If I were to write this tale, I’d have to research hauntings, of course, and children who grow up with surrogate parents, and anxiety issues and medications. Assuming I’m comfortable gathering this information, there are few things I’ll look at to see if I have the makings of a YA psychological, suspenseful thriller:
Browsing: Chapter Books
We owe the same kind of hilarious grace to our characters and our young readers. We ask so much of them and it’s only right to give them every emotion in equal measure.
Orion Poe is an eleven-year-old boy who lives in Maine with his grandfather who is the caretaker of a lighthouse. When a large storm rolls in one evening, Orion discovers a washed-up boat and an injured man. From this moment on, he finds himself fighting for survival on a mysterious expedition full of unexpected and non-stop adventure that is connected to the historic event of an explorer, John Franklin, who was lost in the Arctic in 1847.
Ridley Pearson is a New York Times best-selling author with over 45 novels published in 22 languages in 70 countries. He has had his novels adapted to both network television and the stage. Ridley has earned a reputation for writing fiction that “grips the imagination.”
Anna Banks’s first two novels in the Syrena Legacy trilogy, Of Poseidon and Of Triton (a New York Times Bestseller), have won her many fans. Her latest work is Of Neptune, the stunning conclusion to her bestselling Syrena Legacy. She lives in Crestview, Florida, with her husband and their daughter.
Here are her picks for 5 YA must-haves …
New York Times Bestselling author, Jennifer Nielsen, was born and raised in northern Utah, where she still lives today with her husband, three children, and a dog that won’t play fetch. She is the author of The Ascendance trilogy, beginning with THE FALSE PRINCE; Book 6 of the Infinity Ring series, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, The Underworld Chronicles, beginning with ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR; and the forthcoming PRAETOR WAR series.
Carson Ellis is an award-winning illustrator who has provided art for bestsellers such as “The Mysterious Benedict Society” by Trenton Lee Stewart, The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket, and the “Wildwood Chronicles” by her husband, Colin Meloy.
When Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) wakes up trapped in a massive maze with a group of other boys, he has no memory of the outside world other than strange dreams about a mysterious organization known as W.C.K.D. Only by piecing together fragments of his past with clues he discovers in the maze can Thomas hope to uncover his true purpose and a way to escape.
Here is a sneak peek at the jacket cover of Carina Axelsson’s summer release, Model Undercover: Paris, a middle grade novel published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (July 1, 2014).
Best Selling Books for Kids
This month, the popular Who Was …? biography series is back on top of The Children’s Book Review’s best selling kids series list. And the list of hand-selected series from the nationwide best selling Children’s Series list, as noted by The New York Times, features the same popular dystopian thriller series as last month from the likes of Veronica Roth and Suzanne Collins, the adventurous Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan, and the relatable Diary of a Wimpy Kid books by Jeff Kinney.