YurtScope: BEA 2012 discoveries

Sadly I couldn’t make it to BEA this year – and oh boy was I was tussling with the green-eyed monster this week –  but that didn’t stop me from keeping an eye on the happenings from afar! So here are this year’s BEA discoveries, made in absentia:

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, September 4, 2012

I just finished this book, and it is hilarious – pure, cheeky fun at both fantasy and modern culture’s expense. Fforde is a true original (think Douglas Adams) – if you haven’t had the pleasure of reading him yet, this is a wonderful place to start.

Book Jacket:

In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in the magic release form B1-7g. But somewhere, somehow, the magic started draining away.

Jennifer Strange runs Kazam!, an employment agency for state-registered magicians, soothsayers and sorceresses. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper and quicker than a spell. Why trust a cold and drafty magic carpet when jetliners offer a comfy seat and an in-flight movie? And now potions are eligible for VAT…

But then the visions start. The Last Dragon is going to be killed by a Dragonslayer at 12.00 on Sunday. The death will unleash untold devastation on the UnUnited Kingdom, setting principality against dukedom and property developer against homesteader. And all the signs are pointing to Jennifer Strange, and saying”Big Magic is coming!”

The Last Dragonslayer is fizzing with all the creativity and genius Jasper Fforde’s fans delight in, and will appeal as much to the young at heart as to the younger readers for whom it is written.

The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

Scholastic, September 1, 2012

They had me at “steampunk” and “spies.” 

Book Jacket:

A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!

When Katharine Tulman’s inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle’s world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver

Dial, August 28, 2012

I’m nothing if not a sucker for myth and legend type stories, and I’m downright intrigued by the Bronze Age setting of this one…

Book Jacket:

In the turbulent world of the Mediterranean Bronze Age, long before the Greek myths, a boy and a girl battle for survival. With the help of three animal allies – a dolphin, a falcon and a lion cub – they defeat the forces of tyranny and withstand the elemental powers of the gods of land and sea.

Eve & Adam by Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant

Feiwel & Friends, October 2, 2012

Katherine Applegate AND Michael Grant, together in one book? Sold. Plus it just sounds like a fun Dystopian actioner.

Book Jacket:

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.

While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything… until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.

What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang

Harper Teen, September 18, 2012

I love the sci-fi premise, and the story plays out like a Dystopian thriller. A fun read.

Book Jacket:

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t.

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Amulet, January 2013

I really, really like the creepy, mental health slant to this Alice in Wonderland retelling. Sounds like a lot of fun.

Book Jacket:

For sixteen years, Alyssa Gardner has lived with the stigma of being descended from Alice Liddell — the real life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s famed novel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But cruel jokes about dormice and tea parties can’t compare to the fact that Alyssa hears the whispers of bugs and flowers … the same quirk which sent her mother to a mental institution years before.

When her mother takes a turn for the worse and the whispers grow too strong for Alyssa to bear, she seeks the origins of their family curse. A set of heirlooms and a moth tied to an unusual website lead Alyssa and her gorgeous best friend / secret crush, Jeb, down the rabbit hole into the real Wonderland, a place more twisted and eerie than Lewis Carroll ever let on.

There, creepy counterparts of the original fairytale crew reveal the purpose for Alyssa’s journey, and unless she fixes the things her great-great-great grandmother Alice put wrong, Wonderland will have her head.

And there you have it – a few of the delicious titles that caught my eye this year. Oh BEA, you are indeed a sly temptress…