Here in Houston we're trying for spring. My azaeleas are blooming and it's no longer dipping into the 30s or below, but it still feels half-hearted with cold fronts still pouring through. (Yes, I know. Some of you are still getting snow. I grew up in Chicago. Once we had a full on blizzard on April Fool's Day.
To the five!
1. YA books I'm currently obsessed with!
- Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith --- Brilliant! Funny! Giant praying mantises taking over the US in apocalyptic fashion, with ground zero, so to speak, in Ealing, Iowa. A sixteen year old boy named Austin Szerba. It's about science gone bad, and middle America and sex and love and teenage boys...It defies description actually-- in the best of ways-- so I'll let this review from the NYTimes speak for me: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/16/books/review/grasshopper-jungle-by-andrew-smith.html?_r=0
- This Song Will Save Your Life, by Leila Sales-- sad, funny, lovely. I love Elise Dembowski, who is smart and funny and wry and different and incapable (mostly for all the best reasons) of fitting in at high school. But she loves music and stumbles into DJing at this pop up dance club… and finds herself in the process. I'm loving this book and Elise's voice so much. (My one quibble comes from the very broad strokes it paints of the high school experience. In my personal teacher experience, rarely are the bullies so obvious as they are in fictional treatments. But no matter. I LOVE THIS book.
2. Finally got to see Frozen! Yes, I'm woefully behind. So behind that I knew most of the soundtrack but hadn't seen the actual movie. Loved it. Princess Elsa! Princess Anna! And mostly Olaf and Sven. Olaf's song and dance about summer? I could watch that dimwitted little snowman a million times over.
3. In my own book news, THE A-WORD is almost here. Launch party is now planned at Blue Willow Bookshop on 5/17 at 2 PM. There's a link in the Events/Appearances page of this blog. I am so thrilled to bring this book into the world. So happy to be making books with Soho Press. And I'm almost, almost done with the last of the revisions for FINDING PARIS. (Balzer and Bray/Harper Collins). Two sisters. A crazy scavenger hunt road trip. A very cute boy. Las Vegas! LA! And some dark and twisty secrets. And some new projects and other stuff that I can't quite say yet… Yeah. It's been busy.
4. Real Housewives of NYC is back! I'm definitely team Carole these days. And in other TV obsessions: Blacklist! It's not perfect but James Spader as Reddington makes up for every moment where this show can't quite decide if it's this carefully plotted character driven mystery or a procedural. But omg, I love this show. I love that we know that black ops agent Lizzy's husband is a Russian spy and she doesn't! Although Lizzy! Red keeps telling you not to trust him… As for Castle, well, Nathan Fillion, I would watch you read a grocery list. I really would. But the show is losing my attention. Much better? The Americans on FX, which, come to think of it, seems to have loaned a bit of its plot lines over to Blacklist… And Vampire Diaries. Damon. 'Nuff said.
5. Also Tina on Bob's Burgers. My friend Beth made me watch. "You will love Tina," she said. Beth always knows! So yeah. Tina's horrible. I absolutely adore her.
And since now I'm thinking about Nathan Fillion and wishing that Castle was still holding my attention the way it used to, I'll leave you with this, also pointed out to me by pal Beth. 90's Nathan! You are welcome.
