Book Review: TFOB Author Matt de la Pena

It's March which means it's time once again for the Tucson Festival of Books! We've got a bunch of great authors coming and I'm particularly excited about Matt de la Pena. This California native made his writing debut with the book "Ball Don't Lie," which came out in 2005, and was promptly turned into a movie with Ludacris and Nick Cannon. Since then he's published three other great books: "I Will Save You," "We Were Here," and "Mexican White Boy."  You'll be able to see him both Saturday and Sunday throughout the day. Check the TFOB website for his schedule.  

His newest release, "The Living," is the start of an adventure series. Don't be fooled by the cover! It totally looks like a survival book but it's not! It's actually more of mystery/thriller/adventure type of book. Yes, there is a massive earthquake that destroys the West coast and a tsunami that casts all the characters adrift but that's only a small portion of the book. The book actually revolves eighteen-year-old Shy who decides a job on a cruise ship will be a fun and cool way to earn some money to help out his family. (Sunshine, parties, and swimsuit-clad hotties sounds like the best job ever.)  Then suddenly one night a drunk passenger, ranting confusedly, jumps off of the ship. Shy, who was there and tried to save the man, finds himself haunted by his death. Then a mysterious man starts asking questions about the suicide and rooms start getting ransacked. Why did that man jump? What does it have to do with Shy? More importantly, can Shy survive what's to come?

Book Review: Rigoberto Gonzalez & Benjamin Alire Saenz

Oh.  My.  Goddess!  The Tucson Festival of Books is right around the corner, and I’m getting excited about the Library’s participation, including my role as a moderator!  I’m honored to be hosting the program “Latino Writers in Conversation” with award-winning authors Rigoberto González and Benjamin Alire Sáenz, who will discuss their work, lives, and cultural identities.

Rigoberto González is the author of the Mariposa Club trilogy (the third installment, Mariposa U, will be published this year), which has some of the most hilarious characters.  Ever!  The Fierce Foursome—Maui, Trini, Isaac, and Liberace – are determined to make their own permanent mark during their last year at school by creating Caliente Valley High’s very first LGBT club, The Mariposa Club.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz is the author of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which instantly became my favorite new book of all time.  It is so beautifully written, it’s like poetry, but not the kind of boring, awful, class assignment poetry everyone pretends to like, but the kind of poetry that really moves and amazes you!  I almost did not want it to end, except, of course, I wanted to know how it ended…

This blog is from Toby Wehner, Library Associate at Joel D. Valdez Main Library.  You may see him in his tie-dyed shirts and rainbow sneakers on the Bookbike en route to Wingspan’s EON Youth Group for a monthly visit.

Tucson Festival of Books Author Spotlight: Jacqueline Woodson

If you like realistic fiction about teenagers with problems, like Crank by Ellen Hopkins or Monster by Walter Dean Myers, you should pick up something by Jacqueline Woodson. You're in for a treat. She'll be a guest speaker at the Tucson Festival of Books this year, which is a huge gathering on the U of A campus to celebrate books, authors, and reading. Here's their page for teens.              

The first book I read by her was If You Come Softly. It's a sad, kind of Romeo and Juliet-esque story. Jeremiah's black, and Ellie's white. They meet at a private school and fall in love without being prepared for how society views their relationship. On her website, she writes that it was inspired by a poem by Audre Lord, which begins:

If you come softly  

as the wind within the trees

you may hear what I hear 

         see what sorrow sees.

Tucson Festival of Books Teen Author Spotlight: Maggie Stiefvater

Maggie Stiefvater is a YA author who specializes in paranormal and urban fantasy. She has a gift for lyrical prose, and her books are always rich with atmosphere. Luckily for us Tucsonans, Ms. Stiefvater is going to be attending the Tucson Festival of Books! If you've never heard of her or are a die-hard fan looking for more of her work, there are a lot of good choices.

Ms. Stiefvater's first book was Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception. In it, Dierdre Monaghan is a painfully shy musical prodigy. She is also a cloverhand--a human who can see faeries. She and her best friend James are about to become embroiled in an ancient faerie war; there are two faerie assassins on their way to kill Dierdre before her music captures the Fae's attention. The story continues in the sequel, Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie, and involves Nuala, a deadly faerie muse.

The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy is set in the icy winter of Minnesota. In Shiver, Grace has always been obsessed with the wolves that live in the forest behind her home. What she doesn't know, however, is that the wolves are actually werewolves, who turn human in the summer and wolf in the winter. One of the wolves, Sam, has loved Grace from afar for years, and a threat to the pack brings the two together. The story of Grace and Sam continues in Linger and is concluded in Forever.

Tucson Festival of Books Author: Heather Brewer

Halloween passed and I was finally finished reading all the zombie/vampire/evil creatures of the night books I had checked out. I had just vowed to take a break from the supernatural/horror genre when Off the Shelf was commissioned to spotlight some of the authors that will be here for the Tucson Festival of Books. One of the few names I recognized was Heather Brewer, an author known for her vampire books and spectacular orchid colored hair. "The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod" is a series I've been meaning to read for a while and after I read that she has a coffin couch, I was that much more excited about reading it.