Books for the Beast 2013

Books for the Beast
October 19, 2013
Sponsored by Enoch Pratt Free Library
Keynote Speaker: Robin Wasserman

Program Description:
“Books for the Beast” is a biennial conference devoted to showcasing and discussing the best in Young Adult Literature.Participants meet in small groups to discuss current YA books by genre.

My summary
This year the book group discussions I participated in were:

      D is for Dead

• How they croaked: The awful ends of the awfully famous by Georgia Bragg (non-fiction, very interesting account of the deaths of famous people)
• Everybody sees ants by AS King (Viet Nam War tie in, coming of age story)
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness(Story of a teen boy dealing with parents terminal illness. Great illustrations. I highly recommend)
• Jasper Jones (Another coming of age with a murder mystery thrown in, also Viet Nam War tie in)
• Orchards by  Holly Thompson (story of a Japanese American teen set to her Japanese relatives for summer after the death of her best friend. I liked this book very much and would recommend)

      E is for Excitement

• Bootleg: Murder, Moonshine, and the Lawless Years of Prohibition by Karen Blumenthal (non-fiction account of prohibition and the doomed attempt to stop alcohol consumption. Good read)
• The Raft by SA Bodeen (A teenage girl lives through an ocean plane crash and must survive on a raft with no provisions. Predictable story, but I enjoyed it.)
• Kegend by Marie Lu (Violent futuristic story of heroic teens a la Hunger Gamed, Divergent, etc)
• Trapped by Michael Northrup (Teens are trapped in their High School during an horrific snow storm)
• Au Revoir Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber (Teen becomes involved in the espionage world of the seemingly quiet exchange student living with his family. I didn't like this book-far fetched to the point of being stupid)

How this fits in the bigger picture
I don't normally read YA books, so each time I am able to attend this conference, I am usually pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy the books. It also allows me to make better YA reader advisory recommendations.