestly, there are just too many great books coming out to name. I’m also ready to be fitted for my Cavendish uniform.
13. The zombie apocalypse is upon us. You have time to grab only one book from your bookshelves before heading out with your gun-totin’ posse. Which would it be?
I Before Argh: Speak Fluent Zombie Fast!
14. This is our final and perhaps most important question, Leigh. Tell me: are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? *narrows eyes* Consider your answer carefully . . .
Girl, surely you’ve noted my rainbow mane and unwillingness to be tamed. Team Unicorn for life.
Thank you so much for stopping by today, Leigh! Be sure to check out more about Leigh and Shadow and Bone at the links below. And don’t forget! Shadow and Bone hits shelves on June 5th!
To win an ARC of Shadow and Bone, simply comment below! To score a SECOND entry, tweet about this interview/giveaway and copy/paste your tweet’s link in the comments below!
Contest ends Monday, April 23 at 12:00 p.m. EST and is INTERNATIONAL.
Have fun, and good luck!
*Please note: My ARC does NOT have the final cover, so it will not look like the image above. But the guts are all the same!
Congratulations, Taryn! Please email me at clairelegrandbooks [at] gmail [dot] com with your complete mailing address!
Thank you so much to everyone who read the interview and participated in the giveaway! And of course thanks to Leigh for agreeing to this interview! I hope y’all are excited about Shadow and Bone as much as I am (WHICH IS A WHOLE HECK OF A LOT).
This past weekend, I received a completely awesome link from a couple of different people. When I clicked on it, and viewed the pictures within, I literally gasped.
BEHOLD:
People, that is a cake. A CAKE. As in, edible crumbly bready icingy goodness.
HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?
Let’s take a closer look:
The pegacorns even have RAINBOW EYES.
RAINBOW. EYES.
Y’all know I love me some majestic unicorn hair. Just LOOK at those epic tresses! Words fail me.
Apparently, this cake was made by a woman named Heather Sherman, of Art2Eat Cakes. You can see more photos of her work at her Flickr stream, here.
Oh, and the official name of this cake is the “Rainbow Pega-Corn Mama & Baby” cake.
Yeah, that’s right. THERE’S A BABY IN THERE.
“Mommy?” says the baby pegacorn. “Will I someday have hair as epic as yours?”
“Of course, precious,” says the mama pegacorn. “BECAUSE WE ARE MADE OF MAGIC AND ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE WORLD. Including cake.”
If there were more pegacorn cakes in the world, I think it’d be a happier place. Truth.
I’ve been wanting to write this post for about a month now, but I haven’t really known how to do it.
You know that feeling when you love something so much you want to shout about it from the rooftops? But then, when you get around to it, this shouting turns out to be starry-eyed gibberish? This might not be a very coherent post, is what I’m saying. It’s what happens when one goes full-blown fangirl.
If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed me talking a lot lately about a show called The West Wing.
Y’all, I’m obsessed.
Rob Lowe as Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn
Is this post cheesy? Is this show cheesy? Is it some sort of overly idealistic, liberal-leaning love letter to a political world that doesn’t — nay, couldn’t — exist? Maybe.
But it’s also one of the smartest, most well-written shows I’ve ever seen, full of some of the most complex, compelling, endearing characters with whom I’ve ever fallen in love.
Dulé Hill as Personal Aide to the President Charlie Young
I’d always been vaguely interested in watching The West Wing. There was that throwaway moment in Love Actually when Andrew Lincoln‘s character says, “Everything has episodes of West Wing on it by now” or something like that. Also, I love The American President, a romantic comedy set in the White House and written by West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin. People always said, “If you loved The American President, you’d love The West Wing.”
Boy, were they right. And then some.
Allison Janney as White House Press Secretary C. J. Cregg (aka, the love of my life)
Ellen the Roomie was the one to finally kick my butt into gear. We watched the first couple of episodes together, and I was hooked. The rapid-fire dialogue. The chemistry between the actors. The intelligence. It was that thing we so often deride in fiction: insta-love.
In the space of a 45-minute episode, The West Wing can make me cry, laugh, laugh till I cry, and feel more inspired about living in this country than I probably ever have.
Richard Schiff as Communications Director Toby Ziegler
There are times when, as much as I love writing, and as lucky as I feel to be able to write full-time, I start to feel discouraged. I get bogged down in the ins and outs and logistics of navigating the publishing world, and promoting my work, and revisions, and I forget about the joy of writing.
Then I watch something like The West Wing. I hear dialogue that has rhythm so seductive I feel like I need a cigarette after every episode. I watch characters who love and hate and would do anything for each other. I see a world maybe a little better than the one I live in, one that inspires me to make the world I live in a little better.
John Spencer as White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry
I watch this, and I’m reminded why I write. It’s to make people feel and think and experience things like I do when watching shows like The West Wing. It’s to get people so obsessed about a story that they forsake laundry, sleep, revisions, homework, and other responsibilities (not that I would ever, ever do such a thing, not that I am doing that at this exact moment . . . ) just to read a little more, watch a little more, grasp a little more of that rare exhilaration that accompanies a truly sublime work of art.
Again, is this cheesy? Quite possibly. Am I hyperbolizing my love? Not in the slightest.
Janel Maloney as assistant Donna Moss
It isn’t a perfect show, no. There does exist the rare moment that makes me cringe, although they are few and far between. There is also a left-leaning political bias, sure (although in my opinion the show’s writers do a fabulous job of addressing all sides of whatever issue is at hand). There are episodes that seem smug and there are even the occasional eyeroll-inducing lines of dialogue.
But there is wit, and richness, and heart.
Bradley Whitford as Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman
Also, I just have to mention how amused I am by the films in which I’ve previously seen some of these actors. Remember Ms. Perky, the guidance counselor from 10 Things I Hate About You, who spends all her time writing erotica? That was Allison Janney. And J.J., the skeezy advertising executive in Kate & Leopold? Bradley Whitford! And that random guy Eddie who gets eaten by a T. rex in Lost World: Jurassic Park? The ever grumpy, ever mumbly Richard Schiff!
Just had to point that out.
Gratuitous adorable picture of Josh & Donna because, I mean, come on.
Anyway, back to my point. There are few television shows that I truly love. Out of those, there are even fewer shows where all the elements — the casting, the direction, the writing, the production values — come together with near flawless precision. These are the shows that are special, that feel timeless even when they start to feel dated. These are the shows that, when you pop in a DVD or watch clips on YouTube, feel like coming home.
The West Wing is one of those shows.
Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet
What’s more, I feel like it’s an important show. Not artistically, no. But ideologically. No matter what your political leanings may be, I feel like this show champions a love of what’s right, the power of admitting and learning from mistakes, and the beauty of living in a flawed, complicated, messy, wonderful place.The West Wing is about love, really — friendship and family, and love of country.
And, quite frankly, I can’t think of a more perfect time to start watching this show. Yeah, I’m kind of bummed that I couldn’t experience the rush of first-run episodes and be a part of the fandom when it was in its prime and thriving. But with the state of political discourse (and courtesy, and general respect) in this country being what it is, what better way to get a morale boost and dare to think that things will be okay, even if they suck for a while first, than to watch a show that tells us exactly that?
With witty dialogue and perfectly staged walk-and-talks, of course.
You know, just writing this post almost made me cry. Damn it, I’m in love, forever.
I think it was my dear friend Dr. Splanchett who first introduced me to Pogo, a couple of years ago. In case you are unfamiliar with Pogo, he is an electronic musician (real name: Nick Bertke) who samples sounds from movies, television shows, and real life to create entirely new music.
I’ve been listening to his stuff a lot recently while editing, cleaning, cooking — pretty much everything. There’s a lot of motion to Pogo’s remixes, which keeps me motivated and moving. His music is also by turns ethereal and incredibly catchy; I often find myself humming his strange, made-up melodies as I go about my day.
And the best part is? It’s the kind of music that doesn’t distract me from what I’m doing. In fact, it almost lulls me into a productive trance.
Check out some of these fantastic remixes:
I think his A Little Princess remix, “Whisperlude,” is my favorite. The music is dreamy and lovely, and the music video itself is just gorgeous:
Not only are the remixes fun to listen to, the accompanying music videos are awesome as well — especially that last one, the animated Wizard of Oz!
I highly recommend checking out Pogo’s website. You can purchase high-quality MP3s of these and other remixes for super cheap. He also posts fascinating behind-the-scenes videos demonstrating how he crafts these remixes.
Lately, I’ve been very much submerged in the land of middle grade books, what with the release of Cavendish approaching (in — oh goodness — five months from today!), drafting The October Year, and reading a bunch of fantastic middle grade fiction.
It has been glorious.
There is something so special about books written for this age group.
Maybe it’s that the really good ones transcend age groups altogether, becoming these timeless, classic stories that anyone — regardless of age — can always return to and enjoy. (And I do find myself returning to them more and more as I grow older.)
Maybe it’s the purity of these stories. The characters realize that they are growing up, that everything is changing, that they are leaving childhood behind. It is bittersweet and scary. But they’re not completely grown-up yet. They’re in the land of first crushes, not first loves. They can still view the world through the wonder-filled lens of a child — even if those moments are starting to occur less and less frequently.
Or, heck — maybe it’s because the majority of middle grade books seem to be written in third person, which is my favorite narrative mode, both to read and to write.
I could go on and on. Suffice it to say, I re-read middle grade books more than I do books written for any audience. They are comforting, inspiring, haunting, and full of adventure.
Below are some of my favorite first lines from my favorite middle grade books. Feel free to share some of your own favorite first lines in the comments! Middle grade books only, please!
Coraline: “Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.”
Matilda: “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.” (I cheated a little bit here! But that second line is just to good to leave out.)
The Phantom Tollbooth: “There was once a boy named Milo who didn’t know what to do with himself–not just sometimes, but always.”
The Golden Compass: “Lyra and her daemon moved through the darkening Hall, taking care to keep to one side, out of sight of the kitchens.”
Liesl & Po: “On the third night after the day her father died, Liesl saw the ghost.”
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making: “Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents’ house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog.”
Breadcrumbs: “It snowed right before Jack stopped talking to Hazel, fluffy white flakes big enough to show their crystal architecture, like perfect geometric poems.”
When You Reach Me: “So Mom got the postcard today.” A non-entity of a first sentence, it may at first seem . . . until you read the rest of the first paragraph: “It says Congratulations in big curly letters, and at the very top is the address of Studio TV-15 on West 58th Street. After three years of trying, she has actually made it. She’s going to be a contest on The $20,000 Pyramid, which is hosted by Dick Clark.” So again, I guess I cheated a bit here. But I just love the blunt, conversational narration of this book’s main character.
Plain Kate: “A long time ago, in a market town by a looping river, there lived an orphan girl called Plain Kate.” (Whether or not this book is middle grade or young adult is up for debate; it’s certainly dark enough to skew older, but I still lean toward upper middle grade.)
So tell me: What are some of YOUR favorite first lines from middle grade books?
Claire is a Texan living in New York City! She writes fantastical stories, and her daemon is an ocelot but sometimes a unicorn. When presented with the choice to high five or not to high five, she will always choose TO HIGH FIVE. Her first novel, THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, due out August 28, 2012 from Simon & Schuster BFYR, will probably give you nightmares. Or at the very least make you buy a nightlight. Her second novel, THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, due out Fall 2013, also from S&S, involves several ghosts, a girl obsessed with Death, and a rather irascible cat. Her third novel, WINTERSPELL, due out in Fall 2014, also from S&S, is a young adult retelling of The Nutcracker, full of faeries, bloody swordfights, and forbidden romance.
consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Claire is a Texan living in New York City! She writes fantastical stories, and her daemon is an ocelot but sometimes a unicorn. When presented with the choice to high five or not to high five, she will always choose TO HIGH FIVE. Her first novel, 
