Maurene Goo

I'm super excited for Maurene Goo's Since You Asked for many reasons, but one of them is that having a contemp Asian-American book penned by an actual Asian-American is so rare. The last one I can even think of is Justina Chen's Girl Overboard. Since You Asked is a story that doesn't ignore ethnicity but also doesn't dwell on it, which is something to be admired all the way across the board. The lip curl on the cover girl perfectly captures the spirit of the book and it's going to be great to have a hip, intelligent, and sarcastic POC main character to cheer for.

Maurene herself is the coolest, and I know this because I've been following her ever since my friends Susie and Lilly told me about her upcoming book. I mean, Maurene used to journal into an old school Sanrio diary, loves Freak and Geeks, used to work in a bookstore, got a masters in book publishing, and once interviewed THE Ann M. Martin. Her blog is completely wonderful, as recent posts have featured things like learned manners, best friends, and not being the biggest fish in your pond. Plus here's this informative post about how The President's Daughter series helped spark her toward writing young adult.

"No, no one asked, but Holly Kim will tell you what she thinks anyway.

Fifteen-year-old Holly Kim is the copyeditor for her high school's newspaper. When she accidentally submits an article that rips everyone to shreds, she gets her own column and rants her way through the school year. Can she survive homecoming, mean-girl cliques, jocks, secret admirers, Valentine's Day, and other high school embarrassments, all while struggling to balance her family's traditional Korean values?

In this hilarious debut, Maurene Goo takes a fresh look at trying to fit in without conforming to what's considered 'normal' in high school and how to manage parental expectations without losing one's individuality...or being driven insane."

Did I mention that Since You Asked is set in San Diego? I can't wait to see what local places Maurene dropped into the book. I'm guessing there's going to be a delicious burrito spot or two. Since You Asked is releasing a bit early, tomorrow in fact, due to high anticipation, and the official blog tour kicks off July 1st so be sure to look for Maurene's posts and interviews going up soon to learn more about SYA. Maurene's also a Lucky 13s so you can check there for SYA related posts too.

Later this month, Maurene will be dropping by Rich in Color -- a newish diversity in YA blog I'm contributing to -- for an interview and giveaway. I can't wait to dig into Since You Asked and then pepper her with questions. It'll be a celebration!

• Website | @mauxbot
• Excerpt from Since You Asked
• Publishers Weekly Review
• Soundtrack to Since You Asked
• Since You Asked Book Tour (July 1-10)
• Seventeen buzzes SYA

Bennett Madison

Years ago, before I had ever read any young adult books, my agent told me to pick up Lulu Dark Can See Through Walls. It captured me right from the start. A girl detective with killer fashion sense and Mean Girl-esque snark to match? I was hooked. After I read the first Lulu Dark, I Googled the heck out of everything and was delighted to discover that there was a sequel. And of course I started following author Bennett Madison's, well, everything. His blog, his Twitter, whatever the heck was out there in the technology wasteland of the late 2000s.

Basically I unabashedly, and stalkerishly, became a fan.

A few years later, I went to an author thing in New York and saw Bennett there and maybe said out loud, "Wow, Bennett Madison." I met him and we talked the shared language of X-Men and Wizard of Oz obsession. If you know anything about me, that's pretty much two of my favorite things ever. (I dunno where it went, but Bennett had a short story on Figment that included extensive X-Men references, which I probably should have saved somewhere just to re-read over and over, it was so good.)

I could go on and on about Bennett's lyrical writing voice, his expansive smarts, his winning humor (Q: What's your favorite blonde joke? A: Courtney Love), his iconic hair, but that would just be gushing. Plus embarrassing. Anyway, ever since 2009's Blonde of the Joke -- featuring malls and shoplifting, a rite of passage for every proper young person -- I've been waiting for Bennett to release another book. And now it's here: September Girls.

"When 17-year-old Sam accompanies his older brother and increasingly distracted father to a washed-out beach town for the summer, after his mother inexplicably bails on the family, he expects to spend long hours watching The Price Is Right. What he doesn't expect are legions of gorgeous, though somehow strange blonde 'Girls' (as Sam thinks of them) all eyeing him like he's, well, special. After Sam meets and feels an instant connection with one of the Girls, DeeDee, the summer takes a crazy turn."

September Girls is some next level YA, if I may say so. I've read a lot of young adult since those first Lulu books, and while many of them have captured my heart, I've been waiting for YA to move past certain viewpoints and constraints, especially contemporary YA. I think September Girls does that, all the way. I can't even think of a comparison novel.

I went to see Junot Diaz speak a few weeks ago and something he told the audience was (in reference to a dumb question about Oscar Wao and literary symbolism): "Moby Dick was not about a whale." September Girls is not about mermaids. Or maybe it is. You figure it out. #dracarys

Below are a wealth of Bennett related links. Because the Internet was made for sharing. Take special note of What Cassie Wore, Bennett's short-lived gem of a Tumblr dedicated the timeless character on Skins. You know, before she changed her name to "Gilly" and moved to Westeros to schelp around incest babies. Life beyond The Wall is tougher than it was in Bristol I guess.

Go grab a copy of September Girls. I promise you'll have a time. It'll be an extravaganza.

• Website | @bennettmadison
• Next week: Bennett Madison in conversation with Emily Gould
• September Girls poster by ModHero
• Kirkus Review and Publishers Weekly review
• Bennett Madison: Haunted at 17 (2013)
• The Rejectionist: A Conversation with Bennett Madison (2013)

• LARB: Weetzie Bat Meets the Genie (2012)
• Six Writers Tell All About Covers and Blurbs (2011)
• Cooking the Books: Homemade Cinnabons with Bennett Madison (2009)
• Does an Anti-Gay Character Make (Gay Author) Bennett Madison's Teen Book Homophobic? (2009)
• What Cassie Wore: The Comprehensive Cassie

• Ultimate YA Reading Group interview (2009)
• Martin Wilson interview (2009)
• Bookshelves of Doom interview (2007)
• Gwenda Bond interview (2007)
• Used Wigs interview (2005)

Top of the Charts

Traditionally, Tuesday is when albums release, when incriminating Facebook photos from the weekend are posted, and when new books drop. This Tuesday is more special than all the rest though. Dare we call it historic? Let all future generations of humankind know that on September 18th, 2012, three Asian American YA authors released new books. Three!

Two major releases by Asian Americans would be a nice coincidence but three clearly indicates a conspiracy. Right? (What are those wily publishers planning next?) In a few years, when the entire young adult world is overrun and oversaturated by Asian American authors, you can point back to this Tuesday as the day everything totally happened.

And look at these books: a science fiction thriller, a scifi dystopian, and a contemporary revenge story. Delicious right? Lemme link you to them so you can read the wonderful blurbs and descriptions.

• Malinda Lo's Adaptation
• Kat Zhang's What's Left of Me
• Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian's Burn For Burn

Malinda's a fellow 2009 Deb and I've been watching the creation of Adaptation from afar, start to finish. While her main blog is always full of great posts, Malinda also gives us a behind the scenes of writing and revising Adaptation's sequel. For people like me, who are always curious how other people work, Malinda's a person to learn from because she's a true professional. Seeing her output and discipline is both a challenge and an inspiration. You can read the first four chapters of Adaptation here, but you ought to just get the whole thing so you won't have to pause to take a breath.

Kat Zhang's debut, What's Left of Me, has been eagerly anticipated because I've been following her blog for quite some time -- since before she'd even agented or gotten a book deal. And now her debut is out! Kat sold the Hybrid Chronicles when she was nineteen and is still in college now, which easily makes her the youngest YAkuza member. (I believe.) When I was in college, I could barely get to classes on time, much less handle writing, revising, and handling all the stuff that comes with having a book come out. Clearly Kat is excellent at time management, among many other things. Watch her read from What's Left of Me, straight from a campus dorm room.

And everybody already knows Jenny Han, who wrote Shug, the best selling Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy, and Clara Lee and the Apple Pie Dream. Burn For Burn is co-written with Jenny's former New School MFA classmate Siobhan Vivian (Not That Kind of Girl, Same Difference, The List) and the two of them are currently on mega tour so go see if they're looping around to a venue near you. Doesn't Jenny have such a great URL? dearjennyhan.com. Also, check out Jenny's tour nails on her Tumblr. See the little bow on the left hand? Perfect.

To top off this historic day, how about also celebrating the release of Lish McBride's Necromancing the Stone? It's the follow up to 2010's Hold Me Closer, Necromancer and if these two aren't the cleverest titled books around, I challenge you to tell me what is.

If you don't know what Lish's titles are in reference to, well, I just feel sorry for you. C'mon, Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner? Phoebe and Elton John? I want Lish to name everything in the world. Airports, sports arenas, job titles, babies, board games, new animal discoveries, my books, everything.

Lish also just successfully funded her Necromancing the Swag Kickstarter so while you may be too late to get some stickers, buttons, and totes, we can like, time share the t-shirt I'm going to get.

Go congratulate everyone on their book releases today, go go gadget!

Sarah Cross

So way back when, Exclusively Chloe debuted on the same day as Sarah Cross' Dull Boy. We were both 2009 Debs and I was delighted to forever share the same book birthday. Now Sarah's got a new book out on the shelves, Kill Me Softly. The cover is amazing as you can see, and the book is a fairy tale retelling. Which fairy tale? Well, all of them! Okay, not quite literally "all" but a whole lot of them and it's super fun to spot the influences and see the clever ways Sarah put her spin on these classic stories. Here's the synopsis for Kill Me Softly:

"Mirabelle's past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians' half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday -- and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems -- the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own...brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns."

Now, Sarah's first book was about a teen with super powers and since then she's penned a Wolverine story for Wolverine #1000. Yes, she got to write a Wolverine story! Even better, Sarah reveals to us that as a teen herself, she "wrote/drew a shoddy X-Men rip-off comic called The eXcuses, in which Professor Xavier enlists Jubilee to train a new teen group of superheroes." One of the members was En Passent, which I hope is based on the rare chess move, because that would just be the greatest. If The eXcuses was a comic today, I'd read that like asap.

Also, Sarah's main Tumblr consistently slams out fantastically geeky images and videos of stuff that leave no doubt about how she spent her childhood afternoons: devouring cartoons in front of the television. If your interests sweet spot is somewhere between princesses and superheroes, her Tumblr is the one for you. While you're subscribing and following along to that, be sure to congratulate my debut buddy on Kill Me Softly and then pick it up for your reading pleasure. Congrats Sarah!

• Website | Blog | @thesarahcross
• Excerpt from Kill Me Softly: Prologue & Chapter 1
• Kirkus review of Kill Me Softly and Dull Boy
• Books to Consider interview with Sarah
• Mocha Latte Reads review of KMS
• Fairy Tale Mood Tumblr

Mary C. Moore

A couple of years ago I joined a book club up in San Francisco and even though I no longer live there, I still think of it as "my book club." Whenever I'm up in the Bay, I try to attend a meeting because the group is super fun and the people are stellar. Mary is one of the co-founders of this book club and she recently wrapped up her MFA program. As I'm always excited to read anything Mary writes, I'm here to share with you Mary's just released first novel, Angelus:

"Most anthropologists believe that eons ago there were over fourteen species of human. They also believe that only one of those species endured beyond the ice age. They are wrong. Three species of human survived to live in our modern world. Homo angelus have wings. Homo daemonis have horns and tail. Homo sapiens have no idea the other two exist. Sarah Connelly’s job is to ensure it stays that way."

I ripped through the book in one sitting, fending off morning to finish it (I usually go to bed when the sun rises), and it was a fantastic read that not only had an intriguing premise but such wonderfully smooth writing. If I could write so cleanly, well, I could write like Mary. Can you tell I'm jealous of her skills to the max? Angelus also has some very tempting supporting characters and Sarah Connelly is a heroine we're going to love following along with for many more adventures.

In addition to having impeccable taste in all matters fantasy -- she introduced me to Patricia Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, for which I'll be forever grateful -- Mary is also a zookeeper. Yes, the actual person who gets to wear khaki and green and do all the stuff you'd love to do but maybe aren't brave enough to. I mean, she's even written stories about some of her experiences. If you don't know what a reticulated giraffe is, or a kune kune pig, better let Mary explain them to you in A Day at the Zoo.

In short: angels, animals, awesomeness, Mary's got it all. Go get Angelus now!

• Website | Twitter
• Full Angelus cover, blurb, and excerpt
• Check out all of Mary's stories at Amazon and Smashwords
• Also, Marta's Story, a short from Mary's Beastly Tales collection

E.C. Myers

A young adult debut from an Asian American male! This event comes around about as often the Olympics I believe. I've also heard that boy bands are on the comeback so if we can find a few other AsAm YA guys, we can start touring smallish arenas and large living rooms near you. (I believe we're currently up to four members, so we'll need a fifth to hit classic boy band proportions.)

Can you tell how excited I am to share with you E.C. Myers' just released book Fair Coin? Here's the synopsis:

"The coin changed Ephraim's life. But how can he change it back? Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more dis­turbing: she thought she'd identified Ephraim's body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double's belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin--a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he's liked since second grade. But the coin doesn't always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people's lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he's ever wanted--if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out."

E.C. (aka Eugene) majored in visual arts in college, which is so intriguing and something we should ask him all about. In additon, he's published a ton of short fiction pieces; reviews books, video games, movies, and Star Trek episodes; and also creates book trailers. Plus he gets up really early in the morning somehow, perhaps his most admirable quality. A man who truly does it all.

Eugene's blog is fantastic because it covers stuff like comprehensively testing out Scrivener and also dares to answer the most important question of all: How is a writing career like Smallville? (I miss Lana so much...) Go congratulate E.C. on his debut and then read Fair Coin because the follow up, Quantum Coin, is coming soon.

• Website | Twitter
• Revealing Fair Coin's book jacket
• E.C's post for John Scalzi's The Big Idea
• Kirkus Review of Fair Coin
• Civilian Reader Interview
• Interview with Shimmer Magazine

Veera Hiranandani

I love book titles that make you shake your head in wonder because they are so poetic and fitting. Like The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things. Like The Whole Story of Half a Girl.

When I saw the book's title floating around on blogs months ago, I knew I had to read it. Even more so when I found out the protagonist was a half Indian, half Jewish-American girl.

"After her father loses his job, Sonia Nadhamuni, half Indian and half Jewish American, finds herself yanked out of private school and thrown into the unfamiliar world of public education. For the first time, Sonia's mixed heritage makes her classmates ask questions -- questions Sonia doesn't always know how to answer -- as she navigates between a group of popular girls who want her to try out for the cheerleading squad and other students who aren't part of the 'in' crowd.

At the same time that Sonia is trying to make new friends, she's dealing with what it means to have an out-of-work parent -- it's hard for her family to adjust to their changed circumstances. And then, one day, Sonia's father goes missing. Now Sonia wonders if she ever really knew him. As she begins to look for answers, she must decide what really matters and who her true friends are -- and whether her two halves, no matter how different, can make her a whole."

Veera's bio reveals that she's been in the writing and teaching fields for some time and while this is her first middle grade book, she's done of lot of picture books, especially quite a bit of work with Dora the Explorer! The Whole Story of Half a Girl just released about a week ago so go congratulate Veera and read her unique and amazing book.

• Website | Blog | Twitter
• Kirkus Interview: A Judy Blume for This Generation
• Publisher's Weekly review
• Happy Nappy Bookseller review
• mclicious.org: biracial literature #4: not making racial identity the whole story
• S.Krishna's review

Marie Lu

You've probably seen Legend everywhere already, since it's about to blow up. I was a bit surprised it was coming out just now actually, as I thought it had been released awhile ago because I've been reading interviews and reviews for months. But no, Legend releases today and that's awesome news because it means nobody is late to the party!

I actually found out about Marie's work first on the art side. I'm always digging around for irresponsibly cute illustrations of animals and I somehow I stumbled onto Fuzz Academy and its selection of great animals. Snow tigers, sun bears, chubby mammoths, c'mon now, how can a person resist? Little did I know that the person behind Fuzz Academy was also a YA writer. Here's the synopsis for Marie's first book in her trilogy:

"What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets."

I believe Legend is already optioned by the Twilight producers and hopefully ready to hit the big screen soon. Fast track it guys, we need something for 2013's holiday season. In the meantime, since Marie's got serious drawing skills, she's done up some character sketches on Legend's Facebook page.

Did I mention she used to art direct at a video game company? And she name checks Ender's Game in her PBS interview? Her list of cool points just rises by the Google search. Immigrating from Beijing at a young age, Marie is giving us Chinese FOBs some serious shine. I feel like my mom is beaming, and she doesn't even know Marie!

I just threw Legend on my Kindle, so get on it already.

• Website | Blog | Twitter
• Enchanted Inkpot interview
• Unwound Magazine interview
• USA Today article
• PBS TV Interview
• Kirkus Review of Legend
• Publishers Weekly Review
• Marie's Deviant Art page

Thanhha Lai

Since Lonely Comma is no more, I thought I'd continue the Asian American author spotlights here. I had Thanhha Lai's Inside Out & Back Again all queued up awhile ago because her cover was just so amazing. I mean, seriously, it's fantastic. Just look at it. It jumped out to me at the bookstore and I loved the title too.

Well, the content inside is clearly just as great because Thanhha just won the National Book Award for her debut. I've never read a novel in verse before but I think I'm going to start with hers. Here's the synopsis:

"For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by—and the beauty of her very own papaya tree. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape—and the strength of her very own family."

Amidst all this hoopla about authors needing an online presence, I can't find much about Thanhha to share here with you. (Except that she was born in Vietnam and didn't learn English until after she got here at ten years old!) No author website, few interviews, no social networks, no nothing. It just goes to show, if you got it, you got it.

• Website
• Spring 2011: Flying Starts
• Debut Author Nabs National Book Award for YA Lit
• Publishers Weekly Talk
• Kirkus Interview
• Desirous of Everything Interview
• Author Name Pronunciation for Thanhha Lai