Year Zero, by Rob Reid (fiction) - music downloads, alien invasion, legal loopholes?

Sharing music is an age-old tradition.
Downloading music is more recent.
But global annihilation to avoid copyright fees?

That's what Earth faces when the rest of the universe realizes that their music downloads since the 1970s have run up a copyright bill bigger than...than...than the universe.

Author Rob Reid knows quite a lot about music licensing and copyright, since he founded the Rhapsody music service before he wrote this first novel. About those lawsuit-happy aliens... he's not telling us his sources.

Grab this funny-alien-legal-music-thriller in hardcover, eBook, or audiobook now at your local library or independent bookstore; available in paperback April 30, 2013.

Wonder if aliens really prefer disco to 80s hair metal?
**kmm

Book info: Year Zero / Rob Reid. Del Rey Books, 2012.  [author's website] [author's Facebook page] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Radio waves going from station to listener bounce out into space, too, and the aliens agree that Earth’s music is better than any other in the universe. 

But once they realize how much money the entire Refined League owes in royalty and copyright fees to human musicians, some alien bad guys decide that wiping out Earth to erase the debt is the only way to go!

However, most aliens would rather find a more-peaceful solution, so a few drop in on New York attorney Nick Carter to have him fix it all. Alas, Nick is not the Backstreet Boys singer Nick (as the aliens had hoped) nor is he the world’s best music copyrights attorney who could possibly find a way to reverse-license a few decades of slightly-to-completely illegal music downloads many light years from Earth.

But he’s going to have to try, since the bad-aliens will blow up Earth in a few days’ time if he can’t find a way around or through this problem. Of course, his law firm will decide this week on whether he’ll finally be named a junior partner or get axed, his cute neighbor also acquires a stray pet who’s an alien spy, and the wrinkles of universe-travels get a little sweaty.

Did the aliens of the Refined League honestly decide that Earth’s musical domination of the universe ended with rap?

Are there truly jokes coded into human (or Perfuffinite) DNA, since our bodies only use 2% of the genome?

Is there really a loophole in US music copyright law that Nick can find in time?

This debut novel by the founder of Rhapsody online music service brings music-crazed aliens to Earth, whisks earnest-but-only-human humans into outer space battles, and sharply skewers the most restrictive music copyright system in the universe between all the laughs.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Watersmeet, by Ellen Jensen Abbott (fiction) - outcast, healer, in danger

Centaurs who collect human toes as souvenirs.
Obrium metal that only the dwarves can mine.
Settlers always moving into enemy lands, always at war.

Despite making the required sacrifices to Vran, there are still imperfect children born to Vranille village, doomed to be outcasts.
Amid grinding poverty, the outcasts are poorer still.
Among the outcasts, Abisina is most despised, her father unknown.

Look for Watersmeet (remember, the main action occurs where the waters meet) at your local library. Alas, your independent bookstore will probably not have this great fantasy, as Amazon Publishing acquired Marshall Cavendish Publishing's fiction books and many others in late 2011, reprinting this one in paperback in 2012.
**kmm

Book info: Watersmeet / Ellen Jensen Abbott. Marshall Cavendish, 2009, hardback; Amazon Publishing, 2012, paperback. [author's blog] [publisher site] [author interview]

My Recommendation:  Outcast, always an outcast, fatherless Abisina with her different hair color, different skin color, barely tolerated in the tradition-bound outpost because of her mother’s healing skills, until a new leader comes to Vranille. Now, anyone with the slightest difference at the Ritual of Penance is outcast, and Charach decrees all the outcasts hunted to the death.

“Watersmeet,” says her mother, finally telling Abisina where she will find her father. Far away in the mountains, through the dread country where centaurs and dwarves capture humans for sport or for food.

As Charach leads the slaughter of outcasts, Abisina watches helplessly from the woods, retrieves her mother’s necklace from the ashes, then runs until she can go no further. Rescued by a mother and son, Abisina regains her strength and plans to head north, to Watersmeet. 

Will Charach allow her to escape from the lands of Vran unharmed? Can the young teen make it all the way to the fabled city of peace? After so many years, will her father truly be at Watersmeet?

Dark the nights, bitter the heart of Charach, growing the hope of Abisina to live free from fear in this stunning debut novel of a world where truths can be stranger than fables. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Difference Between You and Me, by Madeleine George (fiction) - love, be true to yourself

Fisherman boots and rough-cut hair.
Sweet little flats and pearl buttons.
These two girls couldn't be more different, yet more attracted to one another.

But fabulous kisses can hardly outweigh Emily's go-go-go-business attitude when Jesse considers the damage that a large corporation could inflict on their charming small town. 

Beyond the complicated/simple attraction between Jesse and Emily in this story is the larger question of being true to your community. Whether observing the International Day of Peace Vigil every September 21st with millions or demonstrating weekly for peace like Jesse and friends, perhaps humankind can take more steps forward for community and peace in 2013.

Find this honest and enriching story in hardback or eBook today at your local library or independent bookstore.
What's your most heartfelt wish for this new year?
**kmm

Book info: The Difference Between You and Me / Madeleine George. Viking, 2012. [author's website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Her kisses are perfect, her pearl-button sweaters are adorable, but the way that Emily compartmentalizes her life bugs Jesse. Of course, it’s complicated because she’s always second-fiddle to Emily’s boyfriend, and Emily’s work as Student Council VP, and Emily’s upcoming internship with NorthStar…

Jesse’s parents accept her orientation, although they’re not so happy about her frequent detentions for plastering the high school with posters for NOLAW, the National Organization to Liberate All Weirdos. They think she has a crush on earnest young activist Esther when the girls attend their town’s weekly peace vigil together. Honestly…

Her buddy Wyatt has to contend with his anti-gay father while trying to keep his homeschooling on track so that he doesn’t have to go back to their high school; he and Jesse keep each other real. So why hasn’t Jesse ever told him about her weekly rendezvous with Emily?

Emily cannot understand why the Student Council won’t let NorthStar be the sole sponsor of their dance. Just because the corporation might bring a huge StarMart to town, might endanger all the small businesses, might…might…might!

When should financial gain win out over doing the right thing? How far can you go to protect your community without resorting to violence? How do you decide when a relationship is over?

Alternating chapters by Jesse and Emily weave together a story that’s more than physical attraction and much more than your average StuCo meeting.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

TBR - books To Be Read AND books To Be Reviewed! (reflective)

Well, the holiday season is almost complete, the old year nearly done, the new year peeking around the clocktower... and soon I'll be back in the saddle, writing BooksYALove blog posts, recommending YA books that you might miss if you rely on the big-box stores' displays and promotions.

So it's a great time to make resolutions - especially ones that you can successfully keep! I'm taking my cue from Evie over at her Bookish blog and concentrating on my overflowing TBR piles and shelves.

For me, that's the To Be Read shelves, whose covers I haven't even opened yet, as well as the other TBR shelves, my To Be Reviewed/Recommended books, the ones that I've read and enjoyed, but haven't quite gotten around to crafting my recommendations for... yet.

And they're really good books! Otherwise, I just chuck them into the giveaway box. Y'all don't have time to read ho-hum, formulaic books, do you? So I have stacks of 2012 copyright books that I haven't told you about...yet.

So that's my priority for BooksYALove in 2013: to efficiently tackle my 2012 awesome books while bringing you the best debut titles and books from smaller publishers as they arrive, hot off the presses throughout the year. TBR Challenge, here I come!

To keep me honest, I'm registering my intent over on Evie's blog: http://www.evie-bookish.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-2012-tbr-pile-reading.html and will be checking in with a linked post monthly, highlighting my 2012 must-reads, as shared with y'all through BooksYALove (and usually on Barb Langridge's abookandahug site, too: www.abookandahug.com).

Promising an exact number of posts each week seems unrealistic, but I'll do my best to make you hungry to read these wonderful books at your local library or purchased from your favorite indie bookstore (keep your money in town, okay?) - and please, let me know if I'm bringing you titles that sound intriguing, unmissable, or out-of-the-ordinary.

Indeed, 2012 was a great year for Young Adult books, so let's hope that 2013 is equally stellar.
Which genre is your can't-wait-to-read favorite? Happy New Year, and happy reading!

*kmm
(celebratory cat cartoon courtesy of DesignedToaT: http://www.designedtoat.com/newyears.shtml)

My 12 unmissable YA books for 2012 - a very subjective list!

So many great books waiting for you at your local library or independent bookstore! How do you choose just an armful from the hundreds of titles there?

Well, for 12-12-12, I couldn't resist recapping 12 of my favorite reads from the past year on BooksYALove.

Click on each title to read my recommendation on a new page/tab, then select some for your holiday and/or birthday wishlist - you'll be so glad you did!
**kmm

Post-apocalyptic page-turners:  
Ashfall - 16-year-old Alex sets off alone through the ash and dangers to find his family after a catalysmic volcanic eruption.

Followed by Ashen Winter  as civilized behavior begins to crumble - stunning, scary adventures that really could happen, beneath those cold and cloudy skies.

Incidents of ignored history as historical fiction:  
Does God truly hear the prayers of both The Wicked and the Just  in 13th century Wales, as English overlords mistreat local folks to the brink of revolt?

Jump Into the Sky  with the black paratroopers of the 555th Battalion, as seen through the eyes of 13-year-old Levi, whose father is away from home too long as commander of 'Triple Nickels' during World War II.



Graphic novels from fave folks:
Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) teamed up with John Green (the artist one) to create TeenBoat!  Imagine "the angst of being a teen, the thrill of being a boat!" - yes, it's that funny.

In a more serious vein, Doug TenNapel examines friendship, family, loyalty, and greed in his most recent graphic novel involving a not-so-simple gift of Cardboard.

Music changes everything:
The song which instantly connects Emily and Sam promises that I'll Be There,  but will his crazy father endanger everyone, including winsome little brother Riddle?

Music and hope can heal hearts, according to Ollie's preacher father With a Name Like Love,  but this rural town is determined to condemn a mother without trial, until Ollie decides to prove her innocence.

Friends see the true you:  That voice in Ever's head - always mocking she'll never get Skinny  through bariatric surgery - almost drowns out the concern and care of her best friend.    

 
Why did Dad volunteer as a doctor in Malawi, so far from Clare's friends and the things that keep her late mother's memory alive? Can her new classmates help her learn to Laugh With the Moon  and be whole again?

Not your normal paranormal:
Vampires rule the world, and if they discover Gene's true human heritage, then he will become the object of The Hunt  for his savory heper blood.

Perhaps Ismae truly was fathered by the Dark Lord himself, rumors whisper at the convent where young women train as assassins, using the Grave Mercy of Death to keep Brittany free of the greedy French.

Review copies and cover images courtesy of their respective publishers.

Good intentions (reflective), or "travel changes all good plans"

Colorado double rainbow

The wonderful books I've read and want to recommend to you are there, lined up and waiting patiently on my shelf.

My calendar has their recommendation dates all mapped out, for Mysterious Mondays and World Wednesdays and Fun Fridays.

And today I leave for the International Association of School Librarianship 2012 Conference in Doha, Qatar - with no new recommendations in my "buffer" to be published in the ten days ahead. Sigh...

So while I'm flying and meeting and presenting on the GiggleIT Project for student writing and flying some more, be sure to check out the BooksYALove archives using the Labels (over there --->) to find recommendations of some great YA books that you might have missed.

Rather chuffed to see that two of my recent recommendations are on the UK CILIP Carnegie Medal Longlist for 2013:  Daylight Saving,  by Edward Hogan, and The Apothecary,  by Maile Meloy.
A great time to update your holiday wishlist, right?

And here's a double rainbow to tide y'all over till I get back.
Read on, y'all!
**kmm

The Forsaken, by Lisa M. Strasse (fiction) - teens on prison island, survival at any cost

Her parents torn away from her,
Easier to pretend she's always been an orphan.
Government mind drugs don't work on her.
Keeps her head down, keeps quiet.

The government-mandated brain scan shows that she has  tendencies toward anti-social behavior and criminal violence, so 16-year-old Alanna Fanshawe is no more. All mention of her is erased from official records of the UNA, the chaotic nation founded by force when the food crisis hit Canada, the United States, and Mexico.

The Forsaken  evokes reflections of The Hunger Games, similarities with Lord of the Flies, and echoes of 1984, yet is truly its own dystopian world.

Grab this first book in the Forsaken series now at your local library or independent bookstore. Who knows how long Alanna will survive feral hoofer boars, manipulative leaders, and attacking drones on the prison island?
**kmm

Book info: The Forsaken (Forsaken, book 1)  / Lisa M. Strasse. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2012.  [author's website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation:  Banished to the Wheel?! Alanna was sure she’d pass the government test that weeds out subversives, but she failed. Now she’ll be deported to a remote island, into a savage world of other teen misfits where few survive.

When she was ten, her parents were dragged away by United Northern Alliance soldiers for quietly questioning the new government’s policies. After six years in UNA orphanage with so many others, Alanna has learned to ignore her implanted earpiece’s constant propaganda and the prescribed thought pills, just going along quietly, not making trouble.

But the Test brain scan shows that she has “criminal tendencies” so she’s whisked away to Prison Island Alpha, where the life expectancy is 18 – no overcrowding, no chance of escape, no hope of ever finding her parents now. 

Alanna and new friend David try to avoid wild animals as they search for a rumored settlement. Suddenly they find themselves in a war zone, since they were dumped into an area being disputed between the villagers and the Monk’s followers. Soon this city girl must learn to fight, to track through the tropical forest, to trust (or not trust) the village leaders. Avoiding the drugged-up “drones” who blindly follow the masked Monk is survival priority one.

Why is the mysterious Monk controlling his follower-drones like throwaway toys? What secrets are the village leaders hiding? Why did the UNA abandon so many kids who are as normal as their classmates? How long will Alanna survive on the Wheel? 

This compelling book leaves questions in the reader’s mind about how much a government should control its citizens and how far someone would go to defend their freedom to think, their family, their very life. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.