Articles

Our office is currently buzzing with excitement because this weekend is YALLWEST—AKA, a bookish day of “panels, book signings, food trucks, bad jokes, rock ‘n’ roll, killer photo ops, & general geeky shenanigans!” If you’re going to be in the Santa Monica area between April 28 and April 29th, you should definitely come check it out. […]

It’s Princess Week, and I am so excited to use this as an excuse to talk about Snow White because her story holds a special place in my heart. For a couple of summers in my teens, I got to play Snow White at a fairytale festival for kids. As glamorous as it sounds—signing autographs, […]

Have you ever been minding your own business when suddenly an extremely handsome but incredibly brusque man comes up to you and says “you’re the lost princess of Awesomelandia, and I, as captain of the royal guard, must keep you safe from your enemies?” No? Well, obviously it happens because there are TONS of wait-what-do-you-mean-I’m-the-lost-princess […]

If you are unfamiliar with Tim Federle, pause for a second and follow him on Twitter. If you don’t have a Twitter, make one just so you can follow him. Trust me, you won’t regret it. Tim is the author of several books, including The Great American Whatever (a FANTASTIC young adult book we just […]

Robert Frost famously wrote, “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler.” But what if we could travel both? It’s fascinating to think about how your life might be different if you’d made different decisions. It’s mind-blowing to think about how each individual decision has shaped […]

Possibly the worst part of being an adult is the constant hassle of doing things you have absolutely no interest in doing. Like today, I absolutely did not want to get out of bed and be a functional human, but hey—I have to pay my rent somehow. But what if the consequences of not complying […]

Books with nautical elements have been all the rage in YA for the past couple years. From pirates to privateers and even some unwilling passengers, the voyages take these characters on adventures miles away from everything they know. It’s always an exhilarating ride and I know I’ll be swept away to the open water whenever […]

If you’re unfamiliar with Blackhearts and Blacksouls by Nicole Castroman, it’s time to drop what you’re doing and pick up your two next great adventure books. In Blackhearts, Castroman reimagines the origins of the notorious Blackbeard, complete with romance, fight scenes, and of course, pirates. Now, while I’m a big fan of the typical pirate […]

Does anyone care to explain to me why the pirate genre is so underserved?? According to those of us that read and loved Nicole Castroman’s Blackhearts and Blacksouls, we really don’t see enough buccaneering out in the world. Thankfully, Blackhearts and Blacksouls are featured reads until April 24th, so you can catch up on Teach’s rise to […]

Bailey Rydell basically wins the summer job lottery when her dad sets her up with a job at the Cave, the local tourist-trap museum mansion full of collections of antiques and oddities. Bailey would probably disagree, though, and consider it a terrible summer job. She not only has to sit in the sweaty Hotbox and […]