What My Students Are Reading

For the past three years, I’ve been teaching sixth grade reading and one of my favorite parts of my job is watching my students’ eyes light up when they first enter my classroom and see bookshelves full of novels that were off-limits in elementary school.They're tweens on a mission! Some are looking for adventure, others mystery or romance, but all of them want to devour books for Young Adults--no kids allowed!

What are their favorites?

Well, there are a few that make the rounds every year almost guaranteed, regardless of new releases. The girls continue to flock to Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer, even though it’s been out for a while. They’ve heard about it, and maybe seen the movies, but they want to know about vampires and werewolves first-hand. Reluctant readers go crazy over A Child Called It, by Dave Pelzer, because once one student shares a few details about what happened to Pelzer as a child, kids want to find out what other horrific things his mother did to him and how he survived, even if they wouldn’t normally pick up a book. The Percy Jackson Series, by Rick Riordan, is a hit with both girls and guys, though they don’t care for the movies much. Another oldie, but goodie, is The Face on the Milk Carton Series, by Caroline B. Cooney. The idea of finding out your parents aren’t really your parents is hard for middle school students to resist. They also continue to enjoy A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket and The Hobbit, by J.R.R Tolkien. Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling, however, is old news since they can read it in elementary school.

Some of the newer YA hits with both guys and girls include The Divergent Series, by Veronica Roth (especially with the movie coming out soon), The Legend Series, by Marie Lu, The Unwanteds Series, by Lisa McMann and The Warriors Series, by Erin Hunter. Lots of my students are reading The Hunger Games Series, by Suzanne Collins, since the Catching Fire movie just came out, but also because they find dystopian societies fascinating. Girls are reading The Matched Series, by Allie Condie, The Beautiful Creatures Series, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, The Selection Series, by Kiera Cass, and anything by Sarah Dessen. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, is also popular even though it’s not available in our school library since it’s rated Teen Mature (yes, my classroom library follows the same rules as the school as far as ratings go).

The list could go on and on, but I’ll leave it at that for this posting. Please feel free to add comments about your favorite YA novels below!  

A Look Inside My Next Novel

Several people who read my novel This Side of Tomorrow have asked what my next book is about, so I thought it might be nice to place an excerpt in my blog this week. The title of the novel is Empath and it’s another paranormal romance. I love reading them and writing them, so yeah, I’m sticking with the same genre for now.

The main character in Empath is Lucy Malone, a seventeen-year-old who is great at running and singing. But when she meets Anthony Sutton on a morning run, she discovers she has other talents in, well, a not-so-pleasant way:  

As I approached the bridge, I blinked at what appeared to be someone balancing on its railing—the frost-covered, very high railing.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins, and I sprinted forward, pulling out my ear buds. A tall boy, with dark hair, moved along the barrier as if it were a tightrope, his arms raised as he teetered above the river. Was he insane?

At the edge of the bridge, I slowed to a walk and wondered if I should try to talk him down. Sunlight painted the clouds bright pink behind him—a beautiful sight, tarnished by the ominous balancing act.

I tried to stay quiet, inching my way forward, but the boy spun to face me, tottering as his eyes locked with mine. I recognized him as a new student I'd seen at school, who I’d never actually met. His dark brows furrowed, and he struggled to stay upright, then jumped from the railing, landing in front of me. My heart raced—thank God he didn't jump off.

The boy held my gaze, and a rush of feelings overwhelmed me—anxiety, despair, confusion, curiosity. I’d never felt so much emotion. A tingling sensation moved from the top of my head down to my toes and a ringing sound filled my ears. The boy’s lips moved, but the only thing I could hear was a high-pitched, muffled buzzing. Spots darkened my vision, the world started to tilt, and my legs gave way beneath me. When my head hit the pavement, my brain rattled hard against my skull.

Then I slipped away into darkness.

Anthony, an empath, then helps Lucy and informs her she channeled his emotions and must be an empath, too. He becomes her trainer, but doesn’t know everything about using his powers because his parents, who were training him, were killed in a car accident. This is one of the many things that make Anthony unstable, and probably not the best trainer for Lucy, but he’s her only option. The good part is he’s gorgeous and the lead singer in a band.

 By now, you’re probably wondering exactly what empaths are, so I’ll explain. Empaths can feel other people’s emotions and also do a bunch of other cool things with their minds. Anthony considers it a curse because knowing what others feel all the time can drive you crazy, and there’s no way to turn off the ability once it manifests. Through training, however, empaths can find ways to control their minds and use their ability to make the world a better place. Or, of course, use their power for personal gain and to hurt others. It’s an inherited trait and Lucy realizes she must have gotten it from her estranged father, who she decides to find.

I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’ll just share that there’s a struggle between good and evil as well as a star-crossed romance between Lucy and Anthony. My critique partners are enjoying the story so far and I’m having fun writing it. The characters are kind of crazy compared to This Side of Tomorrow, but if you liked that book you will probably like this one, too. This story will be part of a series, so if you do like it, there will be lots more to come.

Feel free to post any questions or comments about my new novel below and have a great weekend!

Who Would You Choose?

The love triangle in my YA novel, This Side of Tomorrow, has had readers picking sides ever since my critique partners looked at the first draft of my manuscript. Some like Parker Redding, the adorable football player who is alive and available for the main character, Rachel Hutton, to have a future with and others prefer Rob Thompson, the spirit who is well, not alive, but becomes Rachel’s best friend and forbidden love.

Here’s an excerpt from the book where Rachel first speaks with Rob after he rescues her from the antagonist, Ethan Scott, another spirit who just attacked her:

I peeked out and saw his silhouette in the light streaming from my room. With shaking hands, I pulled the door open.

The faint outline of his body appeared, becoming more and more visible with each passing moment. Adrenaline flooded my veins and I felt a little dizzy. Rob’s dark blue eyes peered down at me from below long lashes. He shifted from one foot to the other and stuffed his hands in his pockets. I could see him perfectly.

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I stared at him in the soft lamplight. He was beyond hot—a work of art. Beautiful.

“I’m okay. Sort of. Come in.” I tried to clean up my face with a tissue as I closed the door behind him.

“If Ethan wasn’t already dead, I would’ve killed him tonight. He was bad enough when he was alive, and he’s only gotten worse since not crossing over.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

The room started to tilt and I sat down on the bed. I took a few deep breaths and felt better.

“Sure you’re okay?” Rob’s brow furrowed.

I nodded, hugging a pillow.

Kitty jumped to the floor and rubbed her face against Rob’s legs, purring.

“Do you two know each other? And what is crossing over?”

Rob scratched Kitty’s head. “She introduced herself to me when you moved in. I never had a pet, so I kind of like her.” Kitty blinked her eyes at him. If she trusted him maybe I should, too. “And crossing over is what your spirit does when it goes to heaven. Or hell. Ethan’s refusing to cross over.”

And now here’s an excerpt from the book where Rachel first sees Parker shirtless at a pool party:

Parker spun the football in his hands as he approached. No matter how many times I’d imagined the sight in my mind, the real thing was a million times better than what I’d come up with. Smooth, tan skin covered his muscular torso and his dark eyes met mine with a hint of shyness. My heart took off at a gallop and I silently cursed my blazing cheeks.

“Beer?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I gave him a timid smile.

Parker grabbed a bottle from a nearby cooler and opened it before handing to me. I thanked him and took a drink, hoping it would calm me down. He gestured toward the pool. “Stairs or diving board?”

“Diving board.” I sat my drink on a table and removed the beach towel I’d wrapped around my waist.

His eyes scanned my body so quickly it might have been considered discreet, but his face turned red, giving him away. He jogged over to the board and jumped off, doing a flip before hitting the water. I laughed. His blushing episode was beyond cute.

He popped up halfway across the pool. “Your turn!”

So, based on the limited information I’ve shared, which love interest would you probably choose? You’ll have to read the book to find out which one Rachel ends up with, but if you’d like to comment on your favorite pick, please share!

You can read my manuscript for free on Swoon Reads, then please rate it and leave a comment. I only have until the end of January to get more ratings for Macmillan to consider publishing it this spring! Here’s the link: http://www.swoonreads.com/m/this-side-of-tomorrow 

Friday... Pie Day!

Are you addicted to pie? I'm not sorry to say that I AM!

It all started last fall, when my husband and I read the adorable novel, Pie, by Sarah Weeks, aloud one weekend (including the recipes). After about an hour, both of us had a strong craving for a big, fat piece of pie. Try reading that book and NOT wanting to dig into a slice of berry pie topped with a huge scoop of ice cream. Seriously, I dare you.

So, now almost every weekend, my husband picks up a pie from a local bakery and we have "Friday... Pie Day!" Don't think we're total losers who never go out, though. We do have friends and like to have fun, but it's soooo nice to relax after a long work week with a hot cup of coffee and a piece of pie.

Try it! Oh yeah, and read the book while you're at it!