Friday Finds #30

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading. Each Friday, you share the great books you heard about or discovered over the past week: "books you were told about, books you discovered while browsing blogs/bookstores online, or books that you actually purchased."




Birdie's Book
by Jan Bozarth

Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 224
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Publication date: August 25, 2009
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy



First in The Fairy Godmother Academy series. From Goodreads:

"Where do fairy godmothers come from?

When Birdie goes to visit her grandmother for the first time, she learns that her grandmother is a fairy godmother—which means Birdie's a fairy godmother too! Trained by fairies in a magical land called Aventurine, human fairy godmothers have been hidden protectors of the world for centuries. Birdie' s family talisman, a singing stone, has been broken, and now only Birdie can use the stone to travel to Aventurine to repair it.

When she gets there she meets Kerka, a warrior-like girl who has been sent to help her find the other half of the stone. Will Birdie and Kerka have the knowledge and strength to banish the shadow that has come over both the garden in Aventurine and Birdie's family? One thing's for sure—no one who travels to Aventurine will ever be the same again!

For girls who are fans of Harry Potter and have outgrown the Disney Fairies series and the American Girl books, the Fairy Godmother Academy is the perfect series—fantasy books filled with magic and adventure but grounded by contemporary girls and issues."

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead
by Julie Anne Peters

Available as: hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 200
Publisher: Hyperion
Publication date: January 5, 2010
Suggested tags: young adult, realistic fiction, contemporary



From Goodreads:

"Daelyn Rice is broken beyond repair, and after a string of botched suicide attempts, she’s determined to get her death right. She starts visiting a website for “completers”— www. through-the-light.com.

While she’s on the site, Daelyn blogs about her life, uncovering a history of bullying that goes back to kindergarten. When she’s not on the Web, Daelyn’s at her private school, where she’s known as the freak who doesn’t talk.

Then, a boy named Santana begins to sit with her after school while she’s waiting to for her parents to pick her up. Even though she’s made it clear that she wants to be left alone, Santana won’t give up. And it’s too late for Daelyn to be letting people into her life…isn’t it?

National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters shines a light on how bullying can push young people to the very edge."

The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories
by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, & Brenna Yovanoff

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 304
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date: August 1, 2002
Suggested tags: young adult, short stories, paranormal



From Goodreads:

"From acclaimed YA authors Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff comes The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories.

- A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck.
- Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing.
- A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream).

These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.

But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author's comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.

So, are you curious now?"

Zazoo
by Richard Mosher

Available as: hardcover, paperback, audiobook
Pages: 272
Publisher: Graphia
Publication date: June 1, 2004
Suggested tags: young adult, historical fiction



From Goodreads:

"Zazoo is Vietnamese by birth but feels entirely French. She has lived with her adoptive Grand-Pierre in France in an old stone mill between the river and the canal since she was two, sharing poetry, adventures, and the predictable rhythms of the seasons. Then one misty October morning, a young man on a bicycle rides into Zazoo’s small village and asks a question from which many stories begin to unfold. A love story within a love story."