Close Menu
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest LinkedIn YouTube TikTok
    • Home
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Advertise
    • Mentorship
    • Editing Services
    • About
    • Contact
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest TikTok
    The Children's Book Review
    Subscribe
    • Books by Subject
    • Books by Age
      • Ages 0-3, Infant and Toddler
      • Ages 4-8, Preschool to Elementary
      • Ages 9-12, Preteen and Tween
      • Ages 12+, Teen and Young Adult
      • Books for First Grade Readers
      • Books for Second Grade Readers
      • Books for Third Grade Readers
    • Favorites
      • Diverse and Inclusive Books
      • Books About Activism
      • Best Books for Kids
      • Star Wars Books
      • Board Books
      • Books About Mindfulness
      • Dr. Seuss Books
    • Showcase
    • Interviews
      • Growing Readers Podcast
      • Author Interviews and Q&A
      • Illustrator Interviews
    • Kids’ Book Giveaways
    • Directory
    • Podcast
    The Children's Book Review

    Best Young Adult Books with Liz Burns of A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy

    Guest PostsBy Guest Posts5 Mins Read Ages 9-12 Best Kids Stories Chapter Books Teens: Young Adults
    Love Book
    #6
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    By Liz Burns, for The Children’s Book Review
    Published: September 16, 2013

    Even though I’ve been out of school for ages and ages, there is something about September that says new beginnings.

    At home, I’m doing the last of the weeding of 2012 books, forcing myself to accept that no, I will not be getting to those books.

    One of the reasons I won’t be able to read those 2012 books is because of the 2013 books that are arriving and still need to be read.

    Here are five Fall titles I’m eager to read:

    Hideous LoveHideous Love

    By Stephanie Hemphill

    Hemphill is the author of Your Own, Sylvia (Random House, 2007) a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. Like Your Own, Sylvia, Hideous Love is told in verse. And it’s not just any story told in verse: it’s the story of Mary Shelley. MARY SHELLEY. I know. I’m fascinated by Shelley, her life, her love, her losses. Long story short: before she wrote Frankenstein, a then sixteen year old Shelley ran away from home with her married boyfriend, the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. They spent the next few years travelling around Europe, having and burying children, and marrying when Shelley’s wife committed suicide. So, yes, I’m very eager to see how Hemphill tells this story.

    Ages 13 and up | Publisher: Balzer & Bray, an imprint of Harper Collins | October 1, 2013

    TandemTandem

    By Anna Jarzab

    I adore Jarzab’s first two books, All Unquiet Things (Delacorte Press, 2010) and The Opposite of Hallelujah (Delacorte, 2012). Both of those are contemporary titles. When I heard that Jarzab’s next work would be fantasy, and the first in a trilogy, I was intrigued. It’s not often that an author writes in both genres. Not only that? Tandem is about parallel universes, with the heroine, Sarah, occupying two worlds as two different versions of herself. This means that Jarzab isn’t just going to be giving us one well defined fantasy world; she’s going to have to give us several. This was one of my must-get titles at BEA (and bonus, I got my copy signed. I said I was a fangirl!)

    Ages 12-17 | Publisher: Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House | October 8, 2013

    Crash Into YouCrash Into You

    By Katie McGarry

    I’m preparing to be on a panel for an upcoming school librarian conference, and part of that involves reading books that have been nominated for YALSA’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list. One of the books I read was McGarry’s Dare You To (Harlequin Teen, 2012). I loved Dare You To, and upon finishing it discovered it was the middle book in a sequence of stand-alone titles with shared characters. The next book in the sequence? Crash Into You. Good girl Rachel and bad boy Isaiah share a love of street racing. I’m looking forward to lots of feelings, emotions, miscommunications, hot kissing and action. Car racing action, of course. I’m also hoping for at least a peak at the characters I met in Dare You To.

    Ages 13-17 | Publisher: Harlequin Teen | November 26, 2013

    Sex And ViolenceSex & Violence

    By Carrie Mesrobian

    On Twitter, I know Carrie Mesrobian as someone who says funny and thoughtful things that make me laugh and make me think. We had conversations about libraries and The Chocolate War. So when I realized “duh she has a book coming out” I wanted to read it. Here’s the thing: I wanted to read it because Carrie didn’t sell or push herself aggressively on Twitter. She was, well, just Carrie, someone I like talking to. I liked her voice, as it came through in her tweets. Plus, when I found out it was being published by Carolrhoda Lab? Andrew Karre, their editorial director, has an amazing track record with books so I knew I had to read the book whatever it was about. What is it about? Well, Sex & Violence. No, really – Evan is a bit of a player, gets beaten up, and has to figure out his life in the aftermath.

    Ages 14-17 | Publisher: Carolrhoda LAB, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group | October 1, 2013

    RoomiesRoomies

    By Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando

    What’s better than a book about the summer before going to college? Two books. OK, I cheat a little. Roomies is just one book, but it’s the stories of two girls, Elizabeth and Lauren, who are assigned as roommates. It’s about the emails they send back and forth, figuring out who will bring the fridge and getting to know each other. I love books set in this time period, that slice of life during the last time before heading off to independence. The both wanting to leave home and fearing it. Plus, two fantastic authors telling this story.

    Ages 12-18 | Publisher: Little Brown | December 24, 2013.

    Liz Burns blogs about young adult books, TV, and other things at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy at School Library Journal. She is a Youth Services Librarian for an east coast regional library for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Liz co-authored, with Sophie Brookover, Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect with Your Whole Community (Information Today, Inc., 2008). She is active in ALA and YALSA. You can follow her on Twitter @LizB.

     

    What to Read Next:

    1. Best Young Adult Books with Michele Luker of Insane About Books
    2. Best Young Adult Books with Rachel Caine, Author of Midnight Bites
    3. Best New Young Adult Books | February 2017
    4. Best Children’s Books of 2009 … Beyond the Half-Way Mark

    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Anna Jarzab Best YA Carrie Mesrobian Katie McGarry Sara Zarr Stephanie Hemphill Tara Altebrando
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Previous ArticleZero Tolerance, by Claudia Mills | Book Spotlight
    Next Article On the Shelf with Librarian Cathy Potter
    Guest Posts
    • Website

    The Children’s Book Review, named one of the ALSC (Association for Library Service to Children) Great Web Sites for Kids, is a resource devoted to children’s literacy. We publish reviews and book lists of the best books for kids of all ages. We also produce author and illustrator interviews and share literacy based articles that help parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians to grow readers. This article was written and provided by a guest author.

    3 Comments

    1. Miss Tiff on September 30, 2013 9:17 am

      I loved Roomies-scored the galley at ALA and it does not disappoint. I’m interested in Crash Into Me. I was so intrigued by your review of Dare You To and I’ve just put this on my to read list. I’ve slogged through some quite umimpressive New Adult and if this is the real thing, then I’m interested to read it.

      Reply
      • Liz B on September 30, 2013 2:21 pm

        Miss Tiff, DARE YOU TO had a New Adult “vibe”, similar to other NA books I’ve read, but the high school setting, I think, takes it out of NA. The parents/parental figures have such a big role in the lives of the two main characters — much less than in the college-setting NA books I’ve read. I’m not sure what people more familiar with New Adult than I feel about including DARE YOU TO in the list of NA titles.

        Reply
    2. Helen Dohn on October 29, 2020 9:56 am

      There was a book of short stories I had as a kid that I can’t remember the name of, and it’s bugging me! All I remember is that it contained a story about a lady who kept warm in winter by knitting a “tea cozy” to cover her house, and a story about it kid who built a rocket ship out of cardboard and stuff in his backyard and launched himself into space. Do you know the title or author

      Reply
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    TCBR Supporter
    Recent Articles
    • 5 Award-Winning Teen Audiobooks for Ages 12 and Up
    • The Chubby Bubbies: Trip to the Museum | Dedicated Review
    • Flora and the Jazzers, by Astrid Sheckels | Dedicated Review
    • SCREECH: His Hunt for a Home | Dedicated Review
    • Interview with P. E. Shadrick, Author of ‘Elephants DO Forget’
    TCBR Supporters
    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today
    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today
    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today

    sponsored | become a TCBR supporter today
    Discover Kids Books by Age
    Best Books For Kids
    Media Kit: The Children's Book Review
    Author and Illustrator Showcase
    SEARCH
    BOOKS BY SUBJECT
    Archives
    Professional Resources

    Book Marketing Campaigns

    Writing Coaches and Editing Services

    Mentorship

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn TikTok
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Policies
    • Advertise
    • TCBR Buzzworthy Mentions
    • About TCBR
    © 2025 The Children’s Book Review. All rights reserved.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.